Because one of the most common themes on HN are Stripe complaint posts immediately getting the attention of Edwin? I recall Patrick being more active on product announcements / otherwise positive news. I appreciate their level of reactivity here, and the truth is complaining on HN really does eyeballs on problems where their internal processes seem too broken to help.

Because resolving without lawyers is cheaper?

Op is juggling cash to make payroll. Crushing insolvency can be far more expensive than lawyers.

And swinging round Home Depot to pick up some buckets in the event of a fire is cheaper than funding a fire department, but it's not really the right tool for the job.

Using a fire extinguisher on a small flame before it grows in to needing the fire department seems like a reasonable approach.

Still, one should still call the firefighters _before_ using the extinguisher.

If the extinguisher did not work, and you tried 5min, these 5min are lost.

I’ve seen more than a couple stripe disputes resolved here. If the problem isn’t urgent, which it somehow seems to not be, this is a fine step.

A lawyer will run through 400k quite quickly so yeah he should be prepared but..

That's like 6 months of an associate's time at a high billing rate. We are talking about sending a letter or making a phone call here.

If they respond to the OP's lawyer via their legal team, is the OP going to want to continue to engage them without a lawyer?

One letter can become several with a multitude of billable hours and services.

Because lawyers cost > $0 ?

How much does not having access to their money cost? I bet also >$0.

If your option is either lose $400,000 or pay for a lawyer - you're of course right that you want to get a lawyer.

OP said: > Honestly that's the next step. Hoping to not have to involve lawyers.

My understanding is that OP was hoping to communicate with support and get access to their accounts without paying for a lawyer - as that would be preferable with a cost of ~0$

All three of us appear to agree - If that doesn't work definitely time for a lawyer