What do I do if a prop firm refuses to pay?

Preserve trade history, dashboard screenshots and the archived terms first. Then ask the firm in writing to cite the exact clause blocking the payout. If the clause is not in the terms you bought under, escalate to compliance, then file a documented complaint publicly.

Can you sue a prop firm for not paying?

It is possible but rarely proportionate — most firms are incorporated offshore and the sums are below the cost of cross-border litigation. Documented public escalation and processor disputes resolve far more cases in practice.

Why was my payout cancelled after being approved?

Usually a post-approval compliance review — commonly a KYC name mismatch, or a flag for copy-trading or a prohibited strategy detected across accounts. Ask for the specific clause and the detection evidence in writing.

Do prop firm complaints work?

Documented ones do. Firms depend on affiliate and community reputation for customer acquisition, so a complaint with trade history and archived terms attached gets attention that an unsupported accusation does not.

Risk & due diligence

Prop firm refused your payout? A step-by-step escalation guide

8 min readUpdated 2026-07-26

Most refused payouts are not fraud. They are a consistency cap you missed, incomplete KYC, or a rule breach flagged in a review you never saw. But some are genuine non-payment, and the difference matters because the response is completely different. This guide separates the two and gives you the escalation sequence that actually works.

Key takeaways

·Collect evidence before you complain — screenshots after an account is closed are usually impossible to obtain.
·Ask the firm to state the exact clause, in writing, that blocks the payout.
·Chargebacks on the evaluation fee are a last resort and often terminate the account permanently.
·Public escalation works, but only with documentation; unsupported accusations get dismissed.
·File it with us — a documented complaint gets sent to the firm for a formal response.

Step 1: Preserve the evidence today

Do this before you escalate. Once a firm closes or restricts an account, the trade history and dashboard usually go with it, and a complaint without records is very hard to advance.

Full trade history export for the funded account, in the platform's native format.
Screenshots of the payout request, its status, and any dashboard message.
The complete rulebook page as it existed when you bought — use an archive service to timestamp it.
Every support message, including chat transcripts, exported rather than screenshotted where possible.
Your KYC submission confirmation, with dates.

Step 2: Establish which of the four causes applies

The first three are solvable in days and account for the large majority of delayed payouts. Only the fourth is a genuine dispute, and only if you did not do what they allege.

Eligibility: have you met the minimum days, winning days or profit threshold for this cycle?
Consistency: does your best day exceed the cap as a share of net profit in the cycle?
Compliance: is KYC complete, and does the payment name match the account name exactly?
Alleged breach: has the firm flagged a prohibited strategy, copy-trading, or a risk-rule violation?

Step 3: Force a written clause citation

Send one short, unemotional message asking the firm to identify the specific clause blocking the payout, quote it, and state what you must do to satisfy it. Do not argue, do not threaten, and do not send it across five channels at once.

This works because a vague refusal is easy and a written clause citation is not. If the cited clause does not exist in the terms you bought under — and you have the archived copy from step 1 — you now have a concrete, documented dispute rather than a disagreement.

Step 4: Escalate in the right order

Support ticket, then a written follow-up 72 hours later referencing the ticket number.
Named escalation: compliance or the founder, where publicly contactable, with your documentation attached.
File a documented complaint with us — we forward it to the firm for a formal response and publish the outcome.
Public posting with full documentation on the main community forums, once the firm has had a fair chance to respond.
Payment-processor dispute or legal action, last, and only with the trade history and terms archive in hand.

A chargeback on the evaluation fee usually ends the relationship and can forfeit a pending payout. Use it only when you have written off the account.

When the delay is on your side

It is worth stating plainly: if you copy-traded across accounts, ran an EA the terms prohibited, or hedged the same instrument across two firms, the refusal is likely enforceable and public escalation will not help. Firms are inconsistent about many things, but these three clauses are enforced almost universally and are usually detected by automated review at the first payout.

Reading the prohibited-strategies section before you trade costs ten minutes. It is the highest-return ten minutes in funded trading.

FAQ

What do I do if a prop firm refuses to pay?: Preserve trade history, dashboard screenshots and the archived terms first. Then ask the firm in writing to cite the exact clause blocking the payout. If the clause is not in the terms you bought under, escalate to compliance, then file a documented complaint publicly.
Can you sue a prop firm for not paying?: It is possible but rarely proportionate — most firms are incorporated offshore and the sums are below the cost of cross-border litigation. Documented public escalation and processor disputes resolve far more cases in practice.
Why was my payout cancelled after being approved?: Usually a post-approval compliance review — commonly a KYC name mismatch, or a flag for copy-trading or a prohibited strategy detected across accounts. Ask for the specific clause and the detection evidence in writing.
Do prop firm complaints work?: Documented ones do. Firms depend on affiliate and community reputation for customer acquisition, so a complaint with trade history and archived terms attached gets attention that an unsupported accusation does not.