FreeWallet accused of ‘robbery’ via hidden fees and KYC delays

FreeWallet, a custodial wallet that has operated for nearly a decade, is facing allegations of theft and a complex scheme to drain customers of funds.

In a public plea for help, a customer claims that months of needlessly lengthy know your customer (KYC) verification delays are FreeWallet’s excuse to charge monthly maintenance fees tantamount to “robbery.”

As the complaint escalated into public accusations, FreeWallet claims to be actively working on a resolution this morning.

FreeWallet offers both custodial and non-custodial wallets. Relevant to this complaint is its custodial wallet service, which launched in 2016 when the price of bitcoin (BTC) was less than $1,000.

According to the customer’s complaint, FreeWallet is abusing its powerful status as one of the oldest custodial crypto wallets. Specifically, the customer claims to own DOGE in his wallet that he deposited “years” ago.

Depending on the holding period, DOGE has almost certainly appreciated in value since that deposit. If the customer deposited DOGE prior to 2021, for example, it has rallied at least 3,000%.

However, the customer claims that FreeWallet’s monthly inactivity fees are little more than theft.

Indeed, one FAQ is unambiguous. “Freewallet is free to join and the majority of our services are absolutely free,” it reads.

It continues, “Sending and receiving crypto assets between the Freewallet members, as well as holding them in the wallets is 100% free.”

However, another webpage on the same domain notes that holding certain crypto assets is not free.

On this conflicting webpage, FreeWallet claims the right to charge “50 USDT or the equivalent in another cryptocurrency” for every month of inactivity after the customer’s first six inactive months. It defines inactivity as performing no outgoing, exchange transactions, or crypto purchases.