Account Locked After Payment Method Attempt (Hatch Program) - No Clear Reason

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice or similar experiences regarding an issue with my DigitalOcean account.

I was recently accepted into the Hatch program and received credits. Everything was fine initially, and I started preparing to migrate my infrastructure.

However, when I attempted to add a payment method (PayPal), the payment failed—and immediately after that, my account was locked by the system.

From support:

• They confirmed the lock was triggered by automated security checks during the payment attempt
• The case was escalated for manual review
• After review, they decided “not to unlock the account”
• They refused to provide any specific reason due to “internal security policies”

What’s frustrating:

• The account was already approved for Hatch (which is not easy to get into)
• The lock happened right after following their requirement to add a payment method
• No clear explanation or option to resolve (even offering documents/verification didn’t help)
• The decision seems final with no escalation path
• Has anyone experienced something similar?
• Is there any way to escalate beyond standard support?
• Any workaround to recover the account or credits?
• Or is this effectively a dead end?

Appreciate any insights.

Thanks.