Apologies if this has been dealt with before...

After having 10 years of having readily available Paypal funds I now find I am on a 21 day hold for release of money for items I have sold.  Possibly this is in place because of a suspension Ebay placed on my account 3 months ago (that was lifted immediately after I challenged it).  But funds are being held by Paypal on pickup only items that have been paid, picked up and positive feedback left.  These are low value items <$100.

Paypal mention something about adding tracking - which of course I can't do as the items were picked up.

One transaction that was completed weeks ago has this:

This payment will be held in your pending balance until 1 September 2017. It may be available sooner, once we know the transaction went smoothly.

What does "once we know the transaction went smoothly" mean?  The buyer has picked up, paid and left positive feedback 3 weeks ago.  There is no option for refunds on pickup items so Paypal do not need to protect these funds from a chargeback or buyer refund claim.

I have sent Paypal messages to release my funds for completed transactions, threatened to escalate to the Financial Ombudsman etc but have had no reply.

Should I add a bogus tracking number from an "Other" courier to release funds sooner - will this help?

Should I escalate to the FOS - what chance of success will I have to get this hold on my funds removed?