CFPB COMPLAINT DATABASE

PayPal

39,746 real consumer complaints filed against PayPal at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 13,365 received relief from the company. 100% of responses were timely.

39,746
Complaints
5,725
Won monetary relief
34%
Relief rate
>99%
Timely response

Most common issues

  1. 01Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account7,358
  2. 02Fraud or scam5,780
  3. 03Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem5,325
  4. 04Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital wallet3,364
  5. 05Other transaction problem2,601
  6. 06Managing an account2,543
  7. 07Money was not available when promised1,473
  8. 08Problem with a purchase shown on your statement1,084
  9. 09Attempts to collect debt not owed931
  10. 10Confusing or missing disclosures758

Top states filing

CA4,819FL2,800NY2,777TX2,771PA1,436GA1,341IL1,324NJ1,196OH1,050VA990

How others won relief

These complainants filed at the CFPB and the company refunded or credited money in response. The CFPB doesn't force outcomes, but it does force a response in 15 days.

Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Fraud or scamWI

Paypal consistently refuses to honor its buyer protection policy. I did not receive goods. I provided evidence from the postal service showing I did not receive the goods. No one looked at it. No ever looks at it. The automated system sees a tracking number delivered in the same zip code and closes in favor of the seller. Every time. This is a known scam. PayPal still refuses to do right by the consumer.

Outcome: Closed with monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemVA

Between XXXX XXXX XXXX, my account on a third party platform was hacked and an unauthorized party exploited my pre-existing PayPal billing agreement to pull {$68.00} from my account without my authorization. The hacker gained access to my third party account, changed the email and password to lock me out, and then used my linked PayPal billing agreement to fund fraudulent trading activity. During the same period, the same unauthorized party made nearly {$3000.00} in fraudulent charges across multiple other linked financial accounts. Those charges have since been reversed by the other platforms after confirming the fraud. I filed a claim with PayPal on XX/XX/year> ( Claim ID : XXXX ). PayPal denied my claim twice, stating that a billing agreement existed and therefore no unauthorized access occurred.

Outcome: Closed with monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Money was not available when promisedCA

On XX/XX/year> I transferred approximately {$1400.00} in Litecoin to my XXXX account. The transfer was made from an outside wallet. I then sold the litecoin on XXXX to convert it back to usd. They charged a fee of approximately {$35.00}. They allowed me to send money tp another user on their platform. I attempted to send the remainder to my linked bank account. They refuse to make the transfer. They are holding my money and refuse to say why.

Outcome: Closed with monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemNJ

PayPal refunded the three of the FOUR transactions from XXXX XXXX in the XXXX amount. They have still under dispute the XXXX transaction from XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX of {$150.00} and they are saying that IF THEY DECIDE to give me my refund it will be in {$140.00} in US dollars but will give me a {$20.00} voucher. If it were reverse and I owed Paypal {$5.00} you best believe that would make sure I paid them the {$5.00}. I had {$150.00} unauthorized or taken without my permission from my account and I want not XXXX in XXXX but the entire XXXX. Secondly, Paypal keeps mixing up the transactions and refusing to acknowledge that the {$150.00} negative balance was applied to my refund. All of the fraudulent transactions were under the name XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and was unauthorized. One transaction from XXXX XXXX was refunded and three transactions from XXXX XXXX was refunded.

Outcome: Closed with monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemFL

On Wednesday, XX/XX/year>, I authorized a single {$40.00} XXXX gift card purchase via the Venmo application. During the transaction, the Venmo app malfunctioned and froze. As a result of this technical failure, Venmo erroneously debited my account for {$120.00} ( processing three separate {$40.00} charges ) instead of the single authorized {$40.00} charge. Furthermore, the intended recipient received a notification of the gift card but can not access or utilize the funds. I contacted Venmo customer support immediately that same day and have followed up every day since. Representatives have acknowledged the system error and stated that their " engineers are working on it. '' Despite acknowledging the defect on their end, Venmo is refusing to issue a provisional credit for the unauthorized overcharges.

Outcome: Closed with monetary reliefTimely response

Recent complaints

The 23 most recent complaints against PayPal where the consumer chose to publish their narrative.

Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletCA

This issue is with PayPal. Ive used the app problem free for years. I am a fragrance collector and I sell certain bottles I have to people who may want them. Interactions take place on XXXX in a sales group and payment is usually made through XXXX. Last night I decided to let go of a few valuable bottles I had, I believe it was 5 in total. One transaction was {$650.00}, one was XXXX, one was XXXX and the other was also {$650.00} I believe. Transactions can be shown through the part of the app which I still have access. This morning once the transaction for XXXX went through the account was instantly terminated. They asked me to verify my ID which I did and afterwards I received a message stating that it was permanently XXXX. I proceeded to call customer service only to be told that the back office would have to make a decision. The money that was sent to me was intended to be used partly to ship out the fragrance bottles that were purchased.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Other transaction problemPA

On Saturday I made a purchase through XXXX XXXX online and funds were removed but held from my account through PayPal I used my PayPal debit card for the transaction. Today I returned the items that I had purchased because I was in need of funding, and there is a hold on the refund even though it's already been sent through they are also holding another small refund amount on me for a little over {$2.00} through another company XXXX. Other times I am refunded instantly like from XXXX and it's instantly in my account this is the more common practice with PayPal unless it's a larger amount this amount is {$68.00} and it should not be pending. I think it's ridiculous that we have the ability to process refunds instantly yet we do not so that they can make money off of interest. So I am now screwed and can not get gas for my car to go to work tomorrow and can not get food for tonight to eat which is the reasons that I returned the items back to XXXX. XXXX has released the charge.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet accountMA

PayPal is refusing to let me close my account under the guise of an unresolved limitation, despite my account balance being {$0.00}. Keeping my personal and financial data active against my will is a privacy and security risk. I demand that PayPal manually close this account immediately.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemCA

I am writing because my complaint has not been resolved with Venmo ; My mother, XXXX XXXX, submitted a complaint, number XXXX, on XX/XX/year>, regarding basically the theft of funds from my account by Venmo. I was XXXX at the time this happened which is why she filed the complaint not me. Venmo responded that it would not provide any information to my mom for privacy reasons. My mother also sent a certified letter to Venmo and did not receive any response to that. I opened a Venmo account without parental consent and age verification completed by Venmo. I was able to use the account no problem at all. My Venmo account, @ XXXX XXXX On or about XX/XX/year>, I sold a used item via XXXX marketplace for {$450.00}. The buyer said he was going to pay cash but then at the last minute said he ( his mom ) didn't have the cash. The buyer paid me through Venmo. Some time after he bought the item, the buyer claimed the item was defective but refused to return it.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Confusing or missing disclosuresIL

PayPal temporarily restricted my business PayPal account in XXXX with a total of XXXX in transactions to me that day. This is my business account and there shouldnt have been no red flag to restrict it at that time. So moving forward I told the representative on the chat I couldnt versify some of the information they were asking to restore my account as the proof and documentation was destroyed when my apartment was broken into, and my phone was stolen as well. I couldnt provide what they was asking to restore my account by XX/XX/year> so they permanently closed my account. Now they are saying I have to wait 120 days for the funds to be released. Thats crazy to hold my funds from XXXX to end of XXXX especially since no one has disputed those transactions that took place in XXXX. I feel is is truly extreme to hold someones money to their disclosures and release it so late thats should really be illegal!

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet accountTN

On XX/XX/year> I was sending money to my brother XXXX XXXX, which Ive done in two transactions and the second one set off some kind of security thing with demo even though I had exchange money with XXXX at least 100 times they give a very vague reason and syndicate mitigate the risk there is no risk to this day. They still have my money frozen.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Fraud or scamNJ

On XX/XX/year> Paid what I thought was a legitimate logistics company XXXX XXXX a refundable amount for fees and tax included with delivering a package of goods I ordered, they continued to ask for money thru Venmo to assure delivery, total was {$3600.00} Never received money back or any package at all I did not receive any refund or package, complete and utter scam.logistics company demanding more money to finish some fictitious process to unlock the refund, I have texts asking for money and assuring a refund, they are still asking for {$2000.00} more dollars to complete the processsaid process was never explained to me and appeared from out of nowhereDisputed with XXXX XXXXnd Venmo both denied for no reason, I did not receive anything for this refundable money, {$3600.00} gone without a trace My rent, mortgage and business funds gone I have a family and a business I can not sustain this as a loss. Please help me recover these funds

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Other transaction problemVA

On XX/XX/year>, I was charged {$40.00} for a subscription I had attempted to cancel. I requested a refund through PayPal, which they issued, but the transfer to my checking account failed and never arrived. I contacted PayPal support, and a representative confirmed they could see the refund had not been received and told me the funds would be sent again. The money never arrived. PayPal continued to email me about this after this point. I am seeking a full refund of all charges since my cancellation attempt and resolution of any debt collection activity.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletTX

On XX/XX/year>, PayPal permanently deactivated my account and placed a hold on my balance which the majority of it included my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Including other funds from sales Totaling {$10000.00} PayPal issued an official written notice explicitly stating that funds would be held for " up to 120 day ( s ) '' to cover potential liabilities. That 120-day window closes on XX/XX/year>. No buyer disputes, claims, or chargebacks have been filed against my balance during this entire period. Instead of releasing my funds as contractually promised, PayPal has abruptly issued a second, consecutive 120-day hold, resetting my release date to XX/XX/year>, under the vague claim of " unverified information. '' Crucially, a significant portion of the frozen funds consists of my federal XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) benefits. I am a legally XXXX individual and have been for 11 years.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Other transaction problemNJ

I had transferred money to my PayPal account that they are refusing to put back into my account even after notifying them numerous times and not only have they refused to resolve this issue they have made no attempt in trying to contact me after several times of complaining from me about the issues. They have repeatedly refused to resolve the issue at hand which they PayPal were taking money from to different t accounts that were tied to my accountt I had offered to submit them the paperwork from my banks but yet they have not once tried fixing my complaint they choose to put my account in a negative standing. The dates are from XX/XX/XXXX till XX/XX/XXXX for a total loss of {$2700.00} from multiple deposits not being applied and monies being taken from my accounts. Example ; if I paid from one account on XXXX XXXX then money would withdrawl from my bank account then on XXXX they charged me again on my other account.

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletCA

I XXXX XXXX social security XXXX XXXX XXXX have been having trouble accessing the XXXX account for a while and im thinking i may have recieved a spoofed XXXX XXXX card and spoofed XXXX website access which is no longer in my possesion and may possibly still occurring. i registered a XXXX account with my social security number, my name XXXX XXXX, email address XXXX and a phone number ending XXXX i called to update the number and it appears it never went through.

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Confusing or missing disclosuresFL

I was sent a XXXX balance for my services I did from working a gig

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletGA

Venmo has had my money on hold for 21 days, they said that my account has permanently been suspended and they will not give me my money thats on the Venmo account

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemNY

PayPal closed Case ID XXXX XXXX XXXX favor on XX/XX/XXXX, and confirmed a {$320.00} refund for XXXX transaction XXXX. XXXX also confirmed the {$320.00} refund. Despite this, PayPal is claiming or showing that I still owe money. I dispute any negative balance, collection activity, account limitation, or adverse reporting. I request correction of my PayPal balance to {$0.00} for this transaction, written confirmation, removal of any collection or negative-balance flag, and preservation of all records. I also request reasonable accommodation as a XXXX customer because PayPals chatbot-only process is preventing meaningful human review of a financial error. I am submitting this formal dispute and demand for correction regarding PayPals continued assertion that I owe money after a transaction involving XXXX XXXX XXXX was refunded, XXXX and PayPal closed the dispute in my favor.

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletMA

I have been a PayPal customer for XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/year>, a payment of {$41.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was sent to my PayPal account and is currently in a " pending acceptance '' state. PayPal is requiring me to either ( XXXX ) provide my Social Security XXXX and date of birth, or ( XXXX ) link a bank account or debit card, in order to access or move these funds. I declined to provide this information and requested that PayPal return the funds to the sender instead. Over the course of approximately XXXX hour, I was transferred through XXXX different customer service agents. Each stated they were unable to process a refund. The third agent ( XXXX ) escalated to a back-office team and subsequently confirmed in writing via email : " PayPal is XXXX to return the funds to the sender on your behalf, and the sender also can not reverse the transaction once it has been completed.

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet accountSC

I was renting a car to drive XXXX from a XXXX rental company called XXXX XXXX my last contract with them ended XX/XX/XXXX but I kept paying and they kept billing but over time the car started having mechanical issues and they kept prioritizing payments over the safety of the vehicle and I also found out they arent an approved rental partner of XXXX and XXXX so I returned the car and went on PayPal and tried to dispute every payment made to them after XX/XX/XXXX because PayPal advertises that you can dispute transactions up to 180 days old but they auto denied most of my disputes that were over XXXX days old and the last XXXX that they let go through they denied and banned my account saying I violated terms so they are letting a shady merchant stay on the platform but me the victim got kicked off the platform

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Checking or savings account· Managing an accountFL

I am a XXXX citizen, retiree, and small business owner filing this complaint against PayPal , Inc. due to an ongoing account suspension that has completely cut off my sole source of income and disrupted my business for the past 9 days. I have been a loyal customer for over 23 years ( Email : XXXX, Case ID : XXXX ) with zero history of fraud or chargeback abuse. PayPal is currently freezing and denying me access to my {$6500.00} account balance. It appears their automated AI system erroneously flagged my website for selling legitimate handmade items.I respectfully request immediate human review of my account and the information already submitted.

Outcome: Closed with non-monetary reliefTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital walletLA

Firstly my XXXX account has only been open for two weeks an do has been frozen over 15 times! I have sent over my drivers license bank statements and social security fax and yet they keep asking me to verify myself continuously. That isnt even the worst part they removed the freeze on my account and notified me of it via email and told me I was good to go and could withdraw the {$800.00} that they have been holding for weeks now. I took their word for it and attempted to withdraw my money and not even 1 minute after they froze my account once again!!! Why did the account specialist advise me I was good to make my withdrawal if they were going to freeze my account instantly? This has been going on every time I try to withdraw MY HARD EARNED MONEY from this nightmare of an app. Im an elderly woman on a fixed income the stress from this whole ordeal is taking a toll on my physical and mental health.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemNY

On XX/XX/year> at XXXXXXXX XXXX somehow {$64.00} was taken out at an ATM in XXXX XXXX XXXX When I live in XXXX, New York, it says it was a XXXX ATM for a withdrawal. This was unauthorized and my card is with me in XXXX, New York so it is an impossibility that money was taken out at an ATM in XXXX XXXX New York. I filed a complaint with XXXX and disputed it as an unauthorized transaction and they replied and said that they will not pay the money back and that it was authorized use. So in turn I am fighting it to get my money back.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Money was not available when promisedFL

We are filing this complaint regarding PayPal 's continued hold of {$6700.00} in funds related to a completed service transaction. We have been working with PayPal for over XXXX days to resolve this issue and have fully complied with all requests for documentation. We have submitted multiple times : XXXX registration, invoices, bank account information, business website, written explanations regarding our increase in transaction volume, and more. Despite this, PayPal continues to request the same documentation repeatedly, without confirming receipt of providing clear guidance on what is actually required. Each time, we are told that it will be processed within XXXX hours, and then they repeat the initial request. Additionally, we have received inconsistent and conflicting information from multiple support representatives and have experienced repeated failures in promised supervisor callbacks.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Other transaction problemMO

Venmo transaction of {$25.00} sent today XXXX. The person I sent it too is unable to access her Venmo account. She stated she went negative and I wasnt aware of this till after sending the money. I tried calling XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXnd unable to speak to a live representative. I then used Venmo chat and spoke with a live rep via chat. He stated Venmo cant reverse the {$25.00} sent and I'm out of luck. I would like my funds back.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemAL

On XX/XX/XXXX, a payment from another Venmo user was mistakenly sent to an outdated inactive Venmo profile associated with me instead of my current active Venmo profile. The sender intended to send the funds to my current active Venmo account but accidentally selected an older frozen profile due to prior contact history and the similarity of the account names. The payment included XXXX ID XXXX. The inactive account had not been used since XXXX and still contained an unresolved negative balance. Immediately after the payment was received, Venmo automatically categorized the funds as account recovery payments and applied them toward the old balance. Both the sender and I contacted Venmo explaining that the payment was sent to the wrong outdated profile unintentionally and requested review or reversal options so the funds could be resent correctly.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service· Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problemTX

I purchased product from XXXX through Paypal. Package was supposed to be received XX/XX/year>. I never received the package and to today XXXX XXXX I still have not received or located the package. I tried to get seller to refund, waited over XXXX hours as instructed, escalated to Paypal. I have been denied 4 times since XX/XX/XXXX with NO CAUSE, just tracking number. I submitted police report, stolen mail report, my apartment posted signage about package delivery. There is no PROOF of delivery no signature or photo, so they are just refusing to believe I didn't receive what I paid for. It is theft of my money and they have lied about settlement date, went over allotted time for seller to respond and continued to close in seller 's favor. I contacted XX/XX/XXXX to appeal the XXXX time and nothing was even updated to my account! I am ready and willing to file small claims.

Outcome: Closed with explanationTimely response

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