Don’t get mad, get unstuck – with our crystal-clear guide on how to complain about PayPal in the UK
In the interests of positive dispute resolution, a stress-free world and a better service and experience for all (including PayPal) here is our step-by-step guide to complaining about PayPal.
Important notes:
a) Despite being registered as a bank in Luxembourg, PayPal IS regulated by the Financial Services Authority because it falls within certain categories of activity in the UK.
b) FSA have power to regulate PayPal but NOT to deal with individual complaints. The areas of ‘regulatable’ activity are listed here. While it is outside of the FSA’s jurisdiction to talk to you about individual complaints, the FSA are happy to hear from you if PayPal does not perform to the FSA guidelines.
For example: FSA expects PayPal to adhere to its guidelines on dispute resolution – one of which is that PayPal are obliged to ‘make it easy’ for you to contact them throughout the process. If you feel that PayPal are in contravention of that guideline, please bring it to the FSA’s attention using this form. (Please be clear about the distinction between complaining about breach of FSA guidelines and complaining about your issue.)
c) The Financial Ombudsman Service is the place to complain about your individual issue with PayPal if it has not been resolved within the 8 week period. You can download the complaint form here. If the FOS feels there are sufficient grounds and the issue is within their jurisdiction, they may take up the issue with PayPal, keeping you informed of what they are / aren’t doing along the way. If they think you have a case, their goal will be to restore you to the situation you were in before the problem arose.
So, here’s what you do:
1. Raise your complaint with PayPal in writing (email or hardcopy)
2. Give PayPal 8 weeks to respond / resolve the dispute with you
3. If after 8 weeks, you’re not satisfied, then do the following:
(i) Download a complaint form from FOS and send it to them with all accompanying documentation
(ii) Check this list of areas of business activity (more detail available from the FSA handbooks section) that are regulated by FSA. If you feel that PayPal have acted outside of the guidelines that the FSA impose on these areas of activity, then bring that to the attention of the FSA in writing.
If you follow the 3 steps above (all of them!) you will achieve the following:
1) You will bring to the Financial Ombudsman’s attention just how many unhappy PayPal customers there are out there.
2) You may achieve satisfactory resolution of your issue with the support of the Financial Ombudsman service.
3) You will go a long way to calling PayPal to account with the Financial Services Authority if and where it needs calling to account.
It’s revealing that the Financial Ombudsman Service person I spoke to this morning had never heard of ‘PayPal Buyer Dispute’. If those of you who’ve fallen victim to this scam follow the above 3 steps you can bet he soon will.
Thank you to the FSA and the FOS for their time and information this morning.
Much as I’d like to disagree with you, Leeds… I find myself curiously unable to
It seems like as soon as you scratch the surface of any big organisation, you find some kind of corruption. Are we all squeaky clean in our own lives? I wonder.
They all piss in the same pan, ebay, paypal, politicians alike. Whats worth remembering is that the UK is disgustingly corrupt, governments are ripping the working man off left right and centre, so dont be surprised that ebay and paypal are ripping you off also, they’re all one and the same.
Amazing, isn’t it Michelle? I was listening to Radio 4 last week covering a company called -’E-Clear’ which has gone into administration owing something like £150m. I haven’t looked into it in depth yet, but that was also completely and practically un-regulated (as is PayPal for all intents and purposes). What that means in real money is, of course, that these big internet ‘banks’ can do anything they want and get away with it.
The R4 programme concluded with a statement from the FSA (I think – or a government minister, can’t remember which) saying that, in the light of the E-Clear collapse (read: scandal) they’re trying to put in place regulation that might come into force in about 2011 at the earliest.
Big Lols.
Paypal have been withholding my funds of £317 since August 2008. I’ve spent a fortune telephoning them and sent numerous complaints but they ignore me.
My mistake was in opening an acct with a nickname. I didn’t read their rules and regs so by the time I’d gone over their limit of so much money in a year they slammed limited account restriction on me.
I’ve sent them proof of my real identity and I even have a paypal acct in my real name linked with a bank account but they still won’t release my funds.
I’m wondering how many other poor suckers they’ve robbed in this way. It’s £300 that I will end up giving up on and I’d love to know how much interest they’ve made over the last 18 months.
Surely the monopolies commission should get involved. Paypal have the internet market sewn up and there’s no real other option for those of us needing to use these payment centres.
Clive, if I had boots I'd send you some as a special prize for not reading the thread properly
I'm not PayPal lols.
But good luck trying to get your money back. Judging by your comment, I think you'll need it.
I have writen to PayPal since: 24-04-2009, Asking them to update My PayPal Account Details to My New Legal Name,
When I changed it on: 21-04-2009 in person at: http://www.ukdps.co.uk/ContactUs.html
But PayPal still haven’t updated My PayPal Account Details to My New Legal Name,
Even when I sent them a Water Marked Ceritfied Deed Poll Name Of Change, To There Ireland Offices in May/June 2009,
Yet PayPal are still happy to collect payment from My Credit/Debit Card/s which are both in My legal name since 2009.
I am now seeking help from The Financial Ombudsman Service, As PayPal “DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND UK LAW, WHEN IT COMES TO CHANGING YOUR NAME BY DEED POLL” – http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/9805.htm#deed_polls & http://www.ukdps.co.uk/OtherFAQs.html
[...] did that, and posted this step by step guide to complaining about PayPal in the [...]
In my experience, these various ‘ombudsman’ type organisations such as the FSA are just toothless tigers, set up to make it ‘appear’ that there is a body for ‘Joe Soap’ to turn to for help.
They are inevitably under-resourced & consequently staffed by people with little ability or interest.I have recently had similar problems with PayPal as those posted above & have concluded that the purpose of, so called, help lines are there to shield management & deflect problems rather than help to resolve them.
Sometimes it can helps by being a ’squeaky wheel’& complaining from the top down.In case it may help someone. PayPal (UK) Ltd full details including names & addresses of MD & Financial directors can be found at http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk Company No:04568033.Good Luck!
Emily, sorry to hear that. Not knowing anything about gigs and promoters etc, I’m just wondering what obligation the seller had to refund tickets in the event of a performer dying? Is there a standard Pay Pal policy on it? Either way, you’re right – contacting them can be utterly infuriating. I gave up – I never want anything to do with them again if I can help it. It was a complete waste of my life spent trying to explain the nuances of a situation to someone in what was obviously their second language.
I know that doesn’t help you much. Seems like an absence of customer service / satisfaction no longer matters in virtual online monopolies like Pay Pal. All you can do is take social media revenge. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social and viral media are the way to go if the traditional regulators aren’t interested.
All in all, though, there will come a point where you’ll be ready to say ‘Look, it’s worth £480 to let this go’. Believe me, you’ll get there. Then, you’ll either forget it and just carry on using PayPal (after all, what option have you really got?) or – like me – you’ll never touch them again. Either way, they don’t care.
I too have been f****d over for £480.00. I bought tickets from a seller in March 09. Then the artist sadly passed away in June 09.The seller said he would refund my £480.00, but then, siprisingly, dissapeared and wouldn’t answer my e-mails anymore. I got onto paypal, this was back in July/August, I never got any updates to say what was happening,so i hounded them. They got back to me, assuring me that they were dealing with my case and there were many complaints like my own,asking me to be patient. They said they would keep me updated. Now after all this time, they said they can’t do anything because i didn’t report it within the 45 day complaints thingy. God, its rediculous and just like talking to a bloody brick wall. I don’t know what to do apart from scream, they are totally useless.
Sold an item through eBay, packaged and sent it, but buyer hasn’t heard of postal strike lodged a complaint about non receipt of goods with paypal who helped themselves, sorry paypal speak “placed” £35 of my money. Then told me to talk to the buyer. The transaction earned paypal £1.86p what exactly do they do for their money????? As my paypla account is -ve can no longer buy things off eBay. I really wish there was an alternative!!!!
I tried to make a transaction using paypal on 11th september, but the transaction was stopped.They told me my cash had been refunded but it had not.When i tried to make another transaction the same thing happened again, leaving my bank account £262 overdrawn.
It is now 28th september and today i have got some of my money back after 17 days when i didn’t even make a purchase in the first place.
They seem to think that is ok.I hope the financial Ombudsman and Watchdog will disagree!
Thanks, Alex – hope it helps, although it’s a bit old now and by the sound of things that FSA is on its way out.
Either way, keep up the shouting!
Excellent, helpful guide. This morning, PayPal informed me by cut-and-paste email that a complaint I had made against an overseas seller who had taken my money but not delivered any goods, was ‘not resolved in your favor’ because the transaction involved ‘virtual goods’. An arbitrary and unjust decision. I am now escalating my complaint via your guide. Thanks!
No, Aaron – you’re not the only one. What happened to the idea that the internet would create powerful groups of people able to challenge the big powerful organisations that don’t listen? Hmmm? The thing that pisses me off about things like PayPal is that, far from being more accountable, they (and all other big businesses) seem to be less accountable in this online social media era.
I haven’t found ANYONE who has had satisfaction with PayPal from these kind of situations.
It seems in the big ol’ rush to have broadband and all things e-commerce, we’ve er..forgotten (or couldn’t be bothered) to put in place any controls. I for one expect it to get worse.
My company recently spent £1500 on an appallingly bad Club Class flight for me with BA. Could they give a toss about my letter of complaint? Of course not. All people like us can do now is peck away at them with little blogs like this.
So, to come full circle: any advice for you? FSA? Hmm. Aren’t they about to vanish entirely anyway? Pfff. FOS? You could try making noise there. Go to the PayPal sucks-type pages and get a PayPal sucks sticker for your website for starters. And keep telling this story wherever you can – and wherever people go looking for Ebay / PayPal horror stories. It would be nice to imagine a politician or two having even the slightest concern about how these players operate but politicians are fire-fighting in a recession so this kind of thing is WAY down on their priority lists (as you in your job – judging by your email address – know first hand).
I’ve been having a dispute with PayPal now since 20th July 2009, i got scammed out of £195.00 I paid by credit card through PayPal, i sent the information needed through the notes field in the transaction. Now PayPal say because i didn’t use the “ebay items” button for paying the seller i completed a transaction outside of Ebay.
I bought a World of Warcraft account which is classed as a tangible item i think. the seller said that the account in question had been hacked over the weekend but yet only told me the day he was sending the details to me.
I checked the account and was not as described so i asked for a refund from the seller which he agreed to, he took ages to reply and still no money so i had to open a dispute in PayPal, i escalated the claim as there was no communication from the seller and PayPal closed the case straight away saying there was nothing they could do.
My credit card company dont want to know as they say i waiver my rights by paying through PayPal and are therefore not covered by section 75 of the credit act (i think)
I have all the evidence needed to show that this is a case of fraud and that i should get my money back but PayPal don’t want to know, it is an absolute joke and the person that conned me is still selling on Ebay which is even more frustrating.
I have been in contact with the local police, consumer direct, citizens advice, PayPal, Ebay and my credit card company and now i’m at a dead end on trying to get my money back so this is my last resort realy, any advice?
Sorry about the long message but it seems i’ve been through hell and back and by the sounds of it i’m not the only one
Hi Joe, that’s outrageous! If PayPal don’t answer your complaint, take it through those steps I outlined. Boring and frustrating though they are, somebody has to keep shouting until the FSA or FOS listens.
When this kind of thing happens to you, you think “No, people surely can’t get away with this in 2009..??” but they clearly can. Why? Because eventually, you’ll go away.
Nobody wants the trouble – and nobody cares about fairness or standards. What they want (government, FSA, FOS included) is a quiet life. The only way you get anything done is by rattling the cage. The louder and the more visible, the better.
Good luck!
I’ve been defrauded by a seller whom I paid through PayPal, who have ‘resolved’ the dispute in my favour but say they cannot recover the £549 owed. Yet the vendor still trades, using PayPal checkout. How can I enforce them to recover money when it goes through the vendor’s account?
Joe.
Paypal have just frozen my account too for no reason that I can determine. I sell information products and apparently one of my sites is in breach of their acceptible use policy.
Trouble is, I have no idea why it has breached the policy and no one at paypal can tell me why. The AUP department don’t speak to people on the telephone and don’t read emails either – they just send back copy and paste replies that make it blantantly obvious they don’t read the emails.
I’ve started the ball rolling with the above, but this is my sole source of income and without access to the money in my paypal account my family are seriously screwed.
How to get through to them? Via social media, Richard. My ability to comment in social media played a part in Amazon.co.uk solving a problem for me quickly yesterday, I’m sure. (see http://www.mukaumedia.co.uk/amazoncouk-customer-service-phone-number-reputation-boost/)
Mind you – for someone so angry at PayPal it seems a bit odd that you put a link to eBay (which owns PayPal) on your name when adding this comment.
Paypal froze my account and it is impossible to speak send emails to anyone. I have never been so frustrated in my life. How in gods name can you get through to these people.
Hi,
I have the same problem with them. They have suspended my account with over £500 in it which I desperatley need. They have asked me for everything from passport photo to proof of delivery on an item which not only have I faxed but also uploaded. Still not enough for them. Reading from other cases looks like it can take up to 180 days to retrieve your money which is disgusting as they earn interest.
Clive, if I had boots I’d send you some as a special prize for not reading the thread properly
I’m not PayPal lols.
But good luck trying to get your money back. Judging by your comment, I think you’ll need it.
we need money back for this item
ref;200324983669
price $129.94( )£90.94
or if you can send me a boots but size 7 or 8 uk thanks
let me know what do you think to do
thanks clive
Hi Karen – as you know, I can’t give you legal advice about PayPal but if you read the post (above) carefully you’ll at least find a start point to bring PayPal’s actions to the attention of the FSA and the FOS.
A quick web search reveals an astonishingly high number of very angry people who feel that PayPal have acted in unacceptable ways.
Don’t forget that as you plod onwards with your quest! You’re not alone. Problem is that with this internet era, it seems almost impossible for individuals to make organisations accountable for their actions.
Best of luck!
Pay pal assured me funds owing to me were paid into my account. Upon finding out these were not paid in, a trace by pay pal was raised. I have telephoned pay pal on numerous occasions and complied with everything they have asked but they are withholding my money despite the fact they agree it is owed to me. This has been going on since february and I am getting no where fast, I am seeking advise and support please as to how I can get the money ( £500.00 which is owed to me.
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