--- company: paypal title: PayPal — how complaints actually go last_verified: 2026-10-12 --- ## In short PayPal disputes run inside the Resolution Center: open the dispute, escalate it to a claim before day 20, and PayPal decides. Only Goods and Services payments are covered by Purchase Protection; a Friends and Family payment to a seller is not covered. If PayPal limits your account it can hold the balance for up to 180 days. When PayPal does not fix it, a CFPB complaint works fairly often: in the 12 months to June 2026, 36.8% closed with relief. Never call a phone number written in an invoice or money request. ## How complaints actually go - A purchase dispute closes automatically after 20 days unless you escalate it to a claim; after escalation PayPal usually decides within 14 days, but some cases take 30 days or longer. Closed disputes cannot be reopened. [PayPal: escalate a dispute to a claim](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-escalate-a-paypal-dispute-to-a-claim-help367) - A CFPB complaint goes to PayPal for a response, generally within 15 days; a response after 15 days (or after 60 days if it asks for more time) is recorded as not timely. In the 12 months to June 2026, 3 of 10,825 complaints were not timely. [CFPB complaint database search](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/?company=Paypal%20Holdings%2C%20Inc&date_received_min=2025-07-01&date_received_max=2026-06-30&size=0) - The CFPB rule that would have put large payment apps, including PayPal, Venmo and Cash App, under CFPB supervision took effect on January 9, 2025 and was overturned by Congress (S.J.Res. 28, Public Law 119-11). The CFPB complaint process still applies. [Congressional Research Service IF12935](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IF12935.html) ## What tends to work - A CFPB complaint after the Resolution Center fails: in the 12 months to June 2026, 3,988 of 10,825 complaints (36.8%) closed with monetary or non-monetary relief, 1,896 (17.5%) of them with monetary relief. [CFPB complaint database search](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/?company=Paypal%20Holdings%2C%20Inc&date_received_min=2025-07-01&date_received_max=2026-06-30&size=0) - Pay sellers with Goods and Services. PayPal says eligible Goods and Services payments are covered by Purchase Protection and that you should refuse if a seller asks you to pay with Friends and Family. [PayPal: Friends and Family payment scams](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-are-%E2%80%98friends-and-family%E2%80%99-payment-scams-help1165) ## Traps and fine print - Personal payments, including payments sent with Friends and Family, are not eligible for PayPal Purchase Protection. [PayPal Purchase Protection Program](https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/buyer-protection) - PayPal's Balance Terms let it hold a balance for up to 180 days when reasonably needed to protect against liability or when a user has violated the Acceptable Use Policy; risk-based holds generally last up to 21 days but can run to 180 days. [PayPal Balance Terms and Conditions](https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/pp-balance-tnc) - "Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital wallet" (1,863) and "managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account" (935) are among the most common PayPal complaint issues to the CFPB in the 12 months to June 2026. [CFPB complaint database search](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/?company=Paypal%20Holdings%2C%20Inc&date_received_min=2025-07-01&date_received_max=2026-06-30&size=0) - In 2015 the CFPB sued PayPal, alleging that it illegally enrolled consumers in its online credit product, PayPal Credit (formerly Bill Me Later); the case ended in a stipulated final judgment. Check that any PayPal Credit account on your report is one you opened. [CFPB enforcement action](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/actions/bill-me-later-paypal/) ## By the numbers - CFPB complaints received July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 for "Paypal Holdings, Inc": 10,825. The parent company name may also cover other PayPal products, such as Venmo. Top products: money transfer, virtual currency or money service 8,196, checking or savings 1,452, credit card 565. Top issues: unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem 2,082, trouble accessing funds in a mobile or digital wallet 1,863, fraud or scam 1,524, managing an account 953. [CFPB complaint database search](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/?company=Paypal%20Holdings%2C%20Inc&date_received_min=2025-07-01&date_received_max=2026-06-30&size=0) - Of those 10,825 complaints, 6,835 (63.1%) closed with explanation, 2,092 (19.3%) with non-monetary relief and 1,896 (17.5%) with monetary relief; 2 were in progress. 10,822 were marked timely. Data retrieved 2026-10-12. [CFPB complaint database search](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/?company=Paypal%20Holdings%2C%20Inc&date_received_min=2025-07-01&date_received_max=2026-06-30&size=0) - Complaint data is not a statistical sample. The CFPB says companies sometimes select "Closed with explanation" even when the consumer got relief, and complaints returned as administrative responses are not published. [CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report](https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_2025-cr-annual-report_2026-03.pdf) ## Scams that target customers - Invoice and money request scams: a real PayPal invoice or money request carries an alarming note and a fake customer service number. Do not pay it, do not call the number, and never send money to a cryptocurrency wallet named in it; decline or cancel it, then use Report. [PayPal: invoice and money request scams](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-are-invoice-scams-and-money-request-scams-on-paypal-help1059) - PayPal says it will never call you from 1-888-221-1161 to ask for your personal or account information. [PayPal: invoice and money request scams](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-are-invoice-scams-and-money-request-scams-on-paypal-help1059) - To check an account warning, open the PayPal app or type www.paypal.com into a new browser window; scammers fake caller ID, and PayPal says not to call back a number given in an automated call. [PayPal: fake messages](https://www.paypal.com/us/security/learn-about-fake-messages) - An email that says your account is limited, when the Resolution Center shows no limitation, may be fake: forward it to phishing@paypal.com, then delete it. [PayPal: remove a limitation](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-remove-a-limitation-from-my-account-help535)