Paypal Reviews 

Used a platform to buy digital account for a service. After payment via PayPal and exactly 13 minutes after (while the order was still not shipped - it took more than 4-5 hours after payment to be shipped), I found reddit reviews for the seller stating that he was a scammer. Requested a refund through the platform. Seller ignored me and proceed with completing the order. Platform support never helped at all.

Escalated issue to PayPal. They pretty much did nothing at all. Provided screenshots with evidence on how I genuinely decided 13 minutes after paying that I don't want this seller's item (and I had none). PayPal is literally doing nothing at all. Waste of time and energy. Seems pretty obvious why I stopped using them for the last several years and now I'm pretty confident that I will never re-use this method even if it's the only available.

My PayPal Business account (Reference ID: PP-L-874164667150) was arbitrarily and permanently limited by an automated system immediately after I submitted my verification documents. My legitimate freelance earnings are now frozen under an unjustified 180-day hold.

I am an independent freelance 3D digital artist delivering custom virtual game assets directly to online creators. 100% of my work consists of intangible digital deliverables with verified client delivery records and zero non-fulfillment.

When requested to submit identification, I provided my official government-issued physical PAN Card matching my legal name, date of birth, and linked Indian bank account. Instead of human verification, an automated OCR/KYC bot misparsed the documents and instantly triggered a permanent ban citing an inability to verify account creation information.

A frontline chat agent previously raised internal review ticket on my behalf, yet general customer service channels repeatedly disconnect, social support handles have been decommissioned, and standard support emails bounce as unmonitored.

Freezing a freelancer's primary livelihood for 180 days due to an automated document parsing error is unacceptable business conduct. I have escalated this matter formally to the India Nodal Grievance Office and request an immediate manual compliance review of my submitted PAN card, removal of the permanent limitation on account PP-L-874164667150, and release of my funds to my linked bank account.

Borderline Fraud

I am a developer who time to time sells apps, out of blue they hold my funds, and I am not talking about small amount either, fine I gave them a call, and my god, my English is by no means perfect but whoever was on a line could barely speak one, even worse just gave me random answers which had nothing to do with an issue, and bot like answers as usual, that my issue would resolve, wait for 21 days and etc. Today, I got a message, asking to verify my business info, so I provided my portfolio, platform that was used for transaction and now waiting for outcome, but I am 99% sure, they will limit my funds for 180 days, why? because they can and they will. And how many people's funds they hold? like this? probably millions, this company is a fraud, and this terrible ratings on trustpilot even speak for themselves. Why I gave 1 star? because I know they are about to put same rope on my neck, just like they do to millions of people. And why to even support digital sales, if you are going to make life miserable for us? you ask us to file forms where it's clearly for physical business, what a joke of the company. Imho, this company is a fraud, that runs on 50-50% model, they will defraud you when they can. Same time they do enough to keep their business running. If you are able to, please, please stay away from them, because they might give you decent service for a short time, but one day they are gonna make it very costly.

I am utterly shocked and disappointed by PayPal handling of my business account (Zeustop-up) Without any prior warning valid explanation or concrete proof of a policy violation PayPal permanently limited my account
​As a verified and trusted seller I have fully delivered all services to my customers
I hold complete proof evidence and official invoices for every single transaction on my own website
​Despite this they completely wiped out and withheld my entire available balance of $1108 and on top of that they slapped an unjustified negative balance of $956 on my account!
When I contacted support I was met with cold automated messages stating that the decision is 'final' and refusing to review the case or look at my evidence
​Freezing a legitimate digital business's funds is damaging enough, but seizing all hard-earned money and leaving the account in debt while services were successfully delivered is completely unacceptable. I demand an immediate investigation by senior management, a full release of my $1108, and the removal of this unjust negative balance

As an independent type designer selling digital fonts, my business relies on instant and reliable payment processing. Unfortunately, my experience with PayPal has repeatedly shown that their system is neither reliable nor transparent. Over the past year, I have encountered multiple cases where PayPal suspended perfectly legitimate credit‑card purchases under the vague label of "Security Review." This term is never clearly defined in PayPal's user agreement, and in practice it seems to be used as a blanket justification for freezing funds without explanation, without communication, and without any actionable steps for either the merchant or the customer.
One of the most concerning examples occurred in April 2026, when a customer purchased a €24 digital font from my store. The payment was immediately placed under "security review," and neither I nor the customer had access to the funds. The customer's bank confirmed the charge, yet PayPal did not release the payment to me, nor did they refund it to the customer. The transaction remained in limbo for three full months, with no updates, no human support, and no ability to file a dispute because PayPal's Resolution Center repeatedly displayed technical errors across multiple devices. Eventually, PayPal quietly reversed the payment and sent it back to the customer-three months later-without any explanation of what "security" required such an excessive delay.
This is not an isolated incident. I recently experienced another suspended payment where the customer believed I had received her money, while PayPal showed the transaction as "Pending" and provided no way to accept, cancel, or refund it. As a digital‑goods seller, this places me in an impossible position: my website cannot release download links until payment is confirmed, yet PayPal's opaque review process makes me appear as though I am withholding the customer's purchase. This damages my reputation, creates unnecessary conflict with clients, and disrupts my business operations.
PayPal's lack of human support is a major part of the problem. There is no accessible customer‑service email for Europe, phone calls go unanswered, and the automated chat provides no real assistance. When PayPal freezes a payment, both merchant and customer are left without any recourse. The company's communication consists of generic messages asking us to "wait," even when the delay lasts days, weeks, or-as in my documented case-months.
Based on my experience, PayPal's "security review" appears less like a protective measure and more like an internal process that allows the company to hold funds in a suspended state without accountability. While I cannot speak to PayPal's internal motives, the practical effect is clear: money is locked between the bank and PayPal, inaccessible to both merchant and customer, while PayPal benefits from holding large volumes of pending transactions. For small independent merchants, this is not security-it is a systemic failure that undermines trust and disrupts business.
I am sharing this detailed account, supported by screenshots, transaction IDs, and correspondence, so other digital‑goods sellers and customers understand the risks of relying on PayPal. My hope is that PayPal will address these issues, improve transparency, and provide real human support. Until then, I cannot recommend PayPal as a reliable payment processor for digital products.

PayPal is convenient for online purchases and sending money because I do not have to enter card details every time. The interface is familiar, the service is widely accepted, and the security features give me more confidence when paying online. The weaker side appears when a transaction is delayed or needs investigation. Processing has sometimes taken longer than I expected, and customer support was slow to respond when I needed reassurance about an issue. PayPal's main strength is making everyday digital payments simple and accessible. Its main weakness is communication and speed during exceptions, which is exactly when users need clarity most. I still use the service, but faster status updates and support responses would improve the experience considerably.

Very disappointed in PayPal. Have dealt with them for many years BUT when I needed them, they came up zero. I was unfortunately scammed by a company from Singapore called Channel Flow Digital PTE ltd. They trade under the names of Boots, Argos, Curry, etc. All of it is rubbish BUT PayPal still take money.

AscI say very disappointed. I have lost £60 but I wonder how much other people have lost.

Thanks PayPal.

If you are a freelance designer, digital artist, or creator, stay as far away from PayPal as possible. They will shut your business down overnight with absolutely zero warning, explanation, or human review.

My account was permanently limited out of nowhere. The absolute worst part? 100% of my funds come directly from verified, official payouts from major corporate platforms—specifically Fiverr and Creative Fabrica. I do not deal with random individual buyers. This means there is mathematically zero percent chance of a customer dispute or chargeback on my account.

Despite this, PayPal is holding my hard-earned money hostage under their standard "180-day security hold." This hold is supposed to protect against disputes, but since my funds are finalized corporate payouts, they are keeping my legitimate livelihood locked up for 6 months for absolutely no logical reason.

Their customer support is entirely useless. You will get trapped in a loop of copy-paste robotic answers from chat agents and automated emails saying "the decision is final" without any human actually looking at your invoices or store dashboards.

They do not care about the independent creators who keep their platform running. I am moving my entire business payouts over to Payoneer and other alternatives immediately. Do not trust PayPal with your hard-earned income.

Hello,

I am writing to express my concern about the permanent “Send-Only” restriction applied to accounts registered in Georgia.

As a digital professional, I am unable to receive international payments from clients and global marketplaces solely because of my country of registration. This limitation has a significant impact on my ability to work and earn income.

My account is fully verified and compliant with your requirements, yet I remain restricted based only on geographic location. I respectfully ask your compliance and regional expansion teams to review Georgia’s current banking infrastructure, which has modernized and aligns with international standards.

Please consider expanding your services in Georgia and allowing verified users access to full account functionality, including the ability to receive incoming payments. This change would benefit many professionals, freelancers, and businesses who rely on international transactions.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate your attention to this matter and hope your team will review this policy.

Sincerely,
Mary.L

charged for a cancelled subscription, nearly impossible to open a case and then closed by a bot because they ‘dont cover digital purchases’

PayPal threatened to completely limit my account, affectively removing my only source of income, just because I'm a self-employed digital artist who works from my own home. Do NOT use them for art commissions.

I fell into a subscription trap by green chef. I have provided proof I cancelled the same day I signed up. For online or distance contracts, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a statutory 14-day cancellation period. This was well within within that time frame.

Additionally under the consumer rights act 2015 contract terms should be fair.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024 Consumers who sign up online must be allowed to cancel online in a single, simple step. This is directly against practices by green chef where they are continuing with an order anyway and requiring an additional phone call to cancel a box despite cancelling the subscription.

I must also again reiterate no goods have been delivered and no delivery is pending as my account is cancelled.

In the UK, a company cannot legally charge you for a subscription if you have legally cancelled it, or if they have failed to provide the goods and services. In this case I have both legally cancelled and I have received no goods.

Instead of refunding they sided with the seller allowing them to flout UK laws and legislation and leaving me out of pocket £60 for goods I never received and a service I clearly cancelled. This was because the cancellation email did not show the date ,yet PayPal didn't ask me to provide it and they were well aware no goods had been delivered. I have had to appeal. This should have been a straight forward refund and resolution but multiple complaints and evidence and it's still stuck pending in the resolution centre. With no goods received and the cancellation email provided this should have been actioned immediately, it's already been five days and nothing.

Their website talks about escalating to the Financial ombudsman service but they appear to have withdrawn from the service leaving customers with misleading reassurance that if they act poorly you can escalate the complaint to them. Complaints go nowhere, things that should very obviously require a refund are not being refunded all while PayPal advertise itself as being a place where customers can have peace of mind and protection against these kind of issues.

I have used PayPal for many years and was extremely disappointed by how my recent claim was handled.

I purchased a digital software subscription that was advertised as valid for one year. The product activated successfully and worked initially, but became inactive after approximately five months. The software vendor confirmed that the subscription was inactive and unusable.

I attempted to resolve the issue directly with the seller, gave them ample time to respond, and then escalated the matter. Despite providing evidence that the product did not remain valid for the advertised duration, my claim was rejected.

The issue was not buyer's remorse or a request to return a digital product. The issue was that the product failed long before the promised subscription period ended.

What concerns me most is the message this sends to consumers: if a digital product works initially and then fails months later, buyer protection may offer little or no assistance even when the product clearly does not match its advertised duration.

After years of using PayPal, this experience has significantly reduced my confidence in its buyer protection process.

PayPal has failed to conduct a meaningful review of my documentation regarding unauthorized billing. I provided conclusive written evidence that the merchant was notified of the unauthorized activity months ago and failed to stop billing. PayPal’s claim that I received services is entirely unsubstantiated, as I have no active account, login history or digital delivery from this merchant.
As a loyal customer of 12 years, I expected PayPal to honor its Purchase Protection policy regarding unauthorized billing.
I am taking this complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and my stated Attorney General office.

This is a disgusting platform. Do not sell digital goods using this platform. They may refund the buyer's money for no reasonable reason. The scammer will receive both the goods and their money. I have experienced this many times.

PayPal is officially the scum of the earth. I am trying to move my own hard-earned money from my balance to my Chase account, and these bastards are trying to skim 3% off the top just for an "Instant Transfer". This is a domestic USD to USD transfer with no currency conversion involved and no international complications. This is a massive fee for a basic digital service. People often need access to funds quickly, and pricing a service this way feels extremely exploitative. Moving from a lower percentage to 3% is an unacceptable increase. Holding funds and charging high "convenience" fees is frustrating for any user. There are other options like Zelle or bank-to-bank transfers that do not impose such heavy costs. This business model seems focused on maximizing fees rather than providing a fair service to users.

Do not buy digital gifts they ripped me off and refused to give me a refund

I used a company called PixGenie.net to enhance a photo for the cost of 10p but only found out I had been illegally entered into a monthly subscription when I straightaway received a Payment Success notification from PixGenie for £49.90 from my PayPal account to this company. I immediately e-mailed PixGenie and PayPal and told them to cancel this fraudulent charge and received confirmation back from both that they had done this. As an extra precaution I also notified my bank of the attempted scam. Having told me the payment had been cancelled, PayPal then tried to request payment from my bank but this was declined. From then onwards PayPal continually pestered me with e-mails for the £49.90 and as that didn't work they are now trying to recoup the money they transferred to the scammers by using a debt recovery agency! PixGenie.net was set up in July 2025 and is operated out of China. It has no Digital footprint. It has no social media presence. There is a complete lack of transparency: there are no founder details and even the phone number has been copied from another internet company. This is not a legitimate company and has been set up purely to scam users. There are nearly 700 negative reviews on TrustPilot written by people who have been scammed by PixGenie.net - and this probably doesn't even scratch the surface of the amount of people who have had money fraudulently taken out of their accounts. These serious red flags should have prevented PixGenie from ever being permitted to use PayPal for its scam and PayPal has some explaining to do as to why it allowed a fraudulent company to scam people using its platform. PayPal has returned money to angry customers who were tricked into a subscription they knew nothing about so I have no idea why PayPal has instructed a debt company to come after me. I certainly will not pay a penny to PayPal and in my opinion that by turning a blind eye to PixGenie's fraudulent operation they are complicit in the scam as the company has known for months PixGenie was scamming people and not only did they not take action, they have actually let it carry on, and for that reason I will be reporting them to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

It is a rare and uniquely modern form of masochism to entrust one's hard-earned capital to an institution that possesses all the warmth of a refrigerated cadaver and none of the integrity. I speak, of course, of PayPal, a platform that has managed to synthesize the predatory instincts of a 19th-century debt collector with the bureaucratic opacity of a Kafkaesque nightmare.

My recent excursion into their 'Resolution Center,' a title so profoundly Orwellian it borders on the comedic, has revealed a corporate culture that is not merely negligent, but actively complicit in the redistribution of wealth from the honest to the criminal. To witness PayPal facilitate a blatant theft, and then, with a digital shrug, permit the perpetrator to abscond with the spoils, is to witness the total abdication of moral and fiduciary responsibility.

When one attempts to sever ties with this wretched hive of automated indifference, one finds that PayPal treats your banking information less like a service and more like a hostage. They cling to your data with the desperate, white-knuckled grip of a drowning man, refusing to let go even as you scream your lack of consent from the rooftops. It is an arrangement that began in convenience and has ended in a squalid display of digital kidnapping.

I have, therefore, taken the only dignified course of action remaining: I have instructed Santander to perform the necessary surgery. I have severed the Direct Debit, the metaphorical jugular, through which this parasitic entity drains its victims. To anyone still harbouring the delusion that PayPal exists to 'protect' the consumer, I offer this warning: they are not your shield; they are the trapdoor through which your security disappears.

I leave them with the same contempt one reserves for a pickpocket who has the audacity to lecture you on the virtues of a 'secure wallet.' I am finished with them. I am gone. And I suggest anyone with a shred of self-respect or a penny to their name follow suit with all deliberate speed.

I used to be a fan of PayPal I thought they were always on your side.But recently my account was scammed and someone spent £262 on "digital goods" I raised a complaint which they investigated and "were confident transaction was legitimat" when I had just told them it was fraudulent I then appealed which they also denied Fortunatly my wife was quick off the mark and had contacted the bank who shut our account down and stopped the pending payment being taken Now I have had emails from PayPal asking for payment lol well that is not going to happen I will never use them again and suggest you do the same