PayPal Friends and Family Refund (Can You Get One)

PayPal is a multinational company that operates an online buying and selling platform. Unfortunately, refunds are a very common practice when it comes to buying and selling items and services.

However, if you were wondering if you can receive a refund from PayPal Friends and Family payments, I looked into it, and here’s what I found out!

PayPal Friends and Family Refund In 2024

Unfortunately, PayPal doesn’t allow refunds for PayPal Friends and Family payments in 2024. This is because Friends and Family payments are not covered by PayPal’s Purchase Protection Program. If you need a refund for any reason, you can either cancel a payment if it’s still pending, or you can ask your friend or family member to reimburse you.

If you want to learn more about how to cancel payments and other PayPal Friends and Family FAQs, continue reading for more information!

How Do I Cancel a Friends and Family Payment on PayPal?

Fortunately, as long as your Friends and Family payment is pending and has not been completed, you can cancel it.

To cancel a PayPal payment, do the following:

1. Start by logging into your PayPal account, which you can do on the app or on PayPal.com
2. Second, go to the “Activity” tab
3. Next, find the payment you want to cancel and click “Cancel.” Additionally, “Cancel” will be located under the payment. However, if it is not there, then you will not be able to cancel the payment
4. Lastly, click “Cancel Payment” to finish the process

Additionally, if you are unable to cancel your payment, then you can ask your friend or family member to “reimburse” you.

Unfortunately, if they will not reimburse your payment, then you cannot request a refund or create a dispute.

If you really need your money back, you can contact PayPal directly and see if the company will refund your money (you can contact PayPal customer service here).

However, this will most likely do nothing, because PayPal does not protect Friends and Family purchases.

What’s the Difference Between Friends and Family vs Goods and Services Payments?

There are only a couple of differences between Friends and Family and Goods and Services payments.

Friends and Family payments are not covered by PayPal Purchase Protection, and you don’t have to pay any fees unless using a credit card to send payments.

If you do use a credit card and have to pay a fee, then the person sending the money will pay it.

However, there is an option with Friends and Family payments for the sender to pass the fee onto the recipient of the money.

Note, though, that this will change the payment to a Goods and Services payment, and it will be covered by PayPal Purchase Protection.

Furthermore, when using Goods and Services to pay for items or services, the merchant pays a fee to receive your payment, and your purchase is always covered by Purchase Protection.

Another difference with Friends and Family payments is that you can’t request a refund, but with Goods and Services, you can.

This is because, as stated before, you are not covered by Purchase Protection with Friends and Family payments.

Does PayPal Refund Money if I’m Scammed Through Friends and Family?

Unfortunately, since Friends and Family payments are not protected by PayPal’s Purchase Protection, it’s difficult to report scams from Friends and Family.

However, if you are scammed on PayPal Friends and Family, you can report it to PayPal through your resolution center, and the company will take a look at it.

Currently, you have 180 days after the fraudulent activity to report it to PayPal.

To report fraudulent activity, consult the following method:

1. First, log in to your PayPal account. This will have to be done through PayPal.com and not the app, because the resolution center is only available online
2. After logging in, continue to the “Resolution Center”
3. Next, click “Report a Problem”
4. Then, you need to select the payment that is the problem, and click “Continue”
5. Afterward, you’ll have three options to choose from:
   1. “I didn’t receive an item I purchased”
   2. “The item I received was significantly not as described”, or
   3. “I want to report unauthorized activity.”
6. After you have selected the reason, click “Continue”
7. Follow the steps to finish reporting the fraudulent activity

Additionally, because Friends and Family payments are not protected through PayPal, your best option to receive a refund is to report the scam directly to your bank or credit union so they can look into the charge and cancel it from the source.

To report fraudulent activity to your bank or credit union, do the following:

1. Contact your bank or credit union
   1. To contact your Credit Union, there should be a number on the back of your card
   2. To contact your bank, if you have a debit card, call the number on the back of your card or log into your banking app and locate the customer service number
2. Explain the situation and follow the directions provided
   1. You may be asked to provide several details about the transaction
   2. You may also have to get a new card

To know more, you can also read our posts on whether or not PayPal will work in Thailand, what is PayPal Key, and if you can cancel a PayPal payment.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, PayPal Friends and Family payments are not protected under the Purchase Protection program, which means you cannot request a refund, create a dispute, or escalate to a claim.

However, if you need a refund from Friends and Family payments, you can either cancel the payment (as long as it’s still pending), or your friend or family member can “reimburse” you. You can also contact PayPal support or your financial institution.