Can You Get a PayPal Friends and Family Refund?

PayPal is a well-known money service business that offers low-cost domestic and international transfers compared to traditional banking services. Paypal transactions are almost instant, so it comes as no surprise the company has over 346 million active users.

You can use PayPal’s Friends & Family service to send money to your known and close contacts. In contrast to Goods and Services transactions, Friends and Family payments are not covered by PayPal’s Buyers Protection, which makes getting a refund virtually impossible.

Can You Refund PayPal Friends and Family Payments?

PayPal does not offer refunds for payments sent using the Friends and Family functionality. There might be a workaround to bypass this strict PayPal refund policy, though.

On the PayPal community page, a number of users reported that their account was scammed, compromised, or hacked. According to PayPal’s Terms of Use, users should report the fraud case up to 180 days after the questionable transaction took place. Doing this could give you grounds for a refund, even in case of Friends and Family transfers.

If you made the Friends and Family transaction with your credit card instead of your PayPal balance, you could also contact the bank that issued the card and reverse the payment.

Why Do Scammers Love PayPal Friends and Family?

Friends and Family transactions are subject to lower transaction fees—for the domestic U.S. and UK payments, you don’t need to pay any. For international Friends & Family transfers, the cost goes up to 5% of the amount wired.

That is precisely why a lot of shady sellers insist on using the Friends and Family option and avoiding the additional transaction fees. PayPal classifies the Friends and Family transactions as non-refundable, so scammers rely on keeping your funds after the fact and will always do their best to sway you to use this payment type.

It’s best to use the Friends and Family functionality only for transferring funds to your close contacts. For online purchases, spend a few more bucks on the standard Goods and Services transactions and invest in the Buyer's Protection program.

How To Get a PayPal Friends And Family Refund on Your Own

If you prefer to handle the refund request by yourself, there are a few different approaches. You can try to prove that the transaction occurred as a result of a hacked account and ask for a refund directly from PayPal, or you can go through your bank.

There are two means to request a refund from PayPal:

• PayPal Resolution Center
• On-site Messaging

Request a PayPal Family and Friends Refund Through the PayPal Resolution Center

Follow the instructions to request a refund via the Resolution Center:

1. Log in to your PayPal account
2. Go to the Resolution Centar
3. Hit the Report a Problem button
4. Select a transaction you would like refunded
5. Click on the pop-up to report a problem with the transaction
6. Click Continue
7. Fill in relevant details about the fraudulent activity
8. Click on Submit
9. Check your email for a response

How To Request a PayPal Refund for Friends and Family via Chat

Follow the instructions ahead to request a refund via on-site messaging:

1. Log in to PayPal
2. Open the Messenger
3. Initiate the chat
4. Describe the fraud
5. Follow the ensuing instructions

How To Request the Friends and Family Refund Through Your Bank

As Friends and Family transactions are non-refundable by default and proving that your account was hacked is not an easy feat, your safest bet is to request a PayPal chargeback from your bank.

To go through your bank, follow the steps below:

1. Call your financial institution at the number found on the back of your credit card
2. Describe the situation to the representative
3. Follow their instructions

Keep in mind that your bank will need substantial evidence that the transaction in question was not authorized. The process of investigation can last for several weeks, so it’s not an instant solution.

Be advised that PayPal doesn’t look kindly on these requests. Make sure to request it only if you are scammed. Otherways, you may get on bad terms with PayPal.

How To Get a PayPal Friends and Family Refund With DoNotPay

DoNotPay is the most elegant solution for getting a refund from any company. Our artificial intelligence system will automate the refund request for you and supply the relevant documents to support your case.

To request a refund via DoNotPay:

1. Go to DoNotPay via your web browser
2. Locate File a Chargeback
3. Click on Get Protected
4. Fill in the details regarding the payment

You can choose to send the dispute letter yourself or let us do that for you.

The latter option is recommended as we can contact the merchant to build additional evidence for your case.

If you have questions about a refund for the Goods and Services payments, our PayPal refund policy article has all the answers you may need.

DoNotPay Can Help You With Other PayPal Services, Too

If you are a regular user of PayPal, you might want to check out our articles for more info on Paypal refunds. Check out the following articles to learn more about:

• How long does a PayPal refund take
• Hot to get a PayPal refund for Goods and Services payments
• How to get a PayPal chargeback protection

How Can I Check the Status of My Friends and Family PayPal Refund?

All of your requests and their respective statuses will be listed in your PayPal Resolution Center.

The refund status can be:

• Pending: A refund is pending when PayPal hasn't received the funds from the buyer's bank or because the seller issued an eCheck that hasn't been cleared with their bank. It takes 3–5 business days for the amount to be shown in your PayPal balance

• Refunded or Partially Refunded: If your status is one of those, it means that the refund is done. The money should be back on your credit card or PayPal balance

• Temporary on hold: If your refund status is "held," this means that the transaction is refunded before the money even left your bank account. This process takes 3–5 business days, and the refund will be credited to your account once the process is completed

When Will the Friends and Family PayPal Refund Be on Your Account?

PayPal refunds take up to 30 days to be processed, depending on your payment method. If you manage to prove that the transaction was made by a hacker, here is when you can expect your funds to be back:

DoNotPay Protects Your Privacy and Finances

Sharing your credit card details online comes with certain risks, and it’s getting more difficult to tell good and bad websites apart. With DoNotPay’s virtual credit card generator, you will be able to protect your identity and bank account from cyber scammers.

Whenever you run into a suspicious email or website, generate a virtual credit card and proceed without worries. Our virtual cards also work like a charm if you want to avoid automatic payments after free trials.

How Else Can DoNotPay Take Your Burden Away?

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