Odd situation regarding getting a payment back. Can you help?

[stuartma]

Hello folks - thanks in advance for your help on a situation I have.

I sent money via PayPal to a friend via his email address. Turns out he's not a PayPal member and has now pinged me that he doesn't want the money.

How do I get it back? In my account it shows as completed, but he hasn't taken it and doesn't want it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[snowshoe · Accepted solution]

Status should change to "unclaimed".   Once that happens, you can cancel the payment.  If the status remains unclaimed for 30 days, PayPal will return the funds to you.

Additional info:

An unclaimed payment is a payment that your recipient hasn’t accepted yet. There are a few reasons why your payment might be unclaimed.

A payment might be unclaimed because:

• The recipient hasn’t signed up for a PayPal account yet.
• You sent money to an email address that the recipient hasn’t added to their PayPal account. As soon as they add the address to their account, the money will show up in their balance.
• The recipient is still deciding whether they want to accept your payment. (This can happen if you don’t have a Confirmed address.)

To find out why your payment is unclaimed, contact the person you sent money to. After 30 days, an unclaimed payment is automatically canceled and the money is returned to you.

Also see this:

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/helpcenter/article/?articleID=94044&m=SRE

[stuartma]

Thank you so much.