Scammed and payment with Family&Friend option

[Anonymous_User]

Hello,

I was stupid and agreed to use the Family&Friend option to pay for someone and I have been scammed. Is there a way to reclaim the money? Opening a dispute didn't help apparently.

No credit card was used. The money was taken from my bank account.

[kernowlass]

@Anonymous_User

A friends / family (or gift payment) is intended as a transfer of funds from family or friends to one another. For this reason, there is no processing fee when payment is made with bank or PayPal balance.
However as it is a “gift” payment, there is also no Buyer protection as no goods or services should have been exchanged.

If he was not a close mate or family member you should never use that option as it enables the seller to evade his paypal fees and negates your buyer protection at the same time. That is also why you would be unable to open a dispute apart from an unauthorised transaction if your account was hacked and used without your consent.
You also risk having your account limited for using this option when you are purchasing goods as its against Paypal rules.