Recipient does not have account but funds are gone

[onepamperedamy]

In trying to get $$ to someone I've know for more than 10 years, I attempted to send a PayPal payment based on her e-mail address.  PayPal (and my bank) both show the funds are gone, but my friend does not have an account.  I was unable to cancel the payment, so "requested a refund" as directed in the FAQ.  She got the notification, but was unable to issue a refund as she does not even have an account to sign into.  The only other thing I knew to do was to dispute it through the resolution center (the only option was "unauthorized" as there was no exchange of goods), which was denied.  

This isn't a matter of trust with the person I sent the funds to.  I believe she doesn't have an account (or at the very least lacks the knowledge/techno-savvy to know it) and is NOT trying to scam me. Now what?

[Hemerk]

Hi @onepamperedamy 

Thank you for reaching out to the PayPal Community Forum!

It is best that you check the status of the payment you sent. It's ideal to these on a browser of a computer/laptop, not via the mobile app.

1. If the payment is showing as Unclaimed, login to paypal.com from a browser, click the transaction from your activity and click cancel. Please use the section that says "If the payment is still pending" from this link, https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/can-i-cancel-a-paypal-payment-faq637
2. If the payment is showing as Completed, you will not see an option to cancel the payment. Completed payments mean that there is a PayPal account associated with the email you used. If that email is still owned by your friend, they may have created a PayPal account in the past and never closed it. From there, they have to reset the password. Only then can they access the money you sent or refund the payment if it needs to be canceled.

Hope this helps!

Kudos and Solved are highly appreciated

[jayGirl]

I have the same problem. Transferred $80 to a girl who does not have Paypal. The status immediately changed to 'Completed' .

Paypal are such a fraudulent company -if they don't resolve it -i am cancelling and using Google wallet or Apple pay. What fraudsters.