Not upheld: disputed transaction handling, poor complaint service, failure to make reasonable adjustments for accessibility needs complaint against PayPal UK Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D disputed a £129.60 payment to company W on her PayPal account, claiming she did not authorize it and did not receive an auto-renewal notification. PayPal confirmed the payment was part of an active billing agreement arranged in July 2024 and processed the payment fairly before Mrs D's cancellation took effect. Although PayPal provided poor service by incorrectly advising Mrs D to contact her bank and failing to make reasonable adjustments for her autism-related accessibility needs, the ombudsman found PayPal's offer of £152.60 (comprising the refund and interest) to be fair compensation. The complaint was not upheld as the ombudsman determined PayPal acted fairly in processing the payment and the compensation adequately addressed the service failures.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that PayPal acted fairly in processing the payment because the billing agreement was active at the time the payment was requested, even though Mrs D cancelled it the same day. PayPal's terms allow processing of payments already due before cancellation takes effect. The ombudsman acknowledged PayPal's poor service in providing incorrect information and failing to make reasonable adjustments for Mrs D's accessibility needs. However, the ombudsman determined that the offered compensation of £152.60 (refund plus interest) was fair and reasonable under FOS compensation principles, which aim to restore the consumer to their original position rather than punish the business. The ombudsman noted that while the Equality Act was referenced, determining breaches is a matter for the courts, but considered whether PayPal dealt with Mrs D fairly overall.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website