Upheld: provision of incorrect information and account management complaint against PayPal UK Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that PayPal provided incorrect information regarding his account balance. He had disputed the wrong purchase, received duplicate refunds for the same transaction, and subsequently had a negative balance on his PayPal account. PayPal's August 2025 letter incorrectly stated the balance had been restored to zero. The ombudsman found PayPal did provide incorrect information in the August 2025 letter but determined that PayPal was entitled to maintain the negative balance since Mr T had received duplicate refunds. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and required PayPal to reduce the outstanding balance by £100 as previously offered, finding this a fair remedy for the incorrect information provided.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while PayPal provided incorrect information in its August 2025 letter, the appropriate remedy is to restore the customer to the position they would have been in had correct information been given. Since correct information would have informed Mr T that he still owed the negative balance, PayPal is not obliged to clear it entirely. Mr T received a duplicate refund into his bank account and could have immediately restored his PayPal balance but chose not to do so. The £100 reduction offered by PayPal is a fair gesture to reflect the impact of the incorrect August 2025 letter.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website