Not upheld: buyer protection claim - late submission / not as described (SNAD) complaint against PayPal UK Ltd
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6288371 of 2026-06-01T00:00:00+00:00. buyer protection claim - late submission / not as described (SNAD) complaint against PayPal UK Ltd. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6288371 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-01T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | PayPal UK Ltd |
| Product | payment services / buyer protection |
| Claim type | buyer protection claim - late submission / not as described (SNAD) |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. The complaint was not upheld. |
Summary
Miss C purchased furniture through PayPal, believing it would match a specific colour shown online. When the item arrived with a different colour, she raised a SNAD claim with PayPal in December, more than three months after receiving the item in September. PayPal declined the claim citing its 30-day time limit for SNAD disputes. The ombudsman found PayPal's time limit to be reasonable and fair, and therefore upheld PayPal's decision to reject the claim as time-barred, without needing to consider the merits of Miss C's evidence or the alleged misrepresentation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that PayPal's buyer protection is an optional protection with specific terms, not a statutory right. The 30-day time limit for raising SNAD claims is reasonable as most people would notice significant problems within that period. Once Miss C's claim failed on the time requirement, PayPal was not obliged to consider the merits of the claim or the evidence provided. The ombudsman distinguished between PayPal's role as a payment facilitator and the seller's role, noting that any CRA claim would lie against the seller, not PayPal.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal UK Ltd, all decisions | 238 | 18% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website