Consumer complaint received 2026-01-26 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Unexpected or other fees — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint after withdrawing and correcting my prior filing due to newly discovered evidence. 

At the time of my initial complaint, I believed the issue was a PayPal system error. I did not discover the actual unauthorized activity until I downloaded a custom transaction statement and reviewed each transaction line by line. This review revealed a pattern of unauthorized reauthorizations and adjustment authorizations that were not clearly disclosed in PayPals standard transaction display. 

Critical Clarification Regarding Authorization I want to be explicitly clear : I did authorize certain small, preset purchases within a game application operated by the merchant XXXX. 
I am not disputing those original small authorization amounts. 
I am disputing the unauthorized reauthorizations and amount increases that occurred after the original transactions. 

PayPal has incorrectly treated my acknowledgment of small purchases as blanket authorization for later charges. This is incorrect and materially misrepresents my claim. 

Unauthorized Reauthorizations and Fabricated Amounts The game application does not allow custom payment amounts. Only preset amounts are available : {$2.00}, {$5.00}, {$10.00}, {$20.00}, {$50.00}, {$80.00}, {$100.00}, {$200.00}, {$300.00}. 

I have never authorized a single transaction over {$20.00}. My typical usage consists of {$2.00} or {$5.00} transactions, occasionally {$10.00}, and rarely {$20.00}. 

The unauthorized activity occurred when previously authorized small transactions were later reauthorized or adjusted to entirely different and significantly higher amounts without my knowledge or consent. These reauthorization amounts were not selectable, not submitted by me, and could not have been initiated through the app. 

Many of these reauthorization amounts are clearly fabricated, including : Charges occurring seconds apart or at the exact same timestamp Back-to-back charges in sequential dollar amounts ( for example : {$37.00}, {$47.00}, {$57.00}, {$67.00}, {$77.00}, {$87.00}, {$97.00}, {$100.00}, followed by {$100.00}, {$110.00}, {$120.00}, {$130.00}, {$140.00}, {$150.00} ) Identical timing patterns that no user action could produce These patterns are not consistent with legitimate consumer activity and demonstrate unauthorized manipulation of transaction amounts. 

Obscured Reauthorizations and New Transaction IDs PayPal assigned new transaction IDs to the reauthorizations, making them appear as original authorized transactions rather than modified charges. This obscured the unauthorized nature of the activity and directly contributed to PayPals improper dispute handling. 

Discovery of the Issue I did not know these unauthorized reauthorizations had occurred until I obtained a custom transaction statement and reviewed every line. Prior to this, PayPals interface did not clearly distinguish original authorizations from reauthorizations or amount increases. 

Dispute Handling Failures I contacted PayPal by phone specifically to dispute the inflated reauthorization amounts, not the original small purchases. However, PayPal opened and evaluated disputes incorrectly, treating them as disputes of the original authorized transactions. 

PayPal then closed cases by stating the transactions were authorized, without addressing the unauthorized amount changes, despite my written clarification that I was not disputing the original authorizations. 

Prepaid Account Negative Balance and Fund Removal This account is a PayPal prepaid account, which should not accrue a negative balance in this manner. 

Despite this : PayPal removed approximately {$70.00} from my account PayPal later reopened a closed case and reversed a completed transaction That reversal was applied as a bonus and deducted from my already negative balance of XXXX which brought it to XXXX did not authorize these reversals or balance adjustments. PayPal has not explained how a prepaid account was permitted to go negative or why completed funds were later removed. 

Automatic Payments and Merchant Authorization Status The merchant XXXX is not listed anywhere in my PayPal account as : An automatic payment A preapproved or recurring payment A linked or saved merchant There is no authorization on file permitting post-transaction amount increases or reauthorizations. 

Information Requested From PayPal I requested : Original authorization records Reauthorization and adjustment logs Evidence of my consent for increased amounts Documentation explaining new transaction IDs An explanation for the negative prepaid balance Justification for the {$70.00} removal and {$61.00} reversal Internal dispute review documentation PayPal has not provided this information. 

Resolution Requested I am requesting : 1. Full reimbursement of all unauthorized reauthorization charges 2. Return of the {$70.00} removed from my account. 3.Reversal of the {$61.00} payment that they took and applied to my negative balance without my authorization 4. Restoration of my account balance 5. A written explanation addressing : How unauthorized reauthorizations were permitted Why disputes were misclassified How a prepaid account was allowed to go negative I did not authorize these reauthorization amounts. Acknowledging small, preset purchases does not authorize later inflated charges.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief