Consumer complaint received 2026-04-16 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: DE

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, a buyer placed an order on my e-commerce store for a custom hand-painted oil painting titled " XXXX in the XXXX '' for {$290.00}, paid via PayPal ( Case ID : XXXX ). The product is a made-to-order custom service, not a stock item. My product page explicitly discloses a mandatory 3-step fulfillment process before shipment, stated verbatim : " 1. Once your oil painting is complete, we'll send you unedited photos. 2. Review the photos and let us know if any changes are needed. 3. If you approve the painting, we'll ship it right away. '' The buyer accepted these terms at checkout. Fulfillment timeline : - XX/XX/year>, XXXX XXXX : I sent an approval email to the buyer with a photo of the completed painting, requesting her approval before shipment. - XX/XX/year>, XXXX XXXX PDT : I sent a follow-up email. The buyer did not respond to either email. - XXXX XXXX XXXX : The buyer filed a PayPal Item Not Received dispute, stating " No information on a delivery timeframe was provided and nothing has been received. No communication from the vendor. '' - XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : The buyer replied directly to my XX/XX/XXXX approval email, admitting that my emails had been in her spam folder, and requesting cancellation of the order. The buyer 's XX/XX/XXXX written statement directly contradicts her XX/XX/XXXX dispute claim. A buyer can not simultaneously claim " no communication from the vendor '' and reply to that exact communication two days later acknowledging it was in her spam folder. This is documented evidence of a false statement made to PayPal. On XX/XX/year>, I submitted complete evidence to PayPal including : - The product page disclosing the 3-step approval process - The XX/XX/XXXX approval email with the completed painting photo - The XX/XX/XXXX follow-up email- The buyer 's XX/XX/XXXX reply admitting receipt of my emails On XX/XX/year>, I submitted a written request for human review, explicitly explaining that this is a custom service transaction where shipment was intentionally withheld pending the buyer 's contractually required approval not an Item Not Received case. On XX/XX/year>, PayPal closed the case in the buyer 's favor, citing absence of a tracking number. The decision applied standard Item Not Received shipping rules to a custom service fulfillment dispute and ignored the documented buyer contradiction. On XX/XX/year>, I attempted to file an appeal. PayPal denied the appeal, stating the case " can not be appealed. '' PayPal 's decision financially rewards documented first-party fraud. The buyer received {$290.00} back plus retains the ability to claim the item was never delivered, despite her own written admission that my approval emails were in her spam folder. I also incurred a {$15.00} dispute fee and the full production cost of a non-resalable custom painting, which remains unshipped per her contractual non-approval. I am requesting : 1. Reversal of the dispute decision and return of {$290.00} plus the {$15.00} dispute fee. 2. Human review of the evidence already submitted, particularly the buyer 's contradictory statements dated XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 3. Reclassification of the transaction from Item Not Received to custom service fulfillment dispute.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation