Consumer complaint received 2026-01-07 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
I have been a PayPal customer for over XXXX  years. On XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to purchase airline tickets from XXXX XXXX. XXXX of the payment methods was to split the {$1300.00} purchase into XXXX equal biweekly amounts, which was attractive. However, when I attempted to do so, the transaction did not go through. PayPal informed me I had been approved for the no-interest payment plan, but somehow the transaction never reached XXXX XXXX . I called PayPal and they told me to retry the transaction, which seemed like a dangerous move. I was then instructed to reach out to XXXX to ask them to claim the initial payment. XXXX denied any knowledge of the money transfer. I called XXXX twice. I called PayPal and ultimately was told that if XXXX did not claim the funds, the transaction would drop off my account page in XXXX days. That is not what happened. A few days later, I called PayPal again to inquire as to why this failed transaction still appeared on my PayPal account page as PENDING. I was again told PayPal could do nothing ( even though this information is on a website they control ) because XXXX ( who never received the money ) would have to cancel it on their end. Even though I explained that I had already called XXXX and that they could not cancel something that to them did not exist, the PayPal representative was adamant that she could not remove the PENDING transaction. I reached out to PayPal again, and this time I was told that the transaction would sit on my account for XXXX days. And if XXXX did not capture it the $ XXXX transaction would vanish from my account. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was rebuffed. Finally I was told a supervisor was handling other call at the time but would reach out to me by callback withing XXXX hours. I received no such call. Of course, I ultimately purchased the airline tickets another way, but on XX/XX/XXXX, ( more than XXXX  days after the inception of this affair ) I noticed that the transaction was still showing as PENDING on the PayPal site. I called PayPal customer service and was again informed they could not remove information fromt heir own site. I then tried to file an internal complaint, but all attempts to do so only cycled me to their AI Assistant. The AI chat from XX/XX/XXXX appears below : PayPal XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Good afternoon, XXXX ! Wishing you warmth during these winter days. We appreciate you as a PayPal member for over XXXX  years. How can I help you today? 
Help with a transaction I'm glad to help. Here are your most recent payments. Which one would you like to learn more about? 
Help me find the payment You can search for your transaction by providing the amount, date, or transaction ID from your receipt. 
XXXX XXXX I can't search by merchant name. To find your payment, please provide either the amount, the date, or the transaction ID from your email confirmation. 
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX It is a pending transaction that has been sitting on my dashboard since XX/XX/XXXX Here are payments around XX/XX/XXXX. Select XXXX to view details : Payment with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX {$1300.00} XX/XX/XXXX Payment - Canceled Explain Status This order for {$1300.00} USD with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX, was canceled and has expired. This means the order was not completed, and the funds were not processed. 
Why does it still show as XXXX on my account? 
Sure! Here are your recent transactions. Which one do you need help with? 
Please answer my question Why is the cancelled transaction showing as pending? 
If you are unable to address this please get me a live agent At this point, the AI Assistant stopped responding. 





I do not know why PayPal keeps this erroneous information on my account. I am not sanguine as to their motive, especially given their evasive argument that they have no control over this information hosted on their internet infrastructure. If this {$1300.00} transaction is canceled or expired, I would like my account page to reflect that it is canceled and not pending. I am concerned that leaving this notation on my account XXXX facilitate PayPal attempting to pull this money at a future date. 
I would appreciate any assistance you can provide. 
not pending. I would appreciate any assistance you can provide.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation