Consumer complaint received 2026-02-11 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CT

Complaint narrative:
Unauthorized Transactions and Dispute Handling XX/XX/XXXXOn XX/XX/year>, I completed an onlineXX/XX/XXXX offered by XX/XX/XXXX. The website advertised aXX/XX/XXXX-time charge of {$0.00}. I paid the {$0.00} using my XX/XX/XXXX account. I did not authorize any subscription service, recurring billing, or future charges. 

On XX/XX/year>, a XX/XX/XXXX {$0.00} charge from the same merchant appeared on my XX/XX/XXXXaccount. I did not authorize this transaction. 

On XX/XX/year>, a {$29.00} charge from XXXX appeared as a recurring subscription. I never enrolled in, agreed to, or consented to any subscription service. 

I attempted to contact the merchant using the email address I entered when taking the quiz. The XXXX website indicated that no account exists for me. I have never received a welcome email, subscription confirmation, account creation notice, or billing authorization from the merchant. Because no account appears to exist, I was unable to cancel or manage any supposed subscription. 

The XX/XX/XXXX charge remained pending for several days, and XXXX system would not allow a dispute while the transaction was pending. Immediately after the charge posted, I contacted XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to a live representative. I reported that the additional charges were unauthorized. The representative indicated the transactions appeared unauthorized and that a refund was likely. 

On XX/XX/year>,XX/XX/XXXX denied my dispute.XX/XX/XXXX re-debited the second unauthorized {$0.00} transaction and allowed the {$29.00} subscription charge to remain.XX/XX/XXXXdid not provide documentation demonstrating that I authorized recurring billing, nor did they provide evidence of authorization from the merchant. 

XXXX dispute process was difficult to access. The platform repeatedly routed me to automated help pages and a chatbot and prevented me from disputing the transaction while pending. I attempted to upload documentation through both the mobile application and desktop interface, but the system would not accept attachments. As a result,XX/XX/XXXXconducted its investigation without reviewing my evidence. 

The merchant sent duplicate confirmation emails for the legitimate {$0.00} trial purchase on XX/XX/year>. However, I received no confirmation email for theXX/XX/XXXX {$0.00} charge and no confirmation email for the {$29.00} recurring charge. 

This indicates the later charges were not processed through a normal purchase or subscription authorization workflow. Additionally, the merchants website confirms no account exists for me, making it impossible that I knowingly created or consented to a subscription. 

I am requesting : A refund of the unauthorized {$0.00} charge dated XX/XX/year> A refund of the unauthorized {$29.00} charge dated XX/XX/year> Documentation demonstrating how XX/XX/XXXX determined these transactions were authorized Confirmation that any recurring billing associated with this merchant has been permanently blocked A search of my email records shows I only received receipts associated with the initial XXXXXX/XX/XXXXpurchase, and I received no subscription confirmation, cancellation instructions, or account creation notice from the merchant.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation