Industry guru Dave Taylor offers tech support on technical and business topics, including iPhone, iPod, Microsoft Windows, Sony PSP, cellphones, online advertising, CSS, Web design, business, Unix, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, and shell script programming.     


Can I cancel a Paypal send money payment?

I'm freaking out! I sent $200 via Paypal to a friend of mine to help her out in a bind and she said she never saw the money or even a notification show up. Upon closer examination, I realize that I used the wrong email address for her. Now I'm afraid that someone else is getting the money! How can I cancel the transaction ASAP?


Dave's Answer:

Deep breath. More likely than not the transaction is pending, unclaimed -- looking too much like a phishing scam to be clicked upon -- rather than them actually claiming your $200 payment. Still, there's no reason to ignore it, so let's axe this transaction as soon as we possibly can, then you can resend the money to the correct email address.

When I did this, I got an email from Paypal two days later with the subject "Your unclaimed payment to..." and a helpful explanatory note that:

"Two days ago you sent a payment to [[ email addr ]]. This payment is still unclaimed. Often, unclaimed payments are a result of a payment being sent to a misspelled or otherwise incorrect email address. Please double-check to make sure you sent your payment to the intended recipient's correct email address."

No reason to wait for this message, though! First step is to go to the Paypal site and log in to your account.

Now, look at your list of recent transactions and it will likely show up like this:

cancel paypal send money 1

I've blanked out the email address for privacy, but you get the idea. Notice that there's a handy "Cancel" button that you can click on, but instead, let's get a bit more detail on the transaction to ensure it's the one we want. To do that, click on the "Details" link...

cancel paypal send money 2

A lot more detail, the better to ensure it's the transaction I want to void. To do that, notice the "Cancel Payment" button on the bottom. I'll zoom in:

cancel paypal send money 3

Click on that button -- no surprise! -- and it'll confirm you want to actually cancel the transaction:

cancel paypal send money 4

That's the right one? Click "Cancel Payment" and you're done...

cancel paypal send money 5

Now, what if someone had claimed the money and the transaction was completed? It's nice of you to be generous, but $200 is a lot of money. In that case, there'll be a different message at the bottom of the transaction:

paypal dispute transaction resolution center

Choose "Click here to resolve" then mark it as an unauthorized transaction and explain what happened in the subsequent input field. And good luck!


More Useful Auctions and Online Shopping Articles:
✔   How can I sell a used gadget on Amazon.com?
I have a bunch of electronic gadgets in my office that are just sitting around and I notice that they're worth a decent...
✔   How do I return something to Amazon.com?
Hey Dave, I bought a new backpack through Amazon.com and when it arrived, I realized I didn't like it and really want to...
✔   What annual subscriptions do I have set up in PayPal?
As it's the last day of the year, I'm thinking about recurring billing that's going to kick in starting again in 2013 through...
✔   What's a used computer really worth?
Hi Dave. I bumped into this note on Facebook, a post from a friend: "Thinking about selling my 17" MacBook Pro. It's 3...
✔   How long have I been a member of eBay?
I was arguing with a friend the other day and he said that he'd been on eBay since it first came online. I...

Let's stay in touch!
Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!
    Enter your name: and your email addr:  




Categorized: Auctions and Online Shopping   (Article 9916, Written by )
Tagged: paypal account management, paypal payment, phishing, security
Previous: Convert FLAC audio files to MP3 on a Mac?
Next: My Facebook group is "scheduled to be archived"??




Reader Comments To Date: 1

Ti. said, on February 16, 2013 8:13 AM:

Thanks a lot Dave. I was looking for a solution.

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.






Check This Out Too...

 
Look for Answers
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!


Follow Me on Pinterest

Find Me on Google+
ADT on G+
© 2002 - 2013 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. My lawyer says "Thanks".
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.