PAYPAL has been hit by a huge global outage, leaving thousands of customers unable to sign into their accounts.
Problems started at around 11am this morning, according to outage website Downdetector.
Over 6,323 complaints have been logged on the site, with customers reporting they could not log in to their PayPal accounts.
It’s understood that the issue is impacting both business and personal accounts.
Frustrated customers have taken to social media to share how they are being affected by the outage.
Users have said that when they try to log in, they’ve been greeted by the following message: “Some of your info isn’t correct. Please try again.”
Others have said they’re struggling to get through to PayPal’s call centres.
One person said on X (formerly Twitter): “It seems PayPal is having a complete meltdown as nobody can log in or get through via their call centre.”
Another said: “PayPal hasn’t said anything about it yet, which is unacceptable.”
A third said: “PayPal seems to be down across all of Europe, Asia and Australia. This is a major concern.”
A memo on PayPal’s website has acknowledged the problem, stating: “We are experiencing a system issue that may be affecting multiple products.
“Merchants may be encountering an elevated number of the errors.
“Our technical teams are actively working towards resolving the issue.”
PayPal is a widely used online payment system that allows individuals and businesses to send and receive money electronically.
It operates as an intermediary between your bank account or credit card and the vendor, providing a secure way to conduct transactions online.
Customers can even borrow through PayPal with PayPal credit.
However, when using PayPal for online purchases, you often forfeit the protections provided by Section 75 consumer rights and the chargeback rules available to those who pay directly with their credit card.
Section 75 protection can help claw back your cash in the event that something you buy arrives faulty or undelivered.
Chargeback lets you ask your bank to reverse a payment if there is an issue, like not getting what you paid for.
Can I claim compensation for the outage?
Banks and e-money firms like PayPal don’t have to pay out compensation to customers if there has been a drop in service, unlike how telecom companies have to.
But if you have incurred costs due to service issues, you might be able to get your money back.
For example, if a bill payment didn’t go through due to an outage and you’ve been charged a fee for missing it, you should be able to claim that money back.
To submit a formal complaint with PayPal, visit paypal.com/uk/cshelp/complaints.
The firm says that it aims to respond to your complaint as quickly as possible.
However, depending on the issue’s complexity, it can take up to 15 working days for payments-related complaints and up to eight weeks for all other complaints.
What happens if PayPal won’t play ball?
If you’re unhappy with how PayPal deals with your problem, you can contact the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
It is an independent body that will consider the evidence you present and make a fair decision about the action a bank should take.
The FOS can usually get involved 15 days after you’ve raised concerns with the bank.
In the case of an IT system outage at banks and e-money firms, the FOS says any compensation depends on your circumstances and whether you lost out as a result.
If it thinks you did, it has the power to tell the bank to reimburse any fees, charges, or fines you were hit with, for example, if you could not make a payment on a credit card bill or to your mortgage provider.
It could also tell a bank to pay you for any money you didn’t receive, such as interest, if you couldn’t pay money in.
To refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, visit financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
