Date Received: 2023-03-22
Issue: Other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Paid for course from XXXX XXXX XXXX through Paypal and received incomplete service from seller and tried to dispute with Paypal and was denied and contacted XXXX XXXX for refund and was left with no response
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 77063
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-22
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-21
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: When attempting to create an account with Venmo, I get told I already have an account registered with a phone number Ive never had, and an email address that I havent had access to in several years. Ive provided them copies of my ID, photo of me holding my ID, my only numbers, and email. They claim I owe {$1500.00} dollars in failed transactions from a bank account Ive also never had. When attempting to get access to this fraudulent account, I get a runaround set of messages asking me to confirm my identity, etc, only for them to say I already have an account and owe money. Eventually they stop responding all together. Venmo is not allowing me to view these failed transactions from an account fraudulently registered with my name. Nor are they allowing me to dispute any of these transactions.
Company Response:
State: MO
Zip: 64151
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-21
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Deposits and withdrawals
Consumer Complaint: I made a Venmo account recently and someone close to me came into my home and wiped me clean of most of my accounts and banks including my Venmo and locked me out of my new phone and number. Locked me out of my emails. I regained access to my email and locked them out of my account. The police have XXXX her and XXXX her pending charges. Venmo tells me I owe them money and they banned my account when Ive never even had a Venmo account. My identity was stolen last year and someone filed my taxes and opened many cards in my name. Ive not heard about Venmo having an account for me. They are holding my funds and will not respond to my requests for email. The account specialist was very rude and told me that they were going to ignore me from here on out basically. I am requesting my funds be given back to me and me be able to make an account with Venmo. It is not fair that identity theft is still causing me this much pain and suffering. Please give me my money and access to my account back
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 159XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-21
Issue: Problem adding money
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: For the last 5 days I've been trying to transfer my money from Paypal to my XXXX card and it won't let me do it I have contacted PayPal about this on ever day and they keep saying give us 24 hrs well the 24 hrs turned into over 100 hrs and I just got off with the supervisor for the third time and he said the same thing again to wait 24 hrs I really need the money transfer but they are given me the run around thank you a god bless you the amount is XXXX
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 178XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-21
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX, Paypal sent me the following email : You can no longer do business with PayPal. After a review, we decided to permanently limit your account as we found potential risk associated with it. You'll not be able to conduct any further business using PayPal. Based on this decision, if applicable, you are no longer eligible for PayPal Seller Protection as per our User Agreement. You'll also be charged a High Volume Dispute fee based on your activity for all existing and future cases you receive. Any bank or credit card information that's linked to your PayPal account can not be removed nor can it be added to another account. You can still log in and see your account information but you can't send or receive money. If you have funds in your PayPal balance, we'll hold it for up to 180 days. After that period, we'll email you with information on how to access your funds. We regret any inconvenience this may cause. My account is rarely used, only to transfer small amounts of money to a sports betting site. I assumed my relative inactivity was the cause for the limitation, rather than any risk ( Ive had no fraudulent transactions associated with my account ). I went to their website, attempting to get to the bottom of the issue, but there was no additional information to be had. All links led to the same dead end and the following statement : " You can't use PayPal anymore. At PayPal, we value a safe community for our customers to do business. We noticed activity in your account thats inconsistent with our User Agreement and we no longer offer you PayPal services. Based on this decision, if applicable, you are no longer eligible for PayPal Seller Protection as per our User Agreement. This will apply to all existing and future cases you receive. Any bank or credit card information linked to your PayPal account can not be removed nor can it be used to create a new account. You can still log in and see your account information but you cant send or receive money. Any money in your balance will be held for 180 days, after which well send you an email with instructions about transferring your money. Reference ID : [ redacted ] '' While my account remains limited, it is still open and vulnerable to phishing attempts, like one I received on XX/XX/XXXX in the form of an invoice. I immediately knew that the invoice was fraudulent, someone I dont do business with. Per the suggestion on Paypals website, I forwarded the phishing attempt to their dedicated email address XXXX. I returned to their website, tried to close my account, in order to prevent this from happening again, and was denied, with the limitation being cited as the reason for the denial. So, I decided to call. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Paypal and, through their automated system, expressed interest in deleting my account. I was quickly connected to a customer service representative. I provided personal information to the representative, in order to confirm my identity. She had her confirmation and asked what I would like to do. I said, " I would like to close my account. '' She took a minute and said, " It looks like your account was limited. '' I told her I was aware of this, and that if they're not going to allow me to use the account, I would like it closed altogether. She sidestepped the request, expressing that that cant happen because my account had received this limitation, the details of which are not provided to me by Paypal. She repeated the line that Paypal had decided to " stop doing business, '' and I said I agreed : " I don't want to do business with Paypal either, so there's no point in my account existing. '' I still could not close my account. I asked, " Does that mean that Paypal is holding my financial information hostage? '' She sidestepped the question. I said, " So Paypal is going to retain my financial information in perpetuity and I have no recourse against that, '' which the representative confirmed, adding, Its in our bylaws. I asked, Is this practice uncommon? She replied, No it is not. So, through fine print, Paypal has gotten users to agree to allowing Paypal, through its own internal security ruling ( which they do not disclose to the user ), to justify effectively placing in limbo any account they deem unworthy while still maintaining possession of the users personal financial information. Considering the importance of a persons financial information and its bearing on their livelihood, how is this practice permitted by the federal government? I understand that it's in Paypals bylaws, but buyer beware does not apply in this case. This was a business relationship, Paypal exploited it, and now my personal livelihood is at risk. Additionally, could I now be under threat of a High Volume Dispute fee based on [ my ] activity for all existing and future cases [ I ] receive, with future phishing invoices counted as cases? All is unknown and I must worry about all of it, because Paypal refuses to dispose of my financial information. This practice should be punished as a base scam, one that only exists to retain vital financial information -- -the misuse of which could greatly jeopardize a person 's livelihood, moreso since financial information may be no longer eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. Paypal is one of the largest digital wallet companies in the world, with millions of users. The CFPB should take immediate steps to pursue investigation of and action against Paypal, ceasing this exploitative, potentially hazardous practice, and allow me to remove my financial information from their possession.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-20
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I am unable to access my venmo money from my venmo account. I can't transfer the money to my bank account nor am I able to use it to pay other people. The money is just sitting there. The venmo app keeps prompting me to go through an " identity verfication '' process which I have done twice now by submitting my driver license, W2 forms, and bank statements. On XX/XX/XXXX I submitted the documents on the app and on XX/XX/XXXX venmo emailed me saying they could not read some documents. I resubmitted the documents again on XX/XX/XXXX via the app and still not heard back from venmo nor am I able to access my money in venmo. On XX/XX/XXXX I called their customer service number at XXXX and am told that the department that handles identity verfication will " get back to me via email within 24 hours ''. I asked to be transferred to a representative that handles identity verification and am told that they don't have a phone number nor do they have a email contact. They just told me to wait. This is not right that I do not have access to my money nor is there a contact person I can contact regarding this. I have to just wait passively until someone from venmo contacts me via email. My Ticket # is XXXX. Please investigate this.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 911XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-20
Issue: Closing an account
Subissue: Company closed your account
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX PayPal limited my account without noticed this limitation has completely cut me off from any access to my money Ive contacted PayPal several times to release the funds and they refused they said I have to wait 180 days. 180 to wait on my money that I go to work for is absurd they refused to lift the limitation so I can access my funds. I need my funds immediately its not right nor far to cut someone off from their funds that they worked hard for especially a single mother. PayPal also stated that since the account is limited I cant transfer money yet I made a transfer when the account was limited and then once they were made aware of that they put extra precautions on the account as if its not MY MONEY
Company Response:
State: OH
Zip: 44221
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-20
Issue: Other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: PayPal said I can no longer use there services which Im ok with but when ask to close my account they said they can. My financial info is still in there Al I want them to do is close my account
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 06489
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-19
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Hello, PayPal team, I received an email notification on XX/XX/XXXX, I can withdraw cash, but I can't linked with the bank and withdraw cash, please help me, thank you
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 78640
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-03-19
Issue: Other service problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: When I provide the correct username and password to the PayPal.com website, then the website no longer allows me to view my account, but now routes me to a webpage titled " Add your phone number. '' It warns " This helps us prevent fraud and reach you if theres ever an issue. '' It explains " By providing your phone number, you give us permission to contact you about your branded PayPal accounts using automated calls or texts to service your accounts, investigate fraud, or collect a debt, but not for telemarketing. If you dont want to receive automated calls or texts, you can change your preferences in your account settings at any time. '' When I input my phone number that is associated with my PayPal account, I get an error message that says " This type of phone number isn't supported. Check your number and try again. '' In sum, the PayPal webpage will not allow me to use their chat feature because login is required. I have called PayPal twice, speaking to their customer service and their tech support, but they verified that multi-factor authentication is turned OFF on my account and simply told me to change my password, which I did, but the error message persists. Therefore, it is an unfair for PayPal to require me to provide my phone number in order to access my account and simultaneously reject my phone number associated that is with my account, especially while multi-factor authentication is turned OFF on my account.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 75231
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-03-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A