Date Received: 2024-01-19
Issue: Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital wallet
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX XXXXI found out my PayPal account had been permanently restricted keeping me from getting my XXXX Funds and cash balance out of the account. I have not violated anything in the terms and agreement so at this point my funds are no longer theirs to hold. I have nothing in previous transaction that will explain a legal right for PayPal to hold these funds for any longer. I am having a financial crisis because of this action from PayPal. I will end up in the streets because these funds are being withheld from me. PayPal chose to close my account they no longer have the right to hold my funds. I called several times and on one occasion was lied to about no supervisor because they are all of equal authority. Yet I called again and was told they needed to speak with a supervisor. Remind you now these are recorded conversations. I was told the wallet was getting accessed from XXXX I don't know anyone in XXXX so this was another lie. I feel as fast as they restricted the account they can restore it long enough to get all my funds out immediately. I called on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX The amounts of funds are {$1400.00} XXXX {$160.00} I know there is a way to give me access long enough to get these funds out since they closed my account of their own decision. I give you to XX/XX/ for this to be completed. To resolve this I will need immediate access to my funds. I look forward to PayPal reply ASAP. I will expect my funds released immediately or I can get in touch with several other organizations that can get this resolved. I'll for sure let the Texas AG know about this. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 77090
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-19
Issue: Money was not available when promised
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/ I sent {$5600.00} through PayPal to an account overseas for my fianc. PayPal took the money out of my account and will not issue the money to the recipient. I called PayPal and demanded a refund or the release of the money. PayPal is refusing. This should not be happening. I would like for the money to be released to the recipient or refund it back to my account. I hope you can help me with this problem. Thank you in advance XXXX XXXX. The PayPal email address used was XXXX XXXX.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 48168
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-19
Issue: Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital wallet
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Dear Sir/Madam , I am writing to file a formal complaint against PayPal regarding the prolonged withholding of funds from my account. On [ date ], PayPal placed a hold on the amount of [ amount withheld ] in my account, and despite numerous attempts to resolve the issue, the funds have been withheld for over six months. This hold has had a significant impact on my financial stability and has caused undue stress and inconvenience. Despite my compliance with all relevant terms and conditions, PayPal has failed to release the funds or provide a satisfactory explanation for the extended delay. I have made multiple inquiries to PayPal 's customer support, and each time I have been met with vague responses and no clear timeline for the release of my funds. This lack of transparency and the extended duration of the hold have caused severe financial strain. I believe that this action by PayPal is unjust and in violation of fair consumer practices. I request the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate this matter and take appropriate action to ensure the prompt release of my funds and prevent such practices from affecting other consumers. Enclosed with this letter are copies of relevant documents, including correspondence with PayPal, to support my complaint. I am hopeful that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will address this matter promptly and provide me with a resolution. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92562
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-19
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-13
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Dear CFPB, I hope this message finds you well. I am a XXXX and work in XXXX XXXX I am reaching out to address a critical issue related to my PayPal account. On the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, at around XXXXXXXX XXXX I received multiple email confirmations from XXXX for orders purportedly placed through my PayPal account. These were unauthorized transactions, and upon logging in, I discovered several XXXX transactions totaling over {$8000.00}. Someone purchased XXXX puffer jackets from XXXX and ordered them to be shipped to XXXX, XXXX. I immediately initiated a dispute through PayPal ( Case XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ). Due to this being at night time, I was not able to get a hold of any paypal representative and the paypal website only allowed by to open an online dispute. Taking swift action, I changed my PayPal password and removed my card/bank information. The following morning, I engaged with PayPal customer support, RECORDING THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION. I was reassured several times by the customer support that they have made a note of my phone call and the transactions will not be allowed to go through and that I am " fully protected against this fraud ''. I actually also called lululemon customer support and provided them details of the issue and they also assured me that they will take action to rectify the situation ( they did not ). I have the recorded call from XXXX as well. However, later that day, paypal allowed all pending transactions to proceed, leading to a negative balance of approximately XXXX XXXXs of XX/XX/XXXX. I find it perplexing that, despite all of these transactions happening at the same time and with the same merchant, PayPal categorized some transactions as unauthorized while deeming most of the remaining others as authorized, resulting in the accrual of a significant owed amount. I am seeking immediate clarification and resolution. The discrepancies in PayPal 's handling of the dispute, coupled with the resulting negative balance, are causing considerable distress. I implore you to thoroughly investigate and rectify the unauthorized transactions. Paypal has a policy of sending such cases to debts/collections department after XXXX days of negative balance in the account and I feel that I should not be liable for this as it was paypal 's poor handling of the case that led to this. On my end, i did my due diligence and reported unauthorized transactions to paypal IMMEDIATELY and while they were still pending. Dispute cases opened ( and closed by paypal without proper review ) : XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Regards
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 11235
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-14
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX XXXX Venmo suspended my account leaving a value of {$18.00} in the account. They said there was suspicious activity on my account and asked that I change my password, and upload a photo id and a picture of me holding the photo id, which I promptly did. They said it would take 7 business days to unsuspend my account, but it is still suspended. I have sent several emails to them- which they insist is the only way to pursue this- but I have not gotten any response subsequent to the first email. Today I tried to transfer the money in my Venmo account to my bank account, and it wont let me. I then attempted to close the account, but it wont let me. I have only had 4 people I have had transactions with lately and they are all people I regularly pay and am paid by - they are all my friends. I have nowI XXXX Venmo stole my money, and found that what has happened to me has happened to many many people- many with a lot more money at stake than this.even though I have only lost {$18.00} bucks, it seems like a highly criminal thing to steal money out of peoples accounts and to arbitrarily deny them access to a service they had known and trusted for years. I hope there is a law enforcement agency that can prevent these corporations from pillaging the money of their trusting customers.i am so sad this has happened - its going to make my life a lot less convenient. It also concerns me that Venmo appears to be assuming bad stuff when I am not doing anything wrong. I dont know where all their tendrils go and how much this could mess up my life as a person facing bankruptcy and really struggling with debt. Venmo was one of the few payment methods I could rely on to send and receive money and its been such a hard year. My best friend of almost 30 years sent me more money than usual this year because I was hemorrhaging money following a breakup. I dont know if that was the activity that was deemed suspicious but she just sent me money because she doesnt want me to die in the streets. Another friend paid me back for her half of a shared dinner date. My ex and I have transferred money back and forth for years as little gifts and helps to each other. My friend in XXXX is XXXX and lives hand to mouth and I send her {$50.00} every few weeks. Thats it. I also put a tiny amount of money into the cryptocurrency options as a little experiment to see if they would appreciate or depreciate. Venmo offered me the option to buy crypto for YEARS and I only recently bought a little, but it was while trying to buy like {$5.00} or {$10.00} of ethereum (? ) that they suspended the account. So if thats what they saw as suspicious- maybe they shouldnt offer it? I think crypto is XXXX and only thought it would be fun to watch if and seee what it did. And now I no longer have a helpful way to send and receive money. Here are some other examples of this happening XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXvenmo/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXvenmoXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXvenmoXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXvenmoXXXX It just seems like fraud and theft and like the government shouldnt not allow Venmo to continue stealing from people.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 765XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-17
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: PayPal was notified of a fraudulent transaction that took place XX/XX/XXXX I've contacted them several times informing them I was a victim of identity theft and I never authorized {$100.00} XXXX notified them I involved local authorities and had a police report as well as confirmation from XXXX and XXXX XXXX that they attempted the same fraudulent transaction with them as well as PayPal Credit and everyone including PayPal confirmed it was fraud but PayPal still has a balance of {$100.00} they want me to pay before I can use my account and I've given them more than enough time to credit it to my account and they disputed that it was unauthorized and try to tell me to contact the merchant and I've told them that's not an option it's a scam and they know it's not a legitimate transaction and several attempts to clear this balance have been treated disrespectful and when they claimed it was resolved in my favor they still did not take the balance off my account
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 76135
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-17
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Problem accessing account
Consumer Complaint: Hello I'm XXXX XXXX and I own XXXX on a XXXX XXXX service in XXXX XXXX I opened up a venmo account so customers can pay me I started trading cryptocurrency on venmo venmo has suspended my account because they need my proof of identification. I had put money in cryptocurrency because it was going up but now it is declining and I can not withdraw any money because my account is suspended. They're telling me I have to wait 7 to 10 days Will in 7 to 10 days I might not have any money left so I was wondering if this was illegal how can you allow someone to trade on your platform but then you block them to where they can't get the money out and they lose their money. Do Not Trust Venmo
Company Response:
State: LA
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-16
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: The XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX CRIMINALS at PayPal have created an ILLEGAL, unsolicited account in my name. I will NEVER have nor will I ever apply for a stupid PayPal Account! I dont even support businesses that use PayPal as a payment method! I did NOT apply for this account. I did not request an account in writing. The criminals at PayPal now send an email every month to view my Statement Balance. The criminals at PayPal send this email as a no response communication. I need to log on to contact them in any way. ( and tell them what I really think! ) See above, THERE IS NO LEGAL PAYPAL ACCOUNT IN MY NAME! So, there is no password, no ability to communicate, delete account, etc. ( how convenient!! ) The criminals at PayPal need to be jailed! But first, they need to delete any account or information they have associated with my name. Now companies associated with and part of the this PayPal SCAM are sending receipts for purchases I HAVE NOT MADE that are allegedly billed to an ILLEGAL ACCOUNT at PayPal in my name. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with email addresses like : XXXX I need to receive a LETTER from PayPal apologizing for this scam and the letter must say all information associated with me is DELETED at PayPal.
Company Response:
State: OH
Zip: 444XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-12
Issue: Other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: My bank is XXXX and it is connected to my Venmo account. I paid another person on Venmo {$650.00} in XX/XX/XXXX. I later disputed the charge as I incorrectly thought it went through twice. When I submitted the dispute through my bank they alerted Venmo and Venmo took the money back from the other user I had originally sent the payment to. Later, I received a letter from my bank stating the fraud investigation is done and Venmo proved the transfer was legitimate and legal so the dispute was denied. At that point I expected the money to be sent back to the person I originally sent it to. It has not been sent to her as of today. I have contacted my bank and Venmo multiple times trying to find this money. Every time I contact my bank they say their investigation is closed and I need to contact Venmo. When I contact Venmo I get a different answer every time but they always say to call my bank. The original receiver and myself have since received multiple responses from Venmo/Paypal that the investigation done by XXXX was done and found to be in my favor but I did not get the money. The investigation that XXXX conducted was not found to be in my favor, so that is a lie from Venmo. I received a call from XXXX today XX/XX/XXXX from someone with the CEOs office stating that when they conducted their investigation and found that I was liable for the money, at that time the money was sent back to Venmo. Which makes sense because thats how disputes work. Venmo refuses to provide the money or contact me back to settle this. So now Venmo needs to either send that {$650.00} to the person I sent it to or send it back to me so I can send it to her through a better money transfer service. I will not be letting this go until Venmo gives me the money and provides detailed documentation showing all of the moneys movement including after the dispute was investigated and closed.
Company Response:
State: NE
Zip: 68116
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-12
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I purchased bitcoin on my Venmo account several weeks ago. After the purchase a XXXX XXXXXXXX dollars got transferred without my knowledge. Venmo froze my account on XX/XX/ and have done nothing to investigate, refund, or even let me to at least continue to use my account. I use this account to collect and pay rent, and have been unable to do so. Working with their customer service as well as their total neglect to the situation has been more criminal than the fraud that happened. This company needs to have a large scale oversight change and it's literally beyond shocking how a financial company this size is allowed to operate this way in todays world.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 94118
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A