Date Received: 2020-08-06
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I purchased a product for {$20.00} and it routed me through Paypal to pay for my purchase. I received an email from this company dated XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX and this is what it says Order Status Changed Online Store Hello XXXX XXXX, The status of your order # XXXX has been changed. New Payment Status Cancelled Your order Disinfectant Spray {$20.00} Paypal sent me this Your message was sent to We're sorry you didn't receive your order. Your message regarding the purchase you made on XX/XX/2020 for {$20.00} USD has been sent. You need to allow time for the seller to respond. They know this is a scam and they are saying allow time for the seller to respond? Paypal is a scam in itself! Now the store 's site is saying The Store is Closed Due to the terms of Service Violation.
Company Response:
State: TN
Zip: 38116
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-05
Issue: Unexpected or other fees
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I would like to file a formal complaint against PayPal. On XX/XX/2020 I used their app, to receive money from a client, I am not a seller. This is a payment for services not for goods. However, this app could not make that distinction. I was not aware of the 21 day hold, apparently this is a PayPal policy that if you are a new customer. I called customer service so I can explain the nature of payment, no agent available. I paid an initial fee of {$3.00} for a {$100.00} payment but have to wait 21 days. It is now XX/XX/2020, hold is over. However, when I tried to transfer this money to my bank account, PayPal is charging another 1 %, or free but have to wait another 3 days. I was looking at the community posts and it seems to be that this is a " systematic '' problem with PayPal ; not able to distinguish between services and goods, charging initial fees, unreasonable hold of 21 days without prior notice before using their service, charging another 1 % when the hold is over and you want to transfer money same day, additional 3 days to get money for free, and no customer service agent available to talk to. I understand that their services are not free, I am willing to pay fees, but not for 21 day hold and additional 3 day hold. Please help us, there are so many of us.
Company Response:
State: NV
Zip: 89130
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-05
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-05
Issue: Other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I got a new phone and have no way to authenticate and get signed in to my Venmo account. I have contacted Venmo countless times via email per their online instructions, but I have heard nothing back.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 28277
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-05
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-04
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I was a victim of fraud through the XXXX app, someone made a fake account through XXXX, attached my PayPal account to their account and made three purchases. They purchased the following items : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for {$690.00} + {$12.00} shipping from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, totaling {$760.00} XXXX XXXX for {$640.00} with free shipping from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, totaling {$700.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, totaling {$650.00} Before XXXX deleted MY XXXX account, I was able to get in touch with XXXX XXXX to cancel the transaction, he did cancel the transaction, I was refunded for the {$650.00}. XXXX deleted my conversations with XXXX and XXXX, saying that I violated terms of services by asking for personal information. Then, my XXXX account was deleted altogether for violating terms of services. I have filed a police report with XXXX XXXX County Sheriff 's department, Case # XXXX, I received one call from a woman at XXXX telling me the sales were clearly made from a fraudulent account, the account was suspended and she would be contacting her contact with PayPal to see how this could be remedied. She told me that I could give the Sheriff 's Department this email address for any questions : XXXX, which I did in fact give to Deputy XXXX the day the report was filed. I contacted PayPal to dispute all three charges as well, the first case was closed, I immediately contacted them to re-open, which they did, they closed the case again on XX/XX/2020 with no resolution, telling me that XXXX has refused to refund the money or respond to their inquiries. PayPal is now turning me into collections for the amount of {$700.00} for money they said they " fronted '' to cover the XXXX purchase and they have been unable to process through my bank account. They did however successfully process the {$760.00} through my account, and will not refund the purchase, although the address the item was sent to was not, in fact, an address that was ever associated with me or our account : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX PayPal also continues to try and withdraw the {$700.00} out of my business account, despite being informed this is a fraudulent issue, causing overdraft fees and a huge headache for me, and the address for that purchase, also unverified or connected to me : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX I have tried every day since I discovered the issue to contact XXXX at the following numbers : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX And now by email for every possible address, I can find online. I have not received phone calls back from XXXX within their allotted time frame of 2 days, but I continue to call. I have had to close all of my bank accounts, reopen them, cancel all my debit cards and have them re-issued, I am having to fight with PayPal to keep myself out of collections. One way or another, this needs to be resolved, and I need to be contacted to be assured this is being resolved. I have messaged PayPal through their " texting '' app, I have to wait " a few hours '' for someone to respond. I am trying to get PayPal to refund the last amount of {$760.00} and stop trying to collect the amount of {$700.00} from me, which they say they " fronted '' for a fraudulent transaction.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 923XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-04
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-04
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I tried to make a payment with Venmo on XX/XX/XXXX to pay my rent that was due on XX/XX/XXXX. I had agreed with landlord to pay him with Venmo. My transaction could not get through even though I had not reached the maximum amount of money transferred per week yet. I made several requests on their chat lines. They kept using the same explanation which is that they have no idea why my transaction does not go through - see answer below. I asked whether I could complain on a phone line. They said that due to COVID ( weird excuse ) they no longer have a phone line available. I asked to escalate my case to a supervisor, and since then I have not received an explanation of why I cant transfer my rent with Venmo. Below is the explanation from the company : First conversation : Here is a transcript of your recent chat with Venmo ( ticket # XXXX XXXX. To add additional comments, reply to this email. XXXX XXXX XX/XX/2020, XXXX XX/XX/XXXX CDT Chat started : XXXX XXXX XXXX UTC ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Hi! I cant send {$3800.00} to one of my friends why is this? ( XXXX XXXX ) Team Venmo : To make sure you see our response when an agent is available, please enable your push notifications for Venmo. On XXXX, you can enable your notifications by navigating to your phones Settings > Notifications > Venmo > Toggle on Allow Notifications. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Ok ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Done ( XXXX XXXX ) *** XXXX XXXX joined the chat *** ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Hi, thanks for contacting Venmo! I'm happy to help out. Please give me a moment while I take a look at your account. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : It looks like your payment is being declined by our system. This generally happens because a transaction has raised a security flag. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : This doesn't necessarily mean that you've done something wrong, as the declines are automated by our system. I'm very sorry about the inconvenience here, but at this time we are not able to override these declines. For security reasons, customer facing teams are not able to see the exact reason for the decline, but in some cases you may be able to try the payment again later. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : If this is a time sensitive payment, we understand you may need to use a different payment processor, such as our parent company, PayPal. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Thanks but how can I fix this please? I want to be able to rely on Venmo for my payments so I need a reason why its not working ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Is there a specific number I should call? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : We unfortunately do not receive exact reasons for an internal risk decline. These declines are automated and in order to minimize risk, we are unable to override them. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : Similar to how your bank evaluates your credit card transactions, Venmo has a robust risk platform which takes many factors into account when reviewing transactions. In this case, the risk scoring process declined this transaction. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : This is absurd given the amount of money I have on my account to whom can I complain please? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : When we say risk, were referring to transactions or behavior that could cause loss for Venmo or Venmo users. All financial activity ( online or offline ) inherently carries risk. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : As a business, Venmos threshold for assuming risk on transactions is limited and in some cases, we will simply decline to process the payments. It does not mean youve done something wrong, and you may be able to make other payments going forward. ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Thanks but I would still like to complain - is there a phone number I can call please? Otherwise I will have to contact the payment regulator ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : There is no ground to refuse this payment ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : So I need to know ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Currently our phones are down due to XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : That is not an excuse - Venmo is owner by PayPal correct? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : They our are parent company ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : I will send an official complain to PayPal and the regulator ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : are our* ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Okay ( XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Is there anything else I can answer for you? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : XXXX how can I contact your complaints department please? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Currently our phones are down due to Covid-19 you can send an email at support@venmo.com ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Is this the complaints department or a general email? I want to contact the complaints department please ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : We do not have a complaints department ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : So where do people send their complains? ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX : Im sorry that we havent been able to come to a better resolution for your case. Id be happy to escalate your case to a supervisor for another look. Theyll follow up with you via email as soon as possible, typically within about an hour during our operating hours. ( XXXX XXXX ) *** XXXX XXXX left the chat *** Here is a transcript of your recent chat with Venmo ( ticket # XXXX XXXX. To add additional comments, reply to this email. XXXX XXXX ( Venmo ) XX/XX/2020, XXXX XXXX CDT Hello XXXX, XXXX here with Venmo support. I know the decline of your transaction can be a bit frustrating. I apologize for the experience here with this payment to your friend. As I wish there was more we can do here but the system generated decision cant be altered. We do not have an exact reason for this decline because this decision was automated by our system. If this is a time sensitive payment to your friend, you may want to consider a different payment processor such as our parent company PayPal. Your issue has been submitted as a complaint Thanks for contacting Venmo. Take care XXXX, XXXX XXXX | Venmo Support
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20001
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-04
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-03
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I made a purchase of 4 cans of XXXX spray through XXXX. It directed me to a website. After my purchase I received the information from Paypal that I had paid {$20.00}. The transaction ID XXXX ... Purchase date XX/XX/2020 Payment to : XXXX Invoice ID : XXXX Merchant Transaction ID : XXXX Item XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ID number : XXXX Says this transaction will appear on my statement as PAYPAL XXXX XXXX Now the phone number they supplied is disconnected. Email : XXXX Phone Number:XXXX Paypal allows scam artist all the time
Company Response:
State: TN
Zip: 38116
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-03
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I tried to buy a plugin for my music production from a person on XXXX in XXXX for XXXX dollars they said to pay them thru paypal as friends and family and when I sent it over they said wait for the product in a few mins. Iv waited a day and tried contacting the seller thru instagram and email but no answers and blocked me the next day. I tried filing a dispute thru XXXX XXXX and notified paypal on the situation in XXXX got the money bak within a week or 2 but the bank is reversing the case and saying it will take effect in XXXX of XXXX saying I violated paypal friends and family policy when the seller told me to pay fo that method and saying item has been delivered when I recieved nothing both disputes left me with defeat
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 140XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-03
Issue: Money was not available when promised
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I had set up a new PayPal account to link it to my XXXX for selling my phones and items around my home. I started getting a cash flow into my account and everything was great I've been shipping my items to my customers. Shortly after I get a notification that my account has been limited. I send all the documents that PayPal has requested to the best of my ability. A few days later, PayPal claims that I'm too high risk to be on their platform and places a 180-day hold on my account and limiting everything instructing me to not use their platform again. This is very poor execution of service. just because I am a new seller on their platform I get my money taken and no way of appealing their actions. You can no longer do business with PayPal. ( Ref ID - XXXX ) Account email XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 10456
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-03
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Subissue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Consumer Complaint: I used PayPal to make a purchase for a XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. The total of {$110.00} was taken from my account. I never received the item. I reached out to PayPal to make a claim on XX/XX/XXXX. I let them know I never received any tracking information and did not receive the XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX Paypal had a XXXX tracking number on the order. I went to XXXX to look up the tracking number, it said it was delivered on XX/XX/XXXX under the carport. I have no carport at my residence so I filed a claim with XXXX. I messaged PayPal that this wasn't delivered and I was asking for a refund. I have tried to speak with an actual person at PayPal to no avail. They denied my claim because they were given a " tracking '' number. Every time I message PayPal on this matter they automatically close the claim. As of today I still have not received the XXXX and had no actual help from PayPal.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 30297
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-08-03
Issue: Fraud or scam
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I have been attempting to close my account with PayPal for several months. Their system is broken and is not functioning as it used to.Their 100 % automated system will not allow me to access my money nor transfer my money. I've been through automated XXXX with them. I've followed all their prompts to mnno avil countless times and their only response ( automated, of course ) is to run me back through their useless system ad nauseam. I've called all their numbers and played their game. There is no possibility of speaking to anyone who can help. This has caused me a greatdeal of frustration and stress forthelast five months. I hope you can help me with this. XXXX Thanks. XXXX XXXX, XXXX
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 94602
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-08-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A