Consumer complaint received 2022-01-28
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: TN
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022, I received a Venmo user ID to purchase event tickets from someone I became connected to via an online message board. I sent a portion of the purchase price to the Venmo user ID at XXXX. After about 3 hours, the seller still had not emailed me the tickets I was purchasing, so I decided I did not want to move forward with this transaction. I was still communicating with the seller via a messenging app, and I let the user know that I was going to stop payment. 

I tried to find options on the Venmo app and website that could provide me some help/protection in this scenario. The app redirected me to their FAQ webpage, which was not specific enough for my situation. The app offered a way to connect via email, however I needed a more immediate response. The preferred method of communication seemed to be via an automated robot, " Venmo Chatbot. '' This chatbot seemed to only pull in the same answers from the FAQ page, none of which were helpful to my situation. I was looking for an obvious way to " stop payment '' or " dispute payment '' or " hold payment '', and Venmo offers none of these options. The best information I could find via the FAQ was that if any payment is made in error ( for any reason, including a typo ), the only recourse is for the sender to request money be sent back from the receiver. This seems highly unrealistic in a scamming situation. 

Without any immediate way to interrupt the payment and notify Venmo of this potential scam, I called my banking institution and put a " stop payment '' on the amount of my purchase. I disconnected my checking account from my Venmo account. I blocked the user. 

I never received any inquiry from Venmo as to why I initiated these steps ( disconnecting forms of payment from my account ). After 5 days without any communication, Venmo emailed me to let me know that they went ahead and paid the receiver, on my behalf, since I had " inadequate funds '' in my account. They took my Venmo balance, {$95.00}, and now they say I owe them the remaining balance. 

My complaint is that Venmo is not doing enough to protect senders and receivers from possible fraud/scams. As a 3rd party payment platform, why would Venmo enter into a disputed negotiation on either side of the sender or receiver, without knowing the details of the transaction? Why was there no attempt to contact me to ask why I had suddenly disconnected my checking account after 3+ years of uninterrupted service, BEFORE making a payment that I had very clearly tried to stop? 

It remained very hard to get a human on the phone using the Venmo Customer Service line, and I received very little information about how my case would be handled, and when I could expect follow up. 

I did contact the person I had sent money to, per Venmo 's suggestion, and asked that they refund my money since they never provided the good ( event tickets ) that they had promised me. I received no response. 

I'm attaching screenshots of the other user 's profile, which suspiciously indicates this account may have been set up the very same day that I sent money. Did Venmo initiate a transfer to an account that wasn't set up yet? The app did not prompt me for the user 's last 4 phone digits, which is usually a security feature for people you pay who are new or not in contacts. 

As a " neutral '' payment platform, Venmo 's standards and practices seem to highly favor the receiver of funds, giving senders no practical way to immediately stop/pause/dispute payments that are made in error.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief