Consumer complaint received 2022-01-13
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: NC
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2022, I received the following confusing and unexpected message from Venmo : We have recently reviewed your usage of Venmo 's services, as reflected in our records. Due to the nature of your activities, we have chosen to discontinue service to you in accordance with Venmo 's User Agreement. As a result, we have placed a permanent limitation on your account. 

We ask that you please remove any and all references to Venmo from your website and social media accounts. 

You may transfer the remaining account balance to your bank account but you will no longer be able to access your Venmo account. 

We thank you in advance for your cooperation. 

Sincerely, Team Venmo I wrote back on the same day that I did not understand why my account was suspended. I only use it for transactions among friends. In no way do I use it for commercial purposes. 


Later on the same day ( XXXX XXXX, 2022 ), I received the following email from " Team Venmo. '' We have received your email and will respond within 24 hours. You can always view answers to frequently asked questions in our Help Center. 

While youre waiting, how about you verify your email address if you havent already? Itll help us improve your Venmo experience. 

If you have an account related question and didn't write from the email address associated with your Venmo account, please reply with your account 's email address, phone number, the issuer of your funding source, and the last 4 digits of your card or account number. ( Example : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX. ) We look forward to helping soon. 

Your ticket number is # XXXX. If you have additional info, simply reply to this email. 


I did not feel comfortable responding to an email asking for personal information, so I did not reply. 


On Thursday, XXXX XXXX, 2022 I received the following email from a Team Venmo representative named XXXX : My name is XXXX, on behalf of Venmo. Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. 

While we encourage the use of Venmo, we must ensure all users abide by our User Agreement. After reviewing your account, we have found that your actions and activity have been in violation of this agreement. 

As a result, your account has been permanently deactivated and we regret to inform you that we can no longer offer you the Venmo service. We do not make these decisions lightly, and when we do, it is to help ensure that Venmo continues to be a safe way to make payments. 

If you have questions regarding this decision, please note that we do not divulge our decision-making criteria in order to protect the systems that monitor activity on Venmo. 

I apologize that we are unable to assist you further. 

Best regards, XXXXXXXX XXXX  | Venmo Support I have been unable to transfer my current balance of {$15.00}. I have written back to XXXX that I am reporting them and I would like my {$15.00} balance immediately.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation