Consumer complaint received 2022-12-05
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: HI
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX a user sent {$25.00} that was owed to me using the Venmo platform. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email notification that this transaction was disputed with the sender 's bank and my account went negative and was frozen. 

- I called Venmo to ask why they would reverse it when they have the evidence that it was a legitimate transaction. 
- The Venmo telephone operator acknowledged that it was a legitimate transaction and stated that they would dispute it with the user 's bank/credit card and that it would take 30 days for results. 

- I waited patiently ; after the 30 days had elapsed I continued waiting with no resolution or even an update. 

I followed up by replying to the email, only to later notice that it was sent to a do not reply inbox. I re-sent the email on XX/XX/XXXX and finally was told that the investigation was complete and that the bank sided with the perpetrator of this fraudulent chargeback. 

I complained that : XXXX. The company took longer than their originally stated turnaround and there wasn't even an update. So my account has remained frozen, as I refuse to pay for a fraudulent chargeback. 
XXXX. The company did not do its due diligence in the dispute because there was plenty of information to gain a favorable result. 

The company responded with a canned response that didn't even address my concerns and basically reiterated the same statement that I was responsible to reimburse Venmo for the fraudulent chargeback. 

Then I received an email on XXXX that Venmo would be disputing it again and that the wait would now be 75 days. 

I complained that it has already been over 45 days since the original dispute. 

Then I received an email that there would be no additional dispute with the user 's institution. 

so, XXXX. Venmo is complicit with fraudulent chargebacks since they offer no protection from their customer 's being harmed and require that their customers be on the hook for fraud perpetrated on their platform ; without any additional recourse or appeal. 
XXXX. Venmo acknowledged the legitimacy of the transaction when I called them. However, the bank sided with the perpetrator. This indicates a lack of proper due diligence in the dispute process, as it should have been clear open-and-shut. 
XXXX. Venmo then misrepresented their turnaround times to me and after no responses to follow-up emails, stated that there would be another dispute with the bank that would take another 75 days. 
XXXX. Venmo then changed the narrative that no further dispute would be allowed. 
XXXX. Venmo would sometimes send me a response with a NO-REPLY email, which lead to even more confusion because when I would reply, I thought it would go through to them, however, the emails wouldn't reach anyone. There was no auto-response regarding a do not reply inbox. I only noticed this later on when I looked closer. Then I would have to forward it to their dispute inbox. This practice shows a lack of interest in communicating with their customers and resolving the issue. 

CFPB should review the information and timing of the communication to the perpetrator 's financial institution and what action has been taken against this user on their platform, given the clear legitimacy of the transaction. 

Venmo should be protecting its consumers from harm by way of fraud on its platform, not being an accomplice to it. 

Is it not a requirement that financial institutions carry insurance for fraud against their customers? 

By the way, I realize it's only {$25.00}, but it's the principle of the matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief