Consumer complaint received 2020-08-04
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: DC
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account

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 to consumer: Closed with explanation