Consumer complaint received 2024-12-05 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I sold my XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX for {$1800.00} to an individual allegedly named " XXXX XXXX ''. The buyer and I met in person at a bar in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, at approximately XXXX XXXX. A few minutes prior to the meeting, the buyer sent the agreed-upon payment of {$1800.00} via Venmo, which I confirmed on my phone before completing the exchange. The buyer inspected the XXXX, verified its condition, and then left with the XXXX in their possession. I then completed the " cash out '' action on my phone to Standard transfer the {$1800.00} of funds to my personal bank account. 

The next day, XX/XX/year>, the buyer contacted me via text message wanting to purchase another XXXX that I was selling through XXXX XXXX, expressing interest in purchasing another XXXX, again offering to pay via Venmo. This proves that they indeed received my XXXX and it was a legitimate transaction. 

On Fri, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX I received and email from Venmo stating " We attempted to debit the disputed amount of a recent chargeback filed by your buyer, but you did not have enough funds in your Venmo account to cover it. As a result, your account has been frozen. The remaining outstanding balance is now {$1800.00}. '' Fri, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX I got another email stating that, " The sender stated that they did not make this purchase. '' The buyer initiated a chargeback, falsely claiming that the original {$1800.00} payment was unauthorized. 

I promptly contacted Venmo and provided extensive evidence to support my claim that this was a legitimate transaction and the buyer 's chargeback was fraudulent. This evidence included : Screenshots of the Venmo transaction, A photograph of the buyers vehicle license plate with photo metadata showing that it was just at the end of the transaction date and time, I shared text messages where the buyer stated they were at the meeting location, I shared the text messages from the buyer stating that buyer was interested in buying another XXXX from me through venmo, and I shared XXXX message exchanges confirming the meetup details that the buyer was at the location. I shared a public XXXX XXXX indicating that the buyer, by name " XXXX XXXX '' scammed them out of products. And I have communications with another user found through XXXX who also was scammed by " XXXX XXXX '' with the same venmo username for XXXX equipment who did the same chargeback scam in the same time period. 

The user XXXX XXXX has several venmo accounts with zero friends on the app, and with the same profile picture as well. 

Despite this clear evidence and my cooperation with Venmos requests, they failed to protect me as a seller and resolve this case. They are currently Since then, I was sent {$200.00} as a gift via venmo to my account and venmo as applied the {$200.00} in your Venmo account towards the outstanding amount they claim that I owe them. 

Venmo has significantly inconvenienced and caused lots of stress and I've spent lots of time trying to clear this up. I have called them and they refuse to give me any information about this account. They didn't share that there are active claims against this user. They have given no information and are saying it could take up to 75 days for the buyer 's financial institution to resolve this. 

I am seeking : Immediate reversal of the chargeback. I want my venmo account and the {$200.00} unfrozen. Venmo should also do a thorough investigation into this buyers fraudulent activity to prevent harm to other users. 

Venmos handling of this case has been unacceptable, leaving me without resolution, without clarity or confidence on what is to come or if I will owe venmo the {$1800.00} back. I request that this case be resolved fairly and promptly. Clear my account and my funds. I made a legitimate transaction using their technology and this is not right how they are processing it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief