Consumer complaint received 2025-08-01 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Background Details Transaction Date : XX/XX/year> Amount : {$950.00} USD Transaction ID : XXXX Receiver Name : XXXX XXXX ( my wife ) Dispute Case ID ( from Venmo ) : XXXX XXXX XX/XX/year>, I sent {$950.00} to my wife via XXXX  as a personal payment. 

A few weeks later, XXXX  placed the transaction on hold and later debited my wifes XXXX  account for {$950.00}, causing her account to show a negative balance. 

I received an email from XXXX  stating : We have received your notice of dispute from your financial institution. 

XXXX  further stated they could not investigate because the dispute was allegedly filed through my credit card company. 

Key Facts I did not file or authorize any dispute or chargeback with my credit card issuer. 

I have never received a refund or any notification from my bank or credit card company about this transaction being disputed. 

XXXX  prematurely debited my wifes account on XX/XX/year>, even though XXXX email confirmed that the dispute was only completed/finalized on XX/XX/year>. 

My XXXX  account was frozen until I completed identity verification ( which I have now done ), but my wifes account remains on hold unless she pays the {$950.00} again for a payment I never disputed in the first place. 

Problems with XXXX  Handling Failure to Verify Authorization : XXXX  never contacted me, the cardholder, to confirm if I had disputed the transaction before debiting my wifes account. 

Misuse of Privacy Policy : XXXX  refuses to communicate directly with me about the dispute details, citing privacy rules, even though I am the sender and cardholder. 

Premature Account Debit : XXXX  withdrew {$950.00} from my wifes account months before the dispute was completed by the card issuer, causing unnecessary financial harm. 

Lack of Transparency : XXXX  has not provided proof of any dispute authorization or documentation from the card issuer to justify the debit. 

Resolution I Am Requesting from CFPB I respectfully request CFPBs assistance in directing Venmo to : Conduct a reinvestigation into the alleged dispute, Allow direct communication with me ( the cardholder ) for verification purposes, Provide documentation of any communications between XXXX  and the card issuer regarding this dispute, Restore the {$950.00} to my wifes XXXX  account immediately Important Note My Wife Has Also Filed a CFPB Complaint ( Case Number : XXXX ) My wife has already filed her own CFPB complaint, explaining that : She received the {$950.00}, transferred it to her bank, and later saw her XXXX  account debited. 

XXXX  claims I disputed the payment, which I did not. 

XXXX  is demanding she repay {$950.00} to regain access to her account, despite the fact that neither of us initiated this dispute. 

By mentioning this, I respectfully ask CFPB to link both complaints together so the situation can be reviewed as a single case because the problem impacts both the sender ( me ) and the receiver

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation