Consumer complaint received 2025-10-14 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I noticed a series of unauthorized XXXX transactions ( 9 in total ) totaling {$760.00} on my Venmo account. I immediately contacted Venmo that same day to report the fraud, but their representative told me I could not open a dispute until the charges cleared from pending status. The transactions cleared the following day, XX/XX/XXXX, at which point I formally filed the dispute. 

Venmo acknowledged my report by email but denied my dispute on XX/XX/XXXX, only four days later, without ever contacting me for information or evidence. I discovered the denial only by checking the Venmo appno written notice, no explanation, and no provisional credit were ever provided. 

After seeing my disputes marked Denied in the Venmo app on XX/XX/year>, I called Venmo support and spoke with a representative named XXXX. I explained that I had not authorized any of the charges. I sent Venmo my location data proving I was not in Connecticut, where the fraudulent orders occurred, and provided the XXXX ticket number for my separate fraud report with them. 
I also offered to send the individual XXXX confirmation emails, which showed the orders were placed under multiple different names. XXXX told me he did not need that information. Despite this, Venmo has never reopened or properly reviewed my dispute. 

Since then, I have had to call multiple times for updates. Each time I am told a different story, such as that the previous agent did not complete the dispute or sent it to the wrong department. I have been promised follow-ups with varying timelines but have received no correspondence or written updates whatsoever. The only email I have received was on XX/XX/XXXX, which I had to request the representative send me while on the phone with her, vaguely stating that my case was escalated to the correct department. No former timeline given. I asked for a direct email address that I could reach out to and was told she could not give me one. 

XXXX actions appear to violate the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E ( 12 CFR 1005.11 ), which require financial institutions to : conduct a timely and reasonable investigation, issue provisional credit within 10 business days if more time is needed, and provide written notice of the investigations results and reasoning. 

I am including all screenshots showing the call log into venmo with no return call or resolution, incoming emails from venmo showing no urgency in contacting me, doordash ticket number, my location from the date and surrounding dates in question as well as the email confirmations showing multiple charges in different names. 

XXXX negligence contributed to these losses. I contacted XXXX immediately after the first charge, clearly stating that the transactions were unauthorized. Their representative was unable to stop the additional charges in real time and only deactivated my account after all nine transactions had gone through. They then directed me to dispute the issue with Venmo. I am requesting that XXXX also be included in this investigation and be held accountable for their failure to prevent or address the fraudulent activity. 


Venmo failed to meet all of these obligations despite my prompt reporting and cooperation. I am requesting that XXXX XXXX Department issue a full refund of {$760.00}, provide documentation of their investigation, and confirm the corrective measures they will take to ensure proper Regulation E compliance in future fraud cases.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation