Consumer complaint received 2025-01-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/XXXX : I checked my credit card balance after getting my phone fixed and saw my balance was unusually high for the month. Taking a look at my statement, I saw a lot of unrecognized transactions that were made to XXXX. My phone had been broken for the last week and I couldn't get it fixed because I was on a family vacation so I did not check my balance until then. It was a common issue ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) where the screen randomly turned green. 

I filed a dispute with through the credit card app because I had to dispute transactions with XXXX once before, and I remember ending up having to dispute it through my bank ( a different credit card ) anyway so I figured I'd save the time. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Robinhood reaches out through email to ask for evidence to add to the claim. 
" Hope you're well. We're writing in regards to the XXXX transactions that you marked as unauthorized. It looks like you have a transaction history with this merchant across multiple cards. Have you made any attempt to contact them regarding this activity? This appears more likely to be a billing issue than fraud. '' I missed the first email and they reached back out on XX/XX/XXXX, to which I replied " No I haven't because XXXX only allows you to dispute up to XXXX transactions and this is far more than that ''. 

I thought the reason why I had to raise the previous dispute with XXXX to the bank was because XXXX didn't allow you to dispute multiple transactions. This was incorrect. 

XX/XX/XXXX : They follow up and ask me to follow the link to ensure that the charges were not associated with my account. They are associated with my account, but I forgot to reply because of the holiday rush. I just assumed Robinhood would raise the dispute to the merchant like all of my other banks would so I didn't think this would be a huge issue. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I receive an email that the claim is denied and this time, I read it when it arrives in my inbox. In the email it says " We will follow up in the next XXXX business days with more information '' so I choose to wait for more information before replying. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Robinhood has yet to reach out through email, mail, or text with more information and my credit card balance for the month is due so I contact support again through text asking who I can speak to in order to reopen the dispute. I didn't want to pay the bill that included charges that I didn't make so I was hoping to get it removed from my statement for the month. 

Support replies that " the team that handles these concerns are currently unavailable but a representative will follow up with you within the next business day. '' I say " Okay but my balance is due tomorrow and the charges are a part of that balance ''.

I wait an hour and text " Hello? ", hoping for a response. 

Robinhood does not respond. Granted, this is at XXXX on a XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I reach out again saying " Hi could I get a response please? [ Hi ] my balance is due today but there are charges on there that I did not make. I contacted support yesterday and they were concerningly unresponsive. '' They did not respond. At this point I realize they only have support on weekdays, so I don't contact them again. 

XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  ) : They respond saying " Please refer to the email you received on XX/XX/XXXX ... for more information regarding our decision '' The email in question is the XXXX referenced earlier that simply states : " '' '' Claim denied Unfortunately, after reviewing the information provided, we were unable to resolve the dispute in your favor. We will follow up in the next XXXX business days with more information. 
" " '' There is no information at all for me to review so I follow up, hoping to get some more information about their investigation process : " Did Robinhood contact the merchant? I would like to reopen the dispute if not. My phone screen was broken during the time these transactions were made. I even have receipts fro the repair a couple days after. '' They ask me if I contacted XXXX regarding this activity, and I respond yes. They ask whether or not the activity was associated with my or a family members account. I respond that I tried refunding it through their portal ( I did not, because I remembered the last time the portal was very unhelpful -- I should've done it through the portal here ). 

Then I get heated because I realize that, after 30 days, Robinhood hasn't even reached out to the merchant. XXXX has proof of me going into the store inquiring for a green screen repair. I was assuming that Robinhood already contacted XXXX and received this information before denying the claim, but they didn't. 

So I ask if Robinhood credit card support experiences in the future will be like this also, " questioning the consumer and doing whatever 's possible to not reach out to the merchant '' because none of my other banks have ever resisted reaching out to the merchant to this degree. We go back and forth. I ask to speak over the phone to somebody, they respond that they didn't. 

They say the charges occurred on a virtual card named " XXXX '' and that there are no further transaction attempts on the primary card so it does not seem compromised. I tell them that the apple account has already been disabled, so there can be no further transactions ( I tried downloading an app and it said the account has been disabled ).

Some further back and forth, the support agent says " We will be happy to reopen your case once you have confirmed with XXXX that this activity is not associated with your or a family member 's account. Have you actually contacted XXXX 's support to identify this activity? ". 

I assumed they knew that if you could see the charges on the portal, the charges are attached to your apple id, but I clarified it : " No I haven't contacted support [ to verify the activity is not associated with my account ] because I can see what the charges are for. They are on one of my apple ids but were not made by me. They were made while my phone screen was literally broken. It was solid green and I could not see anything at all. '' They say " If these charges are associated with your XXXX XXXX and visible on your account, it is unlikely a fraud dispute would be decided in your favor '' which I found odd because that's the whole reason why I was creating a dispute in the first place. 

They ask what the purchases are for, and I tell them that they're for some game my nephews play. 

XXXX minutes later, they respond that my credit card app activity indicates my phone was in working order during the time the transactions were made and that the dispute is denied. At a loss for words, I respond " It wasn't in working order though. The screen was literally green. I could not see anything that it was doing ''. 

Then they respond with " Please refer to the email you received on XX/XX/XXXX ... for more information regarding our decision. If you believe this was made in error, please respond to that email with additional evidence within 10 days to prove you ... were not related to these charges. '' I attempt to ask them questions to find exactly what proof they want me to submit. XXXX minutes, no response. I text " Hello?? '' and they respond with the same exact response.

I respond with " I'm asking what proof you would like me to submit. It sounds like you guys are just trying to delay the chargeback until your customers feel like it's too much work to pursue or miss the deadline. How can I prove we [ me and my authorized user ] did not make the charges? '' 15 minutes and no response. I text " Hello? ".

They respond and tell me to submit documentation to prove that I was not related to these charges. One of the examples they gave me was to file a police report and give an alibi. Finally, they say the credit card app activity indicates my phone was in working order. 

I respond with a lot of questions and say " I thought I told you my phone screen was green. XXXX has records of that fact because I went into the store to get a quote on how much it would cost to get it fixed. Can you get those records for me? Or contact the merchant as part of the investigation? '' No response. I text " XXXX? '' again after XXXX minutes. 

They paste the exact same message as above " Please refer to the email you received on XX/XX/XXXX ... ''. Keep in mind, that email has NO information about the investigation itself. 

I ask them the same questions because they didn't respond, and they respond XXXX minutes later with " As previously stated, we recommend contacting XXXX directly to confirm that this activity is not associated with your or a family member 's account ''. 

I already confirmed that they are on XXXX of my apple ids in an earlier text message. The support agent clearly seems uninterested, pasting the same replies, waiting for XXXX minutes between replies, so at this point, I give up and gather the evidence I can to reply to the email. 

I initiate the refund through XXXX 's support under " unauthorized purchase by a child or family member '', and as expected, am denied. I put it under that reason because I didn't know what other reason to appeal under. I appeal, and am denied again. Like I expected from previous experience, XXXX provided no reasoning other than that the refund was denied. 

This whole process took a week or so. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I gather the evidence of the screen repair and send an email to Robinhood once again, this time with the proof that my phone was indeed broken. I attached XXXX pictures, XXXX showing the receipt for the phone repair dated XX/XX/XXXX, and the second showing that my phone still has the " Finish Screen Repair '' notification on it, showing that I did in fact get my screen repaired. 

In the email, I say : " '' '' Initiated refunds through apple portal as directed by their support and was denied. Appeal denied also. No reasoning is provided by XXXX, ever. 

Support agent would not believe the phone screen was green as stated. Further evidence attached as requested Photo XXXX : Repair invoiced on XX/XX/XXXX. Had to get it repaired after returning from family thanksgiving trip. 

Photo XXXX : Phone screen repair notification on XXXX For some reason it seems like the support agent wanted to do anything in their power to not reach out to the merchant, but XXXX also has proof of an in shop visit inquiring about their screen repair prices on the XXXX. 

For further proof, please reach out to the merchant themselves. 
" " '' I tell them that, once again, XXXX themselves also have proof of an in person visit for a repair quote for a completely green screen. 

They respond XXXX minutes later, saying that the concern is transferred to the appropriate team for resolution and a representative will follow up shortly. 

XXXX minutes later, they respond and say : " '' '' XXXX XXXX, Thank you for providing this screenshot. We have reviewed this information carefully, and our decision remains unchanged. Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient evidence to prove that the escalated transactions were fraudulent. As mentioned, your app activity indicates your phone was in working order on XXXX. 

Best, The Robinhood Credit Team " '' '' I respond, telling them that I just sent them proof that the phone was not in working order during that time. I ask for the person 's name and anybody involved in the investigation, hoping to get contact information just in case if it was needed later.

An hour later, Robinhood responds that " we have already provided you with all of the information and details that we are able to share regarding our investigation. In order to protect the integrity of our fraud prevention measures, we can not share investigation details that were based on internal data. Rest assured that our decision is based on a thorough examination of the available evidence. XXXX XXXX  Now I'm at a loss of what to do next. Keep in mind, I invest all my money through Robinhood and invest money in the company itself. I'm afraid of raising any legal action because they have control over most of my family member 's assets. 

This has been almost a month long process and Robinhood seems to refuse to listen to any proof I've sent in AND refuse to contact the merchant for proof that seems like it would be pertinent to their decision. 

To me, it really feels like they're doing anything in their power to not contact XXXX. I've already invested many hours with the support agent, doing what I could to provide them with evidence that I'm telling the truth. Instead of giving it any credibility, they deny the claim stating that my phone was functioning correctly even though the merchant themselves has proof otherwise.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation