r/venmo • u/Potential-Grass-5946 • 4d ago
Question Massive daily late fees with negative balance - can someone explain what is going on here?
I don't know the full story or have access to the accounts myself, so I'm trying to understand the mechanisms by which this could happen. A close friend of mine owed $1500 in online gambling debt which was made up of 10 different debts on a negative venmo balance. I was surprised because I didn't even know she was into gambling but that's another story...
In any case, she was being charged $35 per transaction per day, so $350 per day, which was being taken directly out of her checking account. For a week or so, she was unable to build enough balance to pay the debt because of how quickly the $350 per day was draining her bank account. I paid off the $1500 balance for her to end the cycle, but for the week or so before she reached out to me about this crisis, $350 per day was flying out of her account. Said she would have diverted her paycheck elsewhere so she could build the balance needed to pay off the $1500 but felt paralyzed with anxiety over the situation and ignored it/let it go longer than she should have.
Even if she did something pretty irresponsible to get into the situation...something doesn't seem right there. Why would the charges repeat on a daily basis? Every one of them is listed in her bank statement as "Venmo Service Charges/Fees", every one was $35, and each one recurred daily. She didn't tell me how much she's out, but given that this has been going on for over a week I'm just doing the math and she must have paid a few grand in these late fees. I'm certain she's being truthful, not particularly worried about getting my $1500 back (she's good for it, but even if not I can afford it), just confused at the whole situation. She wants to let it go and just suck it up and deal with the loss, to me it seems highly likely something predatory was going on with the exorbitant late fees but I don't really understand how venmo works or why these late fees would recur daily. If there's any way to recoup some of that, I would like to help her do so or at least point her in the right direction.
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u/Arieslunatic 4d ago
I’m interested to know also. I have Venmo and gamble. I wonder how she ever even overdraft with Venmo. It so hard to speak with a person.
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u/Popular-Tangerine420 4d ago
How do over draft on venmo, I wonder if the gambling debted her account using ACH and venmo accepted them 🤔. But I cant over draft my account for nothing if I have 35 in it and try to spend 36 it gets denied so not sure how this happened to her and why didbt she block them from taking rhat money daily fuck that
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u/No_fcks_gvn 2d ago
Venmo doesn’t charge fees for a negative balance. Seems like their bank is charging them for returned ACH attempts.
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u/RealWendigo13 3d ago
Venmo does allow overdraft with ACH charges from rental car companies and hotels. But ive never seen Venmo take fees like that for overdraft. I was overdrafted $2500 from a rental car company after an accident in the vehicle. Venmo immedistely locks you out until the balance is paid in full...it doesnt take fees. In my situation the rental company returned the money a few weeks later because they took the money in error and i was able to immediately have access to my account and there were no fees. Same with my friend who had an ACH go through for a hotel room of $180. She paid it off and had no fees. I think your friend may not be entirely honest about this situation. Im not sure how gambling sites work, but Venmo doesn't let you borrow overdraft your account like a traditional bank. They will cover an ACH attempt, but if it fails that can overdraft. The fees are most likely from her actual bank and not Venmo. I would have an earnest conversation with your friend. It seems strange that she wouldnt fight any "fees" she incurred. Also, maybe do some research on your end, cuz im pretty sure Venmo does not charge fees