Square, Inc.

I am rejecting this response because: My bank informed me that there are no pending deposits and my friends bank has not refunded the money to her account. How do we go about canceling the payment? It has been well over 14 days, the payment has not been claimed and there is still no cancel option.
 
If your "friends" bank has not refunded the money to her account we recommend they file a claim with the bank.

Please refer to our last reply:
Cardholders are afforded the right to issue a billing dispute for any transaction processed by their credit-issuing bank.  While Square does its best to represent you in challenging the chargeback with the information provided, your customer's card-issuing bank is the ultimate arbiter of each dispute.  Square debited your account for this dispute in accordance with Article 28 of the Square Seller Agreement: "For any transaction that results in a Chargeback, we may withhold the Chargeback amount in a Reserve. We may debit the amount of any Chargeback and any associated Fees, fines, or penalties listed in the Fee Schedule or assessed by the Association or our processor from your Square Account (including without limitation any Reserve), any proceeds due to you, your bank account, or other payment instrument registered with us. If you have pending Chargebacks, we may delay payouts from your Square Account. Further, if we reasonably believe that a Chargeback is likely with respect to any transaction, we may withhold the amount of the potential Chargeback from payments otherwise due to you under this Agreement until such time that: (a) a Chargeback is assessed due to a Buyer's complaint, in which case we will retain the funds; (b) the period of time under applicable law or regulation by which the Buyer may dispute that the transaction has expired; or (c) we determine that a Chargeback on the transaction will not occur. If we are unable to recover funds related to a Chargeback for which you are liable, you will pay us the full amount of the Chargeback immediately upon demand. You agree to pay all costs and expenses, including without limitation attorneys' fees and other legal expenses, incurred by or on behalf of us in connection with the collection of all Square Account deficit balances unpaid by you."Article 27 further states that: "The amount of a transaction may be reversed or charged back to your Square Account (a "Chargeback") if the transaction (a) is disputed, (b) is reversed for any reason by the Network, our processor, or a Buyer or our financial institution, (c) was not authorized or we have any reason to believe that the transaction was not authorized, (d) is allegedly unlawful, suspicious, or in violation of the terms of this Agreement."Billing disputes can take up to 90 days to resolve, however, each timeline varies depending on the card-issuing bank.  Until Square receives official notification of the resolution, Square is unable to resolve the case.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/02) */
Please refer to the latest email correspondence between you and Square from 1/28/16. The message states: " I rechecked your account and can confirm that all necessary actions to prevent any further unauthorized use of your information...

have been taken. I can confirm that there is currently no account associated with your email address. In additional I was unable to view the attachment please feel free to resend the document in as a photo document or copy and paste it into the email if you have any additional concerns."
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2016/02/11) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: Square has merely sent an identical copy of the email from last time, to which I have already replied. My concerns still have not been forwarded to the appropriate person, nor has a manager contacted me in regards to this matter, after asking numerous times to speak to one. I consider that not only highly unprofessional, but insulting as well. Sincerely,[redacted]

I have never had dealing with a company's customer service that could offer you no information in resolving your problems. I processed a larger payment thru them. Received the conformation that the payment had been approved but was later notified that they would need to review the transaction and would need 3 months of my bank statements, photo id and other information to do this. I complied and gave them all the information that they asked for and was supposed to receive a reply in 1-2 business day. I received no reply and the funds were not transfered to my account. It wasn't until I called them that they said they could not give me my money. They were not apologetic nor did they give me any explanation for why this was happening. Also they said there was no one I could speak to about it. And that they were putting a limit on my account from here on out of 1 transaction every 90 days. My only option is to refund the money that they were holding hostage. They had no problem charging me a fee to take money from my customer. If they took the time to inform people of their limits ahead of time then it could save headache for everyone. I would have gone somewhere else. Now I have to humiliate myself by letting my customer know what happened and hope that they get their refund swiftly so I can start the process again with a reputable company. Save your self the frustration and humiliation and do not use this company. How do they have an A+ rating with a 92% negative review?!

We signed up for Square almost a year ago today to be able to offer credit card payments to our contracting vendors. To date, we haven't had a need until one called this past Wednesday asking if we took CC payments. We went online to Squareu[redacted] to ensure our information was up to date and nothing would be lacking prior to accepting the payment. According to Square's payment schedule, the client paid on Thursday prior to close of business and therefore; we should have our funds deposited today - Friday. After business hours last night we were notified that we needed to verify information and they were suspending our deposit up to 3 business days. This is unreasonable when it never asked for any of this prior to taking a payment. We depend on timely deposits. Square representative was extremely blunt and harsh and sarcastic when verifying our banking information (they made us upload recent bank statements to verify our account even though that was done at registration and confirmed with a bank debit card to the account as well). Additionally, they had us upload government documentation and our contract with the client. As the client was only invoiced through Square for a portion (retention) on a project but the total contract was significantly more than that of the invoice; Square questioned the authenticity and didn't understand invoicing in increments plus the client had already paid over time to us with checks - they wanted to us CC this time. The Square Rep, when I asked to be transferred or speak to a manager told me "they don't talk to clients" he then turned even more sour stating they would hold onto the funds and it can take up to 3 business days "per the agreement". Absolutely unacceptable business practices. They should perform due diligence upon implementation of services so they aren't making interest and money beyond the fees they already charge for performing this check after the fact. That is indeed what they are doing. My client verified the funds have already posted and transferred to Square's bank...there's no reason to "hold them for verification". They also refuse to contact our client, etc. to "verify" the legitimacy. Now we have to further hold vendors off on paying them, bills, etc. until funds are deposited. It is absolutely ludicrous they get their fees PLUS interest in their bank account for (what turns out to be) 3+ business days. Not happy with the reps attitude, lack of compassion, lack of aptitude in understanding construction vendors and progress payments and lack of will for wanting to help. After we get our due funds I am cancelling our account. I also advised them in writing and verbally I would be reporting this to Revdex.com and other review boards. Other complaints about Square doing this to other businesses have been posted various times. I would highly recommend they amend their due diligence to be done PRIOR TO accepting funds from anyone's client - this is a money scam...they would not be willing (hands down) to give the client the interest from their bank account earned on the funds. It adds up when you do this to thousands of customers...bottom line must be quite healthy from these money-games.

I opened a square account last year they will not answer my emails they have 3,000 of mine I just dont know what to do this is also happening to a friend he file a complaint here and it has done nothing this is wrong im guessing they are paying for thier status because there is no way they should have a good status. It says in thier terms and conditions that after two years they get to keep the money if it is not claimed well how can we claim it if we cant talk to no one something needs to get done I hate square they are worthless

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/28) */
Hello,
Upon further investigation, a member from Square Support Team reached out to you on September 18, 2015 in response to your email.
If you have additional questions please reply directly to the last message sent to you by the...

Square Support Team representative.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/09/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept this response from the business. They want to use an e-mail as a formal way of contact. PayPal for example has a way to file a claim from fraudulent merchants through their website and by phone. Square is a get over just like the merchant I encountered. They favor the merchant over the consumer. There's a number for merchants but not for consumers.Very Shady!!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/10/14) */
Hello,
Upon further investigation, a member from Square's Support team reached out to you on September 18, 2015. The message states: "Square is not able to process a refund for the payment in question. You need to contact your bank or credit card company and dispute the charge. Once that happens and we receive notification of the billing dispute from your bank or card issuer, we will work with them to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible. We understand that you may be due a credit and will do what we can to streamline the return of any owed funds to your account."
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 13, 2015/10/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Yes, I went to my bank to file a fraudulent claim and was given a refund. The point is the situation shouldn't have had to go to that extent. There should be a protocol in place for both parties not just one. Even now that I watch this company's social account there are buyers complaining about the same problem of not receiving their merchandise and Square Up, Inc. lack there of of protecting the buyer as well, not just the seller. It's like the seller is stealing and you're benefiting from the heist in the process, which means you're guilty by association. Situations like this make it hard for the buyer who spends their hard earned dollar and new potential sellers. I will not purchase from any company that uses your services as an invoice services. I'm pretty sure there's thousands of others as well. Have a blessed day!

Hello [redacted], Thank you for reaching out.Looking at the bank online portal the payment dispute is still showing to be active with your sender's bank.  Looking at the attached files they don't clearly show that your sender's bank has cancelled the payment dispute on this...

transaction. If a dispute cancellation letter cannot be obtained from your customer’s bank, please provide a copy of your customer’s bank statement. The statement must show the following:the original charge, the provisional credit and the proceeding debit applied to the credit card following the cancellation of the disputePlease ensure the statement displays the card holder name and last four digits of the payment card.If you receive a copy of your customers statement as outlined above, please reply directly to this email with it attached in either PDF or JPG format. If we are able to determine the case has been officially canceled, we will be happy to close the dispute for you.[redacted]Square Disputes

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/05) */
Hello [redacted],
Upon further investigation of your account, a Square representative sent an email correspondence on September 3rd detailing that your funds will be deposited into your account within 1-2 business days. There are no other...

updates for this account.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/09/11) */
The client was issued a Refumd and the complaint has been resolved
Thank you

Square was very easy to use. I signed up and immediately began using the Square service. Six months later, everything was going so well that my business more than doubled. However! Business was so good that Square began monitoring my sales. Square sent me an email one day stating that the amount of sales that I was processing was considered too high risk and they immediately closed my account. Yes...Square closed my account because I had too many sales. Square is a nice little service to use if you have small sales every once in a while. But if your sales grow and your transactions start getting larger....find another service! Square is fine for the little guys selling small items from time to time but that's about it. If you intend on processing numerous sales on a daily basis, get a professional credit card processor and leave Square to the little guys.

While I understand this can be frustrating we're unable to release any pending funds till the Chargebacks on your account have been addressed even if the Chargeback have nothing to do with the pending charges

Ok so a week ago on a Thursday evening I was notified that I needed to verify my account information. I called square to get assistance and how to go forward since the upload buttons in the email link didn't work. The lady kindly helped me to get through the process. Then on Monday at around noon I was emailed saying that I was all set and could use my Square account and that the finds were no longer held.
Then last night, on Wednesday, only 2 days later, I was emailed saying my account was deactivated and funds were to be held for 90 days. No warning, no phone call, no requiring information, and most of all no reason that I could possibly be aware of. I followed terms and conditions to the letter. I was charging by invoice so I could not be held responsible for clients card information. I am an online personal fitness trainer. All payments were legit as far as I could tell. No chargebacks in the history of my account and no problems from my end.
I email in for support and to hopefully talk to someone live, and I'm told that phone support is only available for active accounts, so once again I am up against a wall. Email support is a joke. All you get is an apparently prewritten email in reply. No reasoning with a person with common sense. After all day trying to contact someone, I gave no help and I am told this action is not reversible. That I simply cannot have my funds. It was ALL MY FUNDS also. Newish business therefore I was sinking everything I could into it and they waited till long after Square was closed for the day to deactivate my account.
I tweeted support and was told someone would be in touch. This was hours ago and so far no one. No help, no support, and no hope of money for 90 days or my credit card processing. My small but flourishing business is now shut down and there is no one to help. And I mean truly help. To give me hope or to help me think that Square is not a large scam.
I have seen this happen to friends and family and thought surely if I am super careful and keep to the rules it will not happen to me. But here I am, penniless practically and Square doesn't even care to try to help. They won't tell me why except for veiled reasons. They tell me anything even tho it's my account under my social security number, email, phone number birthday, etc. It's a joke and I am telling everyone I meet in tge business world to stay away from them. Restaurants are even getting shut down because Square suddenly decides to put holds on the whole thing. I do not see how it is strictly legal. Sure they have small print bit they are controlling lives and ruining them and I have just become just another casualty.

Hello,Thanks for reaching out. Once the 90 days have passed and there have been no excessive Chargebacks on your account, funds will be released in 90 days.If you do not wish to wait for the 90 day timeframe, you can definitely refund the payments and collect them by another means.Sincerely,

Revdex.com:I have been told that a check is in the mail. Although, Ive been told this a few times before.  Sincerely, R[redacted] Yazzie

When I just open my business four months ago when I decided at some point to get information from Square apparently this company has took my information banking information and keep charging me although I have no business with them there's no phone to reach them they charge you two bucks per day per week per month nobody can be reached out if the system is set up very scam where their phone number are impossibly calling sending messages this is a scam watch out walk away this company is terrible I'm creating a lawsuit whoever wants to join in can let me know this company is a terrible scan San francisco-based

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/02/17) */
Hello [redacted],
Upon further investigation, I see that a member of Square's Account Services team reviewed your account and elected to terminate the account in accordance with Article 42 of the Square Seller Agreement: "We may terminate...

this Agreement and close your Square Account for any reason or no reason at any time upon notice to you. We may also suspend the Services and access to your Square Account (including the funds in your Square Account) if you (a) have violated the terms of this Agreement, any other agreement you have with Square, or Square's policies, (b) pose an unacceptable credit or fraud risk to us, or (c) provide any false, incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading information or otherwise engage in fraudulent or illegal conduct."
If you do not wish to wait the 90 days for your funds to be deposited into your linked bank account, we recommend that you issue a refund for the pending transactions from your Square Dashboard online and seek an alternate method of payment. There are no other updates for this account.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2015/04/22) */
My account was closed and no one bothered to explain before decision was made.
I'm not pleased with service.
1.) I was having issues with a customer making up their mind on specifics with order. I have no control on the decisions a customer makes, I'm just here to service.
2.) Due to availability and bank account requirements, I was forced to change bank info 3 times. When I finally added an account eligible, I received an email stating my account was reviewed and closed.
No one bothered to reach out and speak with me about the activity to get a clear picture or allow me to explain before decision was made.
I have funds from a customer that I've been waiting 3 days to clear on so I can fulfill an order and my customer is getting upset.
I'm requesting someone reconsider or at least reach out to me and allow me to clarify account activity/actions before I take this matter up further.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/05/04) */
Hello [redacted],
Upon further investigation, I can see that a member of Square's Account Services team responded to your inquiry on January 30th, 2015 with an explanation for the decision to terminate your account. If you would like to provide a more detailed explanation of your account activity prior to the termination, please reply directly to the last email sent from Square on January 30th, 2015.
Since you elected to refund both of the payments you processed, there are no longer any funds on hold in your Square balance. These refunds were completed on January 27th, 2015 and January 31st, 2015.
Square can elect to terminate any Square account in accordance with Article 42 of the Square Seller Agreement: "We may terminate this Agreement and close your Square Account for any reason or no reason at any time upon notice to you."
The deactivation notice sent to you by Square on January 30th, 2015 stated that the decision to terminate your account was final, and therefore they will be unable to reconsider their decision.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 15, 2015/05/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Doesn't seem like I have too much of a choice in the matter.

Unfortunately we had 3 charge backs from 1 customer. Initially square told us that the customer had 2 times to dispute the outcome if it was in favore of our company. They stated if we were successful on both times we would have these held funds credited back to us. This was now over 3 months ago and we were successful each time. Now square says they must hold the funds for an additional 2 months in case the customer wishes to dispute the charges a third fourth and now even a fifth, which would mean that potentially we would see the total of $2750 for a year. Just out rite theft on squares behalf. Who do you complain too and get answers? 5-6 different people with a head ache. No were in the contract does it mention anything like this and in fact the say " dispute resolution may take up to 90 days". Unless you have no alternative square may work and of course a charge back is a bad thing and there is a failure to have one but there are people out there who use and abuse the system, just like square. Thank you

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 10, 2015/04/23) */
Thank you. I have heard back from the company and they have assured me that no new accounts will be created in my name. They have said that they are looking into the existing account from the information proided, but cannot disclose any...

details to anyone other than law enforcement. I will forward you a copy of that email, but as of now I believe my matter is resolved. However, I am sure this is happening to many people who would be completely unaware that it is happening.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: This is exactly why I am complaining. Square told my on [redacted] that my account is fine and I would receive my merchant payments. But I didn't receive the funds so I tried calling and emailing Square and receivedthe below response - 
Hello [redacted],
Thanks for writing in. Currently phone support is only available for customers with an active Square account. For more information regarding account terminations, please see our Seller Agreement.
We understand that it can be frustrating to have your account deactivated. Unfortunately, our review found that we cannot support any Square accounts for you or your business.
As stated in the deactivation notice, we will hold the remaining funds in your Square account for ** days from the date of deactivation in order to offset any potential refunds or disputes from your customers. Since your account was disabled on **/**/[redacted] these funds will be released on */**/[redacted].
Depending on your bank’s policies, you should see these funds one to two business days after we release them to your linked bank account. We will notify you as soon as we deposit the funds.
If you don’t want to wait ** days for your funds to be deposited, you may consider refunding the payments back to the original cards and seeking an alternate form of payment. Please note that all refunds must be issued within 6* days of the original transaction date.
To refund a payment, please log in to the Square Dashboard from a computer.
Use the date selector tool to locate the specific payment.
Click the payment you’d like to refund, then click “Issue Refund.”
Select the reason you’re refunding the payment, and click “Issue Refund.”
It usually takes two to seven days for refunded payments to get credited back to the original payment card. The full purchase amount, including the fees, is always returned to your customer.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but our decision to deactivate your account is final.
Thanks, [redacted] Square Account Services ref:_**DE*Y7ru._5[redacted]LiR3gM:ref
 
Sincerely,[redacted]