Stripe, Inc.

Complaint: 12767521I am rejecting this response because:
 My business has been running for more than a year, and I have previously used stripe for transactions, stripe has previously paid out transactions that I have processed. My account has never had a dispute for any transaction that’s been run with stripe, nor any other payment providers. 
 
 My account with stripe has been open more than a year, why is it that when I run a transaction in the amount of $1,800 my account is now subject to further review, when Stripe has paid out smaller transactions. Furthermore my website was used from the opening of my account, and was not subject to a 2nd review until now. 
 
My account has 3 bank accounts on file, with 3 currencies, USD, GBP, and EUR. Surely by providing multiple bank accounts would ensure my liability risk to be lowered compared to other business who only provide one. My GBP account is the default payout option and allows for Direct Debit Guarantee, for any disputes that may arise. 
 
5 days to find another merchant payment provider is fair, however any funds I process would still be put into reserve, which does not allow my business to pay for credit accounts, or vendors who aren’t as flexible to wait 90 days for a payout from my merchant account, because they claim my account is of risk, when in fact my account and business model, and overall business is in fact lowered risk because of what my business has provided to Stripe to ensure a smooth running of all transaction and business conducted. 
 
Furthermore I I wish to have my payout resumed, I believe that my business posses no risk to stripe, its banking partners, or even my own customers. 
 
Travel and lifestyle companies with a large following such as mine standout from the rest, with more than 50,000 followers in Instagram and Twitter, 27,000 in Facebook likes, a business such as mine does not risk its reputations, we have a solid business, with two international locations of operations(New York and London, UK)and 5 employees, and our clients continue to come back to us. Our company is transitioning from Bank Transfer only to Credit Card Acceptance, we value Stripe as a partner, we would hope they would reconsider, however we as a business and I as a business owner understand risk, but we do not pose any risk of stripes 1% or more. We would appreciate to continue to do business with stripe, or if we can’t, then we still request a 75% payout of our current balance owed to us, and the remaining 25% be kept in reserve until 90 days from the closing of our account. 
 
Regarding the $1,800 we can also provide a copy of physical card when transaction was paid, as a travel company we keep records of our clients for future business.
 
 
I look look forward to a positive outcome for both of us as business partners, 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Brendan [redacted]
 
Sincerely,Brendan [redacted]

At Stripe, we are obligated by financial institutions and our banking partners to perform due diligence on any accounts that sign up to process charges. These same institutions and regulations forbid us from working with businesses that could pose a risk of chargebacks, therefore we as every...

account on our platform to ensure they remain well within our chargeback limit. After the complainant signed up for Stripe, during a routing risk assessment of their account, it came to light that the account was somewhat related to a separate account which had experienced a large number of chargebacks. The limitations imposed on us by financial regulations required us to close the related account, and because of the relation between this account and the complainant's, we were required to place a reserve on the account's funds in order to compensate for chargebacks. We reserve the right to place such reserves, which is outlined in our Terms of Service here: https://stripe.com/us/legal#clearing-funds-and-reserves The passage reads: "We may impose a Reserve on you for any reason if we determine that the risk of loss to Stripe, Customers, or others associated with your Stripe Account is higher than normal. For example, we may hold a Reserve if: (i) your or your Customers’ activities increase the risk of loss to us or to your Customers, (ii) you have violated or are likely to violate this Agreement, and (iii) your Stripe Account has an elevated or abnormally high number of Disputes."After placing the reserve, we reached out to the complainant to let them know that we would be holding the funds, and would release them after 60 days. We impose this time frame as most chargebacks are settled within 60 days. However, after receiving the Revdex.com complaint, and after further research on the account, it came to our attention that the complainant's account was in fact not related to the original, rejected account. After reassessing risk, we at Stripe have agreed that the complainant's account does not pose a higher risk than other accounts, and as such we have lifted the reserve on the complainant's account. The funds in question are in transit and will land in the complainant's connected bank account on November 16th. While false-positives are rare, we admit that we originally misdiagnosed this account and are currently working with the complainant to get their account running smoothly again.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/15) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of...

Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On December 11th, 2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.

Stripe operates within the constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks, and applicable laws. Therefore, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe...

accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms Because Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe has be certain that a business using Stripe is in agreement with our terms and conditions outlined. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.During a routine review, Stripe identified possible signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe temporarily paused activity on the user's account while we looked for confirmation that the complainant's business met our standards. Due to some issues clarifying the user's business model, description and URL, this review was delayed unexpectedly. However, we were eventually able to confirm the complainant's business model and these paused transfers have been resumed. These funds have been sent out to the complainant.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/06/20) */
While Stripe does monitor users' accounts for suspicious activity and subsequently alerts users to suspicious transactions, Stripe users have the most information about their customers. Additionally, Stripe often does not have all of the...

information about transactions since Stripe is reliant on transaction information Stripe users pass along to Stripe. Because of this, Stripe offers fraud prevention controls and fraud tools that Stripe users can utilize to minimize and prevent fraud. Additionally, since Stripe users have the most information about their customers, when Stripe notices suspicious transactions, Stripe alerts users to this activity but final decisions on how to action these transactions are left to the users themselves.
In this case, Stripe alerted the complainant to the fraudulent charges the same week that the charge was made. Stripe recommended that the complainant refund these charges unless the complainant was certain that they were authorized by the legitimate cardholder. After a conversation with the "customer," who appears to have not been the legitimate cardholder, the complainant went ahead with the transaction. Thirty-five days later, the actual cardholder issued a dispute with the reason code "fraudulent." More information about this reason code and actions that can be taken subsequent to receiving a dispute categorized in this way can be found here: https://support.stripe.com/questions/dispute-fraudulent-evidence .
When a chargeback is issued, a merchant is liable for the full amount of payment of the chargeback plus any associated fees, fines, expenses or penalties because following the customer's complaint, most banks tend to immediately side with the customer without additional investigation, and initiate a formal dispute. Stripe charges $15 per chargeback (note: this fee is dependent upon the currency in which the Stripe user receives funds), though this fee is refunded if the issuing bank decides the dispute in the user's favor. In the event that a Stripe user is able to win a dispute, Stripe returns the full amount of the charge and the $15 fee to the user, and incurs this cost. Stripe returns that fee because Stripe feels strongly that users shouldn't be penalized for disputes that are resolved in their favor. In this case, the complainant lost the dispute, and is now liable for the full amount of payment of the chargeback, plus the associated $15 fees for the two disputed charges, totaling $737.53.
Stripe provides information about how Stripe handles disputes here: https://support.stripe.com/questions/how-does-stripe-handle-chargebacks . Additional information about disputes or chargebacks can be found here: https://stripe.com/help/disputes . The relevant section of the Stripe Terms of Service can be found here: https://stripe.com/us/terms#chargebacks
When contesting chargebacks, Stripe provides merchants with chargeback assistance, including status notifications and the facilitating chargeback responses. However, Stripe does not assume liability for this role or assistance in contesting chargebacks. Stripe provided these services to the complainant, who was unfortunately did not win the dispute, and is now liable for the disputed funds.
The relevant section of the Stripe Terms of Service can be found here: https://stripe.com/us/terms#contesting-your-chargebacks .
Because Stripe provided notification to the complainant about the fraudulent charges, and because Stripe is not liable for the disputed charges, Stripe unfortunately will not be reimbursing the complainant for these disputed charges nor for the associated fees.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/06/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Paragraph two starts off with bold face lies. Stripe alerted me to the complaint by removing the funds from my account without warning. They sent an email the same day stating "We're sorry to report that one of your customers has disputed a $359.92 charge (made on February 26, 2014) with his or her credit card company. The cardholder is claiming that the payment was one that they did not authorize." As well as a second one with the dollar amount of $377.61 on April 3, 2014. It was quite a shock to have $737.53 removed from my account since the original orders were placed on February 26, 2014. That was how I learned of the complaint, no prior notice, no warning that they would be removing the funds, nothing. They never recommended I refund the charges (paragrah 2, line 2) as they had already done that for me.
When I received the two orders in question, I did NOT receive a flag or warning from Stripe that this was suspicious. I sent the customer an email confirming their orders and mailed it with tracking numbers. I have noticed that Stripe provides a significant amount of fraud alerts on larger platforms like Shopify - which uses Stripe as their processor. They have a colored scale starting with low rish (green) and escalating to high risk (red). Therefore, it would be very obvious, on Shopify, if the transaction was fraudulent. There is no such option on Ecrater. I am an idividual running a very small business. I rely on processors, like Stripe, to filter such transactions. There is only so much I can do, as an individual. It appears that if I was a larger, multi-million dollar business, more attention would be paid to the risk factor of my charges as Stripe would be losing a great deal of money due to fraud if they didn't. The loss from an individual, such as myself, means nothing to them. But it meant everything to me. It was crippling. In this instance (or in similar instances), when the Seller has no real means to determine the authenticity of a cardholder, it should fall on Stripes shoulders to absorb the claim. After all, Stripe does claim "Proven fraud protection Stripe actively works to protect your business from fraudulent charges and monitors suspicious transactions."
This is stated right on the front of their features page. A page you read before you sign up. Their choice of words makes you feel secure, like they will filter out fraudulent charges. I have never had an issue like this with CBA, PayPal or Google Merchant (while it was operating). Further, I have never had a problem with Stripe as a processor for Shopify. So, Stripe has failed on their end, leaving me to try be the fraud filter they claim to be. They have misled the public as to their capabilities or actually, the level to which they help small businesses (which is none).
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/07/08) */
Ms.[redacted],
I have reviewed your latest complaint from the Revdex.com, and I want to first apologize to you that we did not respond in a manner that I would have preferred. At Stripe we work hard to help our users with all aspects of their processing, and in this case, I feel we fell short in assisting you with this issue.
These transactions were flagged by our system, which normally emails out to our users to let them know that they might be dealing with potentially fraudulent transactions. This allows our users to come to a decision regarding whether or not they should refund those payments, as they would usually have additional information regarding their customers that are not in our systems.
I am sorry that you were victim to fraud by a customer, and while this unfortunately happens online, we do try to provide fraud filters to our users to help them. In this case, you state that you did not receive an alert from us, and coupled with your own information were then unable to decision these negatively.
While we are not obligated to, because your experience with Stripe isn't what we strive to provide to our users, I have decided to refund the full amounts corresponding to those chargebacks, alongside any associated fees from our banking partners.
Again, Ms[redacted], I am sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for being a Stripe user.
Regards,
Stripe Support team member
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2014/07/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Thank you very much.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/12/26) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high...

degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
After a routine review, Stripe reached out to the complainant on December 11, 2015 asking for confirmation they have ownership of their listed web domain. The complainant confirmed this on December 12th.
The complainant reached out to Stripe on December 17th about her transfers, and we responded letting her know we were in the process of reviewing her information:
"During our review to authenticate that information, we have had to briefly pause your transfers. The review process usually takes a couple of days, and we attempt to make this pause seamless for our users to the greatest extent possible. I apologize that it has come at an inconvenient time for you."
We completed our review of the account on December 21st, and enabled the complainant's transfers that same day. The complainant's transfer was sent out on December 23rd and should arrive soon.
There was a delay between when the complainant confirmed their web domain and when we were able to review their account. We would like to sincerely apologize for this delay in releasing the complainant's transfers.
These precautionary measures are vital to our business, but in this case there was a delay in reviewing the complainant's information. If the complainant has any issues or questions we can help with as they continue to process with Stripe, we will do everything possible to respond quickly.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 5, 2015/12/24) */
[redacted],
Thanks for emailing me.
Stripe did contact me via email and my account now says that the transfer of $873.30 is in progress to my account and will be in my account by the 23rd of December. Thank you for helping out.
-[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: This company accused accused my client of placing a fraudulent charge although they had 0 reason to be suspicious. On top of that, they held a payment for over the time it takes to process because of what they assumed.  It would normally take 2-3 days to process but they accused the client of making fraud charges before the payment even cleared, in which it did.  Stripe is just a terrible company. As far as I'm concerned it is discrimination. Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/03/25) */
On March 21st, the user wrote to Stripe to request assistance logging into his account. On Monday, March 23rd, Stripe support responded to the user, scheduling a call to verify his identity and re-enable login. Later on the same day, we...

were able to contact the user and resolve the login issue. As our records show, the last message the user sent us thank our representative for her assistance, to which the representative sent one last message asking the user to reach out if he was in need of further assistance.
At this time, we have received no further correspondence from the user, and it appears that the issue has been resolved.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 9, 2015/03/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Stripe did respond to me through email. After a few additional emails, a Stripe representative called me and resolved the issue.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/20) */
We appreciate the opportunity to follow up on this case with the complainant.
The complainant contacted Stripe on June 25 to inquire about a dispute that was received on June 23.
A Stripe support specialist responded on that same...

day with information about handling charges that may be fraudulent. This unfortunately did not directly address the complainant's request for advice on responding to the dispute.
We reached out to the complainant again on July 3 to ask for more information about additional disputes that they had received. In this email, we offered advice on addressing what seemed to be a pattern of fraud on their account. This advice included ways to:
+ limit the risk of fraud on their account
+ secure their account
+ return funds in payment for the chargebacks associated
with the disputes

The complainant contacted Stripe again on July 8, at which time they requested information for handling the disputes directly with the credit card companies.
A second Stripe support specialist responded back on the same day to let them know that we could not provide the information that the complainant was requesting. We did not hear back from the complainant directly to let us now they needed more information.
We apologize for incorrectly assessing the user's request when they first reached out to us on June 25. Unfortunately, we did not learn about their dissatisfaction until receiving this complaint.
On July 13, after receiving the complaint, Stripe support reached back out to the user to provide more comprehensive information about responding to disputes, and information about the specific disputes in question. It's our hope that this information was helpful in clarifying the disputes in question.
To this date, the complainant has not returned funds for the disputed charges. We would very much like to work with the user to explore options for repayment, as well as ways they can avoid similar disputes in the future.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/25) */
Stripe operates within a variety of constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks and applicable law. As a result, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of...

Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms
Since Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe needs to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. On the 3rd of October 2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason".
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I will like my money now because I need my money and I dont care if you guys want to do business with me or not I just want my money I have another company that will love to take payments with me so just send my money.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/02) */
As mentioned, we have identified strong signals that the complainant was in violation of the Stripe's Terms of Service. In particular, we noticed many unauthorized charges. On the 3rd of October 2015, Stripe reached out to the complainant to advise them of our decision and the closing of the account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with our ToS. In particular, the significant credit or fraud risk:
https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
We will resolve the issue with these unauthorized charges independent of the complainant.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/12/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
JUST MY MONEY THAT IS ALL I AM ASKING THANK YOU

Stripe operates within the constraints imposed by our banking partners, credit card networks, and applicable laws. Therefore, Stripe must fully understand its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe...

accounts, and the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms 
Because Stripe bears financial responsibility for all accounts using Stripe to accept payments, Stripe has to have a high degree of confidence about their legitimacy, and their likelihood of delivering promised goods and services. Stripe also periodically reviews accounts to verify that they meet these standards, and reaches out to merchants should any issues arise.
During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card. The majority of the complainant’s business seemed to be driven through unauthorized, fraudulent charges.  On May 17, we reached to the complainant to let them know about our concerns and to get more information about the payments in question. The complainant submitted additional information the same day, which was used to complete an additional verification. Therefore, after a thorough investigation, Stripe closed the complainant's account.
The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Our terms very clearly state that Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason" : https://stripe.com/us/terms#termination
While we will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, this does not preclude the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any of the account's existing data.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/05) */
Disputes can be a frustrating part of accepting credit card payments, and Stripe does everything possible to make sure our users have an advantage during the disputes process. That said, Stripe does not have the ability to resolve disputes for...

our users, or make decisions about who wins or loses. Stripe provides tools to our users for submitting evidence to their customers' card-issuer, but that issuer is the entity who arbitrates the process, not Stripe.
This user wrote to Stripe on April 27th 2015, questioning the validity of a payment they had received and asking for advice on whether or not to ship the merchandise. On April 29th, 2015, a Stripe support representative responded explaining that the payment did not seem legitimate, and advised the complainant not to ship merchandise, and to refund the payment.
As a matter of further clarification, Stripe does not authorize charges for our users. Much like the disputes process, we pass [redacted] relevant information (including any CVC, street check, and ZIP checks the user mentions in his complaint) to the card-issuing bank, who then authorize or decline the charge.
While it appears that the complainant took reasonable steps to resolve the disputes in their favor, Stripe is not in a position to cover the cost of disputed funds for our users. Our terms explicitly state that users are "immediately liable to Stripe for the full amount of payment of the Chargeback plus any associated Fees, fines, expenses or penalties." Our terms further state that "Stripe may provide you with assistance including notifications and software to help you contest your Chargebacks. We do not assume any liability for our role or assistance in contesting Chargebacks." Our users accept these terms when they create their Stripe accounts. More information can be found in our terms of service, here: https://stripe.com/us/terms#chargebacks
Disputes are a reality of accepting credit card payments, especially online. In this case, there are no extenuating circumstances that warrant Stripe assuming liability for the disputed funds, though of course we will continue to support her as much as possible through any further disputes or chargebacks she receives.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As a matter of clarification, this complaint is not to influence Stripe in making a decision for or against the disputed transaction, but rather for them to take responsibility for dispute.
With regards to the correspondence I sent Stripe on 04/27/2015 concerning the validity of the charge, it was stated I would receive a response within 24-hours. Unfortunately they did not reply in the allotted time frame and the response did NOT recommend the order not be shipped or the payment refunded. The response actually stated, "it's kind of difficult to give a 100% positive answer for you" and was labeled a "borderline case". The ONLY suggestion from Stripe was, "I would suggest reaching out to your customer, just to see what they say about your concerns.".
Again... My account was setup to require CVC and address verification. Stripe however, does not disclose that buyers can leave this information blank allowing for fraudulent charges to be accepted. This was the core problem in my situation. Logic should dictate that false AND/OR no CVC/address should result in the same... A decline in the charge.
Furthermore, the ONLY reason I did business with Stripe was because its a requirement to sell in the Storenvy marketplace. All the gibberish stating Stripe actually provides no service is buried in pages and pages of fine print which one would need to retain a lawyer to decipher.
I have been an online retailer for five years. In those five years I have used PayPal to accept all my payments, including those made by credit card, and not one time has there been a fraudulent charge. Yet only three transactions in with Stripe and I'm ripped off. This is nobody's fault except that of Stripe who accepted a payment which should have been refused based on my settings to decline payments which do NOT pass [redacted] & address verification.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/06/17) */
The complainant contacted us on April 27th to ask whether or not it was safe to ship the product. The body of this e-mail from the complainant follows with sensitive details redacted:
I received a payment in the amount of $225 and want to ensure its a valid payment before I ship the product. Is it valid and safe for me to ship?
Date: 2015/04/26 17:35:08
Payment ID: [redacted]
Request ID: [redacted]
Buyer ID: [redacted]
Store ID: [redacted]
[redacted] ID: [redacted]
We responded to the complainant on April 29th, and advised that it was likely a fraudulent charge. Our response to the complainant follows:
Hi [redacted],
Thanks for reaching out to us about this order.
I've taken a look at this charge and since *3rd party redacted* didn't pass [redacted] shipping information on to us, it's kind of difficult to give a 100% positive answer for you.
However, based on the information provided, I feel that this charge isn't legitimate. The reason I feel this could be a fraudulent charge is the Zip code ([redacted]) is for *city redacted * but that card issue country is *country redacted*. Even though the CVC passed [redacted] checks, it's possible that the card itself could be stolen, in which case, all card information including the cardholder's name and CVC would still be correct.
I would suggest reaching out to your customer, just to see what they say about your concerns. You'll often be able to get a good feeling whether any correspondence from them doesn't quite sound right. And if you're simply unable to determine whether or not the charge is legitimate, you will need to decide whether the charge presents unacceptable risk to your business, as you are responsible for each charge you choose to honor. Should a chargeback occur, you will be responsible for the full amount of the charge, even if you shipped in good faith. It's always best to err on the side of caution! You know your business and customers best, and should use this knowledge along with common sense to determine whether you wish to proceed with the order.
We offer a lot of advice regarding charge/order review here: https://support.stripe.com/questions/avoiding-fraud-and-disputes
I wish I could be more definitive, but some charges are really borderline cases! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
The complainant responded again on April 29th, claiming that they had already shipped the item since we did not responded within 24 hours. Having to wait more than 24 hours for a response does not relieve the complainant of their contractual obligations to bear the responsibility for preventing fraud on their account. This procedure is in accordance with the following sections of our Terms of Service, which can also be found at https://stripe.com/us/terms and more specifically https://stripe.com/us/terms#receiving-your-funds-from-card-transactions ("You are responsible for refunds, returns, and liable for customer disputes (chargebacks).")
Additional relevant terms agreed to by the complainant:
https://stripe.com/us/terms#payment-methods
https://stripe.com/us/terms#chargebacks
Section C.7 of Stripes Terms of Service states:
"When a Chargeback is issued, you are immediately liable to Stripe for the full amount of payment of the Chargeback plus any associated Fees, fines, expenses or penalties (including those assessed by the Card Networks or our payment processors). You agree that Stripe may recover these amounts by debiting by means of ACH debit of your Bank Account associated with your Stripe Account, debiting your Reserve Account, or setting off any amounts owed to you by us. 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 any unpaid Chargebacks unpaid by you."
The complainant alleges that Stripe should not approve charges that have `unchecked` statuses for ZIP codes, but each cardholder bank determines whether or not to check those fields, and whether or not to approve a charge. In this case, the customer's bank in *country redacted* approved the charge. It's also worth noting that *country redacted* does not have ZIP codes, which explains why the ZIP code is marked as `unchecked`. Stripe offers the ability to automatically decline charges that fail these checks, but cannot decline unchecked payments. We cover the topic of Address and ZIP code checks in greater detail on our support page:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/what-is-avs
We also pride ourselves on having as much documentation for our users as we possibly can. One area of focus is fraud and dispute prevention, and we clearly mention steps for our users to take in order to prevent this exact type of situation:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/avoiding-fraud-and-disputes#identifying-pot...⇄ /> While we understand the stress this situation has caused the complainant, our Terms of Service and documentation are very clear that the ultimate responsibility for preventing fraud falls on our users. The complainant recognized the risk associated with shipping products to *country redacted*, as evidenced by the complainant's original e-mail to Stripe, but shipped the item before we had a chance to review the details of the charge and respond appropriately.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 13, 2015/06/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Regarding the email response from Stripe on 04/29/2015, they indicated they looked into the zip code which was for California and it in fact was not. I checked myself and it came up as an international postal code.
Again, Stripe had no right to accept the payment without verifying the zip code, or as known internationally, a postal code.
Furthermore, Stripe is now claiming they offer no actual processing of payments and therefore they render no actual service, yet they charge a fee.
I still want a full refund as previously stated because I am out the monies and product due to their oversight. Perhaps they can later go after Storenvy for forcing members, such as myself, to use Stripe.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on [redacted].
Stripe Overview
As background, Stripe provides a technology platform that allows merchants selling permissible goods or services online, or through a mobile...

device, to quickly and simply accept credit card payments.[1] Merchants register for an account by providing contact information, some information about their business and its principals, and bank account information. This information is submitted through an electronic application process and additional information, such as ID scans, may be requested by Stripe after submission.
 
Merchants have control over what information is provided to Stripe – for credit card charges, this must minimally contain the card number and expiration date. Most merchants also elect to provide the name, CVC, ZIP code as an anti-fraud measure, but are not required to. It is important to note that funds are briefly held in an aggregated clearing account at a bank before being deposited into the merchant's bank account.  It is important to note that merchants identify the account into which funds are ultimately deposited through the Stripe management interface.Merchants consent to Stripe’s Services Agreement when establishing their account. A current version of the Stripe Services Agreement is available at https://stripe.com/us/legal.
[1] https://stripe.com/us/payments
Merchant Account Overview 
The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on [redacted] under the name "AHM INC" at http://ahmcoin.com. Stripe has continued to processed payments for the account owner until [redacted] On [redacted], the Complainant emailed Stripe regarding the first of two chargebacks on their account (filed on [redacted] and [redacted]). A Stripe support agent emailed the Complainant back and answered each of their questions. The Complainant pursued no further contact with Stripe. As these chargebacks accumulated, pursuant to the Complaint's agreement with Stripe and as described in further detail below, Stripe debited these funds from the Complainant. Specifically, as further described below, we debited the amount that was charged back and a fee of $** for each chargeback that we processed.
Dispute Resolution Terms
Stripe charges a fee for providing the service outlined above (https://stripe.com/us/legal#fees-and-fines).
This includes both fees per transaction as well as fees for other services, such as dispute resolution. For US accounts, a merchant incurs a $** dispute fee for each dispute submitted on a charge processed through Stripe's platform (https://stripe.com/docs/disputes/faq). We charge this because Stripe incurs fees and costs for each dispute filed against a merchant. If the dispute is resolved in the favor of the merchant,the $** dispute fee is refunded to the merchant even though Stripe receives no reimbursement of fees and costs incurred in supporting the merchant with the dispute resolution process. 
When a cardholder initiatesa dispute against a merchant using the dispute mechanisms provided by the cardholder's bank, Stripe provides tools for the user to submit evidence that illustrates that the charge was legitimate. However, Stripe plays no role in the ultimate decision made on whether the chargeback is valid.  When a merchant signs up to use Stripe's services, the merchant agrees to be immediately liable for all disputes. 
In specific, the Complainant's agreement with Stripe states:
"When a Chargeback is issued, you are immediately liable to Stripe for the full amount of the transaction related to the Chargeback plus any associated Fees, fines, expenses or penalties (including those assessed by the Card Networks or our payment processors). You agree that Stripe may recover these amounts by debiting your Bank Account, debiting the Reserve Account, or setting off any amounts owed to you by us. 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. Where such amounts are not immediately paid to us, 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 any unpaid Chargebacks unpaid by you."
(see https://stripe.com/us/terms#chargebacks)
For the reasons explained in detail above, Stripe acted in accordance with its terms of service in the handling of this merchant account and the Complainant's claim for damages is baseless.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:This is a quote from an email received from Stripe; "We provide you with the ability to accept cards safely". Stripe does not offer the ability to accept cards Safely! This is obvious with the one and only transaction that Stripe has processed for us resulting in a chargeback with Stripe not only stripping the amount of the transaction from our account, but also hitting us with a $** fee.
Below is a copy of a correspondence with [redacted].
We have been very satisfied with our [redacted] experiences in general. We have not been satisfied with the ONLY card processor that [redacted] offers on their store sites. Did [redacted] due any research into Stripe before getting in bed with them on [redacted]'s store products. Stripe's Revdex.com reviews are terrible and going to get worse with our review. The one and only transaction processed by Stripe became a chargeback situation that Stripe has not handled with any type of desirable customer service. Does [redacted] realize that Stripe does not offer a customer service phone number? This does not align with [redacted]'s great customer service. Does [redacted] realize that the "We provide you with the ability to accept cards safely"; Quoted from Stripe, actually means that you are on your own if a customer files a chargeback? Does [redacted] realize that even if a Seller provides Stripe with confirmation of shipment and delivery that Stripe will not only STRIP the transaction funds from your account, but also hit you with a $** chargeback fee, though Stripe did not due their "due diligence" in securing a secure authorization? Stripe accuses us for not doing our own “due diligence”, though we do not have access to the information required to verify a transaction. Stripe does.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/10) */
On April 10th 2015, we reached out to the complainant requesting information to complete their identity verification. Stripe must verify all of our user's identities to stay in compliance with KYC, or Know Your Customer, regulations. We...

allow our users to start processing before verification is complete, but will ask for more data or clarification in some cases -- having a verifiable online presence is a necessary step in Stripe's identity verification procedure. If the user doesn't respond within a few days of our message, we will disable their transfers until they are able to send over the requested information.
This was the case with the complainant. The complainant verified their personal information on August 7th 2015. We then sent an e-mail to the complainant on August 10th 2015, informing them that their account had been verified and the held transfers were held.
We would like to sincerely apologize for the delay in releasing the complainant's transfers. The verification process is vital to our business, but in this case the time it took adversely effect our user's business. If the user has any issues or questions we can help with as they continue to process with Stripe, we will do everything possible to respond as efficiently as possible.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/08/11) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Stripe has tansfered our receivables.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/16) */
Stripe does offer 2 business-day transfers in the US, but the very first transfer does take 7 days as outlined here:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/how-long-do-transfers-take
This one-time delay is to help minimize the risks...

inherent in processing payments for new businesses.
Our review of the charge in question still leads us to believe it is at high risk of being made without cardholder authorization, based on several factors, including the card's country of origin and the IP address used to create the payment (these do not match.)
The charge has been fully refunded as of August 10th, as indicated in our support email, and the cardholder should see a refund within 10 days of that date. Hopefully the refund will resolve any outstanding service issues. We're sorry we can't work with Mr. [redacted]'s business going forward.

Stripe works under a variety of obligations imposed by banks, credit card networks, and applicable laws. Therefore, Stripe must fully verify and vet its users to ensure their businesses are consistent with Stripe's Terms of Service. All users agree to these terms when activating Stripe accounts, and...

the terms are posted here: https://stripe.com/terms Stripe identified signs that the complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service during a routine account review. Namely, Stripe cannot process payments that appear to be unauthorized by the owner of the charged card, which our review brought to our attention.The closing of this account is in line with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service: Stripe "may suspend your Stripe Account and your access to the Service and any funds in your Stripe Account, or terminate this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you are ineligible for the Service because of the risk associated with your Stripe Account, including without limitation significant credit or fraud risk, or for any other reason". https://stripe.com/us/terms#terminationWe will not be able to continue processing transactions on the account, however this does not prevent the complainant from signing into Stripe and accessing any existing data. That being said, because it appears the orders were made without authorization from the cardholder, we will not be able to release the contested funds to the complainant.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/15) */
Stripe is obligated by our financial partners to confirm that we've verified what our users' businesses actually are, and that they're not, for example, engaging in a business that is either illegal or prohibited by our (or our bank's)...

terms of service.
A resolvable URL for a working website is an easy, direct way to get at this information, since it's where most web businesses show consumers what it is that they actually do and sell, but we can verify this by other means.
On November 27th we reached out to the complainant via email with the following request for information.
"We're writing to request some additional information that we couldn't verify using your website url. In order to continue transferring funds to you on time, we need to be able to verify:
- what you're selling, and
- how your customers might get in touch with you in case of issues (having contact information is also a great way for you to avoid possible disputes).
Would you mind sending over a working URL that includes this information? Alternatively, we'd be happy to take a look at your business' social media profile (e.g., an established LinkedIn or Facebook business page that includes a description of the products or services you use Stripe for and your contact information). If you don't have an active online profile for your business, an itemized invoice for a recent payment on your Stripe account could also work.
If your website is simply under construction (we understand that these things can take time), do you know when you're planning to make it available? As soon as we can verify these details, your account will be all set to again automatically transfer funds to your bank account."
We received no specific reply from the complainant providing the above requested information. The complainant has subsequently written into Stripe support requesting the transfer of the funds. Stripe has re-iterated the request for further information in replies to multiple email from the complainant. Dates further requests sent in reply to complainants emails include November 27th & 30th, Twice on December 3rd and on December the 14th. To date the requested information has not be sent to Stripe for review.
As part of our Terms of Service the complainant is required as part of their registration, to provide the URL for their business and the name under which they do business.
https://stripe.com/us/terms#company-descriptions-and-url
If the complainant wishes forward to Stripe the information that we have previously request they can do so by sending that information via email to [redacted]@stripe.com to we can resolve this issue.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/12/20) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Hello I have not received any email from Stripe as mentioned above.
I got an email from Stripe this weekend telling me that their emails were not getting delivered to me (as they found out in their email server logs).
I have replied back to Stripe's email as follow
================================================================================...⇄ /> Hello [redacted],
Thanks for your email. Indeed it has been very limiting for us to do business. I hope the information below will help you clear the hold on my account
- what you're selling : We sell software license and server maintenance services to financial services. Please see our website at www.turnkeyfx.com ( this is the domain that we are using to sell our services). Our products are listed on the home page of our site
- how your customers might get in touch with you in case of issues : Our customers can get in touch with us via
email : webpayments (at) finprotrading.com or contactus (at) turnkeyfx.com
Phone : +[redacted] (our offshore client service center)
Live Chat : We provide active live chat for 18 hours every weekday (except national holidays)
Our website has a contact us page as follow : http://turnkeyfx.com/contactus/
In addition our other client terms and conditions can be found as follow
privacy and Payment policy page : http://turnkeyfx.com/policy/
Payments Page : http://turnkeyfx.com/pay/
Disclaimer Page : http://turnkeyfx.com/disclaimer
Hope this information is helpful
Thanks and I look forward to a speedy resolution to my account
Regards
- [redacted]
================================================================================...⇄ /> I'm awaiting to get a final response to my email to Stripe. I still have my funds held up with them and I look forward to getting the funds released once this information is processed by them.
This time I have email them from two seperate email ID's with a hope that they will get my email and will reply back the emails
Many Thanks Revdex.com for your help
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/12/25) */
We received the information provided by the complainant and have since enabled their transfers. We are available to answer any further questions at [redacted]@stripe.com.
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2015/12/28) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:The complaint is different, and has different requests, but "Stripe's response is the same as submitted on January 16, 2018." Stripe's copy/paste response is inappropriate to the new complaint, and addresses NONE of the questions and requests of the complaint. Stripe should read the complaint carefully and address the questions and requests therein.Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (4000, 7, 2015/04/30) */
I'm glad that we were able to get this issue worked out through our support channel. The balance of your account will be transferred to your bank account on May 1st.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 9, 2015/05/01) */
(The...

consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I just wanted to let Revdex.com know that I just received my money back in my bank account from Stripe, Please close the case, And thank you Revdex.com for helping me with this situation, Stripe is a nightmare to deal with, They have no phone support and never answer email for any of their customers. A credit card company or any company for that matter should have phone support when you deal with peoples money. That is not right for a credit card company not to have phone support. Maybe that's the next step to happen, Thanks again Revdex.com We did it. Hope all other customers get their money back, Theirs allot out their Stripe is doing this too.Thanks again.
[redacted]