Stripe, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/06/04) */
The complainant originally did not provide Stripe with relevant information to track down the charges in question, which prolonged her resolution. Once Stripe received information relevant to the request, the complainant's issue was...

quickly resolved over email. These charges were discoverable within her dashboard.
Stripe does not issue refunds on behalf of merchants, and instead offers an easy solution for issuing refunds via the dashboard. Stripe offers support documentation for how to issue a refund on its website:
https://support.stripe.com/questions/how-do-i-issue-refunds
The complainant originally wrote in to Stripe on May 19 stating that one of her customers had been double-charged. On May 21, a team member at Stripe replied to the complainant's email requesting more information about the charge so we could identify and investigate it. The complainant wrote back in without providing additional information and asked asked a question unrelated to the double-charge.
When, less than half an hour later, a support team member pressed for additional information, the complainant stated that she did not have information about the card used to make the transaction, but was able to provide the customer's name. With that bit of information, the Stripe support team member was able to locate the customer's charges within 24 hours and sent relevant information to the complainant so she could resolve the issue with her customer.
During investigation into these charges, the support team member concluded that Stripe did not duplicate this customer's charges. The customer's charges had been processed within minutes of each other, and we can surmise that the customer clicked a "submit payment" button twice (as this is not a recurring problem and two unique charges were created with Stripe, rather than one duplicated charge).
Stripe does not offer phone support, but was able to thoroughly solve the complainant's issue over email.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/06/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I waited days for a response, not hours. I have since stopped doing business with this company, so at this point the case can be closed. I just want it to be noted that anyone wishing to do business with Stripe realizes that they cannot resolve any problems they may have immediately, they must wait until someone feels like answering an email...and emailing several times to get the problem resolved, rather than a simple phone call. When dealing with customers money, they want an answer right away, not when a company feels like answering an email.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/06/18) */
The complainant contacted us on May 19th with her original request, which was then responded to within 48 hours, as per our original response. Our contact form states that will try to respond to emails within 24 hours, if not sooner. We have apologized to the complainant and are working hard to improve response times. Our team is rapidly increasing, so we hope that we'll be able to offer round the clock phone support in the future.
We pride ourselves on in-depth, high-quality support via email. In our first email to the complainant we request detailed information needed to help determine and resolve the issue. Once the complainant provided that information, we responded in less than 24 hours. As the complainant did not follow up on that email, she presumably was able to resolve the issue with her customer with the information we provided.
We strive for timely support and we're sorry that we didn't meet our or the complainant's standard in this case. We take feedback very seriously as we are always striving to improve our services. We welcome any additional feedback.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/07/14) */
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 June 15th, 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, 8, 2015/07/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Lame response. Seems copy-pasted! Lol.
What "un-authorized transaction" is stripe referring to? There was NONE! We have not had EVEN ONE chargeback or dispute.
Yes. We got the copy-pasted mail on June 15th. The very same day, we replied requesting info for this supposedly "unauthorized transaction". We have got no response, despite it being a month now.
The response also does not address our concern about the funds on hold. When do we get that? Not a single dispute or CB even 5 weeks after we stopped processing. Why is our payment still on hold?
Also, we have 2 customers who we need to refund. We mailed you regarding that also. No response!
How do you expect us to provide refunds if you disable our accounts completely? You are forcing customers to do a chargeback by not providing us with a refund option.
I would like these issues addressed instead of generic templated responses, that are only beating around the bush!

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/01/24) */
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.
The complainant ultimately bears the responsibility for preventing fraud and disputes 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."
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 has provided evidence for many of the disputes and we are waiting on responses from the relevant banks before marking these as won or lost. The complainant will be informed of the outcome of these disputes as soon as we hear back from the banks.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/01/26) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am confused by their response. Are they going to look into this further or is the decision final and I have nothing I can do?
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/01/29) */
Stripe provides tools to help our users submit dispute evidence to banks, but the ultimate decision on a dispute lies with the cardholder's bank and not with Stripe. After that decision has been made, banks will not respond to outside inquiries in regards to disputes that have already been processed.
Although the decision has been made by the bank, we are happy to provide the complainant specific information and feedback on disputes and the evidence they submitted should they email us at [email protected]. However, we cannot provide that information through the public forum on the Revdex.com website.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by Carlos Meneses (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on April 14, [redacted].Stripe OverviewAs 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/paymentsMerchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on [redacted] under the name "[redacted]" at [redacted] . Stripe processed payments for the account owner until [redacted]. During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the Complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Specifically, 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 [redacted], Stripe reached to the Complainant to let them know about its concerns and that it could no longer support their business. The Complainant sent an appeal regarding this decision. After a thorough investigation, Stripe closed the Complainant's account on [redacted].The closing of this account is in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe's 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#terminationWhile Stripe is 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. 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.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on [redacted] 24, [redacted].Stripe OverviewAs 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/paymentsMerchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Shopify, a platform on Stripe, on October 14, 2014 under the name "Willstrong" at willstrong.myshopify.com. Stripe processed payments for the account owner until [redacted] 15, [redacted]. During a routine review, Stripe identified strong signals that the Complainant's account was in violation of the Stripe Terms of Service. Specifically, Stripe cannot process payments for pseudo pharmaceuticals. The Complainant’s business was selling supplements which fell under the category of pseudo pharmaceuticals.There were three chargebacks filed against the Complainant during the time they used Stripe for payment processing. 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 $15 for each chargeback that we processed.Detailed Account ActivityAt no point did the Complainant request support from Stripe by writing in at [email protected]. As a result, the Complainant's complaint that they did not receive support is unfounded as they did not seek support out.Dispute Resolution TermsStripe 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 $15 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 $15 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 initiates a 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:
I appreciate the refund but the matter is still open and the impact to both companies could continue to cause financial impact.   The request is simple:   PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL US!!!!!!
 We want this mess resolved.  Stop pretending that email is communication.   You have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it is not.   ** days later and still a mess!!!!!!!
 
PICK UP THE PHONE!!Sincerely,[redacted]
949.290.3372   If I do not pick up, leave a message saying when you will call back and I will rearrange my schedule or better yet, be polite and professional and send me a calendar item.    [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:This is a ridiculous statement. We as the merchant do not have access to the numbers needed to verify that information is correct concerning a credit card transaction. Stripe has access to Card number, card holder
name, address to authenticate legitimacy, expiration date and cvv code. We as the merchant do not have access to this information and are not able to do Stripe's job for them, "We provide you with the ability to accept cards safely", quote from Strip. We
have other processors who do their diligence and are able to, with evidence of shipment and receipt that we provide, ward off chargebacks and don't strip money from our account. What do we pay 3%+ for???Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/03/16) */
The complainant initially contacted Stripe on February 19th, 2016 in response to a call that was received from Citibank. In the call, the complainant was informed that a Citibank customer had a charge they did not recognize. We responded by...

letting the complainant know that it may be worth it to find the charge in question and issue a refund to preempt a chargeback. The complainant responded by letting us know "There were a lot of fishy things about the call from the bank." and that the only information given about the charge was that it occurred on February 15th, 2016. We then recommended that the complainant reach out to the bank for more information and that it may be worth it to mark the payment as fraudulent in the dashboard and refund it. We completely understand the hesitation to refund an order and mark it as fraudulent without having more details, however, there was only one charge on February 15th. This charge was the one that ended up being disputed.
On February 27th, 2016 the only charge from February 15th was disputed. The same day, the complainant reached out to Stripe asking how to refund the disputed charge and avoid the $15 chargeback fee. The complainant was advised that this is not possible unless the customer withdraws the dispute with the bank. The complainant responded and told us he does not have any information about the customer. Our support team investigated this and found that the complainant was using a third party integration to connect to Stripe. In these instances, Stripe only receives the information that the integration passes to us. We make that information available via the dashboard. The complainant was advised to reach out to the company who made the integration to ask for more information.
On March 3rd, 2016 the complainant contacted us again with correspondence from the third party integration. This correspondence detailed that the email address the customer provided was likely a fraudulent one and contacting it would not likely reach the actual cardholder. The complainant was informed that there is no way to know the name of the actual cardholder and then provided with an IP address and order information related to the only charge on February 15th. The complainant was then advised to submit evidence for this dispute through Stripe. No evidence was submitted. While evidence can be submitted late, this is not guaranteed to be considered by the cardholder's bank.
We completely understand how frustrating it is to not be able to contact banks directly regarding disputes. Our hands are truly tied when it comes to this as the banks will only directly communicate with each other and the process is quite rigid.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/03/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As I take credit card fraud seriously, and wanted to pursue a resolution in the most expeditious manner possible, I e-mailed Stripe requesting a phone number in order to contact Stripe and resolve the issue in the most efficient manner possible.
Nearly 8 hours later, I received a response from Stripe stating "we don't typically provide phone support".
Again, after much delay on Stripe's part, I was advised to provide evidence of some sort. I'm not sure what evidence Stripe is referring to. Stripe processes the credit cards, yet has failed to provide any credit card or customer information. I was referred to the disputing bank. Again, through a series of delayed e-mail responses from Stripe, Stripe provided me with the following:
"it's not actually possible to communicate directly about a dispute with anyone at your customer's bank."
I'm expected to resolve the issue directly with the disputing bank, yet, according to Stripe, it is not actually possible to contact anyone at the bank.
I'm expected to provide "evidence" in regards to a disputed charge, yet Stripe has failed to provide any credit card or customer information.
Stripe's response has been "banks will only directly communicate with each other". This apparently isn't true, as Stripe was able to contact my bank and remove $154 from my account without my permission.
Stripe has repeatedly provided contradictory and inaccurate information. Stripe has also created several barriers to being able to actually resolve these issues in an efficient and accurate manner.
Viewing multiple similar complaints on the Revdex.com website, it is apparent that Stripe has demonstrated a pattern of regularly avoiding its ethical and, arguably, legal, obligation to its customers.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/10) */
Stripe processes payments for thousands of businesses around the world. We received a message from the complainant on August 7th, 2015, stating that the complainant did not authorize the mentioned charge. On August 7th, 2015, [redacted], from...

our Support team, reached out requesting more information to locate the charge and provide the name of the merchant who processed the charge. The complainant chose not to provide the additional information to locate the charge in question.
We understand that unauthorized charges are concerning, and apologize for any unrest the unknown charge presented to the complainant. As Stripe is a payments processor, we receive a charge request through our API, and process that charge. Without seeing the additional details of the charge, unfortunately we are unable to opine on the charge, by whom it was authorized, and how best to resolve the charge.
That said, we completely understand as well, if the complainant wishes to dispute the charge with their credit card company if the charge is unauthorized, launching a dispute is a cardholder's right.
The complainant is encouraged to contact us at [redacted]@stripe.com if there is anything information we can provide to help resolve this between the complainant and the merchant.

First off let me start by saying small business and start-ups beware. Stripe seems to be taking advantage of small businesses and pulling a [redacted]. Myself and many of my friends ( who also own businesses) have had terrible experiences with this company. When first signing up they let you take card payments right away. Stripe makes you wait 7 days before getting your first deposit. Right before you should receive your first deposit, usually the day before. Stripe send you an email saying that they can no longer do business with you because of unauthorized transactions. Keep in mind I have signed contracts, invoices, and also customers placing the orders themselves online. In some cases I have seen them deposit funds, then the next day send an email saying the same story only to illegally withdraw the funds from your account without a chargeback or business related refund. They would like you to believe they will reopen your account and all you have to do is let them run your credit card for two transaction to verify your identity. Why would you need to charge my card to verify my identity if the account is already closed? Seems to me stripe is in the business of keeping both yours and your customers money for as long as possible in their accounts to accrue interest and only refund when they have to if at all. They block you from issuing your own customers refunds and say that they will do so in 5-7 days. However several customers informed me they never received the funds back from stripe and had to file a chargeback to get any money returned. If I where you I would look elsewhere for card processing, seems that Stripe is on there way to a Large Class Action Lawsuit just like paypal for the same thing.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/07/06) */
On June 24, 2014 this complainant contacted Stripe support and explained that his card had been charged by a business that uses payment processing services provided by Stripe. Stripe provides payment processing services for thousands of...

businesses but is not a consumer-facing product, like PayPal. The complainant is not a Stripe user himself and Stripe has no direct relationship with him. The complainant purchased a 1-year subscription from the business in question and claims that he did not authorize the renewal charge. After not receiving a satisfactory response from the business, the complainant reached out to Stripe.
The business allegedly didn't make it clear to the complainant that his card details would be saved for future use (a common practice for recurring/subscription payments across many merchants), and that he had been enrolled in a recurring subscription last year at the time of the original payment. The complainant requested that the business not be able to charge his card again in the future, and that Stripe not store his card information in a way that allowed future charges by Stripe users.
In the course of correspondence with Stripe's support team, it was explained that Stripe is unable to take action to delete customer profiles (and associated card information) on behalf of our users, but our users are expected to process refunds if requested, and if they don't, the card holder can dispute the payment with their card company.
In addition to providing more context to the complainant, a member of the Stripe support team also reached out to the business in question to ensure they had received their customer's complaint, and recommended the business refund the payment to avoid a dispute. The business responded that the complainant's customer profile and account had already been deleted from their application and from Stripe. Stripe can confirm the business also refunded the payment in question shortly after being contacted.
While Stripe does need to retain certain transactional and financial information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, the complainant's card information is no longer stored with the businesses Stripe account. We cannot block this card from ever being used through Stripe, but we can confirm the business in question can no longer use this previously stored card information in any way.

Below is Stripe's Response to the complaint submitted by [redacted] (herein referred to as the "Complainant") on May 15, [redacted].Stripe OverviewAs 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/paymentsMerchant Account Overview The Complainant submitted an account with Stripe on January 17, 2014 under the name "Flexible Fulfillment " at http://www.flexfulfill.com. Stripe processed payments for the account owner until May 3, [redacted]. During a routine review, Stripe determined that the complainant's business had a high level of disputes and was at risk for incurring more disputes as other businesses that the Complainant had on Stripe had incurred high rates of chargebacks. On May 3, [redacted], Stripe contacted the Complainant, informing them that their dispute rate was over industry standard, at 64.75% of volume and 2.48% of transactions on their associated account; we are unable to accept payments for businesses we determine to be at high risk for a dispute rate of over 1%, as mentioned here: "High chargeback rates (typically those exceeding 1%) may result in your inability to use the Payment Services. Failure to timely and effectively manage Disputes with your Customers may ultimately result in your inability to accept payment cards for your business."https://stripe.com/us/legal#specific-payment-methodsAs 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 $15 for each chargeback that we processed.Reserve TermsIn order to mitigate future losses to Stripe as a result of chargebacks on the Complainant's account, a reserve was set in place that will last for 90 days. Funds will be transferred to the complainant's bank account on August 1, [redacted]. This is in accordance to Stripe's Terms of Service:"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."https://stripe.com/us/legal#clearing-funds-and-reservesWhile there is a reserve in place, the Complainant is able to log into their Stripe dashboard, process refunds to the customer's whose funds are held and reprocess these funds with a different processor if they need immediate access to the funds.The closing of this account was in accordance with the following section of the Stripe Terms of Service:"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/legal#terminationFor 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.

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.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/13) */
During the course of a routine review on February 27th, Stripe emailed the complainant as their website appeared to be down. Complainant was advised within this email that transfers would be delayed until we did receive a working link to...

review.
When a new seller opens an account they are required to provide a URL for their business, as per our Terms of Service (https://stripe.com/us/terms#company-descriptions-and-site-url). 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. Once we are presented with an online presence to review, transfers can resume.
On March 4th the complainant began writing into Stripe inquiring as to why transfers had not been received, and a Razoo representative also wrote in, but due to an unfortunately high volume of support requests, there was a delay in response. On March 5th, a Stripe representative replied to the complainant to explain that the URL that had originally been provided did not work, and asked for a working link so that Stripe could review the site. The complainant then responded with two news articles about the fundraiser and questions regarding the transfer schedule, CC'ing a Razoo rep. Unfortunately, these links did not meet the requirement as they were external links to other websites and Stripe still required a URL for the fundraiser itself to review.
A continuing exchange between the Razoo rep and the complainant then followed throughout the day on March 5th. During that exchange, at 1:47pm, the Razoo rep stated that they had hidden the URL for the fundraiser once it had ended. At 2:53pm a Razoo rep did then provide a working URL for the fundraiser. The complainant and Razoo rep continued the exchange into March 6th and 7th.
Stripe replied on March 9th, acknowledging that they had found the URL in one of these newly generated Razoo threads, and apologized for the oversight and delay. Stripe then did review the URL, approved the account and thus resuming transfers, as originally noted. The complainant was advised of this on the same day, and on March 10th the complainant was informed they would receive their next transfer on March 11th.
We do sincerely apologize for the confusion and for any delays the complainant has experienced.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/03/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This response does not justify that this will not happen to someone else out there.
If Stripe wants to stay in business it needs to gain trust from its customers and offer problem resolution to its customers.
Stripe released funds one week later from scheduled transfer (after they are already holding funds and releasing first transfer after 10 days). This is way to long, how can Stripe how someone else's money for so long without actual permission? Their website says they will respond withhin 24 hours, but between first email and second it was 4 days. There is also no phone # to call to resolve any issues sooner. Stripe is partnered with Razoo which is fundraising website, those people are in need and should not be waiting on their funds for so long. Also it is not consumers fault that Razoo account needs to be deleted when fundraiser is over. Once account is deleted then of course the URL will not work. As a partner of Razoo, Stirpe should have reached our to Razoo (as they suggested them selves, and verified authenticity of Razoo account, instead Stripe decided to hold on fund transfer and wait for another week before releasing funds.

Stripe had no problem receiving funds thru Razoo's account for fundraiser, but then they had problem releasing those funds! Don't you see something wrong here?
Be aware Stripe is trying to find various reasons to onto hold consumers funds as long as they can!

The customers' cards have been refunded as of [redacted] 23 [redacted], which the complainant is able to see by accessing their dashboard. If the complainant would like additional refund reference numbers to give to their customers, they are welcome to write into [email protected] to obtain this information.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
We may have used harsh language with "them" as "they" were in violation of most of the things they were demanding from us.  Stripe has no telephone numbers to reach anyone at.  Their response times take days... we're talking 3 or more DAYS for any response.  We told them that they were incompetent - I guess that was a bit harsh for their delicate egos.  Yes, we refunded the money to our client... AFTER IT HAD SAT WITH A HOLD ON IT FOR TEN DAYS!!!! In addition, we saw that they secretly were extending it an additional 11th day which then would have been the weekend and too late to reverse the transaction.  Stripe has done this MANY times with MANY other merchants... read the reviews for yourself on the Internet.  Stripe has one of THE worst customer service ratings and reviews of any company in the payment channel.  The only reason Square is not worse is because you can actually talk to a person there... not some generic "one name" entity.
Yes, we closed our account as it became clear Stripe was setting us up to steal our money as they have done with numerous customers whom they hold the funds for beyond 10 days... several customers report holds of up to a year.
Shady, sneaky, slimy... that's Stripe.
Oh, our information about what we do WAS on our website... in was in a little section called... "About Us" but it actually required reading it which they could not be bothered to do.
 
Sincerely,[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/09/15) */
Contact Name and Title: Stripe Support
Contact Email: [redacted]@stripe.com
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, or support businesses that present high chargeback risk. On August 24, 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. The complainant may also provide his customer a refund if he desires. However, all funds have been transferred to the complainant's bank account already - we show a paid transfer on August 26th, which we sent using the banking details provided in the account application. The complainant can see this transfer in their Stripe dashboard at https://dashboard.stripe.com/transfers/overview, and should reach out to their bank if they do not see this posted to their account.

Please be assured Stripe is here to help the complainant receive their funds. The bank information that the complainant had on file with us was incorrect, and we are happy to help get it updated in any way that we can.  We have sent follow up emails to help with the account.

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.