Payment Dispute

[WatersEdge]

After 8 years of service provided to the same customer in which they paid me every week via auto pay, the customer started having financial troubles & because she felt a certain way when I mentioned possibly canceling service she went and decided that was for the best. Which I was okay with, thought she’d call back once her situation got better. Instead she decided to dispute her last 2 charges without warning. I refunded her back the weekly service amount she was disputing because indeed she was owed that, her account was set auto and it charged her when it shouldn’t have. I acknowledged that and refunded. The 2nd was for over $500 for a repair job that she owed me for. Before I charged her card I told her the amount and asked if I could charge the card on file. She said yes at the time. She waited close to a month and disputed it. I asked her why she was disputing this charge and she said “because she was mad, but realized the situation wasn’t my fault” & “she was sorry” & “called the bank and canceled disputes”. I asked her for proof she canceled and she sent me a screen shot of her email with bank showing she indeed canceled. I sent the text messages where she admits to only disputing the service because she angry and a ton more of incriminating messages and copy of the screenshot from the bank she sent me. That was Dec. 3rd. I still haven’t heard anything back. This customer has since blocked me because everyday I would remind her that $500 was taken from my account that I earned. What’s the deal the square???? I want my money back! I sent them a copy of the only record I have of canceling from the bank, I sent them copies of messages where she admits to only filing dispute out of spite, & she canceled it, that she wrong, her apologizing saying God will forgive her. What else do I need? Square has been 0 help. Ill never use square again. 

[TheRealChipA]

Hey there @WatersEdge.  First, I’m sorry to hear about this.  This sort of thing is always frustrating. However, you are under a common but incorrect assumption here.  Square is not responsible for correcting this.  The customer’s bank is the one you should be dealing with and it has now reached the level of a small claims or other lawsuit in order to make you whole.  This is because the dispute was obviously properly filed with their bank, their bank decided in their favor and so Square was required by law to refund their money.  It’s that simple.  The fact that your customer did not really cancel the dispute, or cancelled it too late for it to do any good, is not Square’s problem at all.  Also, the fact that your customer is now avoiding and blocking you speaks volumes, but at this point all you can do is file a legal claim and let that work to its conclusion.

Yes, this is going to cost you money. Hopefully your state (unlike mine) allows you to file small claims cases by yourself.  Mine does not since my business is an LLC which always requires retaining legal counsel.  But, regardless, you need to obtain legal counsel because that is absolutely the only avenue available to you.  Square’s hands are tied.

I do hope that you can get some of your money back without spending too much of your own money to do so.