Who represents me (the seller) during the dispute process?

[TaeUtBarber]

Who fights for us when customers dispute the invoice & did not hold up on his/her end?!

[Spenser · Accepted solution]

Great question! We have an entire team dedicated to working with, and guiding our sellers through the dispute process. We're committed to challenging any payment disputes you receive from a customer (as long as you want us to). For a more thorough explanation about the dispute process, please check out this article: Resolving Payment Disputes.

You can view best practices in the video below.

[Collie]

How do we provide documentation since we do not have the customer signed receipt as in the past?

[Sean]

@Collie - We won't need you to provide a receipt, we'll already have that on file. Most of the time, the Disputes Team is just looking for more details about your business, and any extra information that you might be able to offer into the transaction. We just want to have as many details as we can so we can help you win! 

[asarfatt]

Im trying to find out how to dispute the dispute made by a recent buyer.  Also, the transaction is listed on Square in my sales transaction information and the buyer did sign.  Please can someone tell me how to stop the buyer from recieving services from me for free.

[VanKalkerFarms]

you can log in to your dashboard here https://squareup.com/dashboard/ and there will be a notification that you reply to and you can also go to the disputes section of your dashboard here https://squareup.com/dashboard/sales/disputes.

[chicagonature]

Hi, I'm brand new to square, but not to accepting credit cards. I've been taking them for 28 years.

Does anyone have trouble with dealing with Square when it comes to chargebacks?

Let's say that I sell books at an event for $75 and I have 20 of the exact same value: $75. From what I can tell, you never get the customer's name unless you can write it down during the transaction. If that customer claims to not have received the book, when the chargeback comes in, you're only given the last 4 digits of the CC number and the value of $75, which doesn't tell you who the customer was.

Currently, I use a cellular CC terminal with built-in printer that gives both me and customer a printed receipt and it has the customer's name on the receipt. This seems to be more full-proof when it comes to chargebacks.

I wonder how good Square is at protecting merchants and arguing their cases.

Please let me know your thoughts on these things.

Thanks so much!

    Mike

[EJ_]

@chicagonature Hi there! Check out the information in this thread. It should relieve any concerns you might have with disputes and chargebacks.

[chicagonature]

E.J.,

Wonderful!

Thanks for the help!

Mike

[VanKalkerFarms]

If you look up a sale on the Square website, you can see the name on the customer's card and the signature on the digital receipt. I haven't (knock on wood) had any disputes, but Square should give you enough information so you can pull up that customer's receipt to verify the name on the card.

[hgb]

Hi Mike, working on a problem now and we sure don't feel like they fight to get our money back when disputed, plus they take your money instantly but keep it as long as possible. H

[LPStudios]

They don't "Fight" for you at all. They take a statement and any relivant information from you and pass it to the customers bank. The customers bank makes the final ruling. The Square dispute team rep I talked to asked if there was anyway I could "I don't want to say threaten, but, put pressure" on the customuer to cancel their dispute. !?!?!?! After asking if there was anything else I could do to get our money back the rep said my company could take them to small claims court.

In my case the customer booked out dates in our studio totaling almost $4000. They used two days, were sent instrumental mixes created by our producer and musical director, then never contacted or showed up for any other session dates. The customer has since disputed the entire amount without ever contacting us. We have a 48 hour cancelation/full refund policy the customer was aware of, we have all the paperwork for the transaction and weeks of e-mail corospondance with the customer, and yet my company had to waste time dealing with this and now have to pay over $200 in overdraft fees. Thanks for being on our side Square. 

[RiptideCEO]

Dealing with a similar situation now.  A customer ran up $3000 of charges, then disputed the charge several weeks later without contacting me.  Plus, when they zapped the $3000 out of my account, they take the whole amount, and not just the amount they sent me after they took their cut.  So whatever happens, they ensure they make their money.  It's just wrong.  This has single-handedly wiped out every dime of money I've ever made using Square, and I will never use them again.  They don't fight for us at all.

[Calvin]

Hi @RiptideCEO, thanks for writing in. When a customer disputes a payment with their banking institution, we understand that it can be a really frustrating process - that's why Square is here to help in the best way we can! When a dispute is initiated by a customer, their bank requires that the payment is placed on hold until there is a final resolution. In the meantime, we will advocate on your behalf using all of the supporting documentation that you’ve submitted, as well as the information we store on file.

Our Disputes team is committed to returning these funds to your account by proving that this payment was legit. A specialist will reach out to you via email to discuss detailed ways for us to stregthen our case against this customer. 

[RiptideCEO]

"Calvin",

This is the same response I have gotten on every front regarding this dispute process.  And I don't mean the same concept or theme... I mean the same word-for-word form document.  Is there anyone over there who actually cares?  I have a customer who is now bragging that he is going to get away with stealing from me because he knows Square will not fight for me and that his bank will always side with the customer, so I have no chance of winning.  You know the worst part?  He IS going to get away with it.  He made sure there was no documentation good enough left behind that I could possibly fight him with, and your company has done and will do nothing to protect me.  His signed receipt isn't good enough, apparently.  He's going to steal $3,000 from me, and Square is going to steal the $82.50 it took from me in fees to give me the right to get scammed, because there's no way Square will give up their cut.  You sent me $2,917.50 of his $3,000, and then when you placed my funds on hold to inevitably give back to this scam artist, you took the full $3,000.  THIS IS THE MOST UNETHICAL PROCESS, SQUARE.  You're double-penalizing me and I'm paying you for your trouble while you're not lifting a finger to protect me from a scam artist who knows all you have to do is dispute a Square charge and you will win.  He has said this isn't the first time he's done it and it most certainly won't be the last.  It will be the last time it happens to me, however.  As soon as this scam is finished and I am robbed of $3,000 plus your fees, I will be DONE with Square, and I encourage anyone on this forum to jump ship before you get scammed as well.  This scammer will have single-handedly wiped out all the money I have made accepting credit cards from Square, and there is no benefit to me now that will outweigh the risk of a scam artist.  It's so easy to dispute a Square charge and I have yet to see an anecdote of anyone who has won a payment dispute.  This is the end.  I'm letting this dispute go because I'm tired of fighting for no reason, cannot prove he is scamming me, and have no one at Square who cares beyond the money I can make for them.  I've made enough for you.  In return, you've let a scammer take me for thousands of dollars.  Cheers.

[Calvin]

Hi @RiptideCEO, 

I know this is a frustrating thing to go through, but please know that we really are on your side in this. It doesn’t benefit Square in any way when a Seller's customer files a dispute against them. 

There’s a few things in your post that I want to clarify:

•  It's important to note that there is a risk of a chargeback whenever a credit card payment is accepted, regardless of the merchant service provider you're using. The right to chargeback/dispute a transaction exists between the cardholder and their card issuing bank. While Square prompts for a signature for every payment, there are additional precautions that we encourage Sellers to take in order to significantly lower the risk of receiving a chargeback and/or increase your ability to win the case if one occurs. Check out our Best Practices for Accepting Payment Cards for helpful tips on how to protect yourself as a merchant when accepting card payments through Square. (These practices are good to follow while using any credit card processor!) 

• Secondly, when a payment dispute is initiated by a cardholder, the cardholder’s bank requires that the full amount of the original payment to be returned to the card issuer, including the processing fees. The processing fees that Square charges when the payment is initially taken, go toward transferring funds from the customer’s credit card to your Square account, and are not related to the costs of contesting the dispute on your behalf. While Square does pay a fee for every chargeback that is processed on your account, we do not charge Sellers for those additional fees. If you do not agree with the cardholder’s claim, we will challenge the disputed charge. If the dispute is resolved in your favor, you will receive the full amount back, including the processing fees. 

 I hope this clears up any confusion, and hopefully we're able to win this dispute on your behalf if it's still ongoing. 

Hopefully everything works out and I'm really sorry for the trouble and frustration. Disputes are never a fun thing to go through and we do everything that we can to fight them on your behalf. 

[Rubberduck15]

We have been very disappointed in Square's chargeback dispute resolution services.  I would like to see what percentage of disputes are actually resolved in the merchants favor.  There is an associated risk with everything we do, but to reward friendly fraud perpetrated  by a consumer undermines the retailers ability to conduct a profitable business. 

We recently had a dispute resolved in the the customers favor for a DONATION! As a nonprofit organization we accept donations via square for convenience.  The customer made a donation over the phone, approximately 2 weeks late they claimed "goods or services were not received" and disputed the charge.  Square then let us know the issue was final, we could not challenge the decision.  Very disappointed  

[EJ_]

Very sorry to hear that @Rubberduck15

While that decision is final, there might be some helpful information to help clear up any questions you might have on how the Disputes process works. 

This process is driven and determined by your customers bank, as it's every cardholders right to dispute a payment. 

Check out the posts by @Calvin for some details around how the Disputes process works. 

Also, here's an article with some information as well: 

Payment Disputes Walkthrough

Best Practices for Accepting Payment Cards

[Relentlessaaron]

Calvin, 2 or 3 purchasers have attempted claims against our bed and breakfast, and square has won for us each time. Keep a good attitude friend @therelentlesshouse

[Worried]

We have an ongoing dispute for some residential CAD plans we did, the customer disputing is in possession of the blue prints we did and can build from them, we also have a signed contract that states no refunds for services rendered.. I'm worried as this is our 2nd dispute and the last one was resolved in the customer favor even though we provided all information proving it was a legitimate payment...we had to put a lein on that customers property to prevent them from building with the plans we provided, we did get our money from the customer again and lift the lien....if this dispute is resolved against us again we are done doing business with square and will do a merchant account with our bank feeling they would truly fight for us.

Worried and waiting 

[Personal information redacted]

[ebikelane]

I COMPLETLY AGREE with you !     SQUARE has never taken a position to support their merchants.  I have multipal charge backs where they simplly said the case is closed and nothing can be done unless we go after the bank of the customer ourselves..   

WHY ARE WE PAYING SQUARE ! 

I have 2 cases where I questioned the charge upfront and contated them from their INVOICE system and they did nothing to investigate..

Pretty sure this is something that will become a class action or a piece for some investigative reporter at a local TV station !

My 2 cents !