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?!

[ebikelane]

Not from my experience and from the comments I've seen on the forums regarding your process and practice !

[theislandhouse]

I’ll weigh in here about my experience with a chargeback in hopes it will help some of you, and future people on this board not to loose hope. It only happened to me once but of course for all of us can be frustrating in various ways. 1^st…knowing the person is flat out trying to cheat us using the system. Then the paperwork involved. For me it was printing out tons of emails back and forth, scanning, loading, along with the signed contract SHOWING they knew every detail of what they were being provided along with THEIR obligation to make the final payment….which they never did, yet wanted their NON refundable deposit back. A transaction I’ve done hundreds of times with NO issues but they thought they could beat me out of it at MY expense. I received the dispute email from Square and started to fill it out. Like someone else on here it was a little difficult/confusing to do. It turned out some of the docs I was loading were either the wrong type doc…I missed where they clearly had what type I could load on the form, or they were to big. Again, my fault for not noticing but it was pretty frustrating yet in my mind I was blaming Square. It’s been months so I’m a little fuzzy on the details. I seem to remember I was clicking on something that didn’t open. Then later had problems uploading some of the docs. I called and a guy walked me through it but also said even though it didn’t show they all uploaded on my end they did on his and he could see them all. I asked him to read part of them so I KNEW for sure they had everything and they did, Whew…my job was done then an all I could do was wait out the 90 days. In the end they put the money back in my account when the customers CC Co ruled in my favor. I did call a few times and found the Square reps very informative and helpful. Lets face it, there is only so much they can do to “represent” us and I truly felt they did for me what they could on their part. In the end it’s the customers CC Co that determines who’s at fault and if I remember correctly (?) I think there’s an option to dispute that decision. Everyone runs their businesses in different ways. I’m not taking sides here…you all or Square but I have no doubt some businesses don’t keep detailed records…perhaps some rely on phone conversations not emails, some might not have have a signed contract to present, only a receipt. After this happened I had a contract attorney look over mine…just in case. While it was fine for this issue he found a couple of little things I should tweak to deter future issues. A paper trail and emails verses phone calls is very important. To get even more long winded, my business is a vacation rental home. Since Expedia bought out Vrbo they have become very greedy and forced us all to sign up for online payment through them. Payments.... check vrses CC are completely out of my hands now, UG. Ive always dealt directly with my guests and incouraged checks but Vrbo wants to collect their 10% (charged to guests) and will do so by using an outsourced company to process payments. There are blogs like this there about the company siding with the guests and not the property owners…no protection etc just like some of these comments. Scary stuff for me knowing this could become an ongoing thing if those blogs are right. I sure hope not!

So…don’t loose hope

Keep detailed records for all transactions

Email’s verses phone calls when possible. Always ask for an email and if they aren’t emailing you send them one during the process (depending on the service/merchandise youre providing) and prompt them in some way to let you know how satisfied they are etc. Especially if you feel they are/were a bit hinky.

One last thing. Square not only "holds" the disputed amount but takes it back out of the account they originaly deposited to us in. While I was fine with that I would imagine some small business (depending on the amount) could be overdrafted depending on how much they float in their account. That being said I can fault Square for that. They are running a buisness too as our middle man in this situation. Somone could easily close out their account leaving them holding the bag. It's a double edged sword!

Happy holidays everyone and best of luck resolving your disputes.

[Spectrum]

The Square Team does nothing to fight for you. They simply send it on to the customers bank without a second glance. How can the customers bank can be judge, jury and excecutioner especially when it comes to the service industry. There is a lot invloved that simply is not taken into consideration when the bank makes thier decision.  I just lost a dispute for $1,500 from a job I did for a customer over a year ago. The warranty period had ended but the customer was able to get their money back??!!

I will not be accepting credit cards anymore thru Square

[Lorelei]

HI @Spectrum, I apologize for the dissapointing outcome to your payment dispute. As a reminder, I can't discuss information surrounding your account due to this being a public forum. I do want to give you some general knowledge surrounding Best Practices for Accepting Credit Cards. This article highlights the most common supporting documentation that the banks are requesting when making thier final decision for a dispute. A Disputes representative will reach out to provide you more account specific information for your payment dispute. 

[FashionGroup]

My 90 days expired and I have not heard from you or anyone regarding the balance in our account that we have been taking away for a dispute in which our customer still has the merchandise we made for them and are using the items. Can you please help me to rectify this today? 

[Russell]

Hey @FashionGroup - I'm sorry that you experienced a chargeback. 

It looks Like our Disputes team reached out to you by email this morning with an update. For your privacy and account security, we can't discuss account specific information here on the community. If you have additional questions, please follow up with our Support Team by phone or email. 

[yasminjay]

It just happened to me. They took $394 from a guest who stayed at my place for 3 days and decided she couldn't take it anymore because it was raining and windy. Her other complaints were all untrue but Square took her side and withdrew money from my acoount immediately. 

[Pete]

Hello @yasminjay, when a chargeback is initiated by a customer the funds are immediately placed on hold by the acquiring bank. The funds are not immediately returned to the customer. Once a decision is made on the case the funds will be released.

At this time someone from the Disputes team will reach out to you via email about your specific case. If you have additional questions about the process or your case, you can reply directly to that email. 

[simple]

I was sent an email that more information was needed regarding a payment dispute.

In the email it says "click here" to fill out an information request form, but when I do the page says, "Dispute Challenge Submission: Your payment dispute is pending a decision from the customer's bank."

There is nothing to fill out, please help. 

[Russell]

Hi @simple - I'm sorry to hear that you are going through a dispute right now. 
 

When we send an Information Request Form through email and your Square Dashboard, you have seven days to submit the information. It sounds like it may have been more than seven days when you attempted to respond.

Please contact our Disputes team by email for more help on this.

[theislandhouse]

Hi, I'm having an issue filling out a dispute form. It went fine untill I tried to upload some docs. Theyre just word docs. The 1st one went through but any supsequent ones say something like, Upload Failed. I just tried calling Square but didnt realize theyre not available on Saturday's. I have to submit this BY Tuesday (the 4th of July). I'm assuming they'll be open on Monday but it's worrying me it still wont work on Monday

and I'll automaticaly be ruled against! Any advice on why docs wont upload or what to do???

[Tom]

Sorry to hear that you're running into an issue with the dispute form as well, @theislandhouse. If you have any questions, please reply to the last email from our Disputes Resolution team — they'll get you pointed in the right direction. In addition, I'll give them a heads up that you reached out here — keep an eye on your email inbox for updates.

[theislandhouse]

Thanks for the quick responce Tom. I actually did respond to that email too but didnt think to mention my post here. It's kind of stressing since we will be out on a boat all day Monday with no internet access. Crossing my fingers someone can get back to me before Monday so I dont have to cancel my plans with my family.

[Iris]

Hi @theislandhouse  we're sorry you were having trouble with the dispute form. Anytime you are trying to submit supporting documentation, please upload them as PDF and or JPEG. Also audio and or video files will not transfer through in the form as well. If so then please have the audio file transcribed into a text document and take single frame shots of video file that specifically supports your claim. 

We see that you have reached out to us through both email and phone call. I'm glad to see you were able to speak with one of our Dispute Resolution agents earlier who was able to help you on the matter. If you have anymore additional questions or concerns, like @Tom mentioned please reply directly to the last Disputes Resolution Team email and we will be happy to help.

[Goerges]

I'm very disponted with the dispute result The Square Team did nothing to fight for us. They simply send it on to the customers bank without a second glance. How can the customers bank can be judge, jury and excecutioner especially when they gave you authorization over and over on the same card and then one month later they dispute the amount when it is accumlated to over 15000$. There is a lot invloved that simply is not taken into consideration when the bank makes thier decision. I had all the information that they asked and they gave me the authoriztion. why is it that I have to loose.  I just lost a dispute for sales done in August. I lost my merchandis and the money and Square tells me go claim it at court. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

Unfortunately, that is the case sometimes.  The customer's credit card company is in charge of deciding if their customer has to pay what you charged.  If you sent Square the documents you say you had they would have passed it on to the disputing bank and they make the decision that you do or don't have a good transaction.  Sometimes things like these do need to get settled in court if you can't work it out, depending on your state there is a maximum amount you can ask for in small claims court (in Illinois it is $10,000)  Square doesn't have any power to change the outcome other than to provide the information you have.  It is the same with all credit card processors that the buyer's Bank has the power and is an unfortunate side effect of the ease of accepting Credit Cards.

I wish you Good luck getting your money from this bad customer.

[Cutlerbaythrift]

Did not repesent me well at all! I had a court judement as well as purchase was over a year ago. I was awarded to the customer even after she took merchandise and claimed she did not get it. WOW! I will be taking my business elsewhere.

[buildNreuse]

Square has recieved a dispute from a customer who has received their goods. The dispute is invalid the product was shipped in good condition and received it in good condition. The customers order was canceled and the product was never return however square has deducted the $232 from my account this is an unfair business practice. I am out my product and the money. Square has not stood behind this transaction. This is a fraud and should be considered illegal. There's no one I can contact or get a hold of speak to about this situation. Second time this has happened.

[EJ_]

Hi @buildNreuse

I've moved your post over to this existing thread, as the Best Answer goes through the Dispute Process and how it works. Check it out when you get a chance. 

In regards to your post titled "How do I get my product back from a customer who has disputed the charge and kept the item?", unfortunately we don't really have any control over the fulfillment or returns of items once you've sent it to your customer. 

As a card holder, they have the right to dispute any payment on their bank/card statement, even if all goods or services have been provided. 

The good news is our Dispute Team will fight for you on your behalf and even cover you up to a certain amount if you qualify. When a dispute occurs, we'll notify you immediately via email and also through your Square Dashboard. Make sure you sign in to your Dashboard and provide all of the information that you have so our Disputes Team can fight this for you. 

You should be able to call us directly if you need, so feel free to reach out to our CS Team directly and we'll get you in contact with Disputes. 

[atozmedical]

Hi Everyone,

I have a customer who broke a piece of equipment while renting it. I have a signed rental agreement stating that if a patient damages any of our equipment they are responsible for repairs and replacement units should this happen. This is the first time this has happened and I charged him for the equipment. He then called and is threatening to do a chargeback & is threatening other legal actions since he believes we should have insurance to cover such things.

I have the following right now:

1. Rental Agreement signed assuming responsiblity.

2. Credit Authorization signed to charge the card

3. Recorded conversation admitting to breaking the equipment and him threatening a chargeback on principals alone.

Anyone with experience know if this will be enough? Pretty scary since this is the first time this has happened in our 14 year history and it's a rather expensive piece of equipment.

[katieand]

Hi @atozmedical - Sorry you're going through this experience! I've merged you on this thread with some more resources about the dispute process. You can also give our CS team a call to ask anything you might be curious about.

Best of luck to you!