How do I get paid when a customer has ability to unlink card?

[GLWC]

A customer had a card on file.  They unlinked their card and now I'm not able to get paid despite their consent for me to store their card on file and charge it as balances came due. 

Why can't we consent to unlink their card before doing so?  I understand there are people out there who would continue to charge people fraudulently and customers need to be protected from those people.  However, what about all of us honest people who work hard and deserve what is owed to us?

Is there no show protection or something equivalent for Square card users who don't use Square Appointments?

[Helen]

@GLWC You're right, your customer can unlink their card on file. The card might have expired, or they might want to use a different card to pay. In any event, if a customer unlinks their card on file you'll receive an email notification with the subject link Your customer [Name] Has reward has unlinked their card. That email will also include a link to the customer's profile so you can contact them directly to ask them for their card information again, or to provide a new card. 

I'm sorry for this experience, I understand how helpful a feature like the No Show protection currently available with Square Appointments would be. I'll share your feedback with the Card on File team, it certainly sounds like an opportunity for improvement. If we have a solution for sellers using the Point of Sale app we'll notify you here.

[klauritzen]

This comment was created by merging the thread "How can I prevent customers from unlinking their cards once an appointment has been made?".

Today I had a customer who booked an appointment online. I have no show protection checked on my settings requiring they link a card, however I was unaware of the fact that they can unlink that card at any time.

When the customer arrived and received their service they claimed they forgot their money clip at home, which had all of their cash and cards in it. They left and when I contacted them they stated someone else had taken their money clip and would not be back for another hour. I contacted them once more in an hour, they stated their friend was still not back.

I chose not to contact them a third time and sent an invoice instead, however considering the entire situation I don't think they will respond to this at all.

I do not feel it is right that once a client has booked and linked a card they can then unlink the card before the appointment has concluded resulting in the seller losing money if the client is like the one I have described.

Is there a way to remove this option until a set time, either the end of a scheduled appointment or a time chosen by the seller with a limit to prevent sellers from holding cards longer than necessary to protect the customer?

I understand the alternative is to require full payment when they book, which is what I will choose until given another option, however I do not like having to do this because some honest customers may be less likely to book due to this for a variety of reasons. 

Another option I would like to see would be to have a customzable amount for prepayment so sellers can choose how much they would want a client to pay to book if they do not feel comfortable requesting full payment. 

[Chad]

 Hello @klauritzen! 

I went ahead and merged your thread with this existing one, since this questions been asked before. 

I am sorry to hear about your experience with that customer. I can imagine how frustrating that was. 

[desertJen]

I have the same problem. People can unlink their card on file without letting us know - it negates our cancellation policies. Is there some way that we can choose not to furnish the unlink option or is there a way not to send card on file invoices? That is - If we have the card on file and have a recurring invoice is there a way NOT to send the customer a copy of the invoice so that they can not unlink their card?

[ashc]

Hi @desertJen and welcome to the Community,

I definitely see how that would be a pain point. Unfortunately there's not a way to prevent them from doing so since having a card on file has to be approved by that cardholder. 

You might want to look into having credit card authorization forms and contracts that you can send via PDF through the invoice. That way if they unlink their card, you'd have their card information on paper and approval to charge it since they'd have to sign it stating their approval.