Dispute / Chargeback

[Cloakmack]

I own and operate an auto repair shop. Recently I did some work for a customer, and then they proceeded to dispute the charge saying “they had no knowledge of the charge” and POOF just like that, Square gives them their money back (withdrawing it from my account of course). 
Let me get this straight…I do $800 worth of knuckle busting back breaking work to repair someone’s car and ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS A SIMPLE BS DISPUTE and they automatically get refunded and I’m out $800?!?!?

WHAT KIND OF SH!7 is that!!  I’ve NEVER heard of a card company just folding like 3 dollar beach chair and automatically giving the funds back!!  If the card fraudulently represented at the time of purchase, then whoever presented it should be out that money, not the retailer !!  I’m being held responsible for what someone else did????  I DID WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO…I had no reason to suspect foul play!!!  Does this fall under “one bad apple spoils the bunch” and I’m supposed to treat all my customers as if the card they are using to pay me with is stolen, and that they are a thief???!!

I mean come on people…let’s wake up and go after the bad guys and stop penalizing the good guys!!

[Minion]

HI @Cloakmack 

I just wanted to start off by stating the obvious, that unfortunately there are still plenty of grimy people in this world.  As if its not hard enough to run a small business.  I've been in the Auto Industry for 10 years, and have always worked on my own vehicles.  The amount of wear and tear that we put our bodies through from the busted knuckles to the contorted angles we place ourselves in because an "engineer" that it was a good spot for that part goes unnoticed by many.

Anyways, back to your post.  The dispute, like any generally has a process.  I'm not sure if you read this before, but here is a link of the timeline and process for disputes  with Square.  Most likely and  it's common with all CC processing companies, banks etc that the money hasn't actually gone back to the customer "officially" just yet, but rather it is on a temporary hold.  The customers bank may issue them a temporary return of the funds but the dispute is a process and hope is not lost. You should be able to submit some supporting documents to help you with your dispute to get your money back. 

Whenever accepting cards as a business owner there will always be a certain level of liability that we hold.  to an extent, it only takes one time for me to get burnt by a **bleep**ty person that then changes everything for every customer from that point on.  Including and attaching  a Square Contract or a Credit Card Authorization form for future customers to sign prior to them paying their invoice can also hep in the future.

I do wish you all the best in your dispute process.  We are a community here of small business owners trying to help one another.