Square deactivating account based on discrimination

[blesdbuds]

Square is deactivating my account based on a lie that I broke terms. I've been able to show, over and over, that I didn't break any terms. They fraudulently misrepresented themselves and the agreement just to deactivate my account based on their own bigotry. 

No terms were broken. I did nothing wrong. And yet, my account is deactivated because they "say so". They aren't deactivating based on any facts that I broke terms. They are fraudsters that are deactivating my account because they are discriminatory.

I dare any person to point to what I did wrong, what term I broke. Nobody at Square is able to do that and nobody here can do that. Not a single person on Earth can point to a single thing I have done wrong.

Square is deactivating my account solely for discriminatory and fraudulent reasons. They have no proof of me doing any wrong. If they did, why have they never come forward with anything other than broad strokes pointing to terms? 

It is saddening to see this community in support of such discrimination and to defend them when they are clearly in the wrong. I have been able to show their wrongdoing again and again. They can't provide a shred of anything as to what I've done wrong. Except not fitting into their mold of what a human being should be. Having disabilities Square doesn't like means they will deactivate your account. 

Imagine a cop arresting, but not being able to tell you what crime you broke. They just say, "You broke laws." You go in front of a judge and they say, "We looked it over and you're going to jail." No evidence to prove guilt. No way to dispute in any way. Just pure fascism. That is what Square believes in. Discrimination and fascism. Every person working there supports discrimination and fascism. 

You can go ahead and ignore me, society is good at doing that to people like me. But I will remind everybody as much as I can, as long as I can, of the fascists that they are. 

[HC_Charlie]

Hello @blesdbuds I'm sorry you're having difficulties with payment processing for your business. I can assure you as a fellow small business owner who is part of a diverse community, I have not experienced any discrimination from Square. While your experience is your own, I have never seen or experienced any evidence of discriminatory practices.

My suspicion (without knowing Square's reason for your deactivation) is that you are selling marijuana. Yes Square has a CBD program, but there are distinctions between those two items. And while you may be legally permitted to sell marijuana in your state or jurisdiction, Square does not permit payment processing for these items. Cannabis is currently illegal under federal law in the United States. But many states have made their own rules for cannabis use. Some states allow cannabis for medical use, some allow it for both medical and recreational use, and others still consider it fully illegal.

Because of federal laws, financial institutions are wary of allowing weed transactions. If they permitted the purchase of cannabis, they could be subject to significant penalties and other legal consequences.

Major credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard prohibit the use of their cards to buy weed. Both companies enforce bans on pot transactions, making it impossible to use your card at a dispensary to purchase cannabis.

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/6821-square-cbd-early-access-program-faqs#78657bac83c0d4f4d8...

"Square doesn’t allow sellers to sell marijuana, marijuana derived products, products that contain more than 0.3% THC, illegal drugs, and products that otherwise violate Square’s Payment Terms such as kratom, kava, paraphernalia, bongs, or pipes."

And I'd be careful with terms like fascism in regard to this situation, because it doesn't really make sense here. IF Square was a fascist company, they would tell you that you cannot sell whatever item you are selling. You still have every legal right (in your State) to sell whatever your State allows you to sell. Square isn't stopping you from selling those items, but Square isn't going to take a credit card payment on your behalf, and then send those funds to your bank account. Square (or any other company) can choose if they want to partner with you in selling those items. You are free to find another payment processor to handle credit card transactions for your business. This behavior is Capitalism, and it means that both Square and YOU can chose who you partner with in your business transactions. You have many other choices, just do an Internet search for "cannabis payment processing" and other companies may offer their services to you. I would also recommend talking to other cannabis dispensaries in the San Antonio area and ask them who they use to process their payments. I've found the best advise is from other local businesses in the same industry.

Square as a Capitalist company makes the business choice not to deal in cannabis payment processing. CBD products are different, and I think you applied for the CBD program. It probably wasn't until you listed your actual products that Square was able to see these were not just CBD items. Again, it is the Federal U.S. Government that has laws in place about selling marijuana and pot, and Visa and Mastercard that offers credit cards says the language the U.S. Government uses about selling marijuana is unclear, and these big credit card companies are not going to risk legal issues by allowing their cards to be used to make these purchases. Square isn't the one offering Visa and Mastercards; they are a "middle man" in the transaction. 

Good luck to you and your business. I hope you are able to find a partner to process your payments. If you would like more complete information from Square about your situation the best avenue may be to consult an attorney and see if you have any grounds for legal action.

[blesdbuds]

CANNABIS IS NOT ILLEGAL. THE AMOUNT OF THC IS ILLEGAL. I AM SELLING FEDERALLY LEGAL CANNABIS. SQUARE KNOWS THIS. THEY KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING TO SELL BEFORE I STARTED SELLING IT. PERIOD.

I am not selling marijuana and I am tired of people like you making that claim. It is a straight up lie.

I sell hemp flower. Federally legal cannabis. Square knows this. They saw my paperwork upfront before letting me into their cannabis program. They knew the exact product I was selling before I opened my store.

What they did was fascism. Period. There is no question about that. They lied. They committed fraud. They discriminated against me. 

It doesn't matter if there are other processors. Square discriminated and acted in a fascist manner and I will continue to call them out on it.

Just because you get treated well doesn't mean they treat everybody well. They are fascists because they act like fascists. 

So, go ahead, find the term I broke. Hint, I didn't break any; Square is just discriminating and being fascist.

[TheRealChipA]

@blesdbuds Ok.  Let's say that you really haven't done anything wrong.  Keep in mind that people say that all the time and usually leave out something.  But, for the sake of argument, I believe you.

Square is a private company.  Unless you are in a federally protected group (race, sex, etc), they just because Square decides not to do business with you, that is NOT discrimination.  Is it right?  I can't say.  But all of us as business owners have the right to serve who we wish as long as we do not violate federal discrimination standards for protected classes.  The last time I checked, THC sellers are not federally protected.  Sure, their product might be legal within certain restrictions and definitions.  But banks and card companies are allowed to decide who their customers are.  Period. 

I'm certain that Square has good records/notes of why they made the decision for your business.  Their attorneys require that sort of thing.  But they do not have to tell you why they made that choice.  If you feel that strongly about this, then you should hire an attorney and force Square to turn over those records via a court order.  Personally, I wouldn't think it would be worth the hassle or expense.  But that's your choice.  Oh and fascism is something governments do.  Not businesses.  Let's not redefine words to mean what we want them to mean.

[blesdbuds]

I am a federally protected group though. Race: I have one. Religion: I have one; I even have paperwork. Age: Over 40? Yep. (I know, people will attack me on that.) Sex: Yes. Disability: Yes, multiple. Veteran: Yes, honorable discharge. 

So, it seems that I am part of more than one protected group. 

Square is big money with big money lawyers and they'll use the system to run me out of funds to fight or until I die. That's why I call them out on it and get aggressive with anybody who steps in to defend or make excuses for them being fascist.

"Fascist has been used as a pejorative or insult against a wide range of people, political movements, governments, and institutions since the emergence of fascism in Europe in the 1920s."

You should know how people use words if you are going to educate them on those words. I'm a dyslexic idiot and even I know how people use the word fascist. We can use that word against Square and their employees. 

"Is it right? I can't say." Yeah, you can say. Deactivating an account based on a lie is wrong. It's that simple. There's no gray area there. It's either right or wrong. And what they did is wrong. Why is that hard for you to say?

[TheRealChipA]

I stand corrected re:fascist. My bad. My statement should have said I’m sick of people using that word for everyone and everything they don’t like. It’s lame and uninspired.

You may be in a minority race. But that doesn’t mean that Square discriminated against you for that reason. They can deny an account to a minority person legally for other reasons. 

You may be in a religion. But that doesn’t mean that Square discriminated against you for that reason. They can deny an account to a religious person legally for other reasons. 

Thee same goes for being a disabled veteran. My dad was (Vietnam) and he never used that as an excuse for decisions he didn’t like. He moved on and didn’t whine, a lesson he thankfully taught all of his kids by his actions. 

Being A PART of a protected class does not mean automatic privilege. If you have proof of REAL discrimination and not just suspicions, then put your money where your mouth is and hire an attorney. That is, after all, the American way. 

[blesdbuds]

I'm not using it as an excuse for a decision I didn't like. I'm literally calling them out for doing something wrong and fascist. I'm not using who I am as an excuse to attack them. I am using what they actually did as an excuse to attack them. There is a difference. 

Sure, they can deactivate an account for other reasons; as long as it isn't a lie like they did with me. They deactivated mine based on a lie. That is wrong, period. You haven't mentioned that doing so is wrong. You have been making excuses for them. If you can't see that what they did is wrong, then you are a bad person.

Also, you do whine. It just means to complain or criticize - or to do so with a high pitched cry. Complaining and criticizing is something you are doing in your reply. So, you do whine. If you want to throw in the high pitched cry to claim that you are not, then the same applies to me and I am not whining. Either we both whine or neither of us whine. Which definition do you want to go with?

Did you not comprehend what I wrote previously about the big corporation having all the money to waste out my funds or wait out until I die? If I had a ton of money I would be all over them suing them. Not everybody is rich like you seem to think; are you that rich? 

A person with a big mouth is someone who spills secrets. Is my telling about what Square did a secret? No. Then I'm not a big mouth.

Go ahead, reply with some more condescension about how you're so much better than me. Go ahead, throw those insults. This says way more about you than it does about me. I'm calling out Square for what they did. You are attacking me for calling them out on what they did. You are the bad guy in this scenario. 

[TheRealChipA]

Enjoy your victimhood. It fits you. 

[blesdbuds]

Quit whining.

You don't even know what victimhood is, so your insult is just idiotic. A person with victim mentality would not act the way I do. I take responsibility for my actions and my circumstances. I've asked repeatedly for any person on Earth to show me what I did wrong so that I can improve as a person. Not a single person has been able to do that. I am not entitled to anything and have never said I was. I only stated what they did. I'm not acting selfishly because pointing out their wrongs is a way to help others. 

Your responses remind me of conservative Trump supporters who do have a victim complex of blaming everything on "others" - Biden, liberals, immigrants, everybody - but never taking any responsibility for the situations they got themselves in. That's a victim mentality. They feel owed and act in a selfish manner as well.

Instead of offering any help, you decided to attack me with condescending remarks and insults. You are a bad person for doing that. 

Not once have you been able to even admit if the action would be wrong. You said instead that "You can't say." Is that because you are not a good person?

You would rather attack me. Is that because you are not a good person?

If you can point to a term I broke, then do it. But you can't can you? That's because Square lied. You are defending that. That doesn't make you a good person. And insulting me only shows how little of a person you are.

[HC_Charlie]

Thank you @blesdbuds I have to confess my ignorance when it comes to these products. i don't understand the differences in these items. I saw your website banner that said "cannabis buds", but it was my ignorance in making those assumptions. I wasn't aware that this was something that was federally legal to sell. 

Best of luck to you and your business going forward. Again, there isn't much you can do as a small business owner is challenging a major corporation except trying to get some legal representation.

[blesdbuds]

I understand. Please do hope and understand that any aggression I showed towards you was not personal towards you. I am upset and angry for what has happened to me and I have no other way to deal with it but to call them out on it and let everybody know what they did. And I lash out at those I feel are defending them while dismissing me; not that is what you did or were trying to do, it's what I perceived.

They are a billion dollar company founded by a billionaire. They will do everything they can to run out my funds or life before admitting they were wrong. My disabilities make it difficult to do anything but go on the attack for what they did. That's something a lot of people will never understand.