Frustration with Disputes

[Daedalus]

I am really trying to understand how is Square gonna protect me as a seller with people who steal other people's info to buy online from my store.

I run a small food truck and we offer online ordering.
been getting some decently big charge backs recently 50+$
how in the world is that my problem and not Square who cant verify the identity of the buyer?
not to mention the primitive credit card authorization form that Square tells u that you need to get your customer to sign it....
this is unacceptable!

[Donnie-M]

@Daedalus I would look at implementing an ID/Credit Card verification on large orders for a food truck.  The larger the not in person payment the greater the risk of fraud.  Especially if it is a new customer.  If the person shows up and can't show an id and the credit card, I would decline the sale and just refund the money.  I think you are being targeted at this point because someone has figured out you will make the orders.

You can also look at square risk manager as a way to mitigate risk or put a cap on online orders and require those to be in person or phoned in and paid in person with a chip/dip on the card.  Chip/tap/dip is the only way to prevent a chargeback thanks to the banks and the emv shift a few years ago.  This isn't square but the banking industry.

[A1steve281]

The bottom line is Square takes their fees and does not offer support in the disputes. If you use Square, you will always be a victim anytime someone wants a refund. There is no way to overcome a dispute even if you have a document signed by the customer acknowledging  a no refund policy.

[_Violet · Accepted solution]

Hi @A1steve281 - Thanks for following up on this thread.

Square doesn’t decide who wins or loses a dispute—that’s up to the bank that issued your customer’s credit card (like Visa or MasterCard). However, you have a better chance of avoiding future disputes by following a few best practices. Please see this article from our Support Center for further details.

I hope this information is helpful but please do let me know if you have any questions.

[A1steve281]

You will always lose a card dispute. Square does not offer any support on a charge back. Square has no intention of representing their customers in these situations. Always prepare to lose money at any given time

[Ony]

I doubt what you are saying is true. If the vendor always loses the dispute despite the evidence then there would be no reason to ever accept credit card. If what you are saying is true then this would invite dishonest customers dispute every charge, therefore making CC an undesirable form of payment for sellers.

[A1steve281]

I have been using Square since 2009. Every instance I have seen and experienced personally; cardholder always gets their money back. How many disputes have you been successful with in terms of not losing money?

[Ony]

None, this is the first time experiencing this. So tell me what happened on your end and what evidence did you submit? What were you selling? Did customer  say they did not recognize the transaction?  Or did they claim it was the wrong amount? Did they give you opportunity to “escalate” and send additional evidence? Square is not the decision maker it is the credit card company. 

[A1steve281]

I have a form that was signed by the cardholder acknowledging our no refund policy. The cardholder came into our brick-and-mortar store, picked up merchandise and then filed for a refund and was successful despite all forms of evidence in terms of emails and documentation. Square said they are not a bank and do nothing in terms of representing Me, the customer in situations like this. I videoed the conversation with Square Team Members and they just hang up on you and tell you there is nothing they can do

[Donnie-M]

@A1steve281 Square I think is coming out with a new product to help with this, but what I would do:

Sue them in small claims court for breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, whatever the terms in your state, theft by deception....

Nothing says you can't do that, and add on legal fees.  So make sure you just verify id, get good address, and I guarantee you will get his or her attention then.

[Ryro]

Yep. I had a $1000 dispute despite the guy signing the receipt, I had pictures of the service being done and I gave them my online sales policy stating all sales are final on the receipt and on the website that was SIGNED for. I somehow lost the dispute and instead sued this client in small claims court. That’s what Square recommended despite being **bleep**ed off about. You can always sue on big stuff over $500-$1000, etc.

[Nothappywithsqu]

Don’t be so ignorant. Obviously you have no clue what you’re saying. Square DOES not provide help and it’s true. They just take there fee. I’m right in the middle of one, and I did the service and now I am possibly loosing out on 10 days of work, $300 in gas to drive to job, and all kinds of fees.  So if you don’t personally know then keep your mouth shut. Go be ignorant elsewhere 

[Ztechtint]

we lose every single dispute with square. Lost over $8k in total now. No matter what proof I ahow

i still lose and square says their bs line of it’s not square it’s the cardholders bank. Absolute garbage

[MPAV]

That's absolutely.100%facts I'm in middle of same thing right I even have a letter from.custlmers bank saying they have released and are not disputing the charges and square is still trying to say they have no control over that even with a letter from said customers bank saying the dispute has been dropped by them and the customer but square is  still holding up the funds...

[Ryro]

Yep. I may stop accepting square as a form of payment if the trend continues. If it’s always up to the cardholders bank, they are going to win 80% of the time since, you know, “it’s up to their bank”. Ridiculous. The only thing you can really do for lost disputes is to sue the person in small claims court if you have sufficient evidence. I filed a lien against someone’s house because I did a $2000 job that they ended up disputing despite the fact I had pictures, a signed receipt/invoice and my online sales policy. I ended up settling for $1500.

[alexandriak]

This is false. I've won my share of disputes across multiple platforms. You just need to submit all of your evidence and if you're a B&M I always submit photos of the customer when it's an in store purchase.

[MPAV]

No no it is not false I have even had disputes that I requested that square refund the customer for.and they still took six months to get to a resolution even after me saying to refund the customer it's because square does not do anything they should be doing if it entails any work whatsoever on their end so I'm very sorry and it's great you have won disputes across multiple platforms but were not talking about other platforms were talking about square specifically!

[Ryro]

Yep the more evidence the better however, there have been a few times where I posted pictures of the completed service, a signed receipt and a copy of my online sales policy and have still lost disputes. I really do think it comes down to a coin flip sometimes.

[A1steve281]

It doesn't really matter if the card is dipped, swiped, manually keyed in . It does not matter if the customer signs paperwork acknowledging a no refund policy. If the cardholder wants a refund then they will almost always (95% chance) get the refund in their favor. Even if they have kept the merchandise. This is called theft and Square has no team in place to help their customers. At all.

[Rodney76]

100% accurate . especially if you have a ecommerce site 

[Donnie-M]

@Rodney76 You may want to check out https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/risk-manager this.

I think this addresses many of the concerns you have.  It is true that if it the card isn't chip/dip/tap then you will usually lose.  That was the EMV shift a few years back, not square.  That is the big banks for you.