How anyone had the disputed decided in your favor and 3 day later the decision was reversed.

[Boatman1962]

We provided everything they asked for and more, text messages, photos of the work as it was done, signed invoice. The customer came from out of state to have the work done and already had an idea of what his initial cost would be. He provided a parts and we were installing. Unfortunately, the parts he brought were incomplete and were going to cost more to replace what was missing. Although this wasn't our fault, being that we didn't purchase the parts ourselves as we usually do, he was unhappy in the end with having to pay more and decided to dispute the entire cost, including the work already done. He disputed his payment, we disputed his dispute, nearly two months later, we got the email that they ruled in OUR favor, but then 3 days later, they sent another email saying it was overturned. Does anyone have any idea why this would be? It's blatant theft of services what is going on here, I don't understand how it can happen in the way that it did. Any insight would be appreciated. 

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @Boatman1962.  Sorry to hear about this mess.  While I’ve never heard of this with disputes through Square, it does happen, more often than you’d think.  There can be any number of reasons for a reconsideration.  Obviously, both sides of a dispute have the opportunity to appeal the decision, and my guess is that in your case that’s exactly what happened.

Not knowing the specifics of your case, I can tell you that Square basically collects your information and presents it to the card companies/banks.  They are the ones who make the decisions.  At this point, your options are pretty much with the courts.  Depending on the amount of the dispute, you could try small claims court or you could file a lawsuit against the customer.  Not sure about your state, but in mine (Kentucky) business small claims cases must also be handled by an attorney.  So, hopefully you have a good one that you trust to give you guidance.

My experience (through other businesses I own) with the court system is that a) it will take a while, especially if you file a regular civil suit, and b) it will be expensive, especially if you file a civil suit.  Thankfully, I have an attorney of 30 years who gives me great guidance when deciding if I really want to start that process.

As business owners, this is one of the big drawbacks of accepting credit cards.  The card companies (MC, Visa, etc) and issuing banks almost always take the word of their card holders no matter what. 

None of the above really helps you, other than to tell you that you aren’t alone in this.  Talk to an attorney and hopefully you find you have an option or two remaining.

I wish you well.