I want that money back.

In October, I got two orders from my online jewelry shop, which is hosted by Square, the credit card processing company. I switched from Etsy to Square back in 2023 for a number of reasons; you can read about them here. My shop is simple and “free” — I only pay credit card fees when credit cards are used to buy my merchandise. It’s also handy because I can keep inventory in Square and only items actually available for sale can be sold. It’s been working well for me for the past 2+ years.

I don’t get a lot of sales online. I don’t even think the total reaches $1,000 each year. Most of my Square jewelry sales are done in person at art shows. I know Square isn’t the best deal for small businesses, but I’ve always been satisfied. If you just keep saying no when they offer additional services you don’t need, it’s actually quite affordable.

My Long-Term Relationship with Square

Understand that I have been using Square since the early 2000s. I started using it for my helicopter charter business back in the days when the company only allowed $1,000 per week of deposits. You see, it didn’t start as a business tool. It was a tool for individuals to accept credit card payments. People doing garage sales and babysitting. I had to jump through a few hoops in those days to be able to get more than just $1,000 deposited to my account. After all, my business would sometimes collect as much as $5,000 for a single flight. But they worked with me and I provided the documentation they needed to accept and pay me for my bigger sales. I appreciated that. Maybe it’s why I became a loyal user.

These days, I use it for my jewelry and boating businesses. The jewelry business isn’t much but the boating business can be a lot. The fee doesn’t bother me and I don’t pass it through to customers. (I think that 3% charge to accept credit cards is a scam; businesses should build that into their pricing.) The ability to accept credit cards is a convenience for my customers and for me. I’m willing to pay for it.

That said, the online store is a little different. This isn’t a face-to-face transaction. Instead, the customer goes online, picks out what they want, and pay for it by entering their card into the Square system. I never see them or their card. Instead, I rely on Square, which is providing this service, to handle the security of everything. I’ve never had a problem.

Until last month.

The Dispute

In October, I received two back-to-back orders from the same customer with an address in Miami. I mailed out the first one immediately, but didn’t see the second one until a week later. They were both for the same amount: $89. I processed the second one quickly, sending it by Priority Mail to make up for the delay and even enclosing a jewelry polishing cloth as an extra gift. (That’s customer service, in case anyone is wondering why I’d do such a thing on my dime.) In both cases, I used the Square system to confirm the sale and send the USPS tracking numbers.

A few days after I shipped the second piece, I got a message from Square saying that there was a dispute on the second sale. The customer “didn’t remember” buying the item. They asked for documentation. I explained what I just told you above about the two sales. They said they’d send the receipt and my explanation to the buyer’s bank. In the meantime, they’d take the $89 out of my account. It could take up to 3 months to resolve the issue.

It was resolved overnight. I lost. They’re keeping my money.

Now I don’t know what happened. Was the credit card stolen and the owner of the card a victim? If that’s the case, why weren’t both purchases disputed? Or am I just waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Or was the purchaser the actual holder of the card and he was just ripping me off, maybe thinking that the bank would cover it or probably not caring where the money came from?

The item went to a shipping facility in Miami. Its website is in Spanish only. I have to assume that they’re collecting items that someone is buying (or stealing) and shipping them in big boxes full of stuff to him in a Spanish-speaking country, which could be anywhere in the world.

Any way you look at it, it sure looks as if I’m the victim of a theft.

Square Is Complicit in the Theft of $89 from my Business

And that brings me back to the title of my post.

I did not accept the credit card from the buyer. Square did. I trusted Square to take valid payment for merchandise I, in good faith, shipped out to what I believed was a legitimate customer.

Yet here’s the dispute resolution email they sent me:

Square took the payment, but they’re blaming me for not swiping the card.

I was still in bed when I read this. I found it infuriating. They are clearly blaming me for the dispute, advising me to insert or tap a physical card. Can someone explain to me how I’m supposed to do this when I’m relying on their online shop service to handle the transaction?

Clearly, Square allowed this to happen. Why should I be penalized?

And now I’m left to wonder how many more times this can happen. If anyone can buy online from me, wait until they get the item, and then dispute the charge, I run the risk of every single sale being a ripoff.

Customer Service Sucks

Of course, I didn’t take this lying down. I spent the next 45 minutes talking to Square support staff, verifying my identity a total of seven times in 40 minutes. I communicated with chat bots and seven different people. I was read the same script several times by people with accents so strong that I could barely understand some of them. The last idiot started with “How is your day going so far?” I told him to stop reading the script and help me.

Now I’m waiting for a supervisor to get back to me. I was told it could take up to two days. That’s okay. I’ll start calling them again at noon. If I can’t get my $89 back, I’m going to cost them five times that by tying up their support crew every day for the next two weeks. They’re paying for that toll-free number, too, right? I wonder what 45 minutes today cost them?

The Future?

Well, I’ve already started looking for an alternative for both Square and its online shop. And I won’t just be moving my jewelry business off Square. I’ll be taking my boating business, too. I know that in the grand scheme of things my business is worth just pennies to them. I’m a speck of dirt on the floor that they can’t even see. But I refuse to let them harm my business.

Until I get off Square, I will be confirming every single order with every single customer, in writing. I will not ship to anything but residential addresses. And I certainly will not allow unknown customers to pay for boating services online anymore.