Consumer complaint received 2023-09-20
Company: Block, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
I XXXX XXXX am writing to file a complaint against the financial payment platform Block , Inc. F/K/A Square , Inc. aka Cash App . I am requesting your assistance with putting an end to this matter. 

The addresses for the company are listed below : Block, Inc. f/k/a Square, Inc. XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. - Cash App XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX I received a CP2000 Notice - AUR control Number : XXXX from the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service a copy of this document is enclosed hereto . The Notice CP2000 that I received proposes significant taxes and penalties that I might owe for missing and/or unreported income received via third-party card/network transactions ; namely, Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App. As has been noted, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App inaccurately reported that I received {$40000.00} of income and/or payments. To point out, the account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was entirely created and used to receive/give gifts and reimbursements of personal expenses that I received and issued from and to friends, family, and associates. It appears that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App has some serious systemic problems and is reporting wholly inaccurate information on behalf of this account. It is also apparent that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App failed to update their records on behalf of this account. Allow me to explain. 

The word/language Account within this document refers to Account No. established with the payment application and/or financial platform, namely, Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App. The phone number that was associated with account is ( XXXX ) XXXX. 

Below I have outlined a detailed breakdown of the inaccurate underreported payment card and third-party network transactions information reported by Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App on my XXXX tax return. In addition, please allow this document to serve as a written statement explaining why the tax debt or portion of the tax debt is incorrect. To be specific, these transactions are NOT earned income. 

In a nutshell, the information concerning the inaccurately underreported payment card and third-party network transactions reported by Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App were NOT for any business transactions, earned income, or commercial activities. 

As has been noted, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App erroneously reported to the Internal Revenue Service that I received {$40000.00} of income and/or payments via the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App application . I am aware that the previous threshold for business transactions was for more than 200 transactions per year, exceeding an aggregate amount of {$20000.00}. However, the transactions amounting to {$40000.00} received through the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App payment platform were specifically received for personal transactions such as personal expenses and reimbursements for meal, gifts, another other non-business activities. The transactions amounting to {$40000.00} received through the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App payment platform were not any earned income and thus should not have been generated or reported on Form 1099-K or my XXXX tax return. The American Rescue Plan of XXXX law is not intended to track personal transactions such as sharing the cost of a car ride or meal, birthday or holiday gifts, or paying a family member or another for a household bill. 

To elaborate, I did not use the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account for any business transactions, hence, for this reason, I did not report these transactions to the Internal Revenue Service on my XXXX tax return and Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App should not have reported this erroneous information either . Put simply, the transactions within my account were for personal expenses, such as sending and/or receiving money between friends, family, and gifting, it is not required to report the transactions on the 1099-K Form and this information should not have been reported to the Internal Revenue Service in the first place. The American Rescue Plan Act of XXXX law is not intended to track personal transactions such as sharing the cost of meals, birthday or holiday gifts, or paying a family member or another for a household bill. The new rule is effective beginning with payment transactions settled after XX/XX/XXXX. Thus, since this law went into effect XXXX of XXXX, I should not be penalized for the transactions that occurred in the year of XXXX, and these transactions are not earned income. The Act clarifies that third-party network transactions include only transactions for the provision of goods or services. 

The third-party network transactions information reported by Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App on my XXXX XXXX return were not for business transactions, commercial activities, or any earned income ; therefore, I did not have an obligation to report these transactions. Again, these transactions were for personal gifts and reimbursements and thus should be not included or reported on my XXXX tax year. For these reasons, I disagree with the Internal Revenue Services determination concerning the Notice CP2000 AUR control Number : XXXX and I would like to dispute and request a further evaluation and or investigation on this matter. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I filled out Form 2624 - Consent for Third Party Contact and mailed this form to both the Internal Revenue Service and Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App to authorize the Internal Revenue Service to contact third party Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App on my behalf concerning the inaccurate underreported payment card and third-party network transactions information reported by Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App to the Internal Revenue Service for the tax year of XXXX. 

Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App is a professional financial entity and advertises their platform to be a reputable finance app ; however, this is information is wholly untruthful. It has been reported that Cash App frequently has technical difficulties and computer processing issues.

In my situation, the account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was entirely created and used to receive/give gifts and reimbursements of personal expenses that I received and issued from a
nd to friends, family, and associates. It appears that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App has some serious systemic problems and is reporting wholly inaccurate information on behalf of these transactions. It is also apparent that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App failed to update their records on behalf of this account. 

At some point in time, the account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was inadvertently converted to a business account without my knowledge. The account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was NOT used for the sale of goods or any services. Pursuant to the rules and regulations of Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions Form 1099-K, it is not required to report gifts or reimbursement of personal expenses that I received from friends and family. It was my understanding that 1099-K Form does not apply to sending or receiving money between friends and loved ones, paying, or gifting. To repeat, I did not use the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account for any business transactions, hence, for this reason, I did not report these transactions to the Internal Revenue Service on my XXXX tax return . Therefore, the proposed changes on the Notice CP2000 - AUR Control Number : XXXX for the tax year of XXXX should be adjusted, reversed, and/or removed. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, it came to my knowledge that my Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account was inadvertently operating as a business account instead of a personal account. Thereafter, I immediately contacted Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App to inform them about the mistake of this account being incorrectly categorized and improperly operating as business account instead of a personal account without my knowledge. Subsequently, I spoke with a Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative , and I requested that Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App convert and/or transition the inaccurate account XXXXo a personal account since it was somehow inadvertently operating as a business account. I informed the representative that this account should have never been categorized as a business account because I did not conduct, receive, or perform any of the transactions on this account for business purposes. Moreover, I specifically requested that Block XXXX Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App update their records and data system to reflect a true and correct record of personal transactions that occurred in the account between me, my friends, loved ones, and associates because these transactions were strictly for personal gifting and reimbursements purposes. Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT A are true and correct copies of screenshot messages that I sent to Cash App Support via the Cash App chat feature on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that my account had not been properly converted from a business account to a personal account. For this reason, I phoned Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App support to attempt to rectify this issue. During this conversation, the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative walked me through the process on how to convert my incorrectly categorized business account to a personal account, and advised me that they would take whatever steps necessary to correct the mistake/issue. More importantly, the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative assured me that the company would make notes of this mistake and update their records and data system to reflect a true and correct record of the transactions that occurred in the account as personal transactions for gifting and reimbursements purposes. Furthermore, the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative promised me that I would not be held accountable for any penalties and there would be no repercussions for the mistake of the incorrectly categorized business account. To top things off, the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative informed me that since the transactions within my account were for personal expenses, such as sending and/or receiving money between friends, family, and gifting, it was not required to report the transactions on the 1099-K Form.

Given that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App is a professional financial entity and advertises their platform as the number one finance app in the App Store, I detrimentally, reasonably and foreseeably relied on Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps statements and representations with regards to the correction of the incorrectly categorized business account to a personal account, and I believed that the company updated their records and data system to reflect a true and correct record of the transactions that occurred in the account as personal transactions for gifting and reimbursements purposes. To be clear, the transactions associated with the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account were NOT related to any commercial goods or services. For this reason, I did not report these transactions on my XXXX tax return, and the proposed changes on the Notice CP2000 - AUR Control Number : XXXX for the tax year of XXXX should be reversed and/or removed. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, it came to my knowledge that my account with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App had been compromised, hacked, and closed. Thereafter, I contacted Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App to inquire as to why my account had been closed. Following this, I was informed by a Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App representative that my account was closed because Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App found activity on my account that was against their Terms of Service. Also, this activity was not specified. I was further informed that I would not be able to access any features on the application. During this conversation via Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps chat feature, I informed the representative that I did not violate any of the Terms of Service and I requested that this issue/mistake be escalated to higher authority. Thereafter, I was told that I would be contacted through email by Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps support team. However, up to the present time, I have yet to receive any communications from Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App regarding rectifying these issues. I believe there were changes to my account information without my knowledge prior to the date that the account was compromised, hacked and closed. Furthermore, I never received a 1099-K Form from Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App. 

Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT B are true and correct copies of screenshot messages that I sent to Cash App Support via the Cash App chat feature on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT C is a screenshot of the notice I received about my Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account being closed.

Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT D is a screenshot of the notice I received revoking my access to my Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account and documents.

To date, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App has and continues to merely ignore the mistakes/issues and refuses to correct the errors on behalf of my account, XXXX tax return, and Form 1099-K. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App a formal letter to notify them that they reported inaccurate payment card and third-party network transactions information to the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service on behalf my XXXX tax return. To go even further, I contacted Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App via the Cash App chat feature. Subsequently, I was instructed to contact the Cash App Taxes Department. To repeat, I am unable to access most features associated with the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account because the account was compromised, hacked, and closed. Therefore, I am unable to reach out to the Cash App Taxes Department. Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT D is a copy of the message I am presented with when I attempt to access my Cash App features. 

Again, I have asked Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App update their records to reflect that my account was incorrectly categorized as a business account instead of a personal account. I specifically requested that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App provide me and the Internal Revenue Service with a copy of this updated information. Furthermore, I requested that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App formally notify the Internal Revenue Service of these issues and/or mistake . Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT E is a true and correct copy of the correspondence I sent to Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT F are true and correct copies of screenshot messages that I sent to Cash App Support via the Cash App chat feature on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App sent me an email in response to my correspondences that I sent on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. In this email, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App informed me that they want to properly address my 1099 claim and resolve my situation as quickly as possible. As such, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App requested that I provide their team with more information by contacting a professional tax advisor directly and contacting my local law enforcement agency. Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT G is a true and correct copy of the correspondence received by Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 

There appears to be a lack of clarity and or a misunderstanding regarding my situation with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App and the proposed Notice CP2000. To point out, it is not my contention that I did not authorize or perform any of the transactions with regard to the account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App . However, it is my contention that the account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was inadvertently converted to a business account without my knowledge. Hence, the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account was inadvertently operating as a business account instead of a personal account. In addition, it is my contention that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App failed to properly update their records and correctly document that the account was inadvertently operating as business account instead of a personal account without my knowledge. For this reason, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App erroneously reported to the Internal Revenue Service that I received {$40000.00} of income and/or payments via the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App application .

Furthermore, it is my contention that the account was hacked on or around XX/XX/XXXX, and due to the account being hacked I do not have full access to my cash app features. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App formal letters to notify them that they reported inaccurate payment card and third party network transactions information to the Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service on behalf my XXXX tax return . Subsequently, I was instructed to contact the Cash App Taxes Department. To repeat, I am unable to access any of the documents, transactions, and features associated with the Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account because the account was compromised, hacked, and closed. Therefore, I am unable to reach out to the Cash App Taxes Department. Please be advised that I filed an identity theft report on IdentityTheft.gov because the account had been compromised, hacked, and closed. For this reason, I am not able to view/access any of the activities. 

Per Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps request , I was instructed to contact a professional tax advisor directly regarding this matter. Contacting a professional tax advisor to handle this situation is irrelevant because the information that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App reported to the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of my XXXX tax return should not have been reported in the first place. The account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was somehow inadvertently converted to a business account without my knowledge. The account associated with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App was NOT used for the sale of goods or any services. Pursuant to the rules and regulations of Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions Form 1099-K, it is not required to report gifts or reimbursement of personal expenses that I received from friends and family. It was my understanding that 1099-K Form does not apply to sending or receiving money between friends and loved ones, paying, or gifting. To repeat, I did not use the Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App account for any business transactions, hence, for this reason, I did not report these transactions to the Internal Revenue Service on my XXXX tax return and Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App should not have reported this erroneous information either . Put simply, the transactions within my account were for personal expenses, such as sending and/or receiving money between friends, family, and gifting, it was not required to report the transactions on the 1099-K Form and this information should not have been reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

Per Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps request , I was instructed to contact my local law enforcement agency and have agents submit a request for information to Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App. On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I visited the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Department XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with regard to my contention that my account with Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App had been compromised, hacked, and closed. I was told that this situation is not under their legal umbrella to handle based on the mere fact that this is a Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App policy issue. 

On Monday XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps legal department via email to clarify my contentions. In addition, I notified Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App that their requests calls for information not relevant to the subject matter of this action nor reasonably calculated to lead to the resolution of this matter. Subsequently, I was instructed to contact Cash App support. Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT H is a true and correct copy of the correspondence received by Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 

As can be seen, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App is on a wild goose chase in an effort to avoid correcting the mistake of this account inadvertently operating as a business account instead of a personal account. In this situation, Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App is not acting adequately fair to rectify this situation.

Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps actions are baffling, and fail to adhere to any decent standards of business conduct. If Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash Apps employees had properly updated their records and correctly documented that the account was inadvertently operating as business account instead of a personal account without my knowledge, this whole situation could have been avoided. 

Enclosed hereto as EXHIBIT I is a true and correct copy of my identity theft report ; a copy of Form 2624 - Consent for Third Party Contact ; Notice CP2000 AUR control Number : XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX ; and a copy of the letter sent to Block, Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Based on the foregoing, I am respectfully requesting that that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App update their records to reflect that my account was incorrectly categorized as a business account instead of a personal account. Please provide me and the Internal Revenue Service with a copy of this updated information. Further, I am requesting that Block , Inc. F/K/A Square, Inc. and/or Cash App formally notify the Internal Revenue Service of the mistake. 

This letter is not intended to be a complete recitation of the facts or statement of my position. This letter is written without waiver of, or prejudice to my rights and remedies at law and/or in equity, all of which are hereby expressly reserved. 

I sincerely appreciate your time, attention, and consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me at either the address or phone number included below. 

Cordially, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX Phone No. ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation