Consumer complaint received 2023-02-07
Company: Block, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card

Complaint:
I am a full-time student living in Florida, and I have been a customer with Cash App for XXXX years, using their services for personal transactions mainly receiving funds from my parents for school expenses. A couple of years ago, I obtained a debit card issued by Cash App as a secondary cash source, aside from my major bank card. The Cash App debit card I obtained is the basis of my complaint. 

While at my apartment in Florida on XX/XX/2022, I received XXXX separate cash transactions from my father - totaling approximately {$1000.00} to pay my share of rent due. Within an hour after receiving my fathers funds, I received XXXX Cash App alerts on my phone listing XXXX separate card transactions debited from my account for a total of {$300.00} ( the first was for {$77.00}, and 3 more transactions for {$75.00} each ). All XXXX transactions occurred within a time span of less than 5 minutes. 

I immediately accessed my Cash App account on my phone to : deactivate my debit card ( which was in my wallet ), obtain more information about the unknown charges, and determine how to file a fraud dispute for the charges. The app advised the quickest way to resolve a card transaction was by contacting the merchant, which wasn't much of an option for fraud assistance - I had no idea of the source or the vendor. This was a red flag, alone. I went to Cash Apps chat system where I was directed to contact Cash Apps support staff the next day, which I did the following day by phone. After more back/forth, I finally got a dispute filed by email. ( All of this seems to be a pile on of more and more deflections and red flags on Cash Apps part. ) My dispute filed with Cash App via email was abruptly dismissed days later in a response received XXXX XXXX, 2022, without any substantial explanation provided to support their conclusions but, I was advised I could request a copy of the information they found in their investigation. ( I have included the email I received from Cash App as reference. ) After I contacted Cash App once again to clarify and further dispute their findings, I was advised I could follow-up with another dispute as part of the escalation process to appeal their results, which I did. However, I received the same form letter response, without any clear explanation or attempt to explain how I had been found at fault for my money being fraudulently taken from my Cash App debit card. 

Regarding Cash Apps investigation conducted, their email provided me only a cursory summary that most any debit or credit card statement will reflect the transaction date, basic vendor info ( apparently a grocer ), and transaction amounts, along with the last 4 digits of the credit card ; additionally, the transactions were noted to have been made via a card present purchase. This is absolutely false, as I was most certainly in Florida at this time. There was nothing to show that any genuine effort had been made to uncover any details regarding the transactions on either accord to clarify who had initiated the payments - there certainly were no details put forth to show that I was present in XXXX to authorize these payments, either, as Cash App implied. One does not need to be an expert to know that, once card information is intercepted, bogus cards can be created for the purpose of stealing unauthorized funds from consumers anywhere in the world. 

The investigation Cash App supposedly conducted was far from thorough ... there was seemingly no concern by Cash App to question why there were 4 separate transactions within such a short time frame. Why wasnt there any thought given by Cash App to the fact that there were 3 transactions for the same amount? This is typically an obvious red flag that should garner further review, especially when the customer notifies the company of a transaction problem this was only one factor that was odd about the reported transactions. Instead of demonstrating due diligence, Cash App created numerous hurdles to discourage further requests for customer assistance, instead. The fact that Cash App offers to provide more data gathered from their investigation only upon request is another red flag. Why would this information not be provided automatically, if Cash App has discovered valid findings to contradict the submitted dispute? 

Again, I followed the required processes per Cash Apps fraud policy, and I requested information for more details, but it contained nothing of significance to the case : nothing was provided to contradict my location in Florida at the time of the payments ( as opposed to showing me in in California, as Cash App implies in their response email ). I could not be in two places at once, and there are current technologies to confirm this fact. 

The email sent to me from Cash App demonstrates their poor handling of the disputes process, and their deceptive business practices, overall in that they, specifically : 1. Do not employ due diligence around secure services for their issued debit cards that they hard-sell to consumers. 
2. They disseminate false information relating their companys policies purported to address ( in good faith ) fraudulent activity reported by their customers. 
3. They are disingenuous as it relates to their investigations of fraud disputes reported, whereby they demonstrate no real effort to identify the full case facts in fraud disputes, with the intention of dismissing customer claims as frivolous in their attempt to avoid valid refunds due to defrauded accounts. 

Rather, Cash App reroutes incoming disputes received by phone ( for those consumers who are crafty enough to dig and find a contact number to begin with ), and they drag out the investigation period for days/up to a week or longer under the pretense of gathering data to assist the process only to return a random response, advising they decline the dispute and the refund of stolen funds, with no clear or sound reason to support their actions. They state the customer is at fault, or somehow involved in the fraudulent activity, as their go to resolution for disputed fraudulent activity. 
If Cash App can not or will not adequately and fairly protect their customers from theft, and implement sound business policies to refund customers in cases where fraudsters do circumvent their systems, they should not conduct business within the card services market. Cash App is clearly inept in this area, and cyber thieves around the globe have apparently found them to be a watering hole for fleecing thousands of unsuspecting individuals. 

Please be aware that the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX website reflects pages of hundreds of consumer complaints against Cash App which are very similar to mine their Cash App debit cards are slammed with multiple random, fraudulent charges within a very short time frame, and Cash App summarily dismisses the consumers, who describe rude treatment from the Cash App staff wherein they also deny their fraud claims on the basis that they were approved by the cardholder, etc and, they provide no substantive data to support their decisions. This seems to be Cash Apps business model to defray the costs of doing business, while also furthering company interests and profits at the customers detriment. 

It is clear that Cash App wants to reap the profits from their products, but they dont want to accept the related costs of doing business, and they choose to vilify their customers under the pretense of mock policies and security processes, in the process. I can only XXXX how many thousands, if not millions, of Cash App customers who have been defrauded in this way over the years averaging a minimum of {$100.00} for each dispute ... this equals quite a large sum of profits. Since filing my fraud dispute, I have learned of at least two other Cash App customers who have experienced similar fraud with their Cash App debit cards. This is no coincidence. 

I am filing this complaint with the hope that changes will be required of Cash App, whose influence and profitability have grown as a result of millions of loyal customers who have not received fair treatment or full transparency in exchange for their patronage. This is evident based on the large numbers of complaints filed against Cash App and the ongoing reports around possible legal actions taken. Cash App should be held accountable like any other company that provides financial services. Neither of the business practices mentioned above are negotiable. I attempted in good faith to address my valid concerns with Cash App, and I was dismissed and my refund request was declined without valid review, despite the fact that I met the criteria of Cash Apps disputes policies that ( fraud ) charges must be disputed within a specified time frame after posting to the customers account ; I met this condition when I reported legitimate fraudulent activity within an hour or less after it occurred, on the same business day. My treatment was unacceptable, and rather than assist me with my fraud activity, Cash Apps staff member chose to tell me my claims were false, without valid recourse. This was not a resolution, and their lack of accountability is unjustifiable.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation