Consumer complaint received 2023-02-11
Company: Block, Inc.
State: IL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
I was working as a freelance event producer for a portion of last year and used Square to process payments from my employers. I had no issues whatsoever receiving multiple payments until one employer paid me via ACH through Square as my bank account information was linked. 

For reference, this employer submitted their payment of {$6600.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I received a note from Square that the ACH payment is processing, and its estimated to be available on XX/XX/XXXX. The money hit my Square account on that date, however on that same day, I received an email from Square that stated there was unusual activity on my account ( see attachment ). In order to keep it secure, they temporarily suspended deposits until I can confirm information through a provided link. I went to the link, provided all details confirming legitimacy of the payment and received a note that theyll reach out within two business days to provide an update. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received another email from Square stating that they are no longer able to process my payments and as of that day, my account is deactivated ( see attachment ). Any funds currently in my account balance will be held for a period of 90 days and are due to be released to me within two business days after XX/XX/XXXX. They mentioned an option of refunding my employer so they can pay me in another fashion, but any time I tried to do so on my Square dashboard, I was told a refund was not feasible. I tried calling, emailing and speaking to a customer service rep via the chat box on their website but was told there was nothing I could do - nor could they assist with a refund on the backend - and needed to wait until XX/XX/XXXX for my funds to be released. 

It is now XX/XX/XXXX and not only have I not received any communication from Square that my funds are being released to me, I also can not get a clear answer as to what is happening. Ive emailed multiple times this week and only received one response that said I should reference my initial deactivation email to note the scheduled release date of my funds ( see attachment ).

When I tried calling from my cell phone ( which is linked to my Square account ), they would not connect me to an actual human as the recording just goes in circles about my account deactivation and needing to reference the initial deactivation email for the date my funds are set to be released. However, when I called from my partners phone on XX/XX/XXXX ( who does not have a Square account ), I was put through to an actual customer service representative. She was very kind and escalated my case to be reviewed ASAP ( see Case Number attachment ). She stated I would hear back in less than 24 hours with an update. That was nearly 48 hours ago, and its been radio silence. 

I have no interest in reactivating my Square account or utilizing them in any capacity moving forward. I simply want the funds I worked hard for to be released to me so I can put this behind me. I also hope this will help someone from having the same issue happen to them. If someone is paying you ACH, have them do it directly through your bank account and not through a payment processor behemoth like Square or XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation