Consumer complaint received 2019-05-23
Company: Square Inc
State: VA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I processed a payment to XXXX using the CASHAPP prepaid debit card and subsequent available funds in my CASHAPP account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I was advised by XXXX that the reservation I attempted to make was no longer available and the hold placed on the funds for said reservation would be released. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to contact CASHAPP to have the amount of {$480.00} released back to me and provided them the case ID from XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received correspondence from XXXX advising that they could not use the case ID as a means to release the payment but if I was able to secure an email from XXXX stating the payment was to be released, they would do so immediately. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after spending a few hours on the phone I was able to secure said email from XXXX and sent it over to XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from XXXX stating that they could not see the transaction and that I needed to screenshot it from my phone for them to see the dollar amount. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I responded with the screenshot requested showing the amount. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a response from XXXX stating that they could not use the information I provided to affect the refund and that any issues should be referred to XXXX. I responded pointing out the obvious fact that the information provided was the exact information they stated they needed and at no time did they claim that any of the provided documents ( upon receipt ) would not suffice. Furthermore, despite articulations that the information would not suffice they gave no remedies or instructions on what would suffice. They essentially decided to simply ignore the documentation provided ( that they requested ) and move to deny providing the refund. 

At this point, any financial vehicle with unregulated access to funds should be held accountable when it shows to be operating in poor faith. The question is not only why they do not affect this refund but ; 1 ) where is the money 2 ) who is gaining interests on the capital 3 ) is this money being reported as income to the IRS?

4 ) where is this money being held?

5 ) who enforces standards against predatory financial instruments 6 ) if I do not receive my refund, is that considered a loss and as such can I seek to strike that as income from my income taxes?

7 ) when this type of behavior causes financial hardships, is CASHAPP responsible for any subsequent financial harm caused by their poor stewardship.

9 ) should business such as this be allowed to operate or have access to standardize institutions when this type of behavior in large scale could cause widespread economic harm? 

These are questions that should be asked by not only regulatory agencies but lawmakers as well. In this time of economic hardships, they Gov us a fiduciary responsibility to ensure these type of operations are not allowed to continue and remained unchecked. 

For me, it was only {$490.00}. For the less fortunate or those who can not access traditional banking options, it could be their lifes savings.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation