Consumer complaint received 2023-07-26
Company: Block, Inc.
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
I submitted disputes and attempted to submit the full extent of the disputes to CashApp but was denied the ability to submit multiple disputes for several charges that occurred in parts over the course of about a month, resulting in the fraudulent and unauthorized activity on my bank account through online purchases using my digital CashApp debit card and CashApp money transfers from my bank account I did not authorize from the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX until the end of XX/XX/XXXX, with an estimated total in excess of {$35000.00}. A detailed record of these transactions directly from CashApp statements are attached. 

Neither my bank account nor my CashApp account information were voluntarily shared with anyone and the use of my device was not voluntarily given to anyone. These transactions are in error because they were not authorized transactions. 

To the best of my knowledge, the fraudulent activity was made possible by and began after completing a device swap of my cell phone with an identical phone under my phone warranty program. At one point, these devices had all account details stored and I suspect some fraudulent interception transpired. I cant say for sure, and I have no way to prove who I think did it - but the bottom line is that these transactions were not done by me or authorized by me. 

In XXXX of XXXX I was forced to close my XXXX XXXX XXXX at the onset of COVID and my commercial landlord conducted an unlawful eviction of my business. To this day we are still in litigation. Like many people, I lost my source of income, but in my particular case that was just the beginning of the end for me, my family, my legacy, and even just the basic dignity of human expression and American freedom. Its beyond words how it feels to go from XXXX XXXX in sales per month to being forcibly stripped of your lifes work and in less than a year find yourself homeless. Part of coping with all of that is I got to a point where I became accustomed to having nothing and fell out of the habit of staying on top of stuff. So when I received a large settlement from when I was hit by a car, I just deposited it all into my XXXX account and didnt think much of it nor monitor it in any way that would alert me to the initial fraud that affected my bank account. I brought it to XXXX Banks attention immediately when I did notice it, and I was given the impression by XXXX Bank that they quickly investigated the matter and returned the stolen funds. I thought that put an end to the misuse of my money through my account. Because a new card was issued by XXXX, my old one was canceled, I was assured by XXXX Bank that they had thoroughly addressed the problem, and reopening my business was still months away ; it seemed like it was safe to just let my settlement money sit and continue living frugally. 

Within weeks, however, my XXXX XXXX account was suddenly emptied of more than {$35000.00}, evidently through CashApp transfers transpiring after I thought the situation was resolved. I sought out a solution with the merchants that processed the unreasonable volume of transactions but they would not refund the money. 

I then notified CashApp directly and tried to initiate disputes but CashApp support refused to process the disputes in bulk. I repeatedly asked for alternative ways to report the fraud through their system, a phone call, or even the postal service and I was unequivocally told by CashApp support that their dispute process of each transaction, one at a time in the app was the only way to notify them of the fraud and dispute the transactions. Obviously, this wasnt true. 

I then gave up on trying to address this fraud through CashApp and initiated efforts to resolve this directly with XXXXXXXX XXXX. The transactions related to CashApp have been improperly denied. 

CashApp did not allow me to submit the fraudulent transactions to them in bulk, nor did CashApp provide a provisional credit, nor did CashApp communicate to me that I needed to submit anything in writing. In fact, CashApp appears to have closed my account in retaliation for taking the issue directly to my bank, and furthermore, when I attempted to procure my CashApp account number from CashApp to file disputes via certified mail and to file this complaint, CashApp support played games over several days, refusing to provide this critical information that would help identify my account for both transaction dispute purposes as well as for the reporting of their conduct with the CFPB. A collection of screenshots capturing the support team playing games with me and outright refusing to provide my account number is enclosed. 

From what I understand, XXXX XXXX and CashApp jointly decided that the unauthorized transactions were valid based on prior account activity. This is wrong and propagates the fraud I have been a victim of. 

# 1. ) The possibility of similar prior transactions with the same or similar merchants does not constitute proof that these transactions were authorized. 

# 2. ) Said prior activity consists entirely of transactions XXXX had already concluded were fraudulent in the original partial investigation (!!! ). 

My account history proves my spending habits were not at all reflective of what transpired during the period these fraudulent transactions took place. Upon request, I can also provide the 5 years of business and personal accounts I maintained before I lost everything to COVID which will further prove my point. 

There appears to be a range of violations by CashApp of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ( EFTA ) and Regulation E after I had given CashAPP timely notice of the transaction errors.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation