Consumer complaint received 2026-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: Block, Inc.
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
I am a small business owner using Square Appointments to collect deposits for services. I have experienced a serious and ongoing issue where customers are able to book appointments with required deposits, and the system displays these appointments as paid, even when the payment has failed or was declined. For example, on or around XX/XX/year>, a customer booked an appointment with a {$50.00} required deposit. The system showed the appointment as paid, however, there is no record of a successful transaction in my Square transaction history. Upon further review, the payment attempt was declined, yet the appointment was still confirmed and labeled as paid. Additionally, the system allowed me to attempt to issue a refund for this deposit, even though no funds were ever successfully received. Because of this misleading system behavior, I issued a {$50.00} refund to a customer for a payment that was never actually processed, resulting in a direct financial loss to my business. When I attempt to locate or interact with these supposed payments, I receive an error message stating Payment Not Found. This confirms that no valid transaction exists, despite the system previously displaying the appointment as paid. I have also observed that this is not an isolated incident. Multiple deposits are not appearing in my transaction history at all, despite being tied to booked appointments. I have also noticed that I am not receiving any of these deposits in my Square-linked bank account at all. Despite appointments showing as paid within the system, there are no corresponding deposits being transferred or recorded. This further confirms that the payments are not actually being processed, while the platform continues to display them as completed transactions. This creates a serious discrepancy between what is shown in the system and the actual funds received. This creates multiple serious problems : Misrepresentation of payment status ( paid when payment failed or does not exist ) Ability to issue refunds for transactions that never occurred Loss of income due to unsecured bookings Direct financial loss from issuing refunds on non-existent payments Missing deposits that are never transferred to my bank account Lack of safeguards to prevent failed payments from confirming appointments As a business owner, I rely on deposits to secure appointments and protect my time. Squares system is allowing customers to book without actually paying, while displaying inaccurate and misleading payment information. I am requesting that Square be required to correct this issue by ensuring that : 1. Appointments can not be confirmed unless payment is successfully processed 2. Failed or declined payments are clearly labeled and do not appear as paid 3. Refund options are not available unless a valid transaction exists This issue is deceptive, causes financial harm, and reflects a serious flaw in how Square represents and processes payments. It needs to be addressed to prevent further harm to small businesses.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation