Hello all,
We have a strange situation and it is the first time in our 10+ years of business. We would like to share it with you.
We participated in a 3-days art festival. We had busy day and all transactions went through without any issues. The process was very simple. The customer picked up the artwork and handled it to us. We asked for the credit card and processed the transaction. Then, we packed the artwork and asked for the phone number to generate a receipt. Customer picked up the artwork and left our booth.
One month passed. The customer contacted his/her bank and stated that he/she did not receive the goods. Square contacted us and we provided the information as much as we could because it was over a month old and the item was less than $50. We had the copy of the receipt that the customer used his/her credit card in person at our booth. We provided the statement that, if the merchandise had not been delivered, why the customer waited for the whole month and contacted their bank? Square deducted that amount from my bank account while the investigation has not been finalized.
In addition, we were an out-of-state seller. If they did not receive the goods as stated with Square and the bank, they should not even provide the credit card and allowed us to ring in person.
We sold the artwork at the festival and when we had a bad customer claiming that they did not receive the goods and contacted their bank after receiving their credit card statement, what would you do? For us, it looked like a bad debt but many of you might be experiencing something like this in the future.
What is the best way to protect yourself from the situation that we encountered? Unfortunately, we do not have any security camera installed as a proof, only the digital receipt from Square, stating that the credit card was used to insert for the transaction.
All comments are welcome. Thank you.
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