Payment failed but customers phone shows me that payment was taken.

[AaronDGM]

Looks like our internet was a bit intermittent this morning.

Took a payment as per normal except we find that square tells us that it did not go through.

So we tell customer that it did not go through and he shows me his phone, it says payment made for correct amount. So now what? Very hard to argue with a customer when his side says payment made. He doesn't want to do it again as he thinks he's being charged twice.

But Square does not show payment anywhere.

If square didn't take the payment, then why would his side say it did.?

And how can this fixed for next time.?

Why doesn't the app automatically go into offline mode when internet is down. So it takes payment and enters it at a later time once internet re- connects.

(we are a coffee shop, so not a biggie, but still worth asking)

Regards Aaron 

[Seamus]

Hey @AaronDGM,

Thanks for getting in touch and sorry to hear you had trouble with a payment!

If a payment declines or voids it can still appear as "pending" on a customer's statement for a few days before dropping off. Read more about this on our support center 👍

The key here is to check whether or not the payment on the customer's bank statement is in a "pending" state or not. If it's "pending" and declined or voided on your end it will drop off their statement in a couple of days. 

While we're not able to look further into specific account transactions via Facebook, our support team can - You call support on 1800 760 137 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Melbourne time) or email via this form. I'd recommend getting in touch with them if you'd like them to confirm if the payment was declined or voided, and also suggest you pass on the information about pending charges to your customer, noting the transaction should drop off in a few days time.

Note that offline payments are not available with Square in Australia at the moment.

[AaronDGM]

Hi Seamus,

i think the point is missed here!

While internet is intermittent, The square system or software can still light up the card reader as it did. The customer taps and says on his phone the payment is done. On square the payment has not gone through. Very hard to argue when a person is showing you his phone with a message from his bank saying payment successful. When square clearly has not taken the payment. The only loser in this scenario is me, the owner.

You said, "the key here is to look at the customers bank statement".????????????????

Do you seriously think a customer is going to log on check his statement and then show us!.

Just a hunch, but i think a glitch between card reader connected and Stand connected may have caused this. If card reader is connected and Stand is not (or intermittent) then maybe its a standard message from banks to their customers that a payment transaction has been done. When there has not. But again very hard to tell someone that their bank is wrong.

Im not trying to be rude! I was just trying to see if anyone else has had this problem, and high lighted a few key things to look at while using Square to make sure this issue is very limited.

Kind Regards Aaron...

[Seamus]

Hey @AaronDGM,

As way of explaining the situation to your customer I do think it's reasonable to have a conversation about what a "pending" transaction is, as it would go a long way to explaining what has happened here. Clear communication is the key to resolving issues such as this!

It's documented on our website in the linked support article in order to help explain what can happen and why it may occur. In the event of a potential payment dispute with a customer, I'd say it's well within reason that they look at their online banking and verify the status of a transaction as it appears via their online bank statement, as way of getting to the bottom of the situation.

With that said - I'm not actually able to look into your account and tell you exactly what has happened here though, I do recommend you contact support to check. They'll also be able to help troubleshoot your Stand if you're having frequently connectivity issues!