HI @Cloakmack
I just wanted to start off by stating the obvious, that unfortunately there are still plenty of grimy people in this world. As if its not hard enough to run a small business. I've been in the Auto Industry for 10 years, and have always worked on my own vehicles. The amount of wear and tear that we put our bodies through from the busted knuckles to the contorted angles we place ourselves in because an "engineer" that it was a good spot for that part goes unnoticed by many.
Anyways, back to your post. The dispute, like any generally has a process. I'm not sure if you read this before, but here is a link of the timeline and process for disputes with Square. Most likely and it's common with all CC processing companies, banks etc that the money hasn't actually gone back to the customer "officially" just yet, but rather it is on a temporary hold. The customers bank may issue them a temporary return of the funds but the dispute is a process and hope is not lost. You should be able to submit some supporting documents to help you with your dispute to get your money back.
Whenever accepting cards as a business owner there will always be a certain level of liability that we hold. to an extent, it only takes one time for me to get burnt by a **bleep**ty person that then changes everything for every customer from that point on. Including and attaching a Square Contract or a Credit Card Authorization form for future customers to sign prior to them paying their invoice can also hep in the future.
I do wish you all the best in your dispute process. We are a community here of small business owners trying to help one another.
