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This small business almost went out of business because of a mistake by Squarespace. Thanks to thousands of comments, Squarespace fixed it.<\/p>\n
TikTok<\/a> creator Dan McLaughlin is a small business owner struggling with rising prices and increased risk as he runs his Cleveland-based coffee company, Golden Triangle Coffee. But recently, he said, Squarespace Payments has been putting him out of business.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a video with over 1.5 million viewer, McLaughlin explained how signing up for the payment middleman has shaven off a percentage of every sale he\u2019s made for the last 10 months. <\/p>\n \u201c\u200a[I] made a mistake a while back that is just the nail in the coffin for our business,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s probably gonna force us to close. \u200aI trusted Squarespace, which\u2026 has proven to be a mistake for me in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA while back, I signed up for something called Squarespace Payments where Squarespace will act as a middle man between me and Stripe, my current credit card processor, except with lower service fees,\u201d McLaughlin said. This was supposed to save McLaughlin\u2019s business about .05 per transaction.<\/p>\n Except, McLaughlin quickly realized that the platform was withholding a percentage of each of his coffee bag sales for a \u201creserve\u201d fund. He tried to deactivate the service, but Squarespace continued to collect money from the transaction. To make matters worse, Squarespace held the funds for six months to account for refunds and disputes.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the amount that they are holding, refuse to release, and continue to collect even though its not active on our account is so high that it cuts into our margins so deeply that it now costs us money to send a bag off coffee out of this building,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cWe are now making negative money because of Squarespace.\u201d<\/p>\n In the comments section, viewers expressed outrage over the situation. Many urged McLaughlin to escalate this via an attorney.<\/p>\n \u201cHire an attorney ASAP,\u201d advised one viewer claiming to be an attorney.<\/p>\n \u201cSix months of holding funds is insane!\u201d a second viewer said.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a Squarespace circle developer and have access to forums only meant for us. I\u2019ll be posting this and tagging veteran developers. My hope is it gets some attention,\u201d said another person.<\/p>\n It appears McLaughlin\u2019s video worked. In a follow up video<\/a>, he said that he heard back from someone at Squarespace after tons of failed interactions with customer service. Fortunately, the Squarespace employee was able to solve the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cI told them thanks for reaching out and fixing my issue but I shouldn\u2019t have had to have a million followers in order to get that resolution,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n Squarespace Payments is an addition to Squarespace that<\/a> \u201callows you to accept payments and manage your transactions within your website.\u201d The service allows website owners to receive<\/a> payments from credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and other methods, acting as a middle man between the purchaser and your banking institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n By signing up for Squarespace Payments, though, you\u2019re agreeing to the terms of service outlined by\u00a0 Squarespace Payments LLC (in the United States) or Squarespace Ireland Limited (outside the U.S.). By enabling Squarespace Payments, a user essentially entitles<\/a> the platform to handle any settlements of funds.<\/p>\n Squarespace Payments LLC, through its terms and conditions<\/a>, reserves the right to impose holding periods for funds if there\u2019s suspicious activity, excessive chargebacks, or a requirement from a third party bank. They also reserve the right to maintain a reserve account<\/a>, which buffers losses, refunds, disputes, or negative balances.<\/p>\n As McLaughlin noticed, Squarespace can continue<\/a> withholding his income for buffer funds, even after a user cancels Squarespace Payments. The holding schedule for buffer funds still exists regardless of cancellation as per its terms and conditions. So, basically, the company will continue withholding funds until \u201cthe risk is deemed cleared\u201d with the account.\u00a0<\/p>\n All Hip Hop reached out to McLaughlin for comment via email and TikTok message and to Squarespace via media contact form.<\/p>\n This article includes additional reporting from Mars Ramos.<\/em><\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\nWill Squarespace Be the \u2018Nail in the Coffin\u2019 for this Small Business?<\/h2>\n
Viewers React to Small Business Owner\u2019s Squarespace Complaint<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How Do Squarespace Payments Work?<\/h2>\n
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