12 ms·

Tell HN: Quickbooks has sat on my money for weeks, disabled my paid account

40 points by prmph 5y ago

Something weird is happening with Quickbooks. I am resident in Ghana but having a New York registered LLC through which I provide software engineering consulting services to US clients. Since I opened a new account with Quickbooks Oline to receive payments for the LLC, they have asked for all kinds of verification, which I have provided. It's been weeks now since a client paid a substantial invoice, and Quickbooks are still holding it up without depositing it. Worse, they have disabled all my intuit accounts (and yet continue to charge me for it). Even my free Mint account no longer works. I have had numerous calls and chats with them to explain what I do and how I intend to use their services, all to no avail. After wasting a lot of time to contact a rep today, I was informed I need to provide a utility bill for my business address. Since I'm not in the US, I'm using a registered agent, whose address I cannot provide a utility bill for. So at this point, I'm asking my client to request a refund from them. I will also be contacting Paypal and my bank to file a dispute for the subscription fees I have paid them, since they are unable to provide the service I have paid for. Think twice before using Quickbooks.

pettycashstash2 5y ago
I'm sorry you have to go through this. I suspect they are somehow treating your case with an eye towards preventing fraud. That's not a justification by the way. I'm curious why you decided to register in NY vs Delaware. I always thought that Delaware would be preferred. Wishing you a good outcome on this.
- prmph 5y ago
  I actually used to live in the US, and plan to return to live in NY state in the future. I think it is considered best practice (notwithstanding Delaware’s advantages) to form an LLC in the state the business will be based in [1]. 1.https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/which-state-should-you-file-your-llc-in https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/which-state-should-you-fi...
  - pettycashstash2 5y ago
    Interesting. I appreciate the info.
ct0 5y ago
I would get a lawyer involved at this point.
- onphonenow 5y ago
  Is a lawyer able to void terms such as the following: "To be eligible to use the Merchant Payment Services, you and your Principals: (i) must not be domiciled, reside, or have a principal place of business outside the United States;" The folks signing the agreement have to be in the united states. If they are in the US they are likely bound by an arbitration agreement. I'm not saying a lawyer might be a waste of money, but this is going to be potentially a big hill to climb -> sue Intuit in the US if you are overseas, based on.... what? They they believe you are overseas? How do you get out of the arbitration provisions here?
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Breach of ToS pretty much never entitles them to keep the money. They should at the very least bounce the payment back to the original payers.
    - reph2097 5y ago
      No, because it's quite possible the "customer" is part of the "fraudulent action".
powera 5y ago
You won't like this answer, but this may well be "working as intended". If Quickbooks isn't licensed to offer financial services in Ghana, they may be legally forbidden from paying you, and an LLC (with an address you are not at) may not be enough for them to consider the payee a United States entity. Presumably they will offer refunds of your payments to them if you ask the right way.
- onphonenow 5y ago
  Money movement services that result in payments to overseas nationals are generally pretty regulated. VISA / MasterCard etc all likely have terms prohibiting exactly this type of situation for fraud and other reasons. The govt may have rules in place here as well. So yes, this may be working as intended. There are services dedicated to this type of situation (world remit etc). They can then issue proper tax forms (W-8 Ben etc requests). Often these shell LLC's don't do proper tax withholding etc for overseas folks because they are controlled by the same people.
- prmph 5y ago
  Ok, noted, but my LLC maintains dollar bank accounts in the US, so from QuickBooks perspective I thought I I’m no different from any other customer. I’ve done my research, and my LLC is also considered a disregarded entity, and thus tax exempt, although there are reporting obligations.
  - gboone 5y ago
    But if it's a disregarded entity then I thought for tax filing purposes they would need to report activity under your social security number?
    - prmph 5y ago
      Yes, I have an SSN, which I have provided to them
onphonenow 5y ago
Interesting. Can you confirm you and the business have complied with the following merchant service terms: "To be eligible to use the Merchant Payment Services, you and your Principals: (i) must not be domiciled, reside, or have a principal place of business outside the United States;" This is critical, the business and its owners must be in the United States I think for Intuit to handle the account. The best bet would be to submit the utility bills show a rent agreement / cancelled rent checks etc so they can confirm you are residing in the united states.
- tyingq 5y ago
  That's fair, though it doesn't seem to justify freezing the funds and not answering questions. At the very least, the payments should be refunded to the end clients.

40 points by prmph 5y ago

pettycashstash2 5y ago

I'm sorry you have to go through this. I suspect they are somehow treating your case with an eye towards preventing fraud. That's not a justification by the way. I'm curious why you decided to register in NY vs Delaware. I always thought that Delaware would be preferred. Wishing you a good outcome on this.

prmph 5y ago
I actually used to live in the US, and plan to return to live in NY state in the future. I think it is considered best practice (notwithstanding Delaware’s advantages) to form an LLC in the state the business will be based in [1]. 1.https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/which-state-should-you-file-your-llc-in https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/which-state-should-you-fi...
- pettycashstash2 5y ago
  Interesting. I appreciate the info.

ct0 5y ago

I would get a lawyer involved at this point.

onphonenow 5y ago
Is a lawyer able to void terms such as the following: "To be eligible to use the Merchant Payment Services, you and your Principals: (i) must not be domiciled, reside, or have a principal place of business outside the United States;" The folks signing the agreement have to be in the united states. If they are in the US they are likely bound by an arbitration agreement. I'm not saying a lawyer might be a waste of money, but this is going to be potentially a big hill to climb -> sue Intuit in the US if you are overseas, based on.... what? They they believe you are overseas? How do you get out of the arbitration provisions here?
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Breach of ToS pretty much never entitles them to keep the money. They should at the very least bounce the payment back to the original payers.
  - reph2097 5y ago
    No, because it's quite possible the "customer" is part of the "fraudulent action".

powera 5y ago

You won't like this answer, but this may well be "working as intended". If Quickbooks isn't licensed to offer financial services in Ghana, they may be legally forbidden from paying you, and an LLC (with an address you are not at) may not be enough for them to consider the payee a United States entity. Presumably they will offer refunds of your payments to them if you ask the right way.

onphonenow 5y ago
Money movement services that result in payments to overseas nationals are generally pretty regulated. VISA / MasterCard etc all likely have terms prohibiting exactly this type of situation for fraud and other reasons. The govt may have rules in place here as well. So yes, this may be working as intended. There are services dedicated to this type of situation (world remit etc). They can then issue proper tax forms (W-8 Ben etc requests). Often these shell LLC's don't do proper tax withholding etc for overseas folks because they are controlled by the same people.
prmph 5y ago
Ok, noted, but my LLC maintains dollar bank accounts in the US, so from QuickBooks perspective I thought I I’m no different from any other customer. I’ve done my research, and my LLC is also considered a disregarded entity, and thus tax exempt, although there are reporting obligations.
- gboone 5y ago
  But if it's a disregarded entity then I thought for tax filing purposes they would need to report activity under your social security number?
  - prmph 5y ago
    Yes, I have an SSN, which I have provided to them

onphonenow 5y ago

Interesting. Can you confirm you and the business have complied with the following merchant service terms: "To be eligible to use the Merchant Payment Services, you and your Principals: (i) must not be domiciled, reside, or have a principal place of business outside the United States;" This is critical, the business and its owners must be in the United States I think for Intuit to handle the account. The best bet would be to submit the utility bills show a rent agreement / cancelled rent checks etc so they can confirm you are residing in the united states.

tyingq 5y ago
That's fair, though it doesn't seem to justify freezing the funds and not answering questions. At the very least, the payments should be refunded to the end clients.