Complaint Review: CFIB

I find it very odd that a search for CFIB turns up nothing here.

I have owned a small business in Ontario for many years (I used to accept cheques... yeah, that old). Over the years, I have dealt with pretty much all Acquirers, and that evolved into most of them using a lot of 3rd party selling firms (ISOs). I have it down to a science now, in the early days it was tough to see the forest for the trees. Even my puny little business gets 3-5 visits a week from agents promising a better deal. I also learned that brand loyalty is completely worthless, so I've moved from processor to processor several times to save money - sticking with the same one forever will do you no good. Anyway, when this agent/ISO thing started to become really popular, some of the offers seemed too good to be true (and usually were). Sometimes I could easily see the problem (upfront rates/fees that go up tremendously after 6 months - year, ridiculous cancellation fees, etc), but often I couldn't tell what the whole story was just based on the paperwork or offer they would leave (never sign a deal on the same day an agent comes to see you - collect info, and do some research). So, I eventually found the CFIB, and on the surface they look like a merchant advocate, unbiased and ready to help. So I contacted them, and asked them about a few of the companies that came to make me offers. They had nothing to say about any of them, and just want me to buy into thier member's program, and get payment processing from them - they are an ISO themselves, for Chase Paymentech. They don't hide the fact that they represent Chase, but they don't really advertise it either, and the whole thing left me with a bad feeling. They don't really seem to like the ISO/agent thing, but they do it themselves... and they obviously make money from it to, they are not a volunteer agency. They offer you rates and fees for a different company than them, and that looks like the literal meaning of 'Independant Sales Organization" (ISO) from what I can tell. Very... shady.
So, maybe "ripoff" is a bit of a hyperbole, but this company claims that they just want to help, but the only advise they were ever willing to provide (I contacted them a few times) was to buy services from them so I would be protected from everyone else. Which obviously makes no sense at all. Joining the CFIB would cost me more than $300/year, and that includes nothing. For that money, I have the ability to then buy payment processing from them. So, if I look at my current provider, I pay less, because I don't owe $300+/year so that I can pay processing fees.
As a business owner, you are your own best advocate - do what is right for your business, and don't take someone's word for something without doing your own research, or getting advice from a trusted source. An agent that comes into your place to offer you account is an individual trying to earn a living. They may or may not have the right deal for you, but you'll never know until you look at all the facts. My current account is through an ISO - to be honest, if you find the right one, it will be the best service you'll ever get. I used to think that going direct to a processor was the best route, but you just end up being a number to a faceless organization. The agents and ISOs actually come to your shop if you have a problem, often in the same day. But, there are a lot of ISOs that should be shut down as well - they pop up a lot on Ripoff report, for a good reason.