Complaint Review: Concord Payment Systems National Payment Systems AVPS American Verification Processing Solutions

Jeri, AVPS has responded to your complaints and have documentation showing your signature and terms and conditions which clearly show the term of contract and Early Termination Fees. It is unfortunate that you feel you were treated unfairly.

National Payment Systems had a DBA of Concord Payment Systems back in 2004 and I have the contract for review if required.

Jeri, AVPS has responded to your complaints and have documentation showing your signature and terms and conditions which clearly show the term of contract and Early Termination Fees. It is unfortunate that you feel you were treated unfairly.

National Payment Systems had a DBA of Concord Payment Systems back in 2004 and I have the contract for review if required.

Jeri, AVPS has responded to your complaints and have documentation showing your signature and terms and conditions which clearly show the term of contract and Early Termination Fees. It is unfortunate that you feel you were treated unfairly.

National Payment Systems had a DBA of Concord Payment Systems back in 2004 and I have the contract for review if required.

Hello Jeri,
I am a management employee of NPS, also known as National Payment Systems. I have just become aware of your complaint that lists the name "National Payment Systems".
We hold federal trademark registrations on both "NPS" and "National Payment Systems" names and we do not have and have never had any business relationship with either Concord Payment Systems or AVPS.

I can tell you that any company using these marks and trading on the goodwill of our established trademarks without permission is doing so without our consent and we will pursue the matter in a court of law.

Please contact us with further information so our attorneys may initiate legal action to protect our trademarks and business reputation.

I ask that anyone else reading this with similar information or expierences regarding use of the National Payment Systems trademark contact me via the email address below as well.

Mike Fisher
mfisher@npsglobal.com

Why would you do business with a company over the phone and via fax? You set yourself up to be victimized. I am very familiar with AVPS also known as American Verification Processing Solutions. They have no client's for over 10 years. If so where are the testimonials and why can't someone call one as a reference? AVPS signs people up for their services over the phone and are very scandalous. They work with several banks and processing companies and submit merchants' applications numerous times to seek funding. They specialize with hard to place merchant's that are desperate and make up bogus documents to get the client an account.

Did you receive both sides of your contract? That is their fax trick. They only fax what they want you to see and sign to seeing. They charge fees that are not warranted and lie about the fees. They work out of a filthy smoke infested office and the owner has a sixth grade education. They are not a professional legitimate company. You are better off going to a local bank to get an account and if you are hard to place make sure you work with a local company who truly specializes in hard to place merchants.

The initial cancellation was made through our current card processor. Because we switched processors in writing, I was under the impression that the paperwork we signed with them was sufficient.

When I discovered I was being charged by someone with whom I was no longer interested in doing business, I called to verify the cancellation. In the very rude conversations and written communications that followed, I learned that I would be charged $300 to cancel the contract before my original three year term was up in June of 2007.

At that time, I mailed the following letter TO THE ADDRESS ON OUR ORIGINAL MERCHANT APPLICATION (the one I was faxed a complete copy of by AVPS). I'm sure I'm not alone in the asumption that a contract cancellation letter should be mailed to the address on the contract:

"This will serve as the second notice to terminate my account with AVPS/Concord.

Additionally, I am disputing fees charged for this account during the period of May 2006-present, and any additional fees charged through the end of the term. I was unaware there were additional charges and continued monthly service fees upon termination.

The contract was incongruent with the verbal sales pitch and was unclear, not identifying the amount of any fees due to a lack of processing and not disclosing an early termination fee, which I was informed would have been $300 had my original termination request been processed as it should have been.

Please choose to act with integrity and refund the above fees in full with no further charges and no charge of the undisclosed $300 early termination fee.

If you intend to continue to charge monthly, semi-annual and annual fees and an early termination fee through the end of my three-year term, please make this request effective as of March 27, 2007, the end of my term with you, to meet your dishonest contract requirements. Also please be informed that I will pursue this matter further with the Federal Trade Commission, The Better Business Bureaus in all states you serve, and the online site ripoffreport.com in addition to cautioning my small business clients against doing any business with Concord Payment Systems or it's aliases."


The contract was not cancelled, and I was apparently even automatically renewed in March 2007! It seems likely that the reason for any long term customer relationships with AVPS is the inordinate difficulty in cancelling with them. I was charged a $300 early termination fee in June 2007.

AVPS, you should be ashamed of yourselves, and so should anyone for whom you are a referral agent.

Jeri,

We keep extensive notes and reporting anytime one of our merchants call with any type of complaint. When you called and spoke with me, I faxed you a copy of your agreement AND our complete contact information. You chose not to use that. Additionally, per the notes in Concord's system you were given their fax number as well which you chose to disregard. There is no record of a letter having been received at the corporate location.

While you may feel it to be tedious to read the 4 pages of a contract, we feel it is an important step in any business relationship as it defines what is expected of both parties.

Considering many of our merchants have been with us well over 10 years, I'd say that we must be doing something right. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to make everyone happy all of the time.

You may feel that it is unjust to pay for something that you haven't used, but that is the way business works. The phone company, cable company, cell phone providers, even checking accounts, etc. all bill minimum charges regardless of usage. These costs are the minimums to keep your account active. You may not be aware, but we incur expenses simply for having this account boarded in our portfolio. This amount is not excessive by any definition.

As you know from previous phone calls, we are available for any additional questions or concerns you may have regarding further details on your account.

Thank you,

Jennifer Maddux

While I fully understand that I should have asked for a complete contract and read it in it's 4-page fine print entirety, I believe anything less than exceptional customer service is a rip off.

When I called in January, I was given no address to which to mail a cancellation, I was simply told that if I did cancel, I would be charged $300.

When I transfered to our new, customer friendly (NPS Global Systems, Inc) payment processor, a transfer of service notice was sent to Concord Payment Systems.

That, by the way, is the name on our contract. It was to their location that I sent the cancellation letter in January. I'm fairly sure it is I who has the right to be confused. It took me four phone calls just to discover who was charging me the fees.

Exceptional customer service does not allow for a customer to be charged for services not provided. If I had called my bank and informed them that I wanted to close my account, they would most certainly not have told me there would be a $300 fee to do so and they likely would have given me all of the information I needed to make it happen.

The facts are that I was charged many undisclosed fees, I was not using any service from AVPS or Concord, I informed them both of that, and a refund still has not been forthcoming. In fact, I was charged yet another $29.95 for May 1- May 31. That bill reflects the name National Payment Systems.

Jennifer, do you think you might stop billing me for services I am not using and have not used for over 12 months any time in the near future?

I would like to clarify some misinformation in this post. First, let it be said that AVPS is a referral agent for Concord Payment Systems. We are not the same company, nor are we any type of 'Alias'. Our Better Business Bureau record reflects our stellar business reputation.

I spoke with Ms. V on January 11, 2007. She thought she had cancelled but had no record of such cancellation and neither did we. Much like you must sign to cancel any bank account, so must you sign to cancel a merchant account. I sent her a copy of her signed agreement with a fax cover sheet containing our name, address, phone number and fax number. My fax cover sheet advises that if she wishes to cancel, all she would need to do is forward a signed request to terminate her service.

We received no such notice and therefore we were under the impression she did not wish to cancel. Concord Payment Systems also has no record of receiving a cancellation notice. Their notes also reflect advising Ms. Vespoli to send cancellation request and that her account was still active January 2007.

Upon receiving her call today, she was again insisting she had cancelled service. I requested that she forward her cancellation letter only to discover she mailed it to a corporate address located in New York instead of to our office where I could ensure termination as she had requested. I am confused as to why she would send it to an office she had never communicated with instead of directly to us, whom she has had no difficulty contacting on these occasions.

There is no notation on her agreement to waive any fees nor is the agreeent or terms different than other normal standard processing agreements.

We fail to see where anyone has been 'ripped off' and would respectfully request update of the record to show this.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Maddux
AVPS

1. You really do need to read those contracts.

2. We can only hope that some day the government will regulate the credit card processing business the same as they do banks.

Merchant processor agents are running loose ripping people off with no oversight from anyone or anybody.

Good luck,