Complaint Review: MBF Leasing Northern Leasing Universal Merchant Services Fifth Third Bank

I work for a credit card processing company and we do not allow our reps to lease equipment to merchants. The merchant ends up paying thousand's more that what they are worth. We maintain small markups on equipment to cover warranty and things like that, but other than that, cost are low. Leases makes reps a load of bonus money and companies even more money. My advice of 7 years in the business, do not sign a lease on any equipment. If you can not afford to buy it, buy a cheaper machine until you can afford one or ask for the payments to be split over 3 months. There are other options that leasing. If you have any questions for me or looking to change your merchant processing provider, e-mail me at (((Redacted))).

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Having spent over a year trying to get MBF to cease billing or even respond to requests. In 2004 when we first set up an agreement to get two units, one never worked, and the other intermittantly, but our rep insisted that it was our problem to deal with the manufacturer.

Since then we've been trying to cease operations with the firm, and yet they continue to dodge calls and emails. If anyone is setting up a fraudulent claim with them, please let me know I'd be the first in line.

Their services described may be premium, but their service, hardware, and support and general customer care is non-existant.

Bill

Having spent over a year trying to get MBF to cease billing or even respond to requests. In 2004 when we first set up an agreement to get two units, one never worked, and the other intermittantly, but our rep insisted that it was our problem to deal with the manufacturer.

Since then we've been trying to cease operations with the firm, and yet they continue to dodge calls and emails. If anyone is setting up a fraudulent claim with them, please let me know I'd be the first in line.

Their services described may be premium, but their service, hardware, and support and general customer care is non-existant.

Bill

Having spent over a year trying to get MBF to cease billing or even respond to requests. In 2004 when we first set up an agreement to get two units, one never worked, and the other intermittantly, but our rep insisted that it was our problem to deal with the manufacturer.

Since then we've been trying to cease operations with the firm, and yet they continue to dodge calls and emails. If anyone is setting up a fraudulent claim with them, please let me know I'd be the first in line.

Their services described may be premium, but their service, hardware, and support and general customer care is non-existant.

Bill

Having spent over a year trying to get MBF to cease billing or even respond to requests. In 2004 when we first set up an agreement to get two units, one never worked, and the other intermittantly, but our rep insisted that it was our problem to deal with the manufacturer.

Since then we've been trying to cease operations with the firm, and yet they continue to dodge calls and emails. If anyone is setting up a fraudulent claim with them, please let me know I'd be the first in line.

Their services described may be premium, but their service, hardware, and support and general customer care is non-existant.

Bill

It's very important to be aware that it's just NOT necessary to lease equipment in order to process credit/debit card transactions. The fact of the matter is that any merchant who does this is always overcharged on the price of that machinery, of which the true cost is always available from the manufacturers on the internet.

Small and mid-sized businesses have the right to reasonable equipment costs. There are many payment processors that will do business with these merchants and simply reprogram their existing terminal they already own, or a business owner can purchase machinery for somewhere in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars.

Merchants, you MUST be aware that 99% of the salespeople who bug you about credit card processing work for companies who DON'T actually process credit card transactions. They are either banks or what are called Independent Sales Organizations(ISO) and are third-party unregulated resellers of payment processing services, as this is the one totally unregulated area of banking.

All these organizations have to pay one of the HANDFUL of companies that truly process card transactions to move merchants' Visa/MC revenue. The processor then has to pay Visa/MC a fee for each authorized transaction they processed on behalf of the merchant.

These charges are comprised of about 125 different base rates set by Visa & MasterCard, and the proper "rate", or transaction category, is determined first and foremost by the TYPE of credit card that came through the merchant's door, followed by several other factors. There's no such thing as "I have a great rate"! Maybe 25 years ago there were a couple credit card processing rates, but today the only way some company can promise to give you a "good" single rate is to take a bunch of the lower Visa/MC base rates and mark them all up and call it your "qualified" rate.

The same thing is then done for key-entered transactions (which is higher than that first rate), and then commercial or corporate cards (which legitimately cost more, but they're also all marked up into one rate- the most expensive, often called the "non-qualified" rate).

The 125 or so different Visa/MC rates and fees are called "Interchange" and can easily be found on Google. as a merchant, it's never necessary to be in the dark about what the processors' (or acquirers) wholesale costs are. In a false attempt to "simplify" all of this the vast majority of providers work on what is termed "Three Tier" or "Standard Pricing".

Most merchants aren't aware that there is another pricing structure called "Cost-Plus" or "Interchange Plus" pricing. For years, processing companies, and even more so all of the banks and thousands of unregulated resellers out there, have capitalized on the naivity of small and medium business by not educating them on the benefits of cost plus pricing. Large companies such as Wal-Mart have always demanded cost plus pricing. They understand the lost profit that interchange bundling causes and gained a firm understanding of the potential for lost profit when using any other pricing method.

The point here is to do business with an actual processing company, many of which will offer cost plus pricing to most merchants, regardless of size. This way, you don't end up with a bunch of extra people along the way (transaction middlemen) who all have to make money on things like EQUIPMENT LEASES! Hell, I could take $50,000 and start Mike's credit card processing and offer "competitive rates" just like all the others who have gotten into this unregulated industry. But to do that I'd have to outsource the processing to an acquirer, and since they're going to keep a good portion of the profit margin after they pay Visa/MC, I can sub-contract with a leasing company who fronts me a large amount of money and then collects seriously over-inflated payments on a credit card system from the merchant for the next 48 months. By the way, this is a simple example. I've known business owners who were paying up to twelve transaction middlemen, depending on who they signed on with!

The best questions a merchant can ask a representative are:
*What company does the processing?
*How many rate increases have you had in the last 3 years? (Neither Visa nor MC have raised their base rates in approximately this amount of time)
*Do you charge the same rate on Visa and MasterCard? (Visa happens to be significantly less expensive)
*What rate do you charge for checkcards/signature-based debit transactions? (These cards cost a LOT less than credit cards because there's no risk when a merchant accepts them)
*What do you charge for key entered transactions?
*What is your rate on commercial/corporate cards?
*Do you offer cost plus pricing? (Don't settle for any other pricing method, otherwise you'll be "surcharged" on each sale and it will raise your costs at the end of every month!)

Hopefully this will start you in the right direction as to who you're considering getting your payment processing through. It amazes me the amount of complaints on this site related to credit card processing services. research for yourself online the few companies who actually process bankcard transactions, then contact them directly. Chances are they won't be able to undercut their resellers on price, but at least they have the flexibility to offer cost plus. Then you'll never be uncertain about WHY you're being charged what you are, and of course, you won't sign a deal with the devil in a non-cancellable, non-negotiable lease with no exceptions that could have been easily avoided. Hope this helps some people in the future!

It's very important to be aware that it's just NOT necessary to lease equipment in order to process credit/debit card transactions. The fact of the matter is that any merchant who does this is always overcharged on the price of that machinery, of which the true cost is always available from the manufacturers on the internet.

Small and mid-sized businesses have the right to reasonable equipment costs. There are many payment processors that will do business with these merchants and simply reprogram their existing terminal they already own, or a business owner can purchase machinery for somewhere in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars.

Merchants, you MUST be aware that 99% of the salespeople who bug you about credit card processing work for companies who DON'T actually process credit card transactions. They are either banks or what are called Independent Sales Organizations(ISO) and are third-party unregulated resellers of payment processing services, as this is the one totally unregulated area of banking.

All these organizations have to pay one of the HANDFUL of companies that truly process card transactions to move merchants' Visa/MC revenue. The processor then has to pay Visa/MC a fee for each authorized transaction they processed on behalf of the merchant.

These charges are comprised of about 125 different base rates set by Visa & MasterCard, and the proper "rate", or transaction category, is determined first and foremost by the TYPE of credit card that came through the merchant's door, followed by several other factors. There's no such thing as "I have a great rate"! Maybe 25 years ago there were a couple credit card processing rates, but today the only way some company can promise to give you a "good" single rate is to take a bunch of the lower Visa/MC base rates and mark them all up and call it your "qualified" rate.

The same thing is then done for key-entered transactions (which is higher than that first rate), and then commercial or corporate cards (which legitimately cost more, but they're also all marked up into one rate- the most expensive, often called the "non-qualified" rate).

The 125 or so different Visa/MC rates and fees are called "Interchange" and can easily be found on Google. as a merchant, it's never necessary to be in the dark about what the processors' (or acquirers) wholesale costs are. In a false attempt to "simplify" all of this the vast majority of providers work on what is termed "Three Tier" or "Standard Pricing".

Most merchants aren't aware that there is another pricing structure called "Cost-Plus" or "Interchange Plus" pricing. For years, processing companies, and even more so all of the banks and thousands of unregulated resellers out there, have capitalized on the naivity of small and medium business by not educating them on the benefits of cost plus pricing. Large companies such as Wal-Mart have always demanded cost plus pricing. They understand the lost profit that interchange bundling causes and gained a firm understanding of the potential for lost profit when using any other pricing method.

The point here is to do business with an actual processing company, many of which will offer cost plus pricing to most merchants, regardless of size. This way, you don't end up with a bunch of extra people along the way (transaction middlemen) who all have to make money on things like EQUIPMENT LEASES! Hell, I could take $50,000 and start Mike's credit card processing and offer "competitive rates" just like all the others who have gotten into this unregulated industry. But to do that I'd have to outsource the processing to an acquirer, and since they're going to keep a good portion of the profit margin after they pay Visa/MC, I can sub-contract with a leasing company who fronts me a large amount of money and then collects seriously over-inflated payments on a credit card system from the merchant for the next 48 months. By the way, this is a simple example. I've known business owners who were paying up to twelve transaction middlemen, depending on who they signed on with!

The best questions a merchant can ask a representative are:
*What company does the processing?
*How many rate increases have you had in the last 3 years? (Neither Visa nor MC have raised their base rates in approximately this amount of time)
*Do you charge the same rate on Visa and MasterCard? (Visa happens to be significantly less expensive)
*What rate do you charge for checkcards/signature-based debit transactions? (These cards cost a LOT less than credit cards because there's no risk when a merchant accepts them)
*What do you charge for key entered transactions?
*What is your rate on commercial/corporate cards?
*Do you offer cost plus pricing? (Don't settle for any other pricing method, otherwise you'll be "surcharged" on each sale and it will raise your costs at the end of every month!)

Hopefully this will start you in the right direction as to who you're considering getting your payment processing through. It amazes me the amount of complaints on this site related to credit card processing services. research for yourself online the few companies who actually process bankcard transactions, then contact them directly. Chances are they won't be able to undercut their resellers on price, but at least they have the flexibility to offer cost plus. Then you'll never be uncertain about WHY you're being charged what you are, and of course, you won't sign a deal with the devil in a non-cancellable, non-negotiable lease with no exceptions that could have been easily avoided. Hope this helps some people in the future!

It's very important to be aware that it's just NOT necessary to lease equipment in order to process credit/debit card transactions. The fact of the matter is that any merchant who does this is always overcharged on the price of that machinery, of which the true cost is always available from the manufacturers on the internet.

Small and mid-sized businesses have the right to reasonable equipment costs. There are many payment processors that will do business with these merchants and simply reprogram their existing terminal they already own, or a business owner can purchase machinery for somewhere in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars.

Merchants, you MUST be aware that 99% of the salespeople who bug you about credit card processing work for companies who DON'T actually process credit card transactions. They are either banks or what are called Independent Sales Organizations(ISO) and are third-party unregulated resellers of payment processing services, as this is the one totally unregulated area of banking.

All these organizations have to pay one of the HANDFUL of companies that truly process card transactions to move merchants' Visa/MC revenue. The processor then has to pay Visa/MC a fee for each authorized transaction they processed on behalf of the merchant.

These charges are comprised of about 125 different base rates set by Visa & MasterCard, and the proper "rate", or transaction category, is determined first and foremost by the TYPE of credit card that came through the merchant's door, followed by several other factors. There's no such thing as "I have a great rate"! Maybe 25 years ago there were a couple credit card processing rates, but today the only way some company can promise to give you a "good" single rate is to take a bunch of the lower Visa/MC base rates and mark them all up and call it your "qualified" rate.

The same thing is then done for key-entered transactions (which is higher than that first rate), and then commercial or corporate cards (which legitimately cost more, but they're also all marked up into one rate- the most expensive, often called the "non-qualified" rate).

The 125 or so different Visa/MC rates and fees are called "Interchange" and can easily be found on Google. as a merchant, it's never necessary to be in the dark about what the processors' (or acquirers) wholesale costs are. In a false attempt to "simplify" all of this the vast majority of providers work on what is termed "Three Tier" or "Standard Pricing".

Most merchants aren't aware that there is another pricing structure called "Cost-Plus" or "Interchange Plus" pricing. For years, processing companies, and even more so all of the banks and thousands of unregulated resellers out there, have capitalized on the naivity of small and medium business by not educating them on the benefits of cost plus pricing. Large companies such as Wal-Mart have always demanded cost plus pricing. They understand the lost profit that interchange bundling causes and gained a firm understanding of the potential for lost profit when using any other pricing method.

The point here is to do business with an actual processing company, many of which will offer cost plus pricing to most merchants, regardless of size. This way, you don't end up with a bunch of extra people along the way (transaction middlemen) who all have to make money on things like EQUIPMENT LEASES! Hell, I could take $50,000 and start Mike's credit card processing and offer "competitive rates" just like all the others who have gotten into this unregulated industry. But to do that I'd have to outsource the processing to an acquirer, and since they're going to keep a good portion of the profit margin after they pay Visa/MC, I can sub-contract with a leasing company who fronts me a large amount of money and then collects seriously over-inflated payments on a credit card system from the merchant for the next 48 months. By the way, this is a simple example. I've known business owners who were paying up to twelve transaction middlemen, depending on who they signed on with!

The best questions a merchant can ask a representative are:
*What company does the processing?
*How many rate increases have you had in the last 3 years? (Neither Visa nor MC have raised their base rates in approximately this amount of time)
*Do you charge the same rate on Visa and MasterCard? (Visa happens to be significantly less expensive)
*What rate do you charge for checkcards/signature-based debit transactions? (These cards cost a LOT less than credit cards because there's no risk when a merchant accepts them)
*What do you charge for key entered transactions?
*What is your rate on commercial/corporate cards?
*Do you offer cost plus pricing? (Don't settle for any other pricing method, otherwise you'll be "surcharged" on each sale and it will raise your costs at the end of every month!)

Hopefully this will start you in the right direction as to who you're considering getting your payment processing through. It amazes me the amount of complaints on this site related to credit card processing services. research for yourself online the few companies who actually process bankcard transactions, then contact them directly. Chances are they won't be able to undercut their resellers on price, but at least they have the flexibility to offer cost plus. Then you'll never be uncertain about WHY you're being charged what you are, and of course, you won't sign a deal with the devil in a non-cancellable, non-negotiable lease with no exceptions that could have been easily avoided. Hope this helps some people in the future!

It's very important to be aware that it's just NOT necessary to lease equipment in order to process credit/debit card transactions. The fact of the matter is that any merchant who does this is always overcharged on the price of that machinery, of which the true cost is always available from the manufacturers on the internet.

Small and mid-sized businesses have the right to reasonable equipment costs. There are many payment processors that will do business with these merchants and simply reprogram their existing terminal they already own, or a business owner can purchase machinery for somewhere in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars.

Merchants, you MUST be aware that 99% of the salespeople who bug you about credit card processing work for companies who DON'T actually process credit card transactions. They are either banks or what are called Independent Sales Organizations(ISO) and are third-party unregulated resellers of payment processing services, as this is the one totally unregulated area of banking.

All these organizations have to pay one of the HANDFUL of companies that truly process card transactions to move merchants' Visa/MC revenue. The processor then has to pay Visa/MC a fee for each authorized transaction they processed on behalf of the merchant.

These charges are comprised of about 125 different base rates set by Visa & MasterCard, and the proper "rate", or transaction category, is determined first and foremost by the TYPE of credit card that came through the merchant's door, followed by several other factors. There's no such thing as "I have a great rate"! Maybe 25 years ago there were a couple credit card processing rates, but today the only way some company can promise to give you a "good" single rate is to take a bunch of the lower Visa/MC base rates and mark them all up and call it your "qualified" rate.

The same thing is then done for key-entered transactions (which is higher than that first rate), and then commercial or corporate cards (which legitimately cost more, but they're also all marked up into one rate- the most expensive, often called the "non-qualified" rate).

The 125 or so different Visa/MC rates and fees are called "Interchange" and can easily be found on Google. as a merchant, it's never necessary to be in the dark about what the processors' (or acquirers) wholesale costs are. In a false attempt to "simplify" all of this the vast majority of providers work on what is termed "Three Tier" or "Standard Pricing".

Most merchants aren't aware that there is another pricing structure called "Cost-Plus" or "Interchange Plus" pricing. For years, processing companies, and even more so all of the banks and thousands of unregulated resellers out there, have capitalized on the naivity of small and medium business by not educating them on the benefits of cost plus pricing. Large companies such as Wal-Mart have always demanded cost plus pricing. They understand the lost profit that interchange bundling causes and gained a firm understanding of the potential for lost profit when using any other pricing method.

The point here is to do business with an actual processing company, many of which will offer cost plus pricing to most merchants, regardless of size. This way, you don't end up with a bunch of extra people along the way (transaction middlemen) who all have to make money on things like EQUIPMENT LEASES! Hell, I could take $50,000 and start Mike's credit card processing and offer "competitive rates" just like all the others who have gotten into this unregulated industry. But to do that I'd have to outsource the processing to an acquirer, and since they're going to keep a good portion of the profit margin after they pay Visa/MC, I can sub-contract with a leasing company who fronts me a large amount of money and then collects seriously over-inflated payments on a credit card system from the merchant for the next 48 months. By the way, this is a simple example. I've known business owners who were paying up to twelve transaction middlemen, depending on who they signed on with!

The best questions a merchant can ask a representative are:
*What company does the processing?
*How many rate increases have you had in the last 3 years? (Neither Visa nor MC have raised their base rates in approximately this amount of time)
*Do you charge the same rate on Visa and MasterCard? (Visa happens to be significantly less expensive)
*What rate do you charge for checkcards/signature-based debit transactions? (These cards cost a LOT less than credit cards because there's no risk when a merchant accepts them)
*What do you charge for key entered transactions?
*What is your rate on commercial/corporate cards?
*Do you offer cost plus pricing? (Don't settle for any other pricing method, otherwise you'll be "surcharged" on each sale and it will raise your costs at the end of every month!)

Hopefully this will start you in the right direction as to who you're considering getting your payment processing through. It amazes me the amount of complaints on this site related to credit card processing services. research for yourself online the few companies who actually process bankcard transactions, then contact them directly. Chances are they won't be able to undercut their resellers on price, but at least they have the flexibility to offer cost plus. Then you'll never be uncertain about WHY you're being charged what you are, and of course, you won't sign a deal with the devil in a non-cancellable, non-negotiable lease with no exceptions that could have been easily avoided. Hope this helps some people in the future!

First off, Robert makes some valid points. I only happened on this sight while doing some research on the company that I had worked for, for many years.

UMS, or Merchant Services, does offer a real solution for CC/Debit/Gift via Transfirst or Chase Paymentech. They sell mostly 3-tier pricing to small and medium retail business with the teaser rate of 1.69% used to be 1.55% back in the day. Everything is written on their pretty comparison in very very small print, and also in their contracts. They are not doing anything blatently illegal. Here is what they do however that makes it very much a rip off.

1. They train there sales reps that a debit transaction will cost the merchant only 35c if they use the pinpad provided. They fail to mention that .90% national debit network fee they charge (as listed in very small print at the bottom of their comparison sheet).

The rep is then trained to estimate a percentage, for this example lets say 20% of a stores sales that will be debit. They then only take 80% of the stores V/MC sales volume and multiply it by the new offered rate of merchant services 1.69%. The other 20% they tell the merchant will be via debit and only charged 35c per transaction. Well what they fail to mention is that the 20% of sales will be charged a transaction fee of 35c, plus a rate of .90%

This ballooned savings allows the rep to then put in a very high lease amount for a nurit 2085 and a pinpad 1000se (these cost $250 bucks). They can lease these anywhere from 59.99 - 169.99 and 189.99 with check reader. These leases would never be possible without the inflated savings from the misrepresentation of the debit in the cost comparison.

This is how it is trained, and this is wrong. Anyone who works there can look at the comparison form and see at the bottom "National Debit Network Additional .90%" Imagine if you sell 100,000 in v/mc and you are told only 80,000 will be charged 1.69%. Well the other 20% is going to be charged .90 which means you are going to be charged 180 more than you expected.

Compare that to your current rate and you think you are saving a boat load, and you sign up willingly for that 169.99 lease of a terminal.

2. They teach their reps to take 65% of the current processors estimated processing fees and put that in their comparison for UMS's estimated fees. What they do not teach the new AE is that their mid qual downgrade of 1.25% and their non-qual downgrade of 1.50% (this is how they make their money on rate) will most certainly not allow them to save a merchant 35% of estimated processing costs. This again helps inflate the savings to the merchant to increase the lease amount. The reps are drivin by lease amount because of huge up front commissions. The goal of the company is to have reps show a merchant and inflated comparison savings, and lease at a high amount with MBF for a non cancellable 48 months.

3. They do not list on their comparison their fees for Translink, Merchant Club (additionl 20.50 total) except for in small print on the bottom, so once again their savings are inflated to the merchant.

I have no problem with selling leases high if the merchant agrees to it. I also do not feel bad for merchants who do not read the fine print, however it crosses the line into a rip off when the sales force is misled and is selling something that does not add up. It only takes the savvy rep a few months until the calls come in from merchants complaining about fees. The rep will look at the statement and start realizing

1. Oh, we charge a % for debit cards.
2. Man our downgrades of mid and non are really not saving the merchant any money on estimated fees
3. Man the 169.99 I sold so that I can make over 3k really is not saving this merchant anything

The AE then has two choices.

1. Leave - After they have probably made more money than any other job they had, and have a new lifestyle

2. Stay - They have to support that new Benz, and house.

3. Stay until something ethical comes along - Then they win, since they have the house and the benz already.

Those who work for Merchant Services - Start training the reps on the fees, and how to do a proper comparison, and their will be no need for a rip off report. You have a lot of nice hard working people at the company, and they deserve an ethical representation of the product you sell.

Regards,

Jane Doe

First to Kevin:
Good response!
There address is:
9012 Research Dr. Ste, 200
Irvine, CA 92618
That is a legit address and I am sure if you map quest it you can EASILY find their office.
I am sure though that "Lydia" is a false name though.

"Brian"
"you are a very unhappy person and you need to get a life bud!"

OUCH "Brian" that hurts!!
I guess you are here to also justify all the lies and deception that goes on at MS.

"I have NEVER heard anyone talk like you mention about others in the company re: drugs, etc. In fact, the company is a drug free company."

You are either intentially lying or in denial about the company.
JASON MOORE WILL TELL YOU THAT HALF THE TELEMARKETER ARE ON DRUGS, PROBATION, OR PAROLE!!!

Why do you lie "Brian"?

"Go back in the hole you came out of and leave this site for real "rip offs" vs. slandering back and forth"

OUCH that hurts!!

Lydia,

You call me childish? For getting rippoed off? The fact is that I got all my money back from MBF leasing, ever penny. They apoligized for everything that happened. When I sent the information to the Better Business Bureau, they could clearly see my point. Why do you think they would reimburse me for everything if they did not think they were wrong? And you call me childish?

Do you know any of the circumstances? Before you lash out at me, know the facts. I was cheated, I never signed a contract, and they harrassed me. If any conpany did that to you would you "belittle" them? Get a grip on life.

As far as people like me being left alone and not worth anyones energy. I served My Country for 20 years fighting for YOUR RIGHTS in the U.S. Army. How have you served your country? You want to tell it to my face that I am waste of energy?

I come out to California often, I would be happy to meet you! I stand about 6'4" and weigh about 235lbs. I pray to that GOD does something in your life besides ripping people off, then putting down the ones who have protected your a*s.

Lydia's post:
Lastly, I have never heard anyone belittle a company or people such as yourself. People like you are best left alone as they are not worth anyone's energy. You are a very miserable persona from your tone and I will pray that GOD watches over you and brings peace into your life. I am sure you will have some belittling comment or negative posting about mine but I will not respond to such childness.

Robert;

I run an office in N. CA for Merchant Services. I have worked for the company for 6+ years. I do NOT lie, I love my job, and after reading your comments, I must tell you that I agree with Sara and Lydia.

I do not know what you have against our company or Jason but you are a very unhappy person and you need to get a life bud!

I have NEVER heard anyone talk like you mention about others in the company re: drugs, etc. In fact, the company is a drug free company.

Go back in the hole you came out of and leave this site for real "rip offs" vs. slandering back and forth!

Hi Lydia

Lydia wrote
"As for the comments from the ex-sales rep Robert, in Lake Forest, it is incredibly unfortunate that you are such an angry person."

I no longer work for an industry that on a regular basis lies and deceives.
I wouldnt really say I am angry but that is sweet of you to be concerned.

Lydia wrote:
"There are over 200 sales reps nationally and I do not see how you would know them all when you did not work there very long"
I hever claimed I did. I was addressing "Sara" who lied stating that she konw me and konw why I was let go.
I wasnt let go, I quit...huge difference.
BTW...Merchant Services doesnt fire anyone anyway.

Lydia wrote
"Secondly, I have two friends who are telemarketers (ISA's) and they are not "on drugs on parole". They are hard working people who earn a living like me and you. Jason never made any comments negatively towards them and you should be careful of what lies you tell that you are not sued for slander."

"libel" is the correct term sweetie,
You may want to know what the F you are talking about when you try and use big words

Here I will put it in quotes so you can get that "libel" lawsuit going

"on a regular basis Jason Moore would comment about how half the telemarketers were either on drugs, probation, parole, etc."

This is no secret he said it on an almost WEEKELY BASES.

So these telemarketers who are on "drugs, probation, or parole" were calling business and soliciting personal financial info from them.

I wonder how many of these people may have misused this info?

I look forward to seeing you in court as you commence that lawsuit.
I guess it will give you something to do after a long hard day of lying and deceiving merchants.

Lydia wrote:
"Lastly, I have never heard anyone belittle a company or people such as yourself."

I didnt belittle myself, that is just silly!!
You are being insincere whey you say that you have never heard anyone "belittle a company".

"People like you are best left alone as they are not worth anyone's energy."

I have never asked you to waste your energy on me that is rather presumptious of you.


"You are a very miserable persona from your tone and I will pray that GOD watches over you and brings peace into your life."

You know you have completely lost a debate or argument when you have to bring god into it.

"I am sure you will have some belittling comment or negative posting about mine but I will not respond to such childness."

Well gee you dont even know the difference between slander and libel so what more is there to say..... oh wait let me help you once again with thet "libel" lawsuit:

"on a regular basis Jason Moore would comment about how half the telemarketers were either on drugs, probation, parole, etc."

Kevin:

I would like to respond to your complaint. I can tell you without a doubt that Merchant Services does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract and the comparison you were more than likely given. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden and you had to have intialed the pricing section of the Bank App in order to have been approved. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all.

As a 9 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with.

The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days.

The bottom line is that there are something like 148 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it.

As for the comments from the ex-sales rep Robert, in Lake Forest, it is incredibly unfortunate that you are such an angry person. There are over 200 sales reps nationally and I do not see how you would know them all when you did not work there very long.

Secondly, I have two friends who are telemarketers (ISA's) and they are not "on drugs on parole". They are hard working people who earn a living like me and you. Jason never made any comments negatively towards them and you should be careful of what lies you tell that you are not sued for slander.

Lastly, I have never heard anyone belittle a company or people such as yourself. People like you are best left alone as they are not worth anyone's energy. You are a very miserable persona from your tone and I will pray that GOD watches over you and brings peace into your life. I am sure you will have some belittling comment or negative posting about mine but I will not respond to such childness.

By the way, we are "sales reps" (or as your business card used to say "Account Executives")

Best of luck to you both!

Let me address a few points of Sara's.

Firstly Sara as a representative of Merchant Services are you going to libel me by saying that I was "let go"

The simple reality is, I quit like many many reps who go in and out of Merchant Services.

Intersting that you claim to be a "sales rep" yet I was there for about a year less then 2 years ago and there was no "sales rep" named Sara and in fact we didnt refer to ourselves as "sales reps"

How many more lies will you tell "Sara"

You are making me think that you actually work in the "telemarketing" department.
This would be intersting because Jason Moore loved to talk about how HALF OF THE TELEMARKETERS WERE EITHER ON DRUGS, PAROLE, OR PROBATION!!!!

I ask a logical question here....

Would any smart business owner trust ANY COMPANY whos OWNER SAYS HALF THE TELEMARKETERS ARE ON DRUGS, PAROLE, OR PROBATION.

FIFTH THIRD BANK DROPPED ALL TIES WITH MERCHANT SERVICES!!

WHY?

D.E.C.E.P.T.I.O.N towards their merchants!!

"I think the ex-employee Robert is aggrevated that he was let go and is trying to smear someone into the mud."

Uh Sara I wasnt let go and you are lying about having any information to the contrary.
You didnt even work there OR you are using a false name.

Why are you lying or using a false name, Sara?

"Unfortunately, the 200 of us that work here are better than that and we will not lower ourselves to your level of professionalism (or lack thereof)"

The reps are trained in tactics to manipulate and deceive merchants.
If you were honest you didnt make money.

This is why I quit Sara!!

"Lastly, I want to address that sales is apart of everyone's life. Whether you buy a car, a home, or any other item, you are buying it from a sales company generally. Not all cars are the same price. Not all homes are the same price (even if they are on the same street). Why? Because the price for many objects depend on how much someone is willing to pay for them."

Do you mean how much money you can deceive someone out of, Sara?
I know ALL THE TRICKS AND TACTICS that you were trained to use.
They are designed to increase the lease to the merchant.
Is the commission on a $99 lease still somewhere around $1200 to your pocket?

"I believe that I give fantastic service and when I have a customer who has a challenge, I take it upon myself to make them happy. I love my job, I sleep at night, I love the people I work with, and for everyone 1,000 customers, you are going to have those 1 or 2 unhappy people who just can't smile and who are going to do whatever it takes to play the "poor me" card. This includes disgruntled ex sales reps!"

What do you know about the busiess world Sare?
"and for everyone 1,000 customers, you are going to have those 1 or 2 unhappy people"
1 or 2?
What planet are you on?

Please continue Sara!
I would love to share more dirty little secrets of the processing world!

I have been ripped by MBF Leasing as well and want on the class action lawsuit. I've filed complaints with the BBB and the FTC and will with Rip Off Report today.

I have worked for Merchant Services for 5 years now. I would like to comment on Robert's (Lake Forest) comments about our company.

First, in all sales companies, you unfortunately have reps who wrongfully mislead customers. This is why Robert was let go.

Jason Lauderdale was an honest sales rep. Unfortunately, the merchant thinks otherwise. As a sales rep, I have the ability to lease merchants upgraded processing hardware and software. This is my job. I am an honest sales rep and take comments of "fraud" very seriously myself and those comments against my sales associates.

As for the comment against Jason Moore, he has always been an upfront person who I consider to be honest. I have worked with him for 5 years and I have never seen him take advantage of anyone. I think the ex-employee Robert is aggrevated that he was let go and is trying to smear someone into the mud. Unfortunately, the 200 of us that work here are better than that and we will not lower ourselves to your level of professionalism (or lack thereof).

Lastly, I want to address that sales is apart of everyone's life. Whether you buy a car, a home, or any other item, you are buying it from a sales company generally. Not all cars are the same price. Not all homes are the same price (even if they are on the same street). Why? Because the price for many objects depend on how much someone is willing to pay for them.

When you go to the store you pay a marked up cost. If you wanted to save money you could go to the grower direct. However, that is not realistic for most of us. We pay a premium for serivce.

I believe that I give fantastic service and when I have a customer who has a challenge, I take it upon myself to make them happy. I love my job, I sleep at night, I love the people I work with, and for everyone 1,000 customers, you are going to have those 1 or 2 unhappy people who just can't smile and who are going to do whatever it takes to play the "poor me" card. This includes disgruntled ex sales reps!

God Bless.

Current Employee
Merchant Services

In fairness to Fifth Third Bank they have cut all ties with Merchant Services.

I worked for Merchant Services for almost a year. The reason I left is that I realized that in order to make the money that they lead you to think can me made is by being dishonest and deceptive.

They do a good job of hiding facts from the reps so an honest person may not catch on quickly.
If you are an honest person you begin to realize that you are not making the big bucks because you refuse to be dishonest and this is why I eventually left.

There is a HUGE amount of deception by credit card processing companies and Merchant Services is one of MANY MANY companies.

The biggest scam (and the way reps make the big bucks) is in the leasing of the equipment to the merchant. At Merchant Services it was not uncommon for a merchant to sign a lease and be paying $200 a month in lease costs.

The equipment that they are actually leasing is generally very low in cost if they were to actually purchase it.

I found out shortly before I left that the equipment that the merchants were given was REFURBISHED!!!

The were paying $200 a month for used equipment!!
The owner of the company is Jason Moore and he was the king of deception.

I am very happy that I am no longer part of this industry and merchants should be very careful when they decide begin accepting credit cards.