Complaint Review: Bankcard Empire - Phoenix Arizona

In October of 2008 I answered a telephone call that I will dread for the rest of my life...At the time I was under extreme duress. My husband had recently survived two surgeries and a stroke. I was also facing foreclosure on my home. I was battling with a pile of medical bills, loss of income due to my being a realtor in a very depressed market and not knowing how or where we were going to live. The phone rang and though I don't remember his name, the voice on the other end was very convincing. My first instinct was to just hang up but for whatever reason I explained my situation to him and replied that I was in no position to make a reckless financial decision. He had the audacity to use my circumstances to HIS advantage, convincing me that it was even MORE critical that I take advantage of Bankcard Empire's opportunity immediately!! The faster I signed up as one of their affiliates, the faster I would be making money and my life would be greatly improved!! I said that I was interested, he said "great" and hung up.

A second phone call came a few weeks later from Jason. This guy could write presidential speeches! I listened for over an hour to testimonies of other people like me who were recruited and how quickly they started making money. I was pounded with the impeccable integrity of the company. I was told that Bankcard Empire is the biggest merchant credit card processor in the industry and how an e-mail blast and call blast campaign would drive leads to my website. I would get paid $500 for each new client and then make residual income off of EVERY CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION. And oh, I would have such great training and support! When I told Jason how dire my circumstances were, he too made me feel that if I didn't sign up immediately, I would be committing financial suicide. I finally relented, authorized Bankcard Empire to hit nearly everything I had left on my credit cards ~ totalling almost $4,000.00

I couldn't sleep that night. I was physically ill and shaking. I got on Google to look up Bankcard Empire. Yes, I saw that they were on top of the list as being the number one merchant credit card processor but being 3:00am in the morning and exhausted, I didn't bother to scroll down. If I had, I would have seen all the horrid reports and claims against them. Even so, I still felt like I should have resisted their attempts to recruit me so I called the company's customer service number the next day (Saturday). I was told that Jason was not working that day but if I left a message, he would get back to me. In my "spirit", I knew something was terribly wrong so I called Visa and Master Card to file a complaint and try to retrieve the hits on my accounts. Two days later, I recieved a call from Jason.

Jason was very professional, very focused. And very intent on filling me with DREAD AND FEAR if I went forward with my complaints against them. He threathened me with stories of other people who tried to stop the credit card payments. HE SAID THAT SINCE BANKCARD EMPIRE WORKED HAND IN HAND WITH VISA AND MASTER CARD, I WOULD NOT STAND A CHANCE IN H-LL TO GET MY MONEY BACK. THEY HAD THE BIGGEST ATTORNEYS AND I WOULD HAVE TO FIND AN ATTORNEY TO REPRESENT ME IN ARIZONA (I reside in Florida) AND I WOULD END UP PAYING ALL ATTORNEY AND COURT FEES. NOT TO MENTION THAT THE FOUR GRAND WOULD NOT BE USED TO GENERATE INCOME FOR ME ANYMORE SO UNLESS I HAD UNLIMITED FUNDS, IT WOULD BE A VERY DETRIMENTAL DECISION FOR ME NOT TO COMPLY WITH THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT....We argued for well over an hour. I felt like a pencil that had just been poked into a pencil sharpener and I was running out of lead. I didn't want my husband to know what was going on as he would never be able to handle this kind of stress. I gave in and AGAIN, authorized Bankcard Empire to withdraw the monies from my accounts. I was so afraid that if I didn't do what Jason said, the four grand would not be used for the promised campaign. HIS THREATS WERE "CHILLING"..Instead of just hanging up on him and pursueing with my claims against the comany, I allowed "fear" to put me right back where Bankcard Empire wanted me to be.

I have since gone out and personally approached several local businesses, hoping to drum up customers on my own. The first thing each business owner does is "google" Bankcard Empire. Their negative reaction is to be expected and no sales have been consumated. Nor will there ever be any sales. I have no reason to believe that Bankcard Empire actually is in business other than to scam desperate people like me. My latest attempt is trying to cancel their auto draft every month that pays for a website I don't think exists. If need be, I will have to close my current bank a/c and change my debit card to prevent future Bankcard Empire withdrawals.

The money I gave them is needed desperately for medical and living expenses. It was all I had. My only hope now is that there is an organization or political official that can be proactive on behalf of myself and all the other victims of this scam operation. I am a member of Pre-paid Legal. Their advise was for me to write a letter to the Attorney General of the State of Florida. If "Ripoff Report" can not produce positive results, I will start writing letters to every political venue possible. I am not looking for a seven hundred dollar wall street "bailout". I only want to be refunded for the money that I agreed to give to a very successful scam operation WHILE UNDER COERCION. Its simply called "justice"......

Ellen Venice, Florida
U.S.A.