- Report: #205558
Complaint Review: Bankcard USA - Westlake Village California
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Bankcard USA
26707 W Agoura Road Westlake Village, 91362 California, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-589-8200
Web:
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Bankcard USA ripoff Westlake Village California
I was a former customer of Bankcard USA until they closed my account due to what they called "supiscous activity". I had been processing many transactions through them and never had ONE chargeback. NEVER! When I first signed up I really had no idea how much of my business would be done through credit card purchases, being that I am in the moving business and just opened up the company.
So I told them a few thousand a month. It turned out to be more than that so I spoke with them and they told me that going over on my account was fine and if there were any problems then I would need to fax over proof of valid transactions. I said no problem at all, being that all my sales and charges were completely legitimate.
A few days ago when I was moving into my new building, business is booming, they left me a message saying they were closing my account because of a charge of $7,000 and that they would be holding it for 180 days. This customer's move was over $10,000 and he could only pay partly in cash. I had no choice but to accept his credit card as partial payment. I then proceeded to call Bankcard USA to no avail. NOT ONE PERSON WOULD RETURN MY CALL!
This was absolutely insane. They were holding $7,000 of my money and they wouldnt even call me back. I left messages for Jeannie in risk management, Scott and Jason Hardy who are brothers and one of them is the general manager. Ironically both brothers just ignored my numerous messages, criminal behavior runs in the family I guess.
They run this company like Guantanamo Bay, your'e guilty and they don't care about the truth. They dont even want to give you a chance to rebut the charges. After about 20 calls I finally got through to Jeannie and told her I can prove that this is a legitimate transaction and can even have the customer contact them if they like. Her answer was the same bs company line. "We just dont feel comfortable with this high risk transaction and we are going to hold your money for 180 days, no matter what"!
I am seeking to form a class action lawsuit against this type of immoral and illegal behavior. I am absolutely positive that this company has ripped off many others out there. Please contact me and perhaps we can make them realize that is not n**i Germany. It is America and we have rights.
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.
Joe
Pine Brook, New Jersey
U.S.A.
So I told them a few thousand a month. It turned out to be more than that so I spoke with them and they told me that going over on my account was fine and if there were any problems then I would need to fax over proof of valid transactions. I said no problem at all, being that all my sales and charges were completely legitimate.
A few days ago when I was moving into my new building, business is booming, they left me a message saying they were closing my account because of a charge of $7,000 and that they would be holding it for 180 days. This customer's move was over $10,000 and he could only pay partly in cash. I had no choice but to accept his credit card as partial payment. I then proceeded to call Bankcard USA to no avail. NOT ONE PERSON WOULD RETURN MY CALL!
This was absolutely insane. They were holding $7,000 of my money and they wouldnt even call me back. I left messages for Jeannie in risk management, Scott and Jason Hardy who are brothers and one of them is the general manager. Ironically both brothers just ignored my numerous messages, criminal behavior runs in the family I guess.
They run this company like Guantanamo Bay, your'e guilty and they don't care about the truth. They dont even want to give you a chance to rebut the charges. After about 20 calls I finally got through to Jeannie and told her I can prove that this is a legitimate transaction and can even have the customer contact them if they like. Her answer was the same bs company line. "We just dont feel comfortable with this high risk transaction and we are going to hold your money for 180 days, no matter what"!
I am seeking to form a class action lawsuit against this type of immoral and illegal behavior. I am absolutely positive that this company has ripped off many others out there. Please contact me and perhaps we can make them realize that is not n**i Germany. It is America and we have rights.
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.
Joe
Pine Brook, New Jersey
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Larry
West Sacramento,California,
U.S.A.
You are their worst nightmare
#2Consumer Comment
Sat, April 21, 2007
Joe, Credit card processors like Bankcard USA are the ones who guarantee the legitimacy of your transactions. If a charge from you is reversed for any reason they will have to refund the money and try to collect from you. You are their worst nightmare: You are a new company, your transactions are for high dollar amounts, and you probably do not have a bricks-and-mortar location. (I have a similar problem with my own business.) Keeping your money for 180 days is a bit extreme, though. The customer has only 60 days to dispute the charge, so it's kind of hard to justify holding the funds an additional four months. Taking credit cards is somewhat risky for you, also. Picture this: you do the work including paying your help and other expenses and then the customer disputes the charge. Some flunky at the card issuer sides with the customer so now you are on the hook for the chargeback. You have little recourse against the card issuer. You will never know when a transaction is truly complete and all disputes settled. You would be far better off taking cash only.
Sharon
Westlake Village,California,
U.S.A.
BankCard USA Rebuttal
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, April 20, 2007
Due to the possible risk and/or fraud involved with their business type, BankCard USA Merchant Services, Inc. has the right to hold their funds up to a period of 180 days or less (please refer to a copy of your Merchant Account Agreement). Keyed businesses are considered high risk businesses because of the high ticket, (which can later evolve to higher dollar amounts of chargebacks, retrievals..etc), keyed transactions, home based business (retail, face to face, swiped businesses have less risks because the credit card is always present and swiped through the credit card terminal). Additionally, BankCard USA Merchant Services, Inc. is liable for any charges, returns, chargebacks that the merchant processes, under the rules and regulations of Visa/Master Card. Thus, the reason for capturing funds to protect BankCard USA Merchant Services, Inc.
