Complaint Review: Innovative Merchant Solutions - Calabasa California

Angel, all merchant agreements are contracts! Every company states that their agreements cannot be modified or changed unless it is done in writing and agreed upon by all parties in writing. This is only done in cases where they are doing business with publis/government entities. When you do business with re sellers you are battling with greed. All they care about is getting your signature and they will never see you again. Then you get the we dont care email from the home office like you did. Sad to say they have you by the short hairs and you have no recourse. I would just pay the early term fee and walk away. This is the very reason why you use your banks processor! You would get your money faster (usually next business day) than you are now. You would have recourse on the issue at hand (you call your bank and they call their processor and your issue is resolved) and ALL of your fees are disclosed and you get a copy of your agreement when you sign it!! I know it sucks but just pay it and tell all of your contacts about their deceptive practices!!

Leanne, In response to your rebuttal to the original author, Account Executives are trained to "close the deal". They will say whatever it takes to get that sale and if a verbal agreement was made or stated or otherwise implied, then that should be taken into account as well. It is your company's word against the author's on what was said but after reading all these horror stories on what your company does to people, myself included, pardon me for not inclining to believe you. Yes you have your Merchant Agreements, but an unfair business practice is still unfair. In my matter, you are charging me a "Standard Termination Fee" and it is not clearly stated other than go to the website or ask for a physical copy. Your EARLY termination fee of $395.00 is clearly stated but not the Standard Termination Fee. Why in the world would you not clearly state that???? Why would you have to go to a website or request a physical copy that could take days if you do not have access to a computer to find out the exact fee? The logical response is that if that fee is disclosed then you might lose potentional clients. What person in their right mind would sign with a company that will charge you a fee regardless of how long they have been a faithful customer to you? You guys KNOW what you are doing when you worded the contract that way. Maximize customer base by withholding vital information upfront. This is illegal and no matter what the "Agreement" states signed or otherwise, is in violation of the California Business and Professions Code.

In her dispute, the customer states "I am not entirely new to contracts and I'm well aware of hidden fees and always ask about them. Especially termination fees. In this case, the representative, Holly Walker, reassured me that if I was unsatisfied with my service for whatever reason that I could cancel without a fee. I had also asked for a written confirmation of the revised cancellation agreement but never received one. I NEVER would have signed the application (which they call an application NOT a contract- they say there are no contracts, just agreements...isn't that a contract?)". Unfortunately there isn't enough information to identify this specific account, but I can address the general concerns. First, as noted many times, our contract states just 1/4 above the required signature, that there is a Termination Fee. This customer has stated that she is not entirely new to contracts, and especially termination fees; therefore this verbiage should have stood out to her. It appears that is has, as she states she asked for confirmation in writing that the fee would be waived per the rep's word. Unfortunately she did not recieve this and she admits that she did not. In the section above the Termination Fee the contract states "This agreement may only be modified as approved in writing by an authorized officer of the Bank and the corporate office of IMS. No other representatives of Bank or IMS or individual is authorized to make any verbal or written modification to this agreement." This section has specifically be added to ensure that ancillary promises regarding the processing services are not made by the Independent Sales Reps such as in this case. The Agreement/contract goes on to state "I acknowledge that I have also received the Merchant Agreement either by receiving a physical copy or by viewing the Merchant Agreement at www.innovativeagreement.com or otherwise viewing an electronic copy. I have read the Merchant Agreement and understand it. I understand that the Merchant Agreement is incorporated into this Application and that both documents constitute my contract with Bank and IMS, whether I have viewed the Merchant Application online or have received a physical copy of the Merchant Agreement". These sections are just above the signature line in the same box with the Termination Fee. For someone who is not entirely new to contracts, at a minimum one would think that this section marked "Authorization and Agreement" would be reviewed and the importance of understanding the contract would be conveyed. The point here is that IMS does not make an effort to hide the information. Because we cannot be at every merchant location, we provide the most important information up front to make sure the merchant can make important decisions in advance.