Complaint Review: Innovative Merchant Solutions - Calabasas California

I recently discovered this web site because of a bad experience with a vendor that I use and I am seeing a pattern of people trying to find a scapegoat for the mistakes that the individual made. If you think of this situation as an auto broker selling a car, the customer signing a contract , deciding the car is too small for the family , then blaming the actual car dealer for charging a contract termination fee ( when the broker is the one who sold the car). The customer would seem to be the Moron. But in an industry that the general public is unfamiliar with it is automatically assumed that the corporation is in the wrong. I am taking the time to write this message because the industry I am in has the same problem with uneducated customers. The thing is my customers usually procedures after they are explained to them... It is Frightening to know that our country has so called business owners who do not know how to read a contract or follow procedures that are stated in the written legal document that signed. When people decide to cancel a service and the never read the service contract (legal document). Suddenly the company that provides the service is "Evil" or fraudulent. If we would think before we speak, or write inaccurate nonsense, we would probably have less problems and a better economy. Thank you for your time and I encourage all to think before they make a business decision. Also it may be a good thing to evaluate our selfs to determine if we are capable of running a business of our own

IMS Said "IMS is a California based bankcard processing company that offers quality customer service 24/7. Live operators answer calls with a hold time averaging 18 seconds. Our staff of caring individuals has allowed us to achieve a call abandon rate of less than 1%." Although some of the information may be correct, I don't believe the staff at IMS has the customers best interest in mind. Several customer service personal were rude to me an one in particular must have went strait to the Vice President and said some things that were just not true. This prompted a call to me by the Vice President accusing me of all sorts of comments I never even said. I was shocked and stunned that their customer service would go that far in order to hurt a paying customer. Shocking...... IMS Said "Each call a customer makes to an IMS representative is documented. After a review of the account we find that Mr. Bennett never, in the entire history of the account, contacted IMS to discuss the problems he claims to have had. Although the problems he describes are with software and/or products not sold by IMS, we provide technical support 24 hours a day. The simple fact of the matter is that IMS was there for Mr. Bennett during the 2 years that he needed us. Once he decided he no longer required our services, we closed his account as requested." Unfortunatly, each call must not documented as stated. Otherwise the situation would have been handled in a more professional way. The problems started when the company charged a large termination without proper notification. Then they agreed to refund part of the fee but stonwalled for months even after they told me several dates that the transfer would take place. That's right...a fee to quit doing business. Customer=Cash Cow even after business relations have ended. IMS Said "The terms of the IMS Merchant Agreement state a termination fee. Therefore, when he requested that his account be closed, the fee was assessed. Although he was not entitled to it, in the interests of good customer relations, IMS agreed to refund more than half of that fee." I certainly didn't agree or sign an agreement with IMS that allowed them to get into my checking account and withdraw funds without my permission. Would you? They certainly didn't have my permission to do this transaction. They never even sent me a statement to let me know that they had done this withdrawl. Sound a little sneeky and underhanded to me. If they had good customer relations they would have refunded the entire charge but instead...Just another Rip-Off. IMS Said "Later it was discovered that the Rip Off complaint was placed against IMS. We contacted Mr. Bennett and he apologized for his comments and offered to write a correction, explaining he had received his money and that he was happy with our follow up." I did receive several disturbing calls from IMS instead of the returned money. I never apologized in any manner. If anyone deserves an apology...It's me. However, I never asked for an apology. I only wanted to resolve the issue and save the hassle of trying to collect the promised money forever. IMS Said "Now, instead of honoring his previous offer, Mr. Bennett takes time out of his busy day to once again make disparaging remarks against IMS. We have done all we can to assist Mr. Bennett with this issue. We are sorry to see that our efforts have not been successful. However, IMS has never threatened a lawsuit against Mr. Bennett. IMS has responded to each request made by Mr. Bennett in good faith and in the interests of good customer service. We are sorry to lose him as a customer, and we are sorry that for some reason he is not able to acknowledge the time and assistance we have given him in this matter to achieve an amicable resolution. We wish him the best and we hope that he is satisfied in his next business venture." I have never made disparaging remarks about IMS. Instead, I have been completly honest and forthright.I have received approximately 53% of the money that was taken out of my account. When the other 47% is paid, then this customer will be completly satisfied. Until then, there is no time like the present for this company to solve this issue and be done with it. They still have my address and they can return the funds right away. About the threst of the lawsuit. As if I just made that up....right! The secretary of the Vice president of the company absolutely threatened me with a lawsuit. I responded by telling her that she obviously didn't have law degree or she would know that this threat is completly baseless. But talk about getting me upset. Any time someone threatens you with a lawsuit....well you know how it feels. Companies that arbitrarly threaten their customer base with baseless lawsuits may need to take a good look at their customer service and take action to prevent this situation again.

IMS is a California based bankcard processing company that offers quality customer service 24/7. Live operators answer calls with a hold time averaging 18 seconds. Our staff of caring individuals has allowed us to achieve a call abandon rate of less than 1%. Each call a customer makes to an IMS representative is documented. After a review of the account we find that Mr. Bennett never, in the entire history of the account, contacted IMS to discuss the problems he claims to have had. Although the problems he describes are with software and/or products not sold by IMS, we provide technical support 24 hours a day. The simple fact of the matter is that IMS was there for Mr. Bennett during the 2 years that he needed us. Once he decided he no longer required our services, we closed his account as requested. The terms of the IMS Merchant Agreement state a termination fee. Therefore, when he requested that his account be closed, the fee was assessed. Although he was not entitled to it, in the interests of good customer relations, IMS agreed to refund more than half of that fee. Later it was discovered that the Rip Off complaint was placed against IMS. We contacted Mr. Bennett and he apologized for his comments and offered to write a correction, explaining he had received his money and that he was happy with our follow up. Now, instead of honoring his previous offer, Mr. Bennett takes time out of his busy day to once again make disparaging remarks against IMS. We have done all we can to assist Mr. Bennett with this issue. We are sorry to see that our efforts have not been successful. However, IMS has never threatened a lawsuit against Mr. Bennett. IMS has responded to each request made by Mr. Bennett in good faith and in the interests of good customer service. We are sorry to lose him as a customer, and we are sorry that for some reason he is not able to acknowledge the time and assistance we have given him in this matter to achieve an amicable resolution. We wish him the best and we hope that he is satisfied in his next business venture.

OK, I finally received the money that had been promised after much delay, numerous calls and conversations. But this is not the end of it. Today I received a call from Innovative Merchant Solutions that threatened me that if I did not immediately remove my previous comments from this website that they would sue me for slander. How about that for business to customer relationship. I expect to hear from their lawyer anyday. They claim lost business as a legitimate reason to sue. Yet, I belive there are other reasons for their business loss. I surely plan to post the legal paperwork for all to see when I receive it. If for some reason, Innovative Merchant Solutions wants to actually satisfy me as a paying customer, I might be inclined to dismiss their previous actions and forgive their poor customer service. Until then, it's just another RIP-OFF for all to avoid.

OK, I finally received the money that had been promised after much delay, numerous calls and conversations. But this is not the end of it. Today I received a call from Innovative Merchant Solutions that threatened me that if I did not immediately remove my previous comments from this website that they would sue me for slander. How about that for business to customer relationship. I expect to hear from their lawyer anyday. They claim lost business as a legitimate reason to sue. Yet, I belive there are other reasons for their business loss. I surely plan to post the legal paperwork for all to see when I receive it. If for some reason, Innovative Merchant Solutions wants to actually satisfy me as a paying customer, I might be inclined to dismiss their previous actions and forgive their poor customer service. Until then, it's just another RIP-OFF for all to avoid.