JWhitt
United States of America#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, November 01, 2012
The merchant service processing "reseller"polulation has exploded - like the Mortgage brokers of the 90's there are good and there are bad and no license or training is required for the individual sales people.
IT sounds like this MPI, like all merchant service processing entities is what's called an ISO - independent sales organization - there are "super iso's" that are the huge organizations that have branch offices providing the sales to local areas all the way down to 1 person iso's that do this and send the "contracts" to their main service provider.
MPI is apparently one of the bad ones - just out to get a contract signed, you into a bad lease - which most leases are!! and when it comes to credit card terminals - breaking one is almost impossible - and then the salesperson disappears. There are companies that actually send out teams to scour an area for say two weeks, sign as much as possible, then bring the team back home.
There are as many names of these entities as you can think up, and in fact there is a MSI (Merchant Services, Inc.) that you included in your article when it is actually MPI that is the culprit here--so just to make everyone aware, be specific of the company name, and look a little deeper into the company behind the sales person - and that sales person should not be hesitant to answer any question regarding fees, services, support, etc. And expecially - answer the question as to where the salesperson is located and how to contact.
With more and more regulation coming into this industry - it will be more and more costly to not check out what you are signing and how much you are truely paying. As any business owner knows more regulation means more expense to pass on - no one can guarantee savings - they can estimate what they will be charging you, but until you swipe that card the cost of it is unknown.
understanding
Hillsboro,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, October 08, 2009
Hello, I am an ex-employee of MPI. I was hired as a customer service representative in september of 2006. Right from the start I had a feeling this company would not be right for me. The office manager conducted my interview and told me the position I had applied for paid $13.50 - $16.50 an hour which as a young college student seemed incredible. I was called a few days later to say they were offering me the job at $10.50 an hour. As my only other interview had been canceled and I was desperate for ANY job, I agreed. This was my first customer service job and with no prior experience in the credit card processing industry I was about as Naive as you can be. Right away the blase attitude of the local sales reps in the office and the bizarre company policies such as a doctors note for one day sick (imagine the look on my doctors face when I asked for a note because I had a bad cold) started to flash some red lights. As customer service representatives we were trained that the customer is always wrong. They didn't read the contracts, they were adding wrong, they must have vandalized the terminal, you name it customers were accused of it. I quit that job in January of 2007 because I felt that the company had no right ripping off small business owners, or any business owner for that matter and the whole company was incredibly unethical to it's customers and those of us dealing with the reprocussions of their actions, it really ate at my conscience and I am deeply sorry if any of you had to deal with me during my employment there. I would like to let "helper" from Portland OR know that I also noticed that Aaron Rian is now a licensed Real Estate broker a few months back. I am currently training to obtain my license and through my many good, ethical contacts in the industry who are instructing me now, I have begun the process of finding out if there is a good ethical way to make sure any consumer who tries to work with him is at least alerted to his fraudulent past.
Helper
Portland,#4Consumer Suggestion
Sun, December 14, 2008
Hi My name is Hassan I'm an ISO, I own Merchant Services Company Express MPS Group partner with Digital Financial Group one of the best company Sponsored by wells Fargo and First Data. WOW I'm sorry you got Ripped off, by these guys. Do not sign a terminal lease if it's more than $30 a month. AND DON'T BUY A FREE CREDIT CARD MACHINE.BECAUSE IT'S A RIP OFF Read the contract very closely and keep a copy of it and tell the agent to wait for TOW days or comeback within TWO day so you have time to read the contract and look up their company @ www.ripoffreport.com when you decided to sign with them make sure you get your contract copy right a way. (Means) go to the copy machine and make your own copy of the contract you signed. WE ALL LEARNED FROM OUT MISTAKES This is some Consumer Guide on Merchant Services to help you choose your merchant service provider wisely. Merchant Services: Beware of Marketing Ploys Like any other business field, merchant service providers have their own jargon, inside information, heroes and villains. There are honest companies and those willing to say just about anything to close a sale. This is Consumer Guide on Merchant Services to help you choose your merchant service provider wisely. Don't Be Fooled By Marketing Tricks. In the field of merchant services, there are many price variables that can be manipulated to fool a customer into believing they are paying the lowest price, but in fact they are not. The merchant services industry is advertising a low discount rate. The discount rate can be temporarily manipulated through "introductory" offers which quickly expire. This is the rate that a merchant pays for a swiped card transaction, usually between 1.69% and 2.69% depending on credit, volume, product type and risk factors. Below are some marketing techniques and issues to be educated on. 1) "Merchant Accounts 1.09% 1.39% 1.59% and 1.64%!" When you see such an ad, click through and try to find the rate guaranteed and watch out when you see (guaranteed**) anywhere on the merchant services website. See if you can even find it ever mentioned again! Some advertising might grand-stand lower rates that are only given to extremely high volume customers. Once you have invested time into the application process, a savvy high pressure closer will explain with great charm and detail why your final rate wasn't as good as the one given to say, "A world wide fast food chain" but was still a great deal considering your risk factors. 2) "Free Merchant Account?" What does this mean!? The merchant account provider must charge a discount rate and per item transaction fee. Does that sound free? A free set-up fee can easily be exchanged with an "annual fee" or some other kind of hidden charge. 3) Hidden Charges: Another "switch" is simply substituting hidden charges that you won't discover until after you get your first bill. STEPS 1-Customer Service... Ask your sales agent what you can expect when you call their office for support. Who will answer the phone? Do they have one of those annoying automated system that takes you into a black hole, or do they have a live human answering the phone? What are the hours of operation? If you speak another language, do they have a translation service? If you have an emergency, is there a 24 hour telephone number? 2- Rate...You should not base your decision solely on price. Be weary of those that are offering extremely low rates. They may be padding the back end with additional fees. Qualified and non-qualified rates are determined by Visa/MasterCard. Look at their websites to determine what these credit card companies are charging your processor to run Visa/MasterCard transactions. If the rate is lower than this "set" rate, be cautious. Remember that your processor is a business, with expenses and employees to pay. 3 -Funding...How long will it take for your e-funds (funds from credit, debit, and e-checks) to be deposited into your bank account? The deposit or funding time is different with each processor. If your business needs daily cash flow to pay employees funding time could be very important to you. Processors fund anywhere from 24 hours to several days to even weeks. 4-Experience...How many years has the processor been in business? This can prove to be very important when a problem arises with your account or your equipment. Ensure they have the know-how to get things resolved, and fast! 5- Equipment...Long gone are the days of having to purchase costly equipment, or get stuck in a long lease. Leading processors are offering free equipment with new, approved merchant accounts. Understand that this is a free terminal placement while you are a current client of the processor. If you terminate the agreement, for any reason, you must return the equipment. Be cautious about processors who push new, costly, equipment. Unless you current equipment is not PCI compliant or network compliant, you should not have to upgrade. Do not sign a terminal lease if it's more than $30 a month If you have a lease and it's the end of the lease TERM make sure you call the lease company to cancel your lease, because IF YOU DON'T CALL THEM they will continue charging you. 6- Contract Term... Know if there is a contract term. If there is a contract term and you want to cancel the contract in the future what is the fee. Are there certain exceptions to this early-cancellation fee? TIP... Be honest with your processor about your business type, How much you process and the average ticket amount. Don't claim a $20.00 average ticket amount when your average ticket is around $200.00. This may see like a good idea to qualify for a "lower" rate but what will undoubtly happen is. After you run a few "abnormal" transactions, a red flag will go up at the risk department. They are looking for fraud. If your account has abnormal activity that might be fraudulent, they will freeze your account to minimize their exposure. Your account will be held until an investigation is completed. This can take months. Be honest and up front with your credit card processor to eliminate this hassle all together. WARNING Ask Questions. Be studious. Look at all contracts, really all the lines. Your processor can't realistically go over everything. It is your job to look the contract over and ask any questions you might have. Be weary of processors who are quick to get your signed without addressing all of your concerns. THANKS TO www.ripoffreport.com If you have any Question please feel free to email me. @ MY PERSONAL EMAIL (((ROR 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.
Honest Abe
Aloha,#5Consumer Comment
Wed, October 01, 2008
Aaron Rian owned and operated MPI. The FTC pursued him for fraud etc. You can see the settlement here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/mpi.shtm What is incredible is that this guy is a real estate agent in the Portland Oregon area and he advertises that he utilizes years of contract negotiation, finance, and marketing experience to help you get the best deal possible! Those years of experience were spent scamming people through the contract process ... so I guess basically he is saying he will use that experience and help you too. Don't deal with this guy.
Honest Abe
Aloha,#6Consumer Comment
Wed, October 01, 2008
Aaron Rian owned and operated MPI. The FTC pursued him for fraud etc. You can see the settlement here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/mpi.shtm What is incredible is that this guy is a real estate agent in the Portland Oregon area and he advertises that he utilizes years of contract negotiation, finance, and marketing experience to help you get the best deal possible! Those years of experience were spent scamming people through the contract process ... so I guess basically he is saying he will use that experience and help you too. Don't deal with this guy.
Honest Abe
Aloha,#7Consumer Comment
Wed, October 01, 2008
Aaron Rian owned and operated MPI. The FTC pursued him for fraud etc. You can see the settlement here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/mpi.shtm What is incredible is that this guy is a real estate agent in the Portland Oregon area and he advertises that he utilizes years of contract negotiation, finance, and marketing experience to help you get the best deal possible! Those years of experience were spent scamming people through the contract process ... so I guess basically he is saying he will use that experience and help you too. Don't deal with this guy.
Mike
LAKESIDE,#8Consumer Comment
Sat, April 26, 2008
My business was also ripped off by mpi, local sales person was Jack Kelly, most costly part was the bogus lease he told us we had to have for the cc machine., over a 4 year lease the machine cost us over $4600 ( we got a new one after cancelling mpi and going with nova for $269) we ( victums of the scum bag Jack( a**) Kelly, need to get in touch with each other (* in san diego area) and repeatidly take him to small claims court for the max by each of his victums. his last email address ( no good now, or mpi is covering for him) was [email protected]. address in san diego is 3111 camino del rio north 800 605-5581 ex 8979 or 800 442-8390 ( mpi headquarters phone numbers) lets get this dirtbag, find him, expose his info ( home and latest business address on the net) see if he can hid from us, or at least expose him for what he is.
James
San Diego,#9Author of original report
Wed, September 27, 2006
MPI finally cancelled my account. I had the cancellation fee they charged me reversed. I had filed a complaint with the BBB in OR. MPI responded, but completely bypassed the issues of the complaint, and basically refused to acknowledged it. It was left "unresolved to the complaintants satisfaction." I also filed reports with the CA Attorney General's Office, the OR Atty. Gen., and the FTC. The CA Dept. of Justice forwarded my report to MPI and LFG. LFG responed, saying they are releasing us of any further obligations of the lease of the Verifone equipment. I sent the Verifone back to them. I also retained an Attorney, who sent letters to MPI and the Leasing Company of the Verifone equipment, Lease Capitol Group, Inc (LCG). My attorney got a letter from LCF saying I was still liable for the lease. Apparently they sold or transferred the lease to LFG (unless they are two entities of the same company but they don't seem to know what the other is doing). Since LFG has released us from the lease, in a letter to the Dept. of Justice (Attorney General) of CA, and the equipment is returned, we consider the whole matter resolved and finished. With this, and as long as my Credit Report has not been damaged, we will no longer feel we any need to proceed with legal action. We will be satisfied the matter is resolved..
James
San Diego,#10Author of original report
Wed, September 27, 2006
Mr. George of Merchant Services, Inc.: If you go to the following webpage for the Better Business Bureau Reliability Report on Merchant Processing, Inc (MPI), it shows "MSI" and "Merchant Services Inc." as an additional DBA names, that's where I got the additional names for MPI, for the title of my original report here: http://www.thebbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=37003201. The Report is from the BBB serving Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. Perhaps there are two MSI's. Maybe you should look into them using your name as an additional DBA to see if they are doing so illegally. I don't know how to change the wording in the title of my origional report here, but if you are a completely separate company from MPI, then let the readers here know that my report is not about your company, but about Merchant Processing, Inc. in Beaverton, OR, and the people who operate it (and any past, present, and future operations they are involved with).
George
New Providence,#11REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, September 27, 2006
I am the president of MSI -Merchant Services Inc we have no affliation with MPI. I would like you to change the title and remove MSI and Merchant Services Inc. MSI prides itself in customer service and neither of those sales reps work for us. Thank You
George
New Providence,#12REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, September 27, 2006
I am the president of MSI -Merchant Services Inc we have no affliation with MPI. I would like you to change the title and remove MSI and Merchant Services Inc. MSI prides itself in customer service and neither of those sales reps work for us. Thank You
George
New Providence,#13REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, September 27, 2006
I am the president of MSI -Merchant Services Inc we have no affliation with MPI. I would like you to change the title and remove MSI and Merchant Services Inc. MSI prides itself in customer service and neither of those sales reps work for us. Thank You
George
New Providence,#14REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, September 27, 2006
I am the president of MSI -Merchant Services Inc we have no affliation with MPI. I would like you to change the title and remove MSI and Merchant Services Inc. MSI prides itself in customer service and neither of those sales reps work for us. Thank You
James
San Diego,#15Author of original report
Thu, August 03, 2006
I will update this report as it goes... 7/31: I sent an e-mail to the upper management of MPI explaining the whole sequence of events, and that I simply want the whole deal cancelled, including remission of the lease. I sent in full, detailed complaints to the Oregon Better Business Bureau (ref. # 22083618), the California Attorney General's Office, the Federal Trade Commission (ref. # 8738852), and am sending on into the Oregon Attorney General's Office. I am looking for a lawyer, and have talked to one already.