- Report: #226531
Complaint Review: Universal Merchant Services - Irvine California
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Universal Merchant Services
9012 Research Dr. Ste 200 Irvine, 92618 California, U.S.A.
Phone:
949-861-4000
Web:
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Universal Merchant Services Dishonest unethical credit card processing and billing Irvine California
Universal Merchant Services
We were sold processing services through this company on the premise that our costs would go down by $200 per month. The sales pitch was consistent: How soon do you want to start the savings? We offer a flat rate and you are going to save at least $200 per month.
The reality of course is very different. The credit card discounts matched the costs we have paid with Chase for ten years, but Universal Merchant Serices added "FEES", including an LLC fee of nearly $400 - really outrageous theft in my opininon. On our first full month statement, November 2006, this amount exceeds $1000 and increased our credit card processing costs by 30%.
The company is scamming - with fees and terminal leases. They are an unfortunate example of crooked business people that are unable or lacking in the intelligence to operate a business based on quality, integrity and sustainable customer relationships.
We quickly returned our processing to our previous bank. As for the credit card machine.
Ann
La Jolla, California
U.S.A.
We were sold processing services through this company on the premise that our costs would go down by $200 per month. The sales pitch was consistent: How soon do you want to start the savings? We offer a flat rate and you are going to save at least $200 per month.
The reality of course is very different. The credit card discounts matched the costs we have paid with Chase for ten years, but Universal Merchant Serices added "FEES", including an LLC fee of nearly $400 - really outrageous theft in my opininon. On our first full month statement, November 2006, this amount exceeds $1000 and increased our credit card processing costs by 30%.
The company is scamming - with fees and terminal leases. They are an unfortunate example of crooked business people that are unable or lacking in the intelligence to operate a business based on quality, integrity and sustainable customer relationships.
We quickly returned our processing to our previous bank. As for the credit card machine.
Ann
La Jolla, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Lydia
Costa Mesa,California,
U.S.A.
Read your contract before signing - ALWAYS!
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, January 01, 2007
Anne; I am an ex-employee of Merchant Services and would like to respond to your complaint. I can tell you without a doubt that Merchant Services does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract and the comparision you were most likely given by your sales rep. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden and you had to have intialed them in order to have been approved. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all. As a 9 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with. The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days. The bottom line is that there are something like 148 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it. Good luck and GOD Bless you.
