23 Updates & Rebuttals Read More About : Wholesale Merchant Services Inc.
WMS (Wholesale Merchant Services) contacted Smoky Mountain Racing Collectibles on November 17 , 2005 to review our credit card processing capability. Lance Ott, National Sales Director for WMS recommended that we upgrade to the Lipman 8000 wireless equipment stating that it would perform better than our existing Nurit 3010 satelite units. Lance Ott looked at 12 months of credit card processing statements from our current processor and told us we could save over $5639 per year. He told us we would save us enough to pay for the lease on the new Lipman 8000 units. This was a lie. The base charge was a lower rate but we were charged, minimum fees, fees from other companies for cell phone processing and Interchange fees. The savings stated by Lance Ott was definetly a falsehood aimed at getting a quick sale.
We were concerned about customer service but each question we raised was answered by a promise from Lance Ott. Lance Ott even said he was giving us his cell phone and home number to call if we had problems. (Both of these numbers turned out to be fax numbers.) He promised us that agents for WMS would be stationed in Knoxville Tennessee and if we needed them they would be available. We have not seen a person from WMS since November 17, 2005.
We installed the units on November 26, 2005. We immediately started experiencing problems with data transmission errors , authorization declined errors, and a variety of other errors. We would have to scan a customers card serveral times or run the terminal to the back door of the shop to get enough signal to process. I tried to call Lance Ott for help but his cell phone number was a fax line. I called Sandy Middleton, customer service manager, at WMS. I called TJ McNalty and Luke in Service. They finally referred me to Comstar. I would work with the help desk for CIT and the help desk at WMS and Comstar for approximately an hour each day to correct problems. Frequent resetting of the radio signal would temporarily correct some of the transmission problems. These machines do not work.
Finally after 5 days of problems, Comstar service person Dan Cmil told me that the equipment that we had been sold would not work in our area and definetly not in our building Dan Cmil at Comstar (800-211-1256 option 1 ext 127).
At this point the lease company representative Lorita Davis, CIT, tried to contact WMS to have them send new equipment. They would not take her call.
We stopped using the equipment and tried to cancel everything. MSI and Comstar both cancelled all service and accounts. But CIT would not cancel the lease until WMS returned the money they had received. We have spoken with Todd McCartney and Bret Taylor at WMS only after many, many calls. The only solution they want to offer is to install land line based machines.
We filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at thebbb.org . There were 30 complaints agaist WMS in the last 12 months but the BBB still had them listed as a Satisfactory.
We filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Oregon at www.doj.state.or.us. They have many complaints on file against WMS from all across the United States. They will provided this information to any lawyer.
We filed a complaint with Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs at www.state.tn.us/consumer.
We have hired a lawyer. Basically, WMS lied about the savings we would receive, sold equipment that would not work and refuses to replace with like(wireless) equipment and offered deplorable customer service.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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Helper
Portland,#2Consumer Suggestion
Mon, December 15, 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 more than 36month. AND DON'T BUY A FREE CREDIT CARD MACHINE.BECAUSE IT'S A RIP OFF. Dont let any merchant services pay off your Current lease,because they will put you on new lease,and that you will be paying more 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. (it Means) go to the copy machine and make your own copy of the contract you signed. WE ALL LEARN FROM OUR 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
Gloria
Cottonwood,#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, April 14, 2008
Been watching the many, many people who have been scammed by Independant Reps, who lie, forge, or use whatever means they can to not tell the customer that they will be facing the grips of Lease Finance Groups non- Cancellable-Lease. And I see there has been quite alot of comments on this post. Hopefully, one day, Lease Finance Group, can go down by having to pay every cent back. Believe it or not, they boast about how profitable POS equipment has been. Being a webmaster in this case, Todd McCartney, dummied up some websites to make himself look legitimate. Did notice that there were no more post after Oct. 2007: http://toddmccartney.org/ Here is what I've been telling others who found out about Lease Finance Group: This is so typical. Independent Rep comes and makes a deal, and then somewhere along the line Lease Finance Group Comes in and says you have a Irrevocable Lease and it doesn't matter what the Independent Rep Told You. When in reality, the Independent Rep is supposed to abide by the rules and explain everything, but doesn't. So as I said, the trick is, It is always the Other Guy!!! Irrevocable Leases should be OUTLAWED. As a recipient of this lease, were you told it was Irrevocable and at the time you purchased the equipment, where you given a Truth in Lending Statement of how much it would cost you over the life of the lease??? I don't know in your state, but in California, if a full disclosure is not given at the time of purchase, this is Fraudulent. I have been making this suggestion to many other people being RippedOff by CIT & Independent Reps. So far, I have received no additional calls since I did this plus told CIT that this was FRAUD & FORGERY. But who knows???? So check this out>>>> You may want to send a complaint to FTC (Federal Trade Commission). I did and received a response saying they don't do individual cases. However, if they log enough complaints, they will start an investigation and possibly legal action. So here is the link: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 to the FTC complaint forms. I've told many people about it, so you may want to do the same. Make sure you give specific examples or even let them know you have documentation of deceptive or misleading information. Please remember if things weren't CLEARLY disclosed at time of sale, this may be FRAUD in most states Also, you may want to file with your State Attorney General. I haven't given up, but it does take a while for the squeaky wheel to be heard. The lease finance group did file to the credit bureau as a lost debt. However, I recently refinanced my home. I showed the Financing Company all the correspondence I had with this company, plus the many RipOff Reports, and she had a great laugh and I got my loan at a very low interest rate. As far as CIT, here is their main site: http://www.cit.com/main/default.htm . Also, within this site, I found e-mails and have sent copies of my rip-off report, including a copy of all the complaints listed under Lease Finance Group in the Rip-Off site. Here are some e-mail addresses, you may want to send your concerns to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Just to let them know how you feel about their fraudulent relationships with Independent Sales Representatives. I did get the Rip-Off Report Do-It-Yourself Guide and it did have some good steps to follow. However, it was a little lacking in the cyberspace rip-offs. I've been paralleling the thoughts or ideas in this Guide to try to apply them to the internet. For example, instead of sending faxes, send e-mails. So every web site I am interested in, I look for e-mails and make up a group listing & start bombarding them with e-mails and include my rip-off report, plus any other rip-off concerns. I hope this helps. Thanks, G for California
Customer Service
Tigard,#4REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, April 08, 2008
I will not even validate the previous posting regarding Lance Ott with a detailed response. All I will say is the reason the deal was difficult to rectify is because Lance had taken in merchandise from the merchant and hid it from us at the office. Merchants should never trade merchandise with sales people, this is not a practice condoned by any ISO or processor, but a way for the sales consultant to get free stuff. Lance was fired after complaints from merchants became the norm. Lance was a good friend and I am sad to see him throw me under the bus in a weak attempt to clear his own name. The things being reported here are mainly personal attacks against me. Only two complaints are from dissatisfied customers; disgruntled former employees have written the remainder of the complaints posted. I have been in the credit card processing industry for approaching ten years and currently provide processing to over five thousand merchants nationwide. While I regret that we cannot please every customer; I feel that I myself, and my staff work very hard and it is common in any business to have problems arise now and then. As Diane from Tennessee stated we have apologized to her and refunded all of their money. As for the numerous complaints from past employees, I feel hurt and betrayed personally. I treat my employees like friends and family and I dread having to fire anyone, but in order to provide the best service possible to our merchants and to make our company a fun and profitable place to work, we have to lay-off the dishonest, unsuccessful, problematic sales people. I blame myself. Maybe I was too nice, too friendly. Maybe I should not have welcomed past employees into my home and socialized with them. I grew up without a lot of money and I had difficulty making friends. It was amazing to me when the popular kids who had ridiculed me showed up in my office asking me for a job, expressing their admiration regarding my newfound success. I was overly boastful when I first became successful. I financed ostentatious cars and homes. I apparently insulted employees whom I had thought were also my friends. As I watched one by one, my friends lied, cheated and stole from me personally, I had to fire them, and that was very difficult. I was manipulated into giving them chance after chance and personal loans because they treated me like a piggy bank. Most of the employees who have posted here owe me money for personal draws they took from the company and have not attempted to pay back. They are bitter that an underdog such as me became successful, so they attempt to tarnish my name and reputation. All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry to the merchants who have had difficulty with our service. I'm sorry to the employees who were not successful. I'm sorry for flaunting my newfound success. I was young and made poor choices. I have matured personally and professionally. I work over sixty hours a week and I am living a more modest lifestyle. I wish all of my past employees well and I would appreciate the opportunity to do right by any unsatisfied merchants. I am in this industry and in life to be the best I can be. I hope I can make my customers, employees and family proud.
Formal Employee
Beaverton,#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, February 21, 2008
It is true that the only person to benefit from the fraudulent business practices mastered by WMS and now, WMP, was and is the owner, Mr. Todd McCartney. In this particular case, however, Darlene is dead wrong, and out of her mind, to say the least. I was trained my National Sales Director, Lance Ott, and I have never met a more honest and ethical person in my life. Furthermore, I was present during the sales call to Smoky Mtn. Racing Collectibles, and although we were initially greeted by Darlene, we presented our offer to her husband, who worked from an entirely different location! In other words, Darlene was not even present for the presentation!!! I still have his business card with his cell number (CLEARLY PRINTED ON THE FRONT), and believe it or not, it works!!! I can also tell you from personal experience that any decision to alter or modify any service can only come from the top - meaning Mr. McCartney. His typical response to returning any fees or to returning any funds earned from a lease is, and has always been - F--- THEM! This is exactly why you can find so many complaints on his "businesses" here on the ripoff report. Unfortunately many good people are hurt professionally, personally, and financially when angry and simple-minded individuals illegitimately and inaccurately "report" being scammed or taken advantage of. In this case, Darlene was ANGRY, WRONG, and HATEFUL in the way that she handled this issue, and I must add that professionalism works in all directions. Let's all work together to strengthen our industry through unfaltering honesty, integrity, and loyalty!! Thank You.
Bryan
La Grande,#6Consumer Comment
Fri, July 20, 2007
If you are getting a class action suit together then contact me. I have been harrassed by them for 2 years. I have made phone calls and written letters to no avail. I posted a complaint on here 5/26/2006. ripoffreport.com/reports/0/193/RipOff0193116.htm I have a file full of documentation including a check for $150 to pay for the "Free 90 day trial period." The check, of course, was fraudulent and has never been cashed. They only got $90.27 from me as I figured out there scam almost as soon as they had me. I cancelled my bank account when the first withdrawals didn't match what they told me they would be. The amount I lost wasn't much but they have ruined my credit rating and harrassed me on the phone for 2 years. Let's get 'em back.
Sandy
Beaverton, OR,#7UPDATE Employee
Thu, November 16, 2006
Mark, I apologize for not addressing your concern regarding the affiliation between WMS and CMS; however, I was overwhelmed by your numerous complaints. As earlier stated, we have no current affiliation with CMS and have never been involved in any lawsuits, past, present or pending. When Mr. McCartney began working in the credit card processing industry he went through CMS as a backend processor. He had problems with CMS, as did many CMS customers, and parted ways with CMS prior to any lawsuits being filed. He simply chose the name CMS to make the applications less confusing for customers. This can be verified by (( link removed by ROR))website, where the names of the executives from the Texas based company, CMS, who were sued are listed. Neither Todd McCartney nor his former company CMS of Oregon are listed in the lawsuit, I hope this clears up any confusion you may have. As you can tell by the time that I have taken to respond to the Rip-Off Report postings, we value customer services and would like the opportunity to do right by you. Unfortunately, we have no record of a business owner named Mark in the Beaverton area and you have not given us the name of your business or the sales person with whom you met. I am beginning to question your honesty and wonder if this is a personal attack on Mr. McCartney rather than a bad business experience as you claim. Please post the name of your business to validate your credibility. In addition, we would appreciate you contacting those merchants that you claim are dissatisfied and asking them to contact Mr. McCartney directly at 866-520-1667 extension 301 to resolve all of there issues they may have regarding their credit card processing. We currently have no knowledge of any pending complaints. Lastly, we encourage any customers in need of assistance to contact us at 1-866-520-1667. In response to your accusations that our office or Sandy was involved in a drug bust, frankly, that is completely untrue. We have actually contacted the Beaverton Police Department at 503-629-0111 due to the harassment you have aimed at WMS, Todd McCartney and Sandy. The police officer stated that in his opinion this appears to be a stocking case, due to things such as the mention of the photograph you have of Mr. McCartney's car. In addition, the police department had no knowledge of a drug bust anywhere on Sunshine Ct, and did not have any idea what you were referring to. Furthermore, I am not sure how the buying and selling of cars or homes has any relevance to the accusations you have made. If you would like to stop by the office of WMS or call Mr. McCartney on the telephone, he would be more than happy to speak with you as he is curious to meet the man behind these claims.
Mark
Beaverton,#8Consumer Comment
Wed, November 08, 2006
Looks like Mr. McCartney (The mastermind behind this fraud ring) has now sold the Orange Lamborghini, and the house that was listed above in NW Portland and now resides in Tigard, OR the latest address is: 13859 SW 159TH TER TIGARD, OR 97223 at least this is the report that we got. If you have a complaint you may want to visit him there. It looks like we should have all the information that we need by mid December to proceed with the class action.
Mark
Beaverton,#9Consumer Comment
Mon, November 06, 2006
Sandy, What about your affiliation that is clearly stated in black and white that you are affiliated with Certified Merchant Services? You denied it above and when we posted the direct information to the secretary of state website you don't comment. What is the truth if you haven't told so many lies that you forget what the truth is? Guess what Sandy. We know something about you and your company. The investigators that we have hired have found out lots of nice info. Your home addresses the drug bust by the police when they came to your office on Sunshine Court which can be verified by contacting the Beaverton police department. Currently we have over 38 merchants that have been defrauded by this scam artist company reffered to as wholesale merchant services. We are trying to turn this into a class action and shut this place down. See Sandy all these merchants that you ignore and don't return calls to (don't deny it or I will start posting names and numbers of your upset clients so everyone can verify) are pretty upset. Your lying is only doing one thing. Making one guy rich. Look out your office window and look at his orange lamborghini I have a picture of it right here on my desk. By the way nice vanity plate. This company will go down. Ig uess the only question is will you and Lance Ott go down with it?
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#10Author of original report
Wed, October 11, 2006
Just a quick rebuttal to Sandy at WMS about her last post. Sandy, I can not answer as to the honesty of your entire company. However, I can refute your last post. Your salesman, Lance Ott, of whom you speak so highly, did tell us he was giving us his home phone number and personal cell number. Both of these numbers turned out to be fax numbers when we tried to contact Lance. Lance did not contact us even once while our problems were ocurring. Lance's second line of contact was your number to ring straight to your desk. When I spoke to you about this after your first rebuttal, you stated that you did not ask him to give you as a contact. You also did not return our calls.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#11Author of original report
Wed, October 11, 2006
Just a quick rebuttal to Sandy at WMS about her last post. Sandy, I can not answer as to the honesty of your entire company. However, I can refute your last post. Your salesman, Lance Ott, of whom you speak so highly, did tell us he was giving us his home phone number and personal cell number. Both of these numbers turned out to be fax numbers when we tried to contact Lance. Lance did not contact us even once while our problems were ocurring. Lance's second line of contact was your number to ring straight to your desk. When I spoke to you about this after your first rebuttal, you stated that you did not ask him to give you as a contact. You also did not return our calls.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#12Author of original report
Wed, October 11, 2006
Just a quick rebuttal to Sandy at WMS about her last post. Sandy, I can not answer as to the honesty of your entire company. However, I can refute your last post. Your salesman, Lance Ott, of whom you speak so highly, did tell us he was giving us his home phone number and personal cell number. Both of these numbers turned out to be fax numbers when we tried to contact Lance. Lance did not contact us even once while our problems were ocurring. Lance's second line of contact was your number to ring straight to your desk. When I spoke to you about this after your first rebuttal, you stated that you did not ask him to give you as a contact. You also did not return our calls.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#13Author of original report
Wed, October 11, 2006
Just a quick rebuttal to Sandy at WMS about her last post. Sandy, I can not answer as to the honesty of your entire company. However, I can refute your last post. Your salesman, Lance Ott, of whom you speak so highly, did tell us he was giving us his home phone number and personal cell number. Both of these numbers turned out to be fax numbers when we tried to contact Lance. Lance did not contact us even once while our problems were ocurring. Lance's second line of contact was your number to ring straight to your desk. When I spoke to you about this after your first rebuttal, you stated that you did not ask him to give you as a contact. You also did not return our calls.
Sandy
Beaverton,#14UPDATE Employee
Tue, October 10, 2006
James was let go after numerous merchant complaints of dishonest, misleading sales practices. Wholesale Merchant Services terminated James because we have never and will never condone lying to our merchants in order to obtain a sale. We feel that the reason James is lying in his complaint and making accusations regarding drug and alcohol use is to discredit Mr. McCartney due to the fact that he was terminated and had no other recourse against him or Wholesale Merchant Services. Todd McCartney did not achieve success overnight he has worked for the last 7 years to build a reputable nation wide company that is registered with multiple BBB offices with out any pending or unsatisfied complaints. Wholesale Merchant Services' sales consultants like Lance Ott do not obtain success by over charging the merchants or breaking the lease cap set forth by the leasing company. In fact Lance is successful because he is willing to give out his cell phone number to his merchants so he can personally and quickly solve any and all issues his merchants may have. This is directly contradicting James's statement where he claims he was told not to give out his cell phone number. As head of the customer service department it is my responsibility to resolve complaints; I am not attempting damage control. I take my job seriously, I value integrity and work hard to address complaints even if I have to respond to lies and slander. Wholesale Merchant Services is a great place to work; we value each and every merchant as if they were a member of our family.
James
Gresham,#15UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, August 11, 2006
I am a former employee of WMS of Beaverton Or. I was lied to by the president of WMS, Mr. Todd McCartney, and was taught deceptive practices in order to better 'sell' WMS's credit card processing solution. I did use Mr. McCartney's program to deceive business owners; even going so far as to believe the lies I was repeating. I did witness Mr. McCartney lie to business owners about things that seemed trivial to me at the time, like was he the owner of the company he was representing. (Maybe the Rolex gave him away)He denied being the owner. Initially, I was invited to 'party' with Mr. McCartney and his cohorts, consisting mainly of sycophantic employees and groupies. I quickly jumped onboard as my magpie complex allowed me to be distracted by all of Mr. McCartney's shiney toys. His house (on skyline) is amazing. I envisioned my own house on the hills as I toured his house, drank liquor from his tall liquor cabnets, smoked high-grade pot from his blown-glass bong collection, shot hoop in his indoor basketball court, and gazed longingly at the lights of Portland below. Too bad Mr. McCartney is the only benefactor of the shady operation he runs. When Mr McCartney threw an alcohol and drug fueled tantrum later that night, his employees made excuses for him. Later, even his closest employees confided in me and expressed their disdain for Mr. McCartney including his behavior of that night, which I found was not a unique event. I am foolish, but I don't fancy myself stupid. I asked direct questions and listened to evasive and circular answers. I would sometime ask questions I already knew the answer to just to see what I would be told. I was lied to on several occasions. I was told not to give out my cell number or disclose our owners name. I was also told that printing out a copy of the Excel program we used to show (false) savings was the quickest way to be fired. (The spreadsheet is an extremely deceptive use of the merchant's current rates and fees.) I do not recommend this company except as an example of how to do bad business. I cannot comment intelligently about Mr. McCartneys affiliation with Certified Merchant Services except that I did notice references to CMS in the WMS "Platinum Presentation" training manual I was given and told to be able to repeat from rote. The way Mr. Lance Ott is so successful is by writing huge lease deals that surpass the leasing cap set for such equipment by the leasing company. This is circumvented by equipment being 'written in'. The leasing company will not fund a lease of 199.99/mo for a single pin-pad, but will fund 199.99/mo for three pin-pads and three terminals. Most of this equipment exists only as ink on paper. I would think that an audit of Mr McCartneys business would yield informative information and probably even some criminal charges. My hope is that this will refute Sandys pitiful attempt at damage control and provide a true insiders look at this shady company which has made MILLIONS for Mr. McCartney by ripping off business owners around the country. Not only does Mr. McCartney cheat business owners, he cheats his sales staff by offering them pecentages of equipment sales, but not a bit of the true money in this industry; the residuals.
Mark
Beaverton,#16Consumer Suggestion
Fri, July 21, 2006
This company Wholessale Merchant Services is owned and operated by a Mr. Todd McCartney. He is affiliated as he owns both Certified Merchant Services and Wholesale Merchant Services. This can be verified by visiting the state corporations site at www.Filinginoregon.com. This is just another example of the dishonesty of ALL Wholesale Merchant Services employees. We have been working with specialists to investigate this company for over a year and have binders of valuable information that outline this companies fraudulant practices. We know that Mr. McCartney drives around Beaverton and Northwest Portland in a Bentley and lives at this address 9658 NW SKYLINE HEIGHTS DR PORTLAND, OR 97229. Pay him a visit and ask him face to face about his dishonest and fraudulant business practices. Although his house is currently up for sale. Maybe his address got out and had too many angry customers visiting his door step. We have been giving this information out to all other merchants that this company has screwed in the past and we are not going away any time soon. There are several merchants throughout the country that we have been in contact with in Tennessee, Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota trying to get a class action put together. Good luck to you Mr. McCartney and everyone affiliated with your organization. You will need it.
Sandy
Beaverton, OR,#17UPDATE Employee
Mon, June 05, 2006
Wholesale Merchant Services is a very reputable company that really cares for our merchants and their issues. WMS did not lie to these merchants, we checked the coverage for the wireless terminals on several different occasions and was informed by that companies coverage that there was 100% coverage for there location before we ever signed them up for that service. The merchant claims that they were charged hidden fees that again is not true ALL fees charged by the processor is disclosed in the application in normal print. We took this complaint very seriously when we were made aware of it; there is a certain process we have to take in a situation of this magnitude. The first step was to try everything in our power to solve the problem and satisfy the merchant, when that did not work we canceled everything and refunded back ALL the money they paid. We even obtained a letter of satisfaction from this merchant. The merchant says we have pending complaints with the Better Business Bureau that is simply not true; we have a satisfactory record with them and will continue to work closely with them to solve any issue we may have. I would also like to dispute the false claim that we have issues with the Attorney Generals office in Oregon and the Federal Trade Commission that is also not true we work diligently with those agencies anytime there is anything that needs attention. We have NO pending or unsolved complaints with any agency in the country. WMS cares about each individual merchant no matter what the issue is we can and will work to solve and satisfy the merchant no matter how big or small the issue may be. WMS would also like to take this opportunity to say we have NO affiliation with Certified Merchant Services or the lawsuit pertaining to them.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#18Author of original report
Wed, April 19, 2006
(((Ed, I am the girl from Tennessee you spoke to on Tuesday night.))) Thank you ripoffreport.com for helping us resolve our problem. As I reported on 4/5/2006 Wholesale Merchant Services wrote a letter of apology and cancelled all contracts and leases with Smoky Mountain Racing Collectibles. We received a refund for our lease payment just this week. Overall ripoffreport.com saved us over $15000. This is wonderful. I think this problem resolution was definitely an answer to prayer. If the staff member from VISA would not have seen the ripoff report and called me, I don't think the problem would have been resolved as quickly. The person from VISA told me that she routinely watches ripoffreport.com for potential problems. WOW what a recomendation for ripoffreport.com!!!!! Wholesale Merchant Services has requested that I update the report and say that they have satisfied all our problems. They also requested that this report be removed from ripoffreport.com. I will say, as I did on 4/5/2006, that they gave in and cancelled all contracts and leases but that the report needs to stay. I would like to think that the problems that we experienced with Wholesale Merchant Services were unusual or rare, but in my opinion, they are not. I have read many complaints against Wholesale Merchant Services from the Oregon Attorney Generals office and the Federal Trade Comission. Many of these complaints outline the same type of unfair and deceptive sales practices(lies and half truths) that we experienced. Anyone may access these reports through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Log on to ftc.gov and click on the FOIA link and submit the name and address of the company for which you want reports. It will take a few weeks, but they will send you the information they have on file. The Oregon Attorney Generals Office may also be accessed online and a request made for FOIA information. I also believe for every complaint that is filed, there are other customers suffering in silence. I hope they read this report and continue their fight.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#19Author of original report
Wed, April 19, 2006
(((Ed, I am the girl from Tennessee you spoke to on Tuesday night.))) Thank you ripoffreport.com for helping us resolve our problem. As I reported on 4/5/2006 Wholesale Merchant Services wrote a letter of apology and cancelled all contracts and leases with Smoky Mountain Racing Collectibles. We received a refund for our lease payment just this week. Overall ripoffreport.com saved us over $15000. This is wonderful. I think this problem resolution was definitely an answer to prayer. If the staff member from VISA would not have seen the ripoff report and called me, I don't think the problem would have been resolved as quickly. The person from VISA told me that she routinely watches ripoffreport.com for potential problems. WOW what a recomendation for ripoffreport.com!!!!! Wholesale Merchant Services has requested that I update the report and say that they have satisfied all our problems. They also requested that this report be removed from ripoffreport.com. I will say, as I did on 4/5/2006, that they gave in and cancelled all contracts and leases but that the report needs to stay. I would like to think that the problems that we experienced with Wholesale Merchant Services were unusual or rare, but in my opinion, they are not. I have read many complaints against Wholesale Merchant Services from the Oregon Attorney Generals office and the Federal Trade Comission. Many of these complaints outline the same type of unfair and deceptive sales practices(lies and half truths) that we experienced. Anyone may access these reports through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Log on to ftc.gov and click on the FOIA link and submit the name and address of the company for which you want reports. It will take a few weeks, but they will send you the information they have on file. The Oregon Attorney Generals Office may also be accessed online and a request made for FOIA information. I also believe for every complaint that is filed, there are other customers suffering in silence. I hope they read this report and continue their fight.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#20Author of original report
Wed, April 19, 2006
(((Ed, I am the girl from Tennessee you spoke to on Tuesday night.))) Thank you ripoffreport.com for helping us resolve our problem. As I reported on 4/5/2006 Wholesale Merchant Services wrote a letter of apology and cancelled all contracts and leases with Smoky Mountain Racing Collectibles. We received a refund for our lease payment just this week. Overall ripoffreport.com saved us over $15000. This is wonderful. I think this problem resolution was definitely an answer to prayer. If the staff member from VISA would not have seen the ripoff report and called me, I don't think the problem would have been resolved as quickly. The person from VISA told me that she routinely watches ripoffreport.com for potential problems. WOW what a recomendation for ripoffreport.com!!!!! Wholesale Merchant Services has requested that I update the report and say that they have satisfied all our problems. They also requested that this report be removed from ripoffreport.com. I will say, as I did on 4/5/2006, that they gave in and cancelled all contracts and leases but that the report needs to stay. I would like to think that the problems that we experienced with Wholesale Merchant Services were unusual or rare, but in my opinion, they are not. I have read many complaints against Wholesale Merchant Services from the Oregon Attorney Generals office and the Federal Trade Comission. Many of these complaints outline the same type of unfair and deceptive sales practices(lies and half truths) that we experienced. Anyone may access these reports through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Log on to ftc.gov and click on the FOIA link and submit the name and address of the company for which you want reports. It will take a few weeks, but they will send you the information they have on file. The Oregon Attorney Generals Office may also be accessed online and a request made for FOIA information. I also believe for every complaint that is filed, there are other customers suffering in silence. I hope they read this report and continue their fight.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#21Author of original report
Wed, April 19, 2006
(((Ed, I am the girl from Tennessee you spoke to on Tuesday night.))) Thank you ripoffreport.com for helping us resolve our problem. As I reported on 4/5/2006 Wholesale Merchant Services wrote a letter of apology and cancelled all contracts and leases with Smoky Mountain Racing Collectibles. We received a refund for our lease payment just this week. Overall ripoffreport.com saved us over $15000. This is wonderful. I think this problem resolution was definitely an answer to prayer. If the staff member from VISA would not have seen the ripoff report and called me, I don't think the problem would have been resolved as quickly. The person from VISA told me that she routinely watches ripoffreport.com for potential problems. WOW what a recomendation for ripoffreport.com!!!!! Wholesale Merchant Services has requested that I update the report and say that they have satisfied all our problems. They also requested that this report be removed from ripoffreport.com. I will say, as I did on 4/5/2006, that they gave in and cancelled all contracts and leases but that the report needs to stay. I would like to think that the problems that we experienced with Wholesale Merchant Services were unusual or rare, but in my opinion, they are not. I have read many complaints against Wholesale Merchant Services from the Oregon Attorney Generals office and the Federal Trade Comission. Many of these complaints outline the same type of unfair and deceptive sales practices(lies and half truths) that we experienced. Anyone may access these reports through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Log on to ftc.gov and click on the FOIA link and submit the name and address of the company for which you want reports. It will take a few weeks, but they will send you the information they have on file. The Oregon Attorney Generals Office may also be accessed online and a request made for FOIA information. I also believe for every complaint that is filed, there are other customers suffering in silence. I hope they read this report and continue their fight.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#22Author of original report
Wed, April 05, 2006
Finally, after 4 months of calls, Wholesale Merchant Services has cancelled all contracts and leases. If you are in a similar situation, don't give up. Call and ask to speak to the president of credit card processing company. They employee WMS as a selling agent. If this doesn't work, go to the bank that is listed on the application and ask to speak to the person in charge of the ISO's (Independent Sales Organization). Don't give up.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#23Author of original report
Wed, April 05, 2006
Finally, after 4 months of calls, Wholesale Merchant Services has cancelled all contracts and leases. If you are in a similar situation, don't give up. Call and ask to speak to the president of credit card processing company. They employee WMS as a selling agent. If this doesn't work, go to the bank that is listed on the application and ask to speak to the person in charge of the ISO's (Independent Sales Organization). Don't give up.
Darlene
Pigeon Forge,#24Consumer Suggestion
Wed, March 15, 2006
After much research, I have found that the Federal Trade Commission has previously prosecuted another credit card ISO (independent sales organization)called Certified Merchant Services. They were required to pay 23.5 million in damages to it's customers. If you know anyone who has been affected by Wholesale Merchant Services unfair and deceptive billing practices, please have them file a complaint with the FTC and mention case number 012-3193.