We are a small business in our 4th month of business and our card processor first data decides to hold ALL of our money from ALL of our batches, sends a letter stating "unusual high dollar amount" "unusual method of processing keyed sales"
So they tell us in this letter that we need to provide information on 5 of the transactions from our credit card batch, and of course we imidiatly sent that information to the fax they provided, then we follow up the next day and Mr Phillip Brokenbaugh informs us he is going to contact all of these customers witch was fine and he did so, another day goes by and next we start getting voicemail and not him personally witch is where it still stands,
in addtion to this every time we contact them they have wanted more and more information, then we had a guy show up in person to take photos of our business and see our inventory etc witch we happily let him do, we have a retail location and also take a lot of orders on the phone but we are a 100% ligitamant business, we have provided countless info and still THEY HOLD ALL of our money and the risk managment department convienently cant be reached now and thats even by their own internal company so they say.
Its clear that the only fraud happening here is first data, we have now only have 24hrs to pay our rent or our landloard will evict us and we will be forced to close our doors and all of our customers will loose all of their money to these frraudsters and our lost business. I cannot stress enough that you want to AVOID EVER dealing with first data becasue we are NOT a high risk business, we have been verified over and over and they have NO grounds for Holding our money and obviosly want to put us out of business. $8000+ dollars held more than 10 days with no end in site.
Checks written on Money Network checks may bounce. I will never again accept one as payment and would advise you to use extreme caution in accepting one.
As a merchant/landlord I received a rent payment from my renter’s roomate written using a Money Network check. I deposited it and it was returned by my bank. I then called the phone number on the check to verify and, of course, it was no good. The problem is that, unlike a normal check, there is no maker information on the check and Money Network will not release that information.
Since the check was made out to me rather than the renter, only I can file a complaint with the police; the “roommate” has disappeared. However I need Money Network’s cooperation to do that.
If you listen carefully to the recording at the verification number given on the checks ( 866-845-9322 ) you will hear an option to “press 2” if you are a merchant who has received a bad check. When you do that you are directed to fax a copy of the check, along with your contact information, to 901-371-8120 and are told you will receive a reply "within 72 hours". However, there is not fax at that number. 901-371-8120 will pick up and a recording will tell you the number has been disconnected! You are SOL!
I’m presently trying to contact Money Network through the credit card division. I’ve asked them to let me know who to serve with subpoena for depositor information. If they come back with uncooperative answers like other posters have commented on , eg fax your drivers license to this number… we have not received your fax, etc. I will be contacting the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions first.tn.gov/Complaints/UI/ and 1-800-778-4215 to file a complaint.
Alternatively one can file a complaint at:
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010
1-800-613-6743
occ.treas.gov
I’m listing the above information in case there are others out there who have tried to fax check information to Money Network at 901-371-8120 and have found the number to be disconnected.
I feel like such a fool. I was totally ripped off. In 2013 I changed my credit card processing company to Capital One. The salesmen with Capital One convinced me that I needed a new credit card processing machine that accepted smart cards. He told me that was all that would be used by 2014 in the US. He told me that I could obtain one through a lease through Capital One with First Data. I stupidly signed the contract. Of course I should have read the fine print but I trusted him. This is how they rip you off. THE CONTRACT IS NON CANCELLABLE WHICH MEANS EXACTLY AS IT SOUNDS. YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE LEASE. I WAS TOLD BY THE SALESPERSON THAT THE CONTRACT WAS FOR 2 YEARS IT IS FOR 4. AS A RESULT I AM PAYING $1248.00 IN LEASE PAYMENTS FOR A MACHINE THAT I CAN BUY NEW FOR BETWEEN 200.00 AND 300.00 US DOLLARS. NOT ONLY THAT BUT AFTER THE LEASE IS UP YOU HAVE TO PAY BETWEEN 100.00 TO 300.00 TO PURCHASE THE MACHINE WHICH NOW MAKES THE COST OF THE MACHINE ANYWHERE FROM 1348.00 TO 1548.00. I AM REALLY SURPRISED THAT CAPITAL ONE AS AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM TO RIP OFF THEIR CUSTOMERS. ONCE AGAIN MY FAITH IN HUMANITY IS TESTED. THEY PRACTICE BAD BAD BUSINESS AND AN EVIL COMPANY PRAYING ON TRUSTING AND STUPID PEOPLE LIKE ME.
First off when we first signed up they made there company sound like GOLD first off they made it seem that it was beanstream the provider but then we find out its actually FIRST DATA, So what ever we did not think anything of it until today we first started using beanstream aka First data last week and when we started to find things funny
Every time we took a charge (2 charges) the withdrew $50.00 out of our company account, Then they charge fee's so I contacted them and beanstream says it was first data and first data says its Beanstream.
After hours dealing with them I just finally gave up. But here is the problem the money that was susposed to be deposited into our account never came, So I called back and they said monday was a holiday so it would be done no later then wendsday today is wendsday and again nothing so I called back and they kept giving multipul stories finally on the 16th time I called they said that the security department is holding the funds for review so finally after an hour of calling back I finally got a hold of someone at the security department 1-800-321-4860 ext 8454607 she then told me that she asked her manager to relase it and it was approved I decided to call back 40 min later and they confirmed...
I checked the my client data base and it still does not show so I called them back 10:40Pm now I am at the 30th call to them today and they lady in custormer service says NO that the money is still being held and will not be relased until I call back again in the morning and that there is no notes that I called today to speak with them at all.
I called back leaving them there final message and last chance before I take legal actions against them especially after I found 4 websites with over 400 complaints about this legal SCAM that they get away with.
They hide behind the phones, The girl I spoke to even laughed at me on the phone with 100% disrespect.
They might thing they are unstopable but guess what they messed with the wrong guy with top of the line attorneys. And a guy that knows almost everybody and today they will know what it means when you screw inocent people from there hard working money!!!
I contacted my client in order to get the money in cash or in cheque but he refused because his credit card was charged, and first data refuses to let us refund his card to obtain another way to get our hard earned money!!!
First Data Corp has recently terminated thousands of Merchant Accounts for Credit Card Processing without notice to the Merchants in advance. When contacted, they state that they are positioning themselves for an IPO. A check of this reveals that they are owned by KKR Corporation, a company that is mainly in the oil and gas business and which is desirous to spin off First Data now that it has recently eeked out a small profit. KKr intends to use the money from the IPO to buy distressed oil and gas stocks/entities.
First Data has also used the "small print" language in their contracts to HOLD and NOT RELEASE up to several days worth of Merchant charges from between February 5, 2013 and February 9, 2013, all of which they allowed to be processed by Merchants without notice of the impending intent to shut-down several classifications of merchant types. The "HOLD" period is for up to six months according to their buried contract terms. Accordingly, it appears that they are using the held funds and any "reserve" (a percentage of the total sales they withold for security in case a Merchant closes their doors and disappears and incurs subsequent chargebacks) from the dienfranchised Merchants to pad their balance sheets in advance of the planned IPO to make their initial financials appear better for the offering.
There was NO prior notice provided to the affected Merchants and several are now unable to gain access to their funds and are in danger of facing imminent closure for lack of access of funds. (And yet, they unequivacally expect the Merchants to ship out and provide goods and services without being paid for such goods or services.) Several will face bankruptcy, many employees will lose their jobs when the businesses close, landlords will lose tenants and tax money will be uncollected.
If you do business with First Data (or they process your credit card receipts, BEWARE. You are likely to be next in line when they try to boost their book value for the IPO. This information can easily be found on line by researching KKR company and the CEO of First Data. Further, merchant credit card processors are one of the most UNREGULATED industries in the financial sector, and NOT SUBJECT to the myriad rules and regulations that apply to most other financial institutions.
This was the second complait I wrote about this SCAMMER, because they had send me two letters by mail.
The first letter they asked me to pay $210.03. The second letter they asked me to pay $445.42. I NEVER signed up this company merchandise account, and I had NEVER heard about this SCAMMER before until I received the first letter they had send me.
In both letters, they mentioned, if I don't give them any dollars they will report me to credit reporting agency to affect my personal credit scores.
According to these two letters content, they are not only SCAMMER, but also FRAUD CREDIT and steal my credit info.
One more thing, at the bottom of the letter the address is different from the letter head, which they asked me to sent dollars to them. The address is P.O. BOX 17548 DENVER CO 80217
I am small busines owner and open online store Rainbow, which was registered in SF county. So far, I NEVER make business out of state.
Please help us these small business owners stop scams!!!
December 8th, someone in Florida used my card number to make purchases at Staples and Family Dollar.
I called Money Network on December 9th after I had tried to get a prescription filled for my sick son and found out my account had been emptied during those two transactions. I was told I would need to file a dispute with Money Network and I would have a "probationary" return of the money stolen from my account within ten days of the form being sent to them.
Nine days later, I received a fax from them stating they needed either a copy of my drivers license or proof of residency faxed to them to proceed with the dispute. I faxed them a copy of my drivers license.
On the tenth day, I called and questioned where the process was and was told they had not received any of the forms I had faxed. So, I refaxed everything to them for a SECOND time.
Exactly, one month later, I am STILL fighting with these people to have my money that was stolen from my account returned to me. I am told there is no direct phone number for their dispute dept. The only thing I can do is AGAIN refax all my dispute paperwork to them for a THIRD time.
This is a horrible nightmare and very, very poor customer service in regards to returning stolen money. Aren't banks supposed to be federally insured????!!!
Today I received the letter from the First Data Merchant Services, which shows that they wanted to collect me $210.03. I am the owner of my business, I NEVER NEVER NEVER use this company merchandise account. And I didn't not hear this company before.
It seems this company is SCAM. The head letter address shows 5251 Westheimer Road, Houston TX 77056-5404. And at the bottom of the letter address shows P.O. BOX 17548, Denver CO 80217-7548.
One more thing the letter doesn’t look like formal business letter at all. It donut’s show their company at the letter head. And they gave me a litter pressure in the letter, which shows if I don’t may a payment within 10 days , they will report to the credit reporting agency and affect my personal credit score.
According to the letter content and my business experience, I am sure this company seems SCAM.
I hope I could give another small business owners alert.
1. I noticed a billing item on our credit card which we questioned: CCD DEBIT to GODADDYPS, $19.95
2. Called Godaddy billing and was told:
a. additional fee was due to PCI compliance
b. I should contact Merchant Services
3. Called Merchant Services and was told that I had to register for PCI compliance and after I did the extra charges could be waived. No one had emailed us about this before hand and we were not given an explanation of the extra charges and what could be done to reduce the additional costs.
Merchant services said they could not assist. Advised that I call TransArmor Support.
4. TransArmor support called. They said they could not assist. Advised to contact PCI compliance.
5. PCI compliance provided url to register which turned out to be an old no longer to be used url. They also said that our company name had not been added to their portal. How can a company charge for anything when the company information is not even in their portal? They would request the addition, which would allow us to register, which would in turn eliminate the non compliance surcharge.
They said this would take 24 hours.
6. Called back after 24 hours and was told it should take 48 hours.
7. Called back after 48 hours and was told it could take a week. Called back today (1 week) and was told that our business name had not been added to the portal. Service Rep advised she would send an email to the TransArmor management team.
Got a letter from Money Network addressed to my 19-year-old son and tossed in the pile of didn't-ask-for-it credit card offers to shred later. Several months later, as I am going about the aforementioned shredding, I found out this was something far more egregious than a credit card solicitation.
They are telling my son that they are upgrading his account to a Premier Account (the "account" was some ridiculousness where he got his paycheck on a debit card instead of actual money, I think this was from when he worked at Best Buy). The letter says they need to verify his identity as required by the USA PATRIOT Act, and to do so, he must send them his passport, driver's license, social security card, voter's registration card and/or school identification card.
But the letter assures that the personal information they collect will be protected in accordance with their privacy policy, which makes me feel SO much better! (/sarcasm off)
Have you ever seen a more blatant attempt at identity theft?
I'm a contract worker who earns pretty decent pay. I recently finished a one year contract, was unemployed and looking for three months, then landed another one year job in another state. It was the second day after I arrived at my new home that my troubles with ADP/First data, and their Totalpay debit card began.
Now, the card says "ADP TotalPay Card", but I think First Data corp is the actual company. Written on the card is the statement that "this card is owned by MetaBank" and also "visit us at www.moneynetwork.com". That website is owned by First Data corp. So while I cannot be certain exactly who I'm dealing with, I can say with conviction that whoever they are, they are heartless, conniving liars.
For reasons that they still have not explained to my understanding, they decided to freeze my debit card account the second day after my arrival in this a new state. When I called them and asked them why, first they said it was because my former employer (who's also my "new" employer, they're a staffing agency who got me the last two jobs) had not made a deposit into my account for three months. Why a deposit is necessary for me to have access to my hard earned wages was not made clear. Then another day they said it was because they could not verify my identity.
Now, with most credit (not debit) cards, simply giving your name, DOB, and SSN over the phone is sufficient to identify yourself. Not with these guys. They told me I would have to fax them a request to unlock my account along with a copy of my ID (driver's license and SSN card). I was, allright, fine, and faxed it to the number they provided.
The next day my account was still frozen. I called to ask why, and they said they never received my fax - even though I had a copy of the fax transmission and it was successful. In other words, they were lying. There seems to be a HUGE DISCONNECTION between their Customer Service and their Compliance departments, the latter being the kind folks who froze my account. The customer rep I talked to even surmised that they might have TORN UP MY PAPERWORK - because my card number was not written or displayed along with my ID. THEY NEVER TOLD ME TO INCLUDE MY CARD NUMBER. So, fine, I re-faxed my request, ID, and wrote my card number on the fax cover sheet, the request letter, and I even scanned my card & sent that in as well.
Day 3 - and my account was still frozen. I called them. I was told that the paperwork I sent in was insufficient. They wanted my last two paystubs also. SOMETHING YET AGAIN THEY FAILED TO MENTION THE PREVIOUS DAY. As I could only get my paystubs from a website, and I didn't have access to the internet at the time, I called my employer. My employer faxed them a copy of my paystubs, making sure to write my card number on the fax as well.
Day 4 - still no access to my money. I called them. I was told that, yes, they received the faxed paystubs - BUT DIDN'T HAVE THE REST OF MY PAPERWORK. Paperwork I send them the day before. That I have a fax tranmission sheet that says it was received. They "lost" my paperwork yet again. They suggested that I email them all my paperwork instead of faxing it. By this time I managed to get on the internet, and I sent them request along with all my paperwork.
Since this was done on a Friday, of course, it's not being tended to by their Compliance - it's business hours only. They tell you takes only 24-48 hours to unlock a debit account (while most banks & credit card agencies, you can do it with a simple phone call) - DON'T BELIEVE THEM!
It's been SIX DAYS now. I am nearly out of money. I've been living the past week on plain bread & baloney sandwiches for five days, but that's almost gone too. I'm going to have to ask my family for help, or go get food stamps - for two weeks, ha, since I start my new job in a week (and won't get paid until the following week). I have movers showing up at the beginning of next month, expecting to be paid. I have to pay rent then also. Not to mention I am nearly out of food, money, gas, you name it.
I am far, far beyond having lost my patience with these guys - ADP, First Data, whomever they are. I've already filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), but since these folks are not accredited, they likely don't care (last I saw they had over 1000 complaints about this ADP debit card). I'm wondering if I should find a lawyer, whether one could help me.
My advice to anyone who's offered a ADP TotalPay card - REFUSE AND RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
FYI - It looks like they're going to change the name of the card from "TotalPay" to "Inline" - DON'T BE FOOLED, it'll be ran by the same bunch of parasites and jackals that already have over a thousand complaints lodged against them.
As soon as I can access my account I'm withdrawing it all and never giving these stinkers a dime of my money, never again. I hate bankers and their ilk, and it kills me to have to get a checking account, but it seems like, in lieu of mattress stuffing (tempting!) I have to.
Doug Olsen (owner of First Data, FirstData, CardService International, CardServiceWBS.com) is an extremely rude and nasty individual that is emailing own customers with rude comments and insults including words such as "stupid". Here's his latest response to my request after in the recent past they refused to send me a copy of our Contract:
> Please urgently email me a copy of my CONTRACT with CardServiceInternational. I lost my copy and need it to see what I signed up for over a decade ago. You are charging me accordingly to the CONTRACT we signed thus you must provide me a copy of the Contract upon my request. Do so without any delay. Send it via email in response to this email.
Our company got a letter from TRS Recovery Services stating that we had written a check to The Home Depot and that the transaction was returned unpaid by the bank and assigned to TRS for collection (on behalf of another company, Telecheck). They claimed some random amount (just under $1K) plus a $25.00 return check fee, and if we didn't respond within 30 days, they would consider the debt valid and take further action. We knew this had to be a fake because we don't write checks to Home Depot, plus the check number was completely out of our range, so we faxed our rebuttal letter asking for proof. They sent a scanned copy of some fake check which had our company name and address, but the bank info and check number were obviously false.
The thing that set off major red flags are that to report the forgery or ID theft, they ask for very sensitve information such as your full name, address, drivers license, social (or TIN), bank routing info, etc. DO NOT fall for their scam! This is a bait and switch - there was never any debt to begin with so they steal your information when you fill out the form reporting the forgery!!! Also, note that they try to make this look as legitimate as possible, but you'll see that their contact info and addresses are totally inconsistent. I have since reported them and hope that they get tracked down.
What a scam first data merchant services has. Omg after telling me that I was going to save over 150 dollars each month if I switch to them, guest what it sounded very interesting and I did switch to first data merchant services from the company I had. I had central payment and I cancel them to start with first data,central payment charge me 375 dollars for the cancellation. Here is where my story starts with first data merchant services, first I want to start of by not recommending first data merchant services to anyone, it doesn't matter what they tell you or promise you it's all a scam. Don't fall for it.
I made the mistake of switching to first data merchant services and they sent me the terminal and after 4 months I sold my business and I call them to cancel my services with them. A representative told me that the cancellation was going to be 500 dollars and I said ok that's fine with me. But after a couple of days I receive a letter saying that I had to pay 3,610 dollars. I was shock and I call first data merchant services customer service and they told me that I had to pay the 500 dollars plus the 3,610 dollars and return my terminal.
Because I had a lease agreement and I am terminating that agreement. But I was never informed of that lease agreement. They told me if I don't pay that money they're going to send me to collection and my credit is going to get affected. I told them to send me a copy of the lease agreement I sign cause I never remember signing it. They never send me any copy of the documents I sign when I switch to them. I sign over an iPad and never received my copies of the sign documents. So now I have to pay over 4000 dollars or suffer the consequence.
Like many others, I was a victim of First Data's Bait and Switch dealings. In the agreement I signed with this company, I was not supposed to be charged a quarterly or annual compliance fee as I was on an account under another account which was supposed to be charged.
They weren't and I was. Every 4 months for 4 years. After my first charge, I called my Representative. She assured me she would take care of it.
As she did every 4 months. She would show me emails to and from First Data but nothing was done until December of 2013. Finally, the company admitted that they had made a mistake and refunded me for the last year of charges. What about the previous 3 years, I asked?
They didn't have records going back that far, they said. After talking to a couple different CSRs I found one who was willing to send me copies of all my statements back to when I started. He is obviously a possessor of great magics, as I was told these no longer existed. I added up these amounts for them and called back.
Was told it was up to me to prove this as I had stopped service with them and my account was no longer a priority to them. Ookay then. I obtained a copy of my original agreement I made. It showed that I never agreed to the quarterly or annual compliance fee.
When I finally reached the CSR who had previously told me my existence no longer mattered as I was no longer one of their customers, I was told by him that it didn't matter if it was in the agreement, as they would just changer their copy to reflect what they wanted. Solid sales work, Champ!
This company is horrible.
I would strongly suggest anybody who is looking for credit card processing stay far away.If this is the company that your bank uses, take your money and run to a place who is not looking to take from small business owners.
First Data is a huge company that has several smaller franchises such as Encore Payment Systems, which employ snakes like Mike Stanziola who knowingly take advatage of situations they find themselves in to RIP you OFF!~ And this is a LONG term rip off folks~!!! Having opened a new bank account for our business, our bank mustve sold our information on a list to these vultures, guised as someone else I am sure. Anyway, they made their way into our office when we were expecting the REAL merchant service people from our bank to come in about setting up credit card machines and check readers, etc.
Even after being called a different name completely - How do you let someone repeatedly call you PJ when your name is MIKE??? and posing as if from the bank - not a franchise of First Data out on cold calls - This man persued the signing of the contract with vigor~ !!! He promised the sky! Most importantly - he made promises he could not deliver!~
He promised his equipment could process business checks with next day funding - WRONG!!! It cannot even process business checks at all - they are all declined. We only get checks from insurance companies for the most part, so they are all virually business checks. Very useless to us.
When we contacted him to fix this situation several times via email and/or phone, he either ignored our requests or came out and met with us and promised to 'look into doing something about that' with his superiors, but never did anything.
We did not want to pay for a service we could not use - so we closed our bank account that the machines were linked to. I have a statement that says Closing Withdrawal. Here three months later, the bank is still calling us saying we have a negative balance because FDGL is debiting our account - Will someone please tell me how they can possibly get funds out of a closed account with a zero balance???
Does that mean I can go in to the teller and make a withdrawal on my empty. closed account? I think not~!! How can they??? I'd much rather they sue me for the remainder of the balance and settle with them.
I am just in shock at this behavior from them and allowed from my (thankfully former) bank!
'No Opt Out Contract' w/ mandatory insurance for Verifone unit @$69.99 + tax / PER MONTH!
Attempted resolution = no reply. finally closed checking account, and then was contacted by Resolutions Department = i submitted all proof and documents = no reply from First Data.
More attempts to collect = I paid via check, of which I stopped payment on. Then got a phone call and email from Collection Manager, Marsha Friedman. Again (now the fourth time), submitted proof of illegal processes and that Verifone unit was returned = again no reply from First Data.
Despite F rating with BBB, many, many, many ripoff reports and clear abuse bestowed upon individuals and small business, First Data is still in business. And now, my small business is faced with collections.
This is the ultimate RIPOFF company, FIRST DATA needs to be stopped!
If this company tele-check calls or send you documentation stating that you owe them money for processing a check for purchases on Amazon call the FBI. They are scamers. They sent me a3-6 letter saying I had purchased items on amazon and not paid for them. I called amazon and they said no such thing had happened and that my account ws in good standing. They someone got a hold of information and have been attempting to blackmail me into paying them. They claim a purchase proce of say 9.99 and then fee in excess of $45.00 to cover cost of payment. I never pay with checks. I use only Paypal. They are rude and agressive and highly suspect. Who know how many people they have bullied into paying them for their rip off. They used to call from an UNKNOWN number, recently the numbers coming up onmy phone 713-587-0499. They are creepy and are happy to tell you how much info they have about you like bank info, drivers licence and so forth. I am so discusted with their tactic and have just about had enough. Why they are have not been rounded up and flogged for their fraud I don't know. I will notify every fraud department I can find.It is such a shame that honest citizens have to do so much work to protect their credit while these crooks reek havick in the lives of ordinary people doing business in America
When analyzing credit card charging fees, I found out that BofA as well as first data card services was charging fees that I never agreed to. The extra fees were adding up monthly to average over $1000.00 per month. When I called B of A, thet told me that I should have requested a charge analysis. They agreed that I was being over charged and reuced my rate from over 6% down to 2.2 %. I told them that when B of A took over my account, I asked for a rate check and never heard back. I asked them to refund the fraudulent charges and they said that they cannot do that but they would lower my rate to what it should have been all along. I told them that the over charge from around 4% for over two years from a total of $120000.00 was around $50,000.00 of fraudulent charges and got no reply.
Signed with First Data for a 3 year contract, sure. No problem. Changed my mind. $250 per terminal. I have two of them. $500 to cancel. I was informed in May that the fees were increased.
Department of Finance Canada:
http://www.fin.gc.ca/n10/data/10-049_1-eng.asp
3. Payment card network rules will ensure that following notification of a fee increase or the introduction of a new fee, merchants will be allowed to cancel their contracts without penalty.
By signing a contract with an acquirer, a merchant will have the right to cost certainty over the course of their contract. As a result, in the event of a fee increase or the introduction of a new fee, merchants will be allowed to opt out of their contracts, without facing any form of penalty, within 90 days of receiving notice of the fee increase or the introduction of a new fee.
Merchants may not cancel their contracts in relation to fee increases made in accordance with pre-determined fee schedules, such as those based on merchant sales volume, provided that the schedules are included in the merchant’s contract. I was notified of the fee increase. I called within 90 days to cancel.
First, they said I had to pay. Then, when I mentioned this law, they "seemingly forgot" and said I could cancel without penalty. Sorry, it's been over 90 days they said. But I didn't get nofication of the fee increase until May.Tough shit they say. My lawyer is $250 per hour. It would take him four hours to go through everything, so alright, I'll let them win this round, they are crooks anyways (a lot of hidden fees)
I cancelled, went with a new carrier. Okay, to cancel your First Data Account, you need to call First Data Global Leasing to cancel. No problem. Guess what? You signed a lease contract for 4 years, and by breaking the contract, you now owe us $1300. That's when I proceeding to tell her to send it to me in writing. Now, it's going to my lawyer.
Do not sign a contract with them, recently I was offered the service by a Wells Fargo rep. Unfortunately I did not understood that the contract wasnt with Wells Fargo. It was actually with FIRST DATA. Once the machines arrived the headache started. It was really difficult to set it up after 3 days trying it finally worked. All of the sudden the system stoped working and I called the company, they said that I needed a land line internet conection, because the I was renting a really long store the Comcast people told me that I had to cut the Ceiling in order to make that really long land connection. I did not have the money to spend fixing the Ceiling so I called fIRST DATA because the system was not working and I wanted to stop the service. Their system is not reliable for businesses with WI FI. The First Data Rep said that it was nothing else he could do. He was totally rude. I wish I recorded the whole conversation because it was the worts customer service I ever receive. He said that I signed a lease for 48 months and that they will try to collect the money anyway. That I have to pay for the whole 48 months even if the device didnt work fine on my store. They will charge you for the whole month service as soon as you start using it. They want you to pay over $120 for taxes in advance. They will also make you pay for insurance, renting service etc , etc, etc. You will feel that you signed a lease for a house. They will treat you horrible over the phone letting you know that they don't care about the customer. They only want to get your money. Do not even try to get this service. I don't write a ripoff reports but this company really really deserved it.
This same company has now done this twice to me and in combination with Tele-Check caused my checks to be declined. I have over-draft protection on ALL my checking accounts, and have NEVER bounced a check. And these were Electronic Transfers, which by Federal Law are supposed to happen immediately or be declined.
This purchase at Sams Club online went through and I received the items, with NO notice of any issue. Then over a month later, I got the notice from TRS Recovery Services of an "unpaid electronic fund transfer", which is totally illegal.
If you don't pay, they report a collection on your credit and send more threatening notices that seem to be from a District Attorney in the city/state you live in (which is also mis-representation, as I contacted the DA and they don't support it).
I hope there are lawyers out there who have had success fighting this fraudulent scum, because I will be using one.
First Data Corporation Reviews
We are a small business in our 4th month of business and our card processor first data decides to hold ALL of our money from ALL of our batches, sends a letter stating "unusual high dollar amount" "unusual method of processing keyed sales"
So they tell us in this letter that we need to provide information on 5 of the transactions from our credit card batch, and of course we imidiatly sent that information to the fax they provided, then we follow up the next day and Mr Phillip Brokenbaugh informs us he is going to contact all of these customers witch was fine and he did so, another day goes by and next we start getting voicemail and not him personally witch is where it still stands,
in addtion to this every time we contact them they have wanted more and more information, then we had a guy show up in person to take photos of our business and see our inventory etc witch we happily let him do, we have a retail location and also take a lot of orders on the phone but we are a 100% ligitamant business, we have provided countless info and still THEY HOLD ALL of our money and the risk managment department convienently cant be reached now and thats even by their own internal company so they say.
Its clear that the only fraud happening here is first data, we have now only have 24hrs to pay our rent or our landloard will evict us and we will be forced to close our doors and all of our customers will loose all of their money to these frraudsters and our lost business. I cannot stress enough that you want to AVOID EVER dealing with first data becasue we are NOT a high risk business, we have been verified over and over and they have NO grounds for Holding our money and obviosly want to put us out of business. $8000+ dollars held more than 10 days with no end in site.
Checks written on Money Network checks may bounce. I will never again accept one as payment and would advise you to use extreme caution in accepting one.
As a merchant/landlord I received a rent payment from my renter’s roomate written using a Money Network check. I deposited it and it was returned by my bank. I then called the phone number on the check to verify and, of course, it was no good. The problem is that, unlike a normal check, there is no maker information on the check and Money Network will not release that information.
Since the check was made out to me rather than the renter, only I can file a complaint with the police; the “roommate” has disappeared. However I need Money Network’s cooperation to do that.
If you listen carefully to the recording at the verification number given on the checks ( 866-845-9322 ) you will hear an option to “press 2” if you are a merchant who has received a bad check. When you do that you are directed to fax a copy of the check, along with your contact information, to 901-371-8120 and are told you will receive a reply "within 72 hours". However, there is not fax at that number. 901-371-8120 will pick up and a recording will tell you the number has been disconnected! You are SOL!
I’m presently trying to contact Money Network through the credit card division. I’ve asked them to let me know who to serve with subpoena for depositor information. If they come back with uncooperative answers like other posters have commented on , eg fax your drivers license to this number… we have not received your fax, etc. I will be contacting the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions first.tn.gov/Complaints/UI/ and 1-800-778-4215 to file a complaint.
Alternatively one can file a complaint at:
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010
1-800-613-6743
occ.treas.gov
I’m listing the above information in case there are others out there who have tried to fax check information to Money Network at 901-371-8120 and have found the number to be disconnected.
I feel like such a fool. I was totally ripped off. In 2013 I changed my credit card processing company to Capital One. The salesmen with Capital One convinced me that I needed a new credit card processing machine that accepted smart cards. He told me that was all that would be used by 2014 in the US. He told me that I could obtain one through a lease through Capital One with First Data. I stupidly signed the contract. Of course I should have read the fine print but I trusted him. This is how they rip you off. THE CONTRACT IS NON CANCELLABLE WHICH MEANS EXACTLY AS IT SOUNDS. YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE LEASE. I WAS TOLD BY THE SALESPERSON THAT THE CONTRACT WAS FOR 2 YEARS IT IS FOR 4. AS A RESULT I AM PAYING $1248.00 IN LEASE PAYMENTS FOR A MACHINE THAT I CAN BUY NEW FOR BETWEEN 200.00 AND 300.00 US DOLLARS. NOT ONLY THAT BUT AFTER THE LEASE IS UP YOU HAVE TO PAY BETWEEN 100.00 TO 300.00 TO PURCHASE THE MACHINE WHICH NOW MAKES THE COST OF THE MACHINE ANYWHERE FROM 1348.00 TO 1548.00. I AM REALLY SURPRISED THAT CAPITAL ONE AS AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM TO RIP OFF THEIR CUSTOMERS. ONCE AGAIN MY FAITH IN HUMANITY IS TESTED. THEY PRACTICE BAD BAD BUSINESS AND AN EVIL COMPANY PRAYING ON TRUSTING AND STUPID PEOPLE LIKE ME.
First off when we first signed up they made there company sound like GOLD first off they made it seem that it was beanstream the provider but then we find out its actually FIRST DATA, So what ever we did not think anything of it until today we first started using beanstream aka First data last week and when we started to find things funny
Every time we took a charge (2 charges) the withdrew $50.00 out of our company account, Then they charge fee's so I contacted them and beanstream says it was first data and first data says its Beanstream.
After hours dealing with them I just finally gave up. But here is the problem the money that was susposed to be deposited into our account never came, So I called back and they said monday was a holiday so it would be done no later then wendsday today is wendsday and again nothing so I called back and they kept giving multipul stories finally on the 16th time I called they said that the security department is holding the funds for review so finally after an hour of calling back I finally got a hold of someone at the security department 1-800-321-4860 ext 8454607 she then told me that she asked her manager to relase it and it was approved I decided to call back 40 min later and they confirmed...
I checked the my client data base and it still does not show so I called them back 10:40Pm now I am at the 30th call to them today and they lady in custormer service says NO that the money is still being held and will not be relased until I call back again in the morning and that there is no notes that I called today to speak with them at all.
I called back leaving them there final message and last chance before I take legal actions against them especially after I found 4 websites with over 400 complaints about this legal SCAM that they get away with.
They hide behind the phones, The girl I spoke to even laughed at me on the phone with 100% disrespect.
They might thing they are unstopable but guess what they messed with the wrong guy with top of the line attorneys. And a guy that knows almost everybody and today they will know what it means when you screw inocent people from there hard working money!!!
I contacted my client in order to get the money in cash or in cheque but he refused because his credit card was charged, and first data refuses to let us refund his card to obtain another way to get our hard earned money!!!
First Data Corp has recently terminated thousands of Merchant Accounts for Credit Card Processing without notice to the Merchants in advance. When contacted, they state that they are positioning themselves for an IPO. A check of this reveals that they are owned by KKR Corporation, a company that is mainly in the oil and gas business and which is desirous to spin off First Data now that it has recently eeked out a small profit. KKr intends to use the money from the IPO to buy distressed oil and gas stocks/entities.
First Data has also used the "small print" language in their contracts to HOLD and NOT RELEASE up to several days worth of Merchant charges from between February 5, 2013 and February 9, 2013, all of which they allowed to be processed by Merchants without notice of the impending intent to shut-down several classifications of merchant types. The "HOLD" period is for up to six months according to their buried contract terms. Accordingly, it appears that they are using the held funds and any "reserve" (a percentage of the total sales they withold for security in case a Merchant closes their doors and disappears and incurs subsequent chargebacks) from the dienfranchised Merchants to pad their balance sheets in advance of the planned IPO to make their initial financials appear better for the offering.
There was NO prior notice provided to the affected Merchants and several are now unable to gain access to their funds and are in danger of facing imminent closure for lack of access of funds. (And yet, they unequivacally expect the Merchants to ship out and provide goods and services without being paid for such goods or services.) Several will face bankruptcy, many employees will lose their jobs when the businesses close, landlords will lose tenants and tax money will be uncollected.
If you do business with First Data (or they process your credit card receipts, BEWARE. You are likely to be next in line when they try to boost their book value for the IPO. This information can easily be found on line by researching KKR company and the CEO of First Data. Further, merchant credit card processors are one of the most UNREGULATED industries in the financial sector, and NOT SUBJECT to the myriad rules and regulations that apply to most other financial institutions.
Dear to whom it may concern,
This was the second complait I wrote about this SCAMMER, because they had send me two letters by mail.
The first letter they asked me to pay $210.03. The second letter they asked me to pay $445.42. I NEVER signed up this company merchandise account, and I had NEVER heard about this SCAMMER before until I received the first letter they had send me.
In both letters, they mentioned, if I don't give them any dollars they will report me to credit reporting agency to affect my personal credit scores.
According to these two letters content, they are not only SCAMMER, but also FRAUD CREDIT and steal my credit info.
One more thing, at the bottom of the letter the address is different from the letter head, which they asked me to sent dollars to them. The address is P.O. BOX 17548 DENVER CO 80217
I am small busines owner and open online store Rainbow, which was registered in SF county. So far, I NEVER make business out of state.
Please help us these small business owners stop scams!!!
December 8th, someone in Florida used my card number to make purchases at Staples and Family Dollar.
I called Money Network on December 9th after I had tried to get a prescription filled for my sick son and found out my account had been emptied during those two transactions. I was told I would need to file a dispute with Money Network and I would have a "probationary" return of the money stolen from my account within ten days of the form being sent to them.
Nine days later, I received a fax from them stating they needed either a copy of my drivers license or proof of residency faxed to them to proceed with the dispute. I faxed them a copy of my drivers license.
On the tenth day, I called and questioned where the process was and was told they had not received any of the forms I had faxed. So, I refaxed everything to them for a SECOND time.
Exactly, one month later, I am STILL fighting with these people to have my money that was stolen from my account returned to me. I am told there is no direct phone number for their dispute dept. The only thing I can do is AGAIN refax all my dispute paperwork to them for a THIRD time.
This is a horrible nightmare and very, very poor customer service in regards to returning stolen money. Aren't banks supposed to be federally insured????!!!
Dear to all small business owners,
Today I received the letter from the First Data Merchant Services, which shows that they wanted to collect me $210.03. I am the owner of my business, I NEVER NEVER NEVER use this company merchandise account. And I didn't not hear this company before.
It seems this company is SCAM. The head letter address shows 5251 Westheimer Road, Houston TX 77056-5404. And at the bottom of the letter address shows P.O. BOX 17548, Denver CO 80217-7548.
One more thing the letter doesn’t look like formal business letter at all. It donut’s show their company at the letter head. And they gave me a litter pressure in the letter, which shows if I don’t may a payment within 10 days , they will report to the credit reporting agency and affect my personal credit score.
According to the letter content and my business experience, I am sure this company seems SCAM.
I hope I could give another small business owners alert.
DON'T MAKE BUSINES WITH SCAMMER!!!!
Thank you so much!
1. I noticed a billing item on our credit card which we questioned: CCD DEBIT to GODADDYPS, $19.95
2. Called Godaddy billing and was told:
a. additional fee was due to PCI compliance
b. I should contact Merchant Services
3. Called Merchant Services and was told that I had to register for PCI compliance and after I did the extra charges could be waived. No one had emailed us about this before hand and we were not given an explanation of the extra charges and what could be done to reduce the additional costs.
Merchant services said they could not assist. Advised that I call TransArmor Support.
4. TransArmor support called. They said they could not assist. Advised to contact PCI compliance.
5. PCI compliance provided url to register which turned out to be an old no longer to be used url. They also said that our company name had not been added to their portal. How can a company charge for anything when the company information is not even in their portal? They would request the addition, which would allow us to register, which would in turn eliminate the non compliance surcharge.
They said this would take 24 hours.
6. Called back after 24 hours and was told it should take 48 hours.
7. Called back after 48 hours and was told it could take a week. Called back today (1 week) and was told that our business name had not been added to the portal. Service Rep advised she would send an email to the TransArmor management team.
Got a letter from Money Network addressed to my 19-year-old son and tossed in the pile of didn't-ask-for-it credit card offers to shred later. Several months later, as I am going about the aforementioned shredding, I found out this was something far more egregious than a credit card solicitation.
They are telling my son that they are upgrading his account to a Premier Account (the "account" was some ridiculousness where he got his paycheck on a debit card instead of actual money, I think this was from when he worked at Best Buy). The letter says they need to verify his identity as required by the USA PATRIOT Act, and to do so, he must send them his passport, driver's license, social security card, voter's registration card and/or school identification card.
But the letter assures that the personal information they collect will be protected in accordance with their privacy policy, which makes me feel SO much better! (/sarcasm off)
Have you ever seen a more blatant attempt at identity theft?
I'm a contract worker who earns pretty decent pay. I recently finished a one year contract, was unemployed and looking for three months, then landed another one year job in another state. It was the second day after I arrived at my new home that my troubles with ADP/First data, and their Totalpay debit card began.
Now, the card says "ADP TotalPay Card", but I think First Data corp is the actual company. Written on the card is the statement that "this card is owned by MetaBank" and also "visit us at www.moneynetwork.com". That website is owned by First Data corp. So while I cannot be certain exactly who I'm dealing with, I can say with conviction that whoever they are, they are heartless, conniving liars.
For reasons that they still have not explained to my understanding, they decided to freeze my debit card account the second day after my arrival in this a new state. When I called them and asked them why, first they said it was because my former employer (who's also my "new" employer, they're a staffing agency who got me the last two jobs) had not made a deposit into my account for three months. Why a deposit is necessary for me to have access to my hard earned wages was not made clear. Then another day they said it was because they could not verify my identity.
Now, with most credit (not debit) cards, simply giving your name, DOB, and SSN over the phone is sufficient to identify yourself. Not with these guys. They told me I would have to fax them a request to unlock my account along with a copy of my ID (driver's license and SSN card). I was, allright, fine, and faxed it to the number they provided.
The next day my account was still frozen. I called to ask why, and they said they never received my fax - even though I had a copy of the fax transmission and it was successful. In other words, they were lying. There seems to be a HUGE DISCONNECTION between their Customer Service and their Compliance departments, the latter being the kind folks who froze my account. The customer rep I talked to even surmised that they might have TORN UP MY PAPERWORK - because my card number was not written or displayed along with my ID. THEY NEVER TOLD ME TO INCLUDE MY CARD NUMBER. So, fine, I re-faxed my request, ID, and wrote my card number on the fax cover sheet, the request letter, and I even scanned my card & sent that in as well.
Day 3 - and my account was still frozen. I called them. I was told that the paperwork I sent in was insufficient. They wanted my last two paystubs also. SOMETHING YET AGAIN THEY FAILED TO MENTION THE PREVIOUS DAY. As I could only get my paystubs from a website, and I didn't have access to the internet at the time, I called my employer. My employer faxed them a copy of my paystubs, making sure to write my card number on the fax as well.
Day 4 - still no access to my money. I called them. I was told that, yes, they received the faxed paystubs - BUT DIDN'T HAVE THE REST OF MY PAPERWORK. Paperwork I send them the day before. That I have a fax tranmission sheet that says it was received. They "lost" my paperwork yet again. They suggested that I email them all my paperwork instead of faxing it. By this time I managed to get on the internet, and I sent them request along with all my paperwork.
Since this was done on a Friday, of course, it's not being tended to by their Compliance - it's business hours only. They tell you takes only 24-48 hours to unlock a debit account (while most banks & credit card agencies, you can do it with a simple phone call) - DON'T BELIEVE THEM!
It's been SIX DAYS now. I am nearly out of money. I've been living the past week on plain bread & baloney sandwiches for five days, but that's almost gone too. I'm going to have to ask my family for help, or go get food stamps - for two weeks, ha, since I start my new job in a week (and won't get paid until the following week). I have movers showing up at the beginning of next month, expecting to be paid. I have to pay rent then also. Not to mention I am nearly out of food, money, gas, you name it.
I am far, far beyond having lost my patience with these guys - ADP, First Data, whomever they are. I've already filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), but since these folks are not accredited, they likely don't care (last I saw they had over 1000 complaints about this ADP debit card). I'm wondering if I should find a lawyer, whether one could help me.
My advice to anyone who's offered a ADP TotalPay card - REFUSE AND RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
FYI - It looks like they're going to change the name of the card from "TotalPay" to "Inline" - DON'T BE FOOLED, it'll be ran by the same bunch of parasites and jackals that already have over a thousand complaints lodged against them.
As soon as I can access my account I'm withdrawing it all and never giving these stinkers a dime of my money, never again. I hate bankers and their ilk, and it kills me to have to get a checking account, but it seems like, in lieu of mattress stuffing (tempting!) I have to.
AVOID ADP TOTALPAY (or "INLINE") DEBIT CARDS!
Doug Olsen (owner of First Data, FirstData, CardService International, CardServiceWBS.com) is an extremely rude and nasty individual that is emailing own customers with rude comments and insults including words such as "stupid". Here's his latest response to my request after in the recent past they refused to send me a copy of our Contract:
Doug
Not again......
On Nov 21, 2014, at 6:48 AM, [email protected]> wrote:
> Hallo,
>
> Please urgently email me a copy of my CONTRACT with CardServiceInternational. I lost my copy and need it to see what I signed up for over a decade ago. You are charging me accordingly to the CONTRACT we signed thus you must provide me a copy of the Contract upon my request. Do so without any delay. Send it via email in response to this email.
Really?
Someone called you "stupid" so you decided that this hurt your feelings and thought you would waste your time posting about this? Grow up...
Our company got a letter from TRS Recovery Services stating that we had written a check to The Home Depot and that the transaction was returned unpaid by the bank and assigned to TRS for collection (on behalf of another company, Telecheck). They claimed some random amount (just under $1K) plus a $25.00 return check fee, and if we didn't respond within 30 days, they would consider the debt valid and take further action. We knew this had to be a fake because we don't write checks to Home Depot, plus the check number was completely out of our range, so we faxed our rebuttal letter asking for proof. They sent a scanned copy of some fake check which had our company name and address, but the bank info and check number were obviously false.
The thing that set off major red flags are that to report the forgery or ID theft, they ask for very sensitve information such as your full name, address, drivers license, social (or TIN), bank routing info, etc. DO NOT fall for their scam! This is a bait and switch - there was never any debt to begin with so they steal your information when you fill out the form reporting the forgery!!! Also, note that they try to make this look as legitimate as possible, but you'll see that their contact info and addresses are totally inconsistent. I have since reported them and hope that they get tracked down.
What a scam first data merchant services has. Omg after telling me that I was going to save over 150 dollars each month if I switch to them, guest what it sounded very interesting and I did switch to first data merchant services from the company I had. I had central payment and I cancel them to start with first data,central payment charge me 375 dollars for the cancellation. Here is where my story starts with first data merchant services, first I want to start of by not recommending first data merchant services to anyone, it doesn't matter what they tell you or promise you it's all a scam. Don't fall for it.
I made the mistake of switching to first data merchant services and they sent me the terminal and after 4 months I sold my business and I call them to cancel my services with them. A representative told me that the cancellation was going to be 500 dollars and I said ok that's fine with me. But after a couple of days I receive a letter saying that I had to pay 3,610 dollars. I was shock and I call first data merchant services customer service and they told me that I had to pay the 500 dollars plus the 3,610 dollars and return my terminal.
Because I had a lease agreement and I am terminating that agreement. But I was never informed of that lease agreement. They told me if I don't pay that money they're going to send me to collection and my credit is going to get affected. I told them to send me a copy of the lease agreement I sign cause I never remember signing it. They never send me any copy of the documents I sign when I switch to them. I sign over an iPad and never received my copies of the sign documents. So now I have to pay over 4000 dollars or suffer the consequence.
Like many others, I was a victim of First Data's Bait and Switch dealings. In the agreement I signed with this company, I was not supposed to be charged a quarterly or annual compliance fee as I was on an account under another account which was supposed to be charged.
They weren't and I was. Every 4 months for 4 years. After my first charge, I called my Representative. She assured me she would take care of it.
As she did every 4 months. She would show me emails to and from First Data but nothing was done until December of 2013. Finally, the company admitted that they had made a mistake and refunded me for the last year of charges. What about the previous 3 years, I asked?
They didn't have records going back that far, they said. After talking to a couple different CSRs I found one who was willing to send me copies of all my statements back to when I started. He is obviously a possessor of great magics, as I was told these no longer existed. I added up these amounts for them and called back.
Was told it was up to me to prove this as I had stopped service with them and my account was no longer a priority to them. Ookay then. I obtained a copy of my original agreement I made. It showed that I never agreed to the quarterly or annual compliance fee.
When I finally reached the CSR who had previously told me my existence no longer mattered as I was no longer one of their customers, I was told by him that it didn't matter if it was in the agreement, as they would just changer their copy to reflect what they wanted. Solid sales work, Champ!
This company is horrible.
I would strongly suggest anybody who is looking for credit card processing stay far away.If this is the company that your bank uses, take your money and run to a place who is not looking to take from small business owners.
First Data is a huge company that has several smaller franchises such as Encore Payment Systems, which employ snakes like Mike Stanziola who knowingly take advatage of situations they find themselves in to RIP you OFF!~ And this is a LONG term rip off folks~!!! Having opened a new bank account for our business, our bank mustve sold our information on a list to these vultures, guised as someone else I am sure. Anyway, they made their way into our office when we were expecting the REAL merchant service people from our bank to come in about setting up credit card machines and check readers, etc.
Even after being called a different name completely - How do you let someone repeatedly call you PJ when your name is MIKE??? and posing as if from the bank - not a franchise of First Data out on cold calls - This man persued the signing of the contract with vigor~ !!! He promised the sky! Most importantly - he made promises he could not deliver!~
He promised his equipment could process business checks with next day funding - WRONG!!! It cannot even process business checks at all - they are all declined. We only get checks from insurance companies for the most part, so they are all virually business checks. Very useless to us.
When we contacted him to fix this situation several times via email and/or phone, he either ignored our requests or came out and met with us and promised to 'look into doing something about that' with his superiors, but never did anything.
We did not want to pay for a service we could not use - so we closed our bank account that the machines were linked to. I have a statement that says Closing Withdrawal. Here three months later, the bank is still calling us saying we have a negative balance because FDGL is debiting our account - Will someone please tell me how they can possibly get funds out of a closed account with a zero balance???
Does that mean I can go in to the teller and make a withdrawal on my empty. closed account? I think not~!! How can they??? I'd much rather they sue me for the remainder of the balance and settle with them.
I am just in shock at this behavior from them and allowed from my (thankfully former) bank!
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH FIRST DATA!
Documents forged
False Statements provided
'No Opt Out Contract' w/ mandatory insurance for Verifone unit @$69.99 + tax / PER MONTH!
Attempted resolution = no reply. finally closed checking account, and then was contacted by Resolutions Department = i submitted all proof and documents = no reply from First Data.
More attempts to collect = I paid via check, of which I stopped payment on. Then got a phone call and email from Collection Manager, Marsha Friedman. Again (now the fourth time), submitted proof of illegal processes and that Verifone unit was returned = again no reply from First Data.
Despite F rating with BBB, many, many, many ripoff reports and clear abuse bestowed upon individuals and small business, First Data is still in business. And now, my small business is faced with collections.
This is the ultimate RIPOFF company, FIRST DATA needs to be stopped!
If this company tele-check calls or send you documentation stating that you owe them money for processing a check for purchases on Amazon call the FBI. They are scamers. They sent me a3-6 letter saying I had purchased items on amazon and not paid for them. I called amazon and they said no such thing had happened and that my account ws in good standing. They someone got a hold of information and have been attempting to blackmail me into paying them. They claim a purchase proce of say 9.99 and then fee in excess of $45.00 to cover cost of payment. I never pay with checks. I use only Paypal. They are rude and agressive and highly suspect. Who know how many people they have bullied into paying them for their rip off. They used to call from an UNKNOWN number, recently the numbers coming up onmy phone 713-587-0499. They are creepy and are happy to tell you how much info they have about you like bank info, drivers licence and so forth. I am so discusted with their tactic and have just about had enough. Why they are have not been rounded up and flogged for their fraud I don't know. I will notify every fraud department I can find.It is such a shame that honest citizens have to do so much work to protect their credit while these crooks reek havick in the lives of ordinary people doing business in America
When analyzing credit card charging fees, I found out that BofA as well as first data card services was charging fees that I never agreed to. The extra fees were adding up monthly to average over $1000.00 per month. When I called B of A, thet told me that I should have requested a charge analysis. They agreed that I was being over charged and reuced my rate from over 6% down to 2.2 %. I told them that when B of A took over my account, I asked for a rate check and never heard back. I asked them to refund the fraudulent charges and they said that they cannot do that but they would lower my rate to what it should have been all along. I told them that the over charge from around 4% for over two years from a total of $120000.00 was around $50,000.00 of fraudulent charges and got no reply.
Signed with First Data for a 3 year contract, sure. No problem. Changed my mind. $250 per terminal. I have two of them. $500 to cancel. I was informed in May that the fees were increased.
Department of Finance Canada:
http://www.fin.gc.ca/n10/data/10-049_1-eng.asp
3. Payment card network rules will ensure that following notification of a fee increase or the introduction of a new fee, merchants will be allowed to cancel their contracts without penalty.
By signing a contract with an acquirer, a merchant will have the right to cost certainty over the course of their contract. As a result, in the event of a fee increase or the introduction of a new fee, merchants will be allowed to opt out of their contracts, without facing any form of penalty, within 90 days of receiving notice of the fee increase or the introduction of a new fee.
Merchants may not cancel their contracts in relation to fee increases made in accordance with pre-determined fee schedules, such as those based on merchant sales volume, provided that the schedules are included in the merchant’s contract. I was notified of the fee increase. I called within 90 days to cancel.
First, they said I had to pay. Then, when I mentioned this law, they "seemingly forgot" and said I could cancel without penalty. Sorry, it's been over 90 days they said. But I didn't get nofication of the fee increase until May.Tough shit they say. My lawyer is $250 per hour. It would take him four hours to go through everything, so alright, I'll let them win this round, they are crooks anyways (a lot of hidden fees)
I cancelled, went with a new carrier. Okay, to cancel your First Data Account, you need to call First Data Global Leasing to cancel. No problem. Guess what? You signed a lease contract for 4 years, and by breaking the contract, you now owe us $1300. That's when I proceeding to tell her to send it to me in writing. Now, it's going to my lawyer.
Do not sign a contract with them, recently I was offered the service by a Wells Fargo rep. Unfortunately I did not understood that the contract wasnt with Wells Fargo. It was actually with FIRST DATA. Once the machines arrived the headache started. It was really difficult to set it up after 3 days trying it finally worked. All of the sudden the system stoped working and I called the company, they said that I needed a land line internet conection, because the I was renting a really long store the Comcast people told me that I had to cut the Ceiling in order to make that really long land connection. I did not have the money to spend fixing the Ceiling so I called fIRST DATA because the system was not working and I wanted to stop the service. Their system is not reliable for businesses with WI FI. The First Data Rep said that it was nothing else he could do. He was totally rude. I wish I recorded the whole conversation because it was the worts customer service I ever receive. He said that I signed a lease for 48 months and that they will try to collect the money anyway. That I have to pay for the whole 48 months even if the device didnt work fine on my store. They will charge you for the whole month service as soon as you start using it. They want you to pay over $120 for taxes in advance. They will also make you pay for insurance, renting service etc , etc, etc. You will feel that you signed a lease for a house. They will treat you horrible over the phone letting you know that they don't care about the customer. They only want to get your money. Do not even try to get this service. I don't write a ripoff reports but this company really really deserved it.
This same company has now done this twice to me and in combination with Tele-Check caused my checks to be declined. I have over-draft protection on ALL my checking accounts, and have NEVER bounced a check. And these were Electronic Transfers, which by Federal Law are supposed to happen immediately or be declined.
This purchase at Sams Club online went through and I received the items, with NO notice of any issue. Then over a month later, I got the notice from TRS Recovery Services of an "unpaid electronic fund transfer", which is totally illegal.
If you don't pay, they report a collection on your credit and send more threatening notices that seem to be from a District Attorney in the city/state you live in (which is also mis-representation, as I contacted the DA and they don't support it).
I hope there are lawyers out there who have had success fighting this fraudulent scum, because I will be using one.