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Review 10/11/2009
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I worked for years to secure a major contract with a billion dollar company operating in Orlando, Florida with my company (Blanc Photo and Fine Art). There are plenty of processors available, yet I decided to go with Merchant Services only because a good friend that I trust works with them. My processing was set up and I began processing transactions via their online portal. A few weeks into processing, I received a call from someone I've never heard of at merchant services stating that my ticket amounts were higher than normal and that they needed to speak with my vendor and review the invoices. This did not come from the person that set me up, yet from a total stranger. Naturally, I did not want someone not familiar with in anyway calling a vendor that I have worked so hard to secure a relationship with asking all kinds of questions and requesting information. One of my issues with merchant services began when a transaction was made for over $6000 on Monday, yet was not in my account by that Wed. I spoke with the representative at Merchant Services whom set me up as he was extremely helpful, is just as frustrated as I and even regrets bringing me to this company to do business. His hands are tied and unfortunately, we are relying on merchant services employees, Eric and Tonya, which has been a business nightmare so far. When I called Customer Service, they lied and told me that my over $6000 transaction would be in my account the next day. Nothing was there Thursday nor Friday. I finally get a call from Eric Madura and a lady named Tonya. First I would like to say that no one that handles your money should be as rude and disrespectful as Eric Madura and merchant services is. As a client, you and I deserve a certain level of respect. We help pay their salaries and they treat us like dirt. Eric has no clue what quality customer service is. Eric accused me and my vendor verbally over the phone of making illegal acts by using my credit card to take cash advances from it. I went to the issuer of the card, thinking it would help bring resolution. How embarrassing this is to ask a VP of purchasing to assist in a manner, only to have an arrogant employee from merchant services that has not done their research tell them that what they are doing is illegal and to pay their vendors in a different manner. I tried humbly many times to explain to them that although the credit card had my company name on it, the issuer of the card was the company that pays me. The VP of purchasing attempted to explain to Eric that they were the issuer of the card and that this is how they pay 900 of their vendors, yet Eric was too arrogant to listen. He told the VP of purchasing that what he was doing was illegal. He also said that he was not able to speak with anyone else besides me about this issue, yet when a person named James first called, they asked to speak with my vendor. How can a company research an issue if they can't speak with anyone else besides the person they are accusing of illegal acts baffles me. After numerous attempts at sharing the research that Eric and Tonya should have done through emails, Eric told me that he was holding my last transaction of over $6000 and reversing the charges previously made that are well over $30,000. To this date, my over $6000 is still being held by Eric, Tonya and merchant services without providing any documentation to me. The rep and I spoke with my employer and we were both embarrassed because the vendor explained that this is how they pay 900 of their vendors without any problems whatsoever and the employer was thoroughly offended by the attitude and treatment from Eric. What I know has not happened is that neither Eric nor Tonya has done their due diligence in researching this issue. I attempted to explain, yet Eric cut me off at every chance and told me and my billionaire employer that what we were doing was fraud and illegal. Imagine a billionaire business paying 900 of their vendors the same way and merchant services telling them that this is illegal and fraudulent. The charges that will accrue to me as a result of merchant service negligence I am sure will be in the hundreds and from what the website ripoff report says, its normal business practice for merchant services. I want to know just as the whistle blowers on RipOff Report wanted know what the owner Jason Moore thinks of these practices. Does he allow this to happen on a regular basis? Is he aware of this? What credentials do Eric Madura and Tonya have that authorizes them to withhold thousands of dollars and cost thousands in chargeback fees? What specific research did these individuals take to make their decision, especially since they can't talk to anyone else besides me? These are questions that I need to know. If merchant services provides me in writing the steps that they have taken to come to their conclusion, I will report those findings on this website. If the matter is resolved in a timely manner, I will report those findings as well. Based on the arrogance of Eric and what has happened thus far, when using merchant services, legal action may be the best approach.
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Business's response - by Merchant Serviceson 2/26/2010
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The transaction processed exceeded the merchant's established Risk parameters. These parameters are based on several factors; including, but not limited to, average transaction amount, average monthly volume and highest expected transaction. This is information the merchant provides to us at the time the account is established. When the transaction was processed, it was flagged for review in our fraud monitoring system, as the transaction amount exceeded the Risk parameters. We have an obligation to protect our merchant's financial interests and investigate transactions which are questionable. As this was a brand new account, we wanted to ensure this was the correct and true dollar amount. We contacted the merchant to request a copy of the sales receipt and the invoice for the order. We explained the purpose behind our request. Once we had that information, we contacted the bank that issued the credit card used. That bank initially represented to us that the card was issued to the merchant directly. This is viewed by Visa/MasterCard to be a "cash advance" as the card was issued to the merchant. Upon receiving that information from the bank that issued the card, we contacted the merchant to explain the response received from the card issuing bank and to advise we would have to reverse the transaction as it was not allowed under Card Association bylaws (cash advance). The merchant grew frustrated - understandably so - and requested to have his client contact us to speak about the transaction. Once we were able to speak with the client and our merchant on a conference call, we learned that we were given incorrect information from the bank that issued the card. The card was issued to the client of our merchant - as this is how the client pays their vendors. Once we learned that information, we then verified with the card issuing bank who confirmed. After the issuing bank verified the above information, we released the funds to the merchant and they were paid. We were ac
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