Since some of the orders (very few, actually) for our home-based business come with credit cards, we signed a lease for a credit card machine. Our agreement with the bank was for 3 years.
We terminated our agreement with the bank last month at the end of our 3 year commitment. I sent the machine back to Ladco. However, when I sent the machine back, Ladco told me that I still had another year on their lease. I think that it's a ripoff to have to pay for a device which is tied to the services of a bank contract no longer in effect. We used the device only a handful to times during those 3 years, and we will end up paying $1,679.52 for a machine on which we never processed more that $500 for in CC payments. When starting a business, it's difficult to know how many of the transactions will require Credit Card procssing or what will be the state of the business four years hence.
I doubt that the machine costs more than $25 to manufacture, but my complaint is that Ladco's lease should be no longer than the bank's lease. What good does it do to pay for a device after it's been sent back? Of course, the real problem is that people who set up a small business should not be required to do a multi-year agreement with the bank or with Ladco.
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