I used United Bank Card (UBC) through an online credit card processing company, authorize.net. Being new in business at the time, I didn't even fully understand that I was signing up with more than one company when I signed on with authorize.net (who I would not do business again with either). I recently shifted my service to a different processing company and when I saw the charges from UBC continue I contacted them. Apparently, as the UBC rep explained and many others have stated in reports on this website, any time a card processes with UBC the contract with renews for 2 or 3 years. To get out of the contract is either $35 per month for the remaining term or $250, whichever is higher. I thought I could just ride out the remainder of my contract at about $10 per month, but it seems, after discussing it with one of their reps, that there are several charges each year (so called annual membership fees, etc) that get billed to their customer's accounts that are close to $100 each. So it was cheaper for me to just opt for the $250 to get away from them. Seems like a crap way of doing business. They really kick you in the backside on the way out. Think about it. If I do just one transaction with them at any time, let's say for $1,000 and we'll assume that their fee is $30, then UBC is automatically guaranteed $500 or $600 more from me since I'm automatically locked in for years after. I only got away with $250 since I haven't processed with them for a long time. It seems the only way that would work out is if my volume was so high that their kick you in the a$ on the way out the door fees only amounted to a small percentage.
Sure, I should have scrutinized the contract before signing it. If you've ever ran a business, you'll know that things pop up that need to be done fast (like taking credit cards) and there's not always time to learn all about what you are getting into. I actually did a decent amount of research and it seemed like I was getting the best deal but add in all the junk fees and I would have been much better off with a higher priced reputable bank or something.
So, what I've learned is to always find out if any contract you are signing auto-renews, and if there are penalties for early termination. I've seen lots of bad contracts because of that bs feature. Also, I've learned never to do any business with United Bank Card. Hopefully this saves the next guy some heartache.
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