I now join the ranks of numerous people who have been ripped-off by leasing credit card equipment through Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. I know this is lengthy but I don't want to leave any room for misunderstanding.
My saga started when I decided to open a small home business that would supplement my income to pay for my hobby in the same activity, exhibiting purebred dogs. Credit card acceptance would make it more convenient for exhibitors to enter my dog shows via faxed entries. The whole idea was a little pricey but it would only be a four-year lease and afterwards I would own the equipment, which in my case was a computer program to submit credit card payments using my own computer.
Luckily, I made copies of everything I signed because Everything was handled over the phone and via fax. I was never sent a copy of the signed lease with the account number on it. For 48 months (the lease term), the lease payments were deducted from my checking account. Then I attempted to contact Northern Leasing to satisfactorily end my contract. I was never given any contact numbers for them. I had to obtain phone numbers for Northern Leasing through the credit card processing company, information and then finally via the internet.
When calling, I was only able to get automated messages and information on their contact numbers. One automated message advised that if I had a 48 month contract, the buy out would be 10% of the total amount paid on the lease. I was never made aware of this by the salesperson but figured oh well 10% isn't much, I'll pay it to get it over with. Then, after numerous contacts with the company, one or two with a live person, I found that they would not deal with me without having a contract number. I NEVER got a contract number. They made no attempt to resolve this issue.in the mean time the bank deductions were nearing 60 months.
I'd like to interject here that the original disc/program that was sent to me also became obsolete after the first year. The lease agreement with Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. Stipulates that I will keep the equipment in good working order however, there is nothing in the lease that says they will keep the equipment up-to-date.
When I updated my computer equipment for the business, I had to retain an old computer set-up just to process credit card payments with the old program. The company that manufactures the credit card program advised that they would update it for me at an additional cost. I elected to maintain the extra old computer.
Getting back to the subject, after 60 months of continued payments to Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. And continued attempts to end this lease agreement, I contacted my bank with this dilemma. The person I spoke with at the bank said that they did not have contact information on the automated withdrawal, but that if I wanted to get fast results from Northern Leasing, just stop payment on the monthly withdrawal. He was absolutely correct.
Several days after they received notice that I had stopped payment on the automatic withdrawal, Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. Sent me a letter, this time with my account number on it. I contacted them by phone but was unable to speak to the person who wrote the letter, Ms. Angel. I told Brendon, whom I spoke to that I would not pay another dime on this lease since they had made it impossible for me to end this lease at the end of the 48 month agreement. I asked him to quote me word for word when he recorded the information on my records with them.
Obviously, he didn't because a few days later, I received another letter from Northern Leasing advising that their attempts to contact me had failed. Whose attempts? This time I faxed a letter to them with a detailed account of everything that had transpired over the years and included the same words, I will not pay another dime on this lease.
I called again but got Brendon, who after realizing I had already talked to him once, gave me to another person. He made several different offers on how I could satisfy this lease and that I was responsible for it. Again, I said that I would not pay another dime on this lease ever again.
The entire organization must be English impaired because several days later, Northern Leasing took additional monies out of my checking account via electronic funds transfer. The amount of this withdrawal appears to be a total for late fees, payoff for the lease and 2 months of lease payments. This type of action is stipulated in the lease, however, in my case, my numerous attempts over a year's time to satisfy this lease failed because of Northern Leasing. To me this is synonymous to theft on the part of Northern Leasing.
I went to my bank, showed them my original stop payment form that cancelled Northern Leasing from taking any monies out of my account and they retrieved the amount for me and returned it to my account. I also gave them copies of all the correspondence and the lease agreement that I had.
I've received several more automated letters in the mail from them demanding payment on my lease. Yesterday, I also received a copy of my signed lease with them. It amazingly had my account number on it, a contact phone number and an additional page that explained the buy out conditions of the lease. This was never given to me before or after I signed the lease agreement.
If Northern Leasing wants any more monies to satisfy this lease, let them get it from the salesperson who told me that after 48 months of payments on this lease, the equipment would be mine. The salesperson's code on the lease is INTM. I will not pay another dime on this lease and they can take me to court if they think it'll be cost effective for them!
In the mean time, if they would like their equipment back, they can, according to section 6 of their lease agreement, make an appointment with me to come to my home in California, attempt to locate the disc in 1 of about 20 packing boxes and retrieve it. They can have their obsolete equipment back. I've had two stress related heart attacks and will only make as much effort to return their equipment as they originally made to help me pay off my lease!
A bit of trivia here: I paid 66 months at 46.97 plus a $25.00 one-time charge for taxes. Who's taxes, I'll probably never know. That totals $3,125.02 on a now obsolete item that I could have purchased outright at that time for approximately $800.00. No wonder Northern Leasing Systems, Inc. Reports that they are financial solvent!
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