My company, too, was screwed over by this bunch of scam artists. My story is amazingly similar to the one I just read. I was contacted by a guy out of Peoria, IL who asked if we were interested in accepting credit cards at our business. I was wanting to offer this service, so I agreed to a meeting the next morning.
This slick-type sales guy even mention the name of a remote "friend" that we had in common, so I figured he was on the up and up. I was given the whole sales pitch and was told that I would be able to use the equipment on a trial basis for 30 days to make sure it's what I wanted to use.
I signed for the equipment not knowing I was signing a FOUR YEAR LEASE. This lying bastard had me on the hook for $74 a month for the next four years! I called the so-called "parent company" in New Jersey to tell them I wanted out of this "deal" immediately since I had been duped into believing I was getting something that I did not get. This person at the "parent company" was extremely rude and was basically told "tough shit" and to live with it. Not only was I lied to about the use of the equipment, but on what I was allowed to do with the equipment.
I was told I could punch in card numbers for orders taken over the phone. I tried this and thought the transaction had gone properly. I got a call the next morning telling me I could not punch in numbers... I had to physically swipe the card. Unfortunately, the customer is a road salesman and I had to literally pack up the equipment, drive 50 miles to meet him on his route, plug in the machine again and swipe his card.
Not only did I waste an afternoon chasing this payment down, but I was CHARGED $25 by the "company" to void the previous punched-in transaction. These rip-off pricks got me coming and going!
I finally had had enough. I took all of the equipment and threw it in a box where it's been collecting dust for the last 2 1/2 years. I tried to stop the direct withdrawls from my bank account, but was told by my bank that this "company" was not withdrawing the same amount each month. One month it was $74, the next month it was $73.99.. Or $74.01. Since they changed the amount the withdrew each month, it was impossible to stop tthe cheating bastards from making the withdrawls.
I am going to have to close my account and re-open with a different number in order to stop this. Of course that creates all kinds of new problems... Checks, rubber stamps, all the legit withdrawls... Everything is screwed up now.
We have just called the Attorney General in Illinois. We will have to go through a mountain of paperwork, but I won't sit still until these thieving assholes are put out of business. We called the number we had for the "company" in Peoria... Of course, the number had been disconnected. We tried calling the "company" in California and of corse, got no anser after 50 rings. If anybody else has been ripped of by this horseshit "company", PLEASE contact your state's Attorney General now!
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