This has been going on for me since 1999. IMS contacted me from a mailing list after I filed a trade name affidavit and agreed to sell me "internet" credit card processing software. They time pressured me to sign a lease and them delivered "PC Charge" which does not do anything by internet but sends in charges over a 300 baud dialup connection after the transactions are entered by hand.
When I called IMS to talk to the Rep he was always "on the sales floor" and unavailable. When I told the operator of my problem, she said she would transfer me to the "customer service dept" and after several 2 hour periods on hold, I was disconnected multiple times.
I finally got someone in the "Computer dept" who acted like they didn't know what an internet gateway and real time processing was, and who finally said I needed an "interface package".
After receiving this package which was really just a more recent version of "PC Charge" (They were selling me old software to boot) I told them that this did not meet the specifications and I wanted the lease cancelled per the 30 day clause. They said they would have the Rep contact me. The Rep never did (after I spent additonal untold hours on hold only to be cut off).
I then received a wonderful letter from Nothern Leasing telling me that the lease had been transfered to them and how they would like to help me with more "equipment". I told them that IMS had never delivered the correct product and I offered to let them trade out the wrong software for the correct software. They said that they would "investigate the situation".in the meantime they debited my bank account for the ACH transactions. I called them back and complained (after more long hold times) and of course, no one knew anythimg about my previous request for tradeout. I sent them a letter telling them to cease debiting my account, which they ignored until I finally closed the account.
Then the telephone and mail threats began. They never acknowleged my complaint or even attempted to resolve the issue. They just kept demanding payment. They are now taking me to court in New York (IMS was in Chicago and I don't believe New york has jurisdiction because the lease was never fullfilled by IMS and therefore was not good for assignment). I am planning to make the $500 trip to New York for a day in court because I'd rather give money to American Airlines than to these shysters.
Anybody who is interested in a class-action lawsuit and pursung this with the FTC, I'm ready. The last person who defrauded me on the internet is serving 15 years in a Texas prison after I went to Fraud.org, the BBB and a few other places. It took 3 1/2 years, but there is one less jerk preying off the internet. It ain't about the money anymore, it's about flushing the scum from the sidewalks.
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