In 17 years I have never dealt with a more deceptive company utilizing underhanded business practices. This is a clear example of a multi million dollar company preying on a small, innocent business.
They held MC/VISA deposits of over $1000 from my account in December without telling me. Here is my story.
On Aug. 1 I received a visit from Tanya Booker, a sales rep from Merchant Lynx in Canton. She explained to me that she could save me money if I used a pin pad for debit transactions. She told me the cost of the pin pad would be $29.99 per month for 1 year. She did not tell me it was a lease. When I asked her if there were any other upfront fees, she said no. Because she arrived late, she overlapped with my next appt. I was rushed into signing a contract. She told me she would fax me the contract when she returned to the office.
I never received a copy of the contract. 10 days later I received a lease contract with First Data which stated I owed $29.99 per month for 4 years!
I was shocked. I called Tanya and she did not return my phone calls. I called the company and they said there was nothing they could do because I signed a lease. So I called the leasing company, First Data and spoke to Pat, a manager. I explained to her what happened and she said she would cancel the lease. She instructed me to send the pin pad back to Merchant Lynx.
I returned the pin pad certified mail with a signature. It was received, accepted and signed for by Jesse on Oct. 2. I even received a phone call from Carla that they received it. I did not have another debit of $29.99 from my checking account so I thought it was a done deal.
On Nov. 2 I returned from lunch and saw a white cardboard box sitting outside my office door.inside was a pin pad. There was no note saying who it was from. I called the Merchant Lynx in Canton and they knew nothing of it. I called the leasing company and they also did not have a record of one being sent. I kept the pin pad but did not use it.
The icing on the cake began in December. AT the end of the month as I was reconciling my checking account, I noticed that over $1000 in mastercard and visa deposits were not posted to my account. On Jan. 7 I called Merchant Lynx and they referred me to risk management. I left two voice mails with them and they did not return my phone calls. I finally received a phone call from Lisa in customer service at 3PM. She informed me that funds were being with held to pay for the pin pad!!! She said I was still responsible for it even though my lease agreement was cancelled. I did not receive a letter or warning that this was going to happen. I asked her how this could happen? She thought it would have been nice if I would have been sent a letter, but basically there is nothing she can do because she is not in charge. Luckily for me I did not have any bounced checks.
It was not until Jan. 16 that I received an accounting of which funds were held and a partial release of my deposits from Jan. 4 were released.
These people are crooks! I am sending a letter to our attorney, the Attorney General in Georgia, the BBB and to Channel 2 news. I am shocked that a business can lie to another business and get away with it. I am also sending a letter to the vice-presidents of the company.
From the looks of other complaints on this site, it appears as if they have used the same business tactics with others.
Stay away from this company. They have upfront fees they do not tell you about, like a $50 initiation fee, a $10 a month fee for paper whether you use it or not, a $10 fee for viewing payments online and a $100 annual fee.
If you cancel out in less than two years they hit you with a $350 cancellation fee.
I want my money back. The business relationship is based on fraud.
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