Until recently, I have never really run across anything so blatantly deceptive as EVO Merchants Services in Melville, NY.
In addition to publishing a local newspaper, I also own a small chain of Beauty Stores in Ocean County. After years of deducting credit card processing fees from my statement, I decided to answer one of those solicitations and switch companies. A representative from EVO out of Melville, NY had dropped a brochure in one of my locations offering as low as a 1.75% processing rate. The current rate at the time was 2.25%. What I didn't realize was that there are hidden fees almost impossible to decipher on the statements. When all was said and done, I was paying the same as the company I had left. Well, except for one thing
The local sales rep, Tom Reidy, also convinced me that I needed new processing machines and services. He promised to get me out of the leases on the current six machines that had a year and a half left on them. The new machines were more to lease but Tom said they would do more. He also convinced me to order six check processing machines which he said would be a breeze to accept checks on and allow us to take checks for larger amounts without the worry of them bouncing. With that, I agreed to sign on. Tom went to all my locations and set up the new machines while picking up the old ones. He also said he would ship them back to the previous leasing company and end the leases.
After 5 months of phone calls to Tom asking him why the fees for the old machines were still showing up on my statement, Tom said that I needed to send the machines back myself. He also told me that he made contact with the leasing company and that all was set for me to return them directly. He went so far as to give me a shipping label to use on the carton being shipped to them.
With that, I was leery so I called Tom's supervisor, EVO VP of Sales, Jim Fink and was told that in no way could the leases be ended. Jim admitted that what Tom said was false. But offered no remedy. I called the previous leaseholder and found that Tom had never made any contacts and that there was no way out of the leases.in addition, I said that Tom never explained the process of accepting checks on those machines, which in turned caused numerous checks from customers to bounce. False information from Tom also had my employees keep checks that customer wrote instead of processing them and handing them back to customers, which I was later told by EVO tech support was standard procedure.
Neither Tom nor Jim return phone calls now nor letters from my attorney. I also found out that if he had gone on to the internet to purchase the new machines, I could have gotten them for as low as $215 each. On the new lease, I am paying $55 a month for four years and wont own them in the end. That's $2640.00 over four years for each machine times the six machines I leased
How could I be so ignorant? Small business owners know that there are lots of aspects to be covered in managing you own business. I thought I could trust a credit card processor. An expensive but valuable lesson had been learned and the least I can do now is share it with others.
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