I operate a very small business that has need to occasionally accept credit cards. I had a merchant account for several years before moving to "Sterling" about two years ago so I could have a "seasonal" account, for which I was promised I would only pay fees during whichever months I choose.
On September 30, I received a letter from Sterling informing me of a mandatory PCI Compliance fee of $80. I phoned Sterling the following day (Oct 1) to question why I must certify for PCI since my "seasonal" account is dormant and I have no plans to ever activate this account or accept credit cards again. Sterling explained the $80 is mandatory for all merchant accounts, regardless of seasonal status. When I explained that I didn't want to pay this fee for which I would receive zero value, I asked, "can I just close my account". I was told, "Yes, just fax in this form".
So... I faxed the form instructing Sterling to close my account immediately.
A few hours later that same day (Oct 1), I received an email that confirmed my account was being closed... And that included a paragraph near the bottom of the email that said essentially, "oh... By the way, since you did not fulfill your 36 month term commitment, we are charging you a $395 early termination fee...".
I immediately phoned Sterling (early afternoon of Oct 1) and explained that I did not agree to any 36 month term or any such early termination fee. I reviewed my entire original application form and the entire string of email between myself and the third party (Dave Harlow at First American Hurst) and confirmed that there was NEVER any mention in the application or other communication leading up to submittal of my application, of a 36 month commitment of early termination fee of any type. (However, I did find some "standard terms" that Sterling now points to that does include this text, but I maintain these terms were added AFTER my application and therefore NOT part of MY agreement with Sterling.)
Regardless... in the early afternoon of Oct 1, Sterling would not explain why they did not caution me about the $395 early termination fee when I asked if I could close my account. But Molly Moore (Sterling Retention department) confirmed that the closing had NOT yet been processed and that she could stop the closing and NOT charge the $395 termination fee (but that I would still need to pay the $80).
I agreed, since, of course, I would much rather waste $80 than waste $395.
I followed my discussion with Molly Moore (Oct 1, 12:39pm central) by sending an email to Molly confirming our agreement. Molly then replied to my email with her line-by-line concurrence of everything we discussed. The following is a copy of this email exchange.
"... From: Fred Sent: Thursday, October 01 12:39 PM To: Molly Moore Cc: Retention Subject: Re: Cancellation Molly, Thank you for your time this morning. From our discussion, I've noted the following:
(1) You will discard the fax I sent earlier this morning regarding a request for immediate cancellation correct in fact a request to reopen your account is already in place
(2) You will keep my merchant account seasonally deactive. Correct it will remain seasonally close until you notify us other wise (if you ever choose to)
(3) When I get home tonight, I will review the original contract terms that I signed (since I do not remember any mention of 3 year contract terms or early termination fees, and I KNOW that my verbal conversations indicated there were no such terms and that I could cancel at any time... No fees mentioned). Please note that our terms and conditions might have changed since your original contract date it is also stated in the agreement we have the right to do so and notify merchants via postal mail. Any time there is an adjustment in contract obligations a new copy of the T&Cs are sent to the business address we have on file...".
What did Sterling do? They waited until I was not watching my bank account closely... Six (6) days later, they closed my account and withdrew $395 from my bank account and have since REFUSED to even return my phone calls.
I sought assistance from Dave Harlow at First American Hurst (the person that originally signed me up for the service with Sterling)... Dave could also not get an explanation from Sterling why they took this money, but Dave confirmed;
(1) He (First American Hurst) no longer does business with Sterling because of their poor business practices, and
(2) He (Dave Harlow) told me that he told a Sterling VP (name unknown) that what they were doing to me was "not right".
I was unaware for a couple of weeks that Sterling had withdrawn (ACH) the $395 from my bank account and was only told today that my bank will not allow me to dispute this charge - even though I have proof in writing that this is fradulent - since I did not submit a formal dispute within two (2) days of the transaction!
I only wish everyone could avoid this painful (and costly) experience with Sterling Payment Technologies. If they would only TALK to me and explain WHY they are doing this... ;^ (
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