LEADERS

Review: I have a commercial customer that charged $3400 and $3800 on their American express to pay for their invoices.Leaders suspended the deposit to my business account and wanted all kinds of documents in order to release the funds even though we have approvals and signature of the swiped card. we provided them with what they asked for; but said that they would approve the $3400 charge and they will reject the $3800 charge and they are doing this as a courtesy to us.I don't know why they approved the card from the beginning if they were going to give me all the hassle.Desired Settlement: I like to have them deposit the amount into my business account

Business

Response:

Since 2000, Leaders Merchant Services, LLC, has upheld one of the largest Chargeback and Fraud departments in the industry. While LEADERS can appreciate all of the merchant’s frustrations, our Risk Management department followed Industry-wide standards and protocol by holding and validating the merchant’s monies and transactions in order to protect against the threat of high risk transactions and fraudulent activity. When this merchant account application was submitted, the processing limits were approved at a $30 average ticket with a high ticket of $1000. The merchant first processed a transaction for $3400 and then another transaction for $3800, both outside his approved limits. Since the merchant did not abide by the approved limits, LEADERS risk department held the 2transactions mentioned in this complaint and asked the merchant to verify the information on the transactions. LEADERS risk department worked diligently with the merchant to resolve this issue however, after researching these transactions they were found to be over 30 days old and the merchants accounts didn’t support these high transactions. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS released the $3400 transaction, but is unable to process the second transaction for $3800 and has since issued a return to the card holder, therefore, there are no additional processing funds to return to themerchant. LEADERS considers this complaint closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10792279, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

E[redacted]

Review: When I signed up for the Square credit card reader, I did so after checking it out through other vendors. I signed up officially through David Gallant on 3/19/2014. He assured me that I could cancel my account at any time. Nothing was said about an Early Cancellation fee and definitely nothing was said about a 3 year contract. I would not have signed anything that required such a contract. Nor was I told that there would be an annual fee of $106, a monthly fee of $7.95 as well as a fee for each transaction. I knew about the transaction fee and was okay with that. Following several issues following use of the Square reader, I cancelled the account, which I had attempted to do before; however, the first time I asked to cancel, I was convinced to stay with the program. However, the issues that followed the weekend of October 25, 2014, I did cancel. Nothing was said then about an early cancellation fee. They only asked me if there was anything they could do to change my mind.A review on the internet plainly stated that Square aka Leaders did not have an Early Cancellation Fee. That was wrong. Complaints online, which I did not find in time stated that was one of their hidden fees. The paragraph below is what I copied and pasted into my complaint."Some of the undisclosed fees and contract terms that were mentioned are the 3-year contract, with an early termination fee of $350 or $250 depending on when you cancel, the annual fee of $99, and the PCI compliance fee of $120/yr."Any and all fees should be stated in the initial interview for application. David Gallant assured me that I could cancel at any time. Not once did any one tell me there was an Early Cancellation Fee. Therefore, this $350 they took from my bank account should be refunded.Desired Settlement: I want the $350 early cancellation fee refunded to my bank account.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services LLC has been a leader in the merchant services industry since 2000 and we strive to provide the highest quality processing and customer service in the industry. We endeavor to assist all questions or concerns as quickly and accurately as possible and are disappointed to receive a complaint such as this. In an effort to resolve this complaint LEADERS has reviewed this merchants’ records and signed merchant processing agreement. The signed agreement contains all fees the merchant was billed including the $350 ETF the merchant was billed for closing their account prior to the end of their 3 year contract. As a good faith gesture leaders will refund the $350 agreed upon in the signed merchant agreement. The merchant should expect to see their refund in 7-10 days as long as the fee clears the merchants’ bank. LEADERS is not clear why the merchant believes we are an affiliate of Square processing but we would like to make it clear that LEADERS is not an affiliate of Square. LEADERS would like to wish the merchant much success with their business and considers this matter resolved and closed.

Business

Response:

LEADERS would like to state that if the merchant had contacted Member services the amounts in question in this complaint would have been explained to her. The withdrawal on 10/28/2014 was for the balance of the transactions on 10/26/2014. The merchant had credits in the amount of $86.60 and returns of $211.09. The daily discount for those charges was $1.04. The net amount to the merchant was $125.53 which was withdrawn from the merchant’s account. The $26.77 that was withdrawn from the merchants account was for her October month end fees. The merchant is responsible for the October month end fees since she did process in the month of October and no refund will be issued. The merchant should receive her statement which will give her a total breakdown of all fees billed to her within 5 business days.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10289629, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: I was contacted by Leaders and talked into trying their card reader services. I was told I could try it and if it ended up costing more than the service I was using at the present time there would be no PROBLEM canceling it. Well I tried it for approximately 9 months where it would work randomly. The reader would only work for a short time and then it would stop. It was very frustrating having a customer standing in front of you and having them wait and then have to switch readers. It was always so hard to get through to anyone there also. The last statement I had from them also turned out too cost me more, on top of the reader not working. So I cancelled. No one at anytime mentioned anything about a early cancellation fee. I checked my bank statement and there is a $350.00 charge. I am a small business and most definitely cant afford to give away $350.00. Since the reader doesn't work properly for me,and it cost me more wouldn't the right thing for them to do would be reverse the fee. The manager there refused. I cant believe this is happening. Any reputable company most definitely would not expect you to pay for service that doesn't work. I would say this is a PROBLEM and deceitful. This has been a nightmare.Desired Settlement: I just want them to do what the sales rep said and cancel the account with out a PROBLEM which would be not stealing $350.00 from me. If the sales rep had told me up front of the cancellation fee I would never have tried Leaders. I request a refund of $350.00. Please.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC, has worked diligently since 2000 to provide our merchants with superior credit card processing services; hence, we are very disheartened to have received a complaint of this manner. In an effort to resolve this issue, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed all Merchant Service records and the merchant’s signed Agreement. The Agreement reflects all set rates, fees and terms, which are signed and agreed upon by the merchant and is what governs the the relationship between LEADERS and the merchant. If the Agreement included fees the merchant did not agree to with her sales representative then she should not have signed the Agreement. On page 3 of the signed merchant application it is stated; “ if Merchant is approved, any cancellation by You of this Agreement within three (3) years from the date of approval or is terminated by Servicers due to an Event of Default by Merchant, will be subject to the applicable early termination fees and Merchant will be charged a fee for such early termination equal to (I) $350.00 if terminated before completion of the first year of the Term: or (II) $250.00 if terminated after the completion of the first year of the Term but prior to the end of the third year of the Term (see section 22.1 of the Agreement-program guide).” Since the merchant closed her account prior to the end of the first year an early termination fee in the amount of $350.00 was charged. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $350 early termination fee to the merchant. The Merchant should see a refund to the bank account on file within 10 working days. LEADERS would like to wish this merchant much success with their business and considers this matter resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10270008, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I appreciate they returned the fee, It is a shame that I had to

file a complaint before they would take care of this for me.

Regards,

Review: Hello, I am a new business owner and I was called by this Company Leaders Merchant Services,a credit card reader co.and I was interested because it is needed in every business the sales person fail to inform me of all the hidden charges that I would be paying for,I paid the first two months maybe three,I spoke with a manager to reduce my monthly payment from 35.00,because of slow business and they did reduce it to 15.00 a month with some other fees totaling about 20.00 a month.I noticed a -163.43 that they had taken out of my account I contacted them and asked what was that for and I refused to pay it and they said I had signed the contract,so I closed my account and I'am disputing that charge with my bank,how can a small business make any money with companies like this taking money for no apparent reason,they should not be able to do that.Desired Settlement: TO REFUND MY MONEY CLOSE THE ACCOUNT WITHOUT THEIR 350.00 FEE,I FOUND ANOTHER COMPANY THAT DON'T HAVE ALL THOSE FEES.

Business

Response:

LEADERS has been serving merchants since 2000. We work hard to

resolve all complaints our merchants have as quickly and accurately as

possible. In our efforts to resolve this merchant’s issue, LEADERS has

thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records, which include the Merchant’s signed

Agreement. The Agreements, formed by the 4-page Merchant Application, and

Merchant Services' “Program Guide”, clearly indicate that the merchant has, in

fact, been billed correctly according to the documents they signed. The

contract which all merchants are required to sign ensures all parties involved

understand the rates and fees that are going to be billed to the merchant. All

rates and fees have been clearly indicated in the contract for the merchant to

see prior to signing. This merchant’s signed agreement acknowledges they read

the agreement and agreed to all rates and fees. This merchant has been in

contact with our Customer Service Department regarding lowering fees which were

updated on the account in November. One of the fees that was billed for

November is the PCI Annual Fee which is listed on page 3 of the signed

agreement. LEADERS will refund the PCI Annual Fee that was billed as well as

close the account per this merchant’s request. The refund will take

approximately 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant good luck in

future endeavors and considers this complaint closed.

Review: In late February 2014 I contacted Leaders about opening a merchant credit card processing account. A representative completed an application with me over the phone and internet. On March 3 an unauthorized $25 was deducted from my bank account. I did not feel safe and called Leaders to cancel the application process. I never activated the account. On March 14 a $350 "Cancellation Fee" was deducted from my bank account. Since I did not have the funds in my account, my bank covered the transaction and assessed a $10 fee.I spoke with three representatives at Leaders. One agreed to refund $250, claiming they had costs to "board" my account. Since I did not activate an account to be cancelled, I consider this theft. I now have to daily check my bank account for further deductions.Desired Settlement: $100 for unauthorized bank account deduction$10 for bank fund transfer fee

Business

Response:

LEADERS has reviewed the complaint from the merchant about her Early Termination Fee as well as our own records. The merchant signed a contract with LEADERS and in doing so opened an account with LEADERS. It is correct that the merchant never activated her gateway and used the account but her merchant account was approved and opened on February 19,2014 and was available for her use. The charge for $25 was her month end fees for February that the merchant agreed to when she electronically signed her application with her sales representative. If the merchant did not agree with the rates and fees on the application then she should not have signed and submitted the application. The costs involved in opening an account were explained to the merchant when LEADERS agreed to refund $250.00 of the $350.00 ETF she was billed when she closed her account prior to the end of the commitment she signed up for in her contract. The merchant’s $25 month end fees were rejected by her bank and LEADERS has already waived that balanced owed to us. We have also refunded $250.00 of the $350 ETF billed to the merchant as a good faith gesture. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the final $100 of the ETF. The merchant should see the refund in 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9987588.

To clarify some points~

The initial Leaders representative very clearly offered a monthly fee of $8, not $25.

Leaders advertises on www.leadersccprocessing.com "Free set up" and "Zero out of pocket expense to start."

This indicates that any initial "boarding fees" belong to Leaders, not the applicant.

As I recall, the application document did not specify exact fees--it was a generic form.

I was not informed of additional fees, including early termination, in any written or verbal communication.

This resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: They dont tell you that your getting into a three year contract and thats its a early termination clause. Also they held my funds for three weeks without notifying our company. We noticed by our bank statements that some money was missing. then they had me get all my bank statements and clients information to prove that this client had knowlegde of the transaction. Then they still wouldnt release money to me because the clients phone number was diffeernet from her mothers phone number that was on her mothers account. We was trying to tell them that it would be because the daughter is the POA over her mother care and she pays for her mothers care from her mothers account and she has Legal paperwork showing where shes the POa over her mothers medical affairs. They wouldnt accept that..Causing a big problem with our bills and service and employyes because nthey had a large amount of money of ours on hold .Desired Settlement: To beable to exit contract and company without paying termenation fee which I was not aware of

Business

Response:

LEADERS has been serving merchants since 2000. We work hard to resolve all complaintsour merchants have as quickly and accurately as possible. In our efforts to resolvethis merchant’s issues, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Servicerecords, which include the Merchant’s signed Agreement. The Agreements, formedby the 4-page Merchant Application, and Merchant Services' “Program Guide”,clearly indicate that the Merchant has, in fact, been billed correctlyaccording to the documents they signed. These documents also include the Rates,Fees, Terms and Conditions for their Merchant Account. The contract allmerchants are required to sign ensures all parties involved understand therates and fees that are going to be billed to the merchant. All rates and feeshave been clearly indicated in the contract for the merchant to see prior tosigning. This merchant’s signed agreement acknowledges they read the agreementand agreed to all rates and fees. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS will closethis account and waive the Early Termination Fee of $350. LEADERS wishes the merchant good luck andconsiders this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: Leaders Merchant Services is refusing to help my business become PCI complaint. This company continues to bill the West Reading Tavern $40 every month without addressing the issue. Every time I call the company to speak about this issue they disconnect the phone call. I find this company very unprofessional when it comes to dealing with their customers.Desired Settlement: We want all the $40 charges for the last 6 months to be fully refunded to our account. Also, we want our contract to be terminated with no penalties.

Business

Response:

LEADERS has contacted the merchant and are currently working with the merchant to get an exception so that he can pass the PCI compliance survey. The merchant is having issues with the PCI compliance survey due to his internet ports for his surveillance cameras. LEADERS will ensure the merchant is either given an exception or we will close his account with no Early Termination Fee. LEADERS will refund all $40 non-PCI compliance fees to the merchant.

Review: This company is the last company you would want to choose to accept cards through! They decided to cancel my account in under 30 days because I processed 1 transaction that was over the allotted amount. They then put all funds on hold and began putting my company under scrutiny. It was initially because of the 1 charge for $1250 when I am only authorized for $100-$250 transactions. It then quickly changed once I told STARR ADAMS that she was unprofessional and needed to hurry up with the nonsense and release my funds. I suppose she took that personally and from that point decided to cancel my account based on what she personally feels. My account funds are being held for services already rendered and then today they decide to take an addition $350 out of my account. I did not ask to have my account cancelled yet I am paying for it and my other money is being held. This company is crooked and tried to screw over anyone they possibly can. I have read other reviews on them and personally regret the day I ever signed up with them. I want my money released and I want my $350 put back into my account or I will be filing with my credit card company.Desired Settlement: I want my $350 refunded and I want my funds released from my last 2 batches that you all have held.

Business

Response:

LEADERS fraud and risk department is one of the best in the industry, when we received this complaint, the director of the department contacted the merchant directly. We explained to the merchant that her account was closed due to the percentage of chargebacks she was having and also explained that is why her funds must be held. LEADERS has explained in detail all aspects including the hold time for her funds. We have also told the merchant when her account funds will be reviewed for release. LEADERS did agree to refund the $350 ETF once our reject report is received to ensure the $350 was paid by the merchants’ bank. An e-mail was sent to the merchant so she would have everything in writing. LEADERS wants to ensure the merchant everything that happened on her account is standard procedure and had nothing to do with the conversation between the merchant and the representative assisting the merchant. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9730153, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me if all fund sare returned into my account as promised.

I will close this complaint but it will be re-opened if funds are not received within 10 days.

Regards,

Review: To whom it may concern,LEADERS, The Merchant Services Co. miss represented itself in signing us up for their two year contract. They never mentioned a penalty for early termination. Later they advised that cancelling the contract would cause us to have a $350.00 penalty, unless, we went out of business. If we did go out of business then we would fill out the paperwork accordingly and send it in. We did end up going out of business, and had to file the paperwork to close out the account, however we were still charged $350.00 causing our account to be over drawn and incur more fees. I contacted the 1-800 number and spoke with Wesley #7619, who stated that who ever told us that the contract allowed for us to go out of business must have miss represented the company and they would not refund the money. I asked for a supervisor and he said their was not one. Second during the signing of the contract and signing up for the services no federal fees for PCI compliance of $179.00 once a year or the $40.00 for failing the computer scan were made known to us. When we started getting the bill for the fees taken out of our account it put us very close to over drafting at times. It took a lot of time on the phone with their customer service to put the money back in our account and correct the problems. Also since we used the service so rarely we were not told that our account would be suspended for non use until we found out by trying to sell our product with the card reader, and then it would not work. I would not recommend this company to anyone! Thank you,[redacted]Desired Settlement: $350.00 refund of closing fee and $25.00 for over draft fee.

Business

Response:

As a leader in the merchant services industry, Leaders Merchant Services, LLC, endeavors to provide superior merchant processing services to all of our merchants. In our efforts to resolve this merchants issues, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records, which include the Merchant’s signed Agreement. The Agreement, formed by the 4-page Merchant Application and the Merchant Services' “Program Guide”, clearly indicate that the Merchant has, in fact, been billed correctly according to the documents they signed. To ensure full disclosure during the application process, LEADERS created an Online Application. During this Online Application process, on their computer screen, the merchant can clearly and easily see each and every rate and fee as well as the complete terms and conditions applicable to the Merchant Account they will be opening with us. In addition, once the merchant completes the Online Application, they are sent a link via the same e-mail address the application is sent to that will allow them to print a hard copy of the documents they signed. These documents also include the Rates, Fees, Terms and Conditions for their Merchant Account. LEADERS has all merchants sign an application so there is no confusion about what they are going to be billed. If the application does not reflect what the representative discussed with the merchant then the merchant should not sign the contract. All fees billed to the merchant were in the signed application including the $350 Early Termination Fee to be billed to the merchant for closing the merchant account prior to the end of the 3 year term stated in the contract. The ETF is referred to in 2 different sections of the agreement. Reference to the ETF can be found on Page 2 and the full disclosure can be found on page 3 of the contract. Exclusions to the ETF such as going out of business is something we offer if the merchant can supply some official document that shows the business is no longer valid. i.e. dissolution papers. We have no record of a phone call were our representative told the merchant that the ETF would be waived if they were going out of business but as a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $350 ETF that was billed to the merchant for closing his account prior to his contract being complete. The merchant should see the refund in 7-14 business days once it clears our reject report. No other refunds are due to the merchant. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed

Review: Inquired about Leaders on their website. Was contacted by a salesman [redacted]. He told me the only fees were a monthly $7.95 monthly fee and a small per swipe fee. Without ever using the service I began receiving bills for $25 for "minimum discount" because I didn't swipe any cards. I called and spoke to customer service they told me I'd have to have over $4,000 a month in transactions to get it to $0. I asked them to close my account, but I guess the CSR "forgot" to mention the Early Termination Fee and I was hit with a $350 debit from my account. That's when I found out about the 3 yr. contract, early termination fees, and $129 a yr. compliance fee. [redacted] would not return my phone calls. In my conversations with [redacted], never did he mention a 3 year contract or all the other fees. This company misleads it's customers and has deceptive info on their website.Desired Settlement: I would like my $350 "early termination fee" returned and this company required to disclose the 3 year contract and other hidden fees before anyone can sign up.

Business

Response:

LEADERS takes all complaints seriously. We regret the merchant felt he had to contact the Revdex.com to resolve his issues with our company. We have reviewed the merchant’s signed agreement and have determined that all fees billed to the merchant are in fact correct. The merchant electronically signed his contract while on the phone with his sales representative and immediately after submitting the contract for approval a link to download a copy of the signed contract was sent to the merchant. If the merchant did not agree with the fees in the signed contract he should have mentioned it while going through the signing process or he could have contacted customer care immediately to stop the approval process. All fees were in the merchants signed contract which he had access to before he signed it and was able to review while signing it. A signed contract is created to ensure the merchant and LEADERS are agreeing to the same rates, fees and terms. The signed contract governs our relationship with the merchant. The merchant has already placed a stop payment on his $350 ETF so LEADERS will in good faith waive the $350 owed to us for closing the account before the end of the merchants’ contract. The $350 ETF will have went to collections and that can take up to 2 weeks to be removed. The merchant may receive letters or phone calls about the balance owed but can use this response to this complaint to advise the agents the matter has already been handled. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: I was induced by their sales staff to open an account with them in order to save money. In explaining the fee structure, the salesman completely omitted explaining the monthly fees that would come out of my account; he simply went over the charges that would accrue if I used the service, but completely overlooked the monthly charges. I feel that the service was misrepresented by this misleading omission.I have cancelled my account with them as of today, to hopefully avoid future charges. They have my bank account information and helped themselves to $35.50 last month and $161.95 this month.I am demanding a full refund, as I have not used their service and was mislead into believing there were no charges unless the service was used.Please help me in recovering my $197.45.Also, please warn others that may be considering a credit card processing service that those people are using misleading, if not outright devious tactics to induce unsuspecting and trusting businesses to sign up so that they can help themselves to unexplained fees in their customers bank accounts.Desired Settlement: a full refund of $197.45

Business

Response:

LEADERS has reviewed the merchants complaint and our records. LEADERS has billed the merchant according to the signed contract, if the merchant did not agree with the fees in the contract then he should not have signed the contract. LEADERS has received notification from the merchants bank that all fees billed to him have been rejected. LEADERS will waive the collection balance owed to us by the merchant as a good faith gesture to resolve this complaint. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

WORST COMPANY!! They deserve an "F" not a "D". I signed up with them over the phone with an agent who didn't disclose any information about the hidden fees. Within in a month I was charged $130 for opening my account with them. I called to cancel and it took them 3 months to send me the cancellation paperwork (I called numerous times). I was charged $75/month for not being PCI Compliant while waiting. When I did cancel my account I was charged an additional $250 for Early Termination. If you cancel anytime within 3 years you fall under this. I spent a total of $605 and never even used the damn thing.

Here’s how I was able to retrieve my excess fees from Leaders Merchant Services. They clearly use fraudulent practices. Their method is to have their sales representatives promise low fees but then document excessive charges in their contract’s “fine print” when you open an account. If you are considering signing with them, you will regret it. If you already have an account with them and want to recover excess fees, call their corporate office and ask for [redacted] (direct line is [redacted]; general office number is [redacted]) or her assistant [redacted]. Either will give you a lot of resistance but will refund most excess fees if you press hard enough. It’s then a question of whether or not to close your bank account and open a new one (a hassle) in order to protect your hard-earned cmpany funds from them! I hope this helps.

Worse customer service I've ever been a part of. I was hung up on, transferred numerous times to incorrect extensions, my calls were not returned, and one rep even had the nerve to call me a profanity as she ended her call. Oh, and don't forget the hidden fees. There's a bunch of them!

Review: I was told by a representative of the company at the time of setting up my account that the only fees I would need to pay are the contracted percentage of charges I made with the account. The first bill came with an additional monthly fee. I called the company and they reduced my monthly fee to two dollars. I called the company to close my account and they informed me there would be an early termination fee of 350 dollars. I spoke with the representative and he agreed it would be cheaper for me to keep the account open for 2 dollars a month for 3 years then paying 350 dollars to cancel before the 3 year contract ended. A couple months later I received a charge for about 130 dollars. This is a yearly fee. I called and spoke to Jasmine, a supervisor, and she put in a request to get a refund for the yearly fee, as well as the early termination fee. I was approved for a credit of the yearly fee but was denied the early termination fee. I made it clear to Jasmine that I will not be using the account and I only am keeping it open because it is cheaper than paying the early termination fee. The next month I received a charge for 25 dollars as a minimum balance due for each month. Jasmine and other representatives I spoke to were well aware that I was not going to be using the account and the purpose for why I left it open. Yet they did not inform me of other fees they knew about. They lied to me from the start and I keep having to hassle with unknown fees that I was told from the beginning I would not be charged. From the start I was told the only fee I would have to pay is a small percentage of the money the account was used for and I was lied to by a representative. I only signed the contract because of this and since then I have had fees that I was not told about. I would have never signed the contract knowing these other fees. They tell me that the fees are in the contract so I am liable for them, however the representative I spoke to told me differently and he serves as my contract.Desired Settlement: I want to close my account with the early termination fee waved.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is a company of integrity and is loyal to it’s merchants so we are very disheartened to receive a complaint of this nature. After a careful review of the merchants complaint, account notes and the signed contract LEADERS would like to mention that in good faith we have already worked with this merchant to resolve issues he has had with our company. We have lowered his fees to $2 a month and refunded his $129.00 annual PCI compliance fee, although all fees billed to the merchant were in his signed contract. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS will close the merchants account per the request of this complaint and waive the Early Termination Fee although the contract he signed clearly states he has a $350.00 ETF. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Thank You,

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC

Review: I opened an account with Leaders in January 2013. I was very unsure at the time how much I would use the service and made that clear to the salesperson. At no time during the sales call did the salesperson mention that he was signing me up for a 3-year contract. I would never have knowingly agreed to those terms. He took me through the contract very quickly, encouraging me to sign without reading it--as though he was giving me the most pertinent information. It was only when I called to cancel the service on 7/8/13 that I was informed of the 3-year contract and the early termination fee. In addition to omitting the fact that he was signing me up for a 3-year contract with a $350 termination fee, the salesperson omitted mentioning the annual compliance fee of more than $100. I had clearly told him that low fees were my highest priority in purchasing the service. He did not engage me as a customer in good faith and seems in retrospect to have purposefully misled me.Desired Settlement: I want my contract terminated without an early termination fee. If I have cancelled my account and incurred the cancellation fee by the time this complaint is handled, I want a refund of the early termination fee.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the top Merchant Service providers in the country. We take all complaints seriously and work to resolve them as quickly as possible so that we can provide the best customer service to our merchants. Although the merchant states he did not read the contract he signed when the representative was going over it with him he has had over 6 months to read the 4 page agreement. In that agreement the Early Termination Fee and the annual PCI compliance fee are mentioned twice. We apologize if the sales representative did not go over these fees in detail with the merchant at the time of signing. Since LEADERS does not want to cause financial hardship to the merchant and as a good faith gesture we will close the merchants account with no ETF saving the merchant $350.00. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success with his business and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Thank you

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9612866, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I only want to point out that in your business as in my own, the principle of "informed consent" to a contractual obligation is not satisfied by the presentation of a written document. It is the obligation of both parties in fair and ethical business dealings to ensure that the agreement is entered into with full knowledge of relevant details and obligations. Thank you for your prompt and fair resolution of my concern.

Regards

Review: I was looking for a company that I would be able to go through that would allow me to swipe credit cards if needed for my business. I rarely have a client ask if they can pay with a credit card, but thought it might be good to offer them the option. I researched all the companies online and found that Leaders offered a low rate per swipe depending on which credit card the customer used. It seemed to be a bit better than their competitors, so we went with them. We were told that there was a mandatory fee of $7.95 per month that we would have to pay no matter who we went through because it was a federal fee. And that was it. No startup fees, no contract. We would only pay a small percent when someone used a credit card. We gave business information over the phone and were sent an email saying everything was set up. We haven't even used the credit card swiper, but were sent a bill for $33.98 today which is probably automatically taken from our bank account since that was needed in order to put money into our account from someone paying with a credit card. I called to tell the company that it isn't worth it for our business to pay a monthly fee for something we may never use. (and would be losing money on fees when we do use it). They told us that if we cancel, we would have to pay a $300 fine. FOR WHAT? They said that they would send us a copy of the contract. I just opened it and this is the first time I have seen it. They electronically signed my name and an employee initialed my name to the document. They have completely lied and forged information and I am stuck paying them because I believed what they told me.Desired Settlement: The $33.98 they are charging me this month and OUT of their so-called contract.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the largest credit card processors in the industry and to hear a complaint such as this is disheartening. In an effort to resolve the merchant’s issues with our company, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records, which include the Merchant’s signed Agreement. The signed agreement clearly indicates that the Merchant has, in fact, been billed correctly according to the documents they signed. To ensure full disclosure during the application process, LEADERS created an Online Application. If the information the sales representative gave the merchant did not match what was on the application then the merchant should not have signed the application. In addition, once the merchant completes the Online Application by signing electronically, they are sent a link via the same email address the application was sent to, allowing them to print a hard copy of the documents they signed. Once they downloaded and printed a copy for their records they could have once again reviewed the documents and if there were any discrepancies they could have called in immediately to correct or cancel the account. The signatures on these electronically signed documents do not look anything like what a merchant’s signature would look like since they are using their mouse or other means to sign the documents electronically. These documents also include the Rates, Fees, Terms and Conditions for their Merchant Account. LEADERS takes pride in the security measures that have been installed on our online application process to ensure a situation such as we are being accused of does not take place. It is the merchant’s responsibility to print out the full merchant application if they want a copy of what they agreed to and signed electronically from the link provided to the same e-mail the original application was sent to. LEADERS customer service has provided the merchant with a copy of the contract for his convenience. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $33.98 the merchant was billed for his August month end fees and close his account with no Early Termination Fee per the request of this complaint saving the merchant $350.00. The refund will be processed in 7-10 business days. LEADERS would like to wish the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: Sales representatives missled and lied to me about costs with their merchant fees. They promised that I would save money by switching to them for my merchant needs. This was not the case. Now they want to charge me an additional $350.00 to break my three year contract with them. In one month of working with them and only processing ~$2,000.00 in sales I have been charged $623.38. I have been grossly misled!Customer service representatives have also had no power and/or been able to help me resolve this issue internally. It seems as though their sales representatives act as their own entity without any accountability and transparency to the rest of the company.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded in full including their yearly membership amount and to waive the cancellation fee. On their website they also promise a "$500.00 Guarantee" if you don't "save" money with them. If possible I would like them to stay true to that promise since this ordeal has been quite frustrating and upsetting. I don't trust this company with the information they possess of mine and would like to separate ties with them as soon as possible.

Business

Response:

LEADERS would like to address all of the merchants concerns in his complaint. The merchant agreement the merchant signed clearly stated all fees the merchant would be paying, if the merchant feels the contract did not reflect what he and his sales representative agreed upon or spoke about he should not have signed the contract. LEADERS customer care department has tried on several occasions to work with the merchant to lower his fees but the merchant has refused. If the merchant did not take the time at signing to read the contract before he signed it he had plenty of time to read it after he signed it and if he did not agree to the fees in his contract he could have called his representative or customer service.

The merchant processed $5020.00 in sales and $2990 in refunds in the month of July for a total processing amount of $8010, not $2000. The merchant was billed for all processing according to his signed contract.

The terms and conditions of LEADERS’ $500 guarantee can also be found on the same website where the merchant saw the guarantee. The terms and conditions state…The guarantee payment of $500 is payable only if LEADERS’ analysis shows no projected savings when compared to the merchant’s current rate structure and processing profile…etc. This merchant did not provide LEADERS with information on their two most recent processing months, therefore LEADERS was unable to perform an analysis before they started processing with LEADERS. LEADERS is not liable to this merchant for the $500 Guarantee due to the lack of analysis as per our terms and conditions.

In regards to the Early Termination Fee, this can be found in two locations in the merchant contract. If the merchant chooses to close his account before the 3 year contract has expired he is liable to LEADERS for the $350 ETF. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will close the merchants account per this complaint and waive the $350 ETF. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS will refund $100 of the Annual PCI compliance fee since the merchant has used the account for 3 months already this year. The merchant should see this refund in 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: I called Leaders on May 30, 2013 and spoke with [redacted]. I told him that most of my business was done over the phone and only a few times a year at fairs and expos would I need to 'swipe' anything. He quoted me the following fees for Mastercard and VISA transactions: $7.95/month with debit of 0.35% and credit of 1.55% with an additional $.18/transaction. Setup, swiper, customer support, hard copy billing statement were all free. I asked if there was a contract; he said no there was not. I also asked what additional fees there were (i.e., yearly maintenance fee). He said there was none. Based on this information, I decided to sign up with Leaders on May 31st. Not having internet at home, I used a friend's computer. He watched the application process. Before doing the online application with Morgan, I again asked if there was a contract; he again stated 'no'. At no time during the application process did any "small print" appear on the computer screen. I received the swiper and had it installed.After keying in several transactions in June triggered a call from the Risk Dept, I found out Morgan had set up my account as 100% swiped. He said he would change it to keyed. I received my first statement on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 and was shocked to discover a total of $86.75 had been taken out of my checking account with percentages ranging from 3.6% to 5.9%; batch fees of $.35 that I had not been told about upfront. After several phone calls to Merchant Services, At that time, I finally was sent a copy of my contract and found I had been signed up for three years with a $350 charge for early termination, $129 PCI fee/year with a $40/month noncompliance charge. After several calls to Customer & Merchant Services on July 11 and 12, I was told the early cancellation fee would be waived but nothing in writing could be sent to me. I went to my bank and had stop payments put on all debits to my account from Leaders. I then emailed Morgan that I was terminating my association with his companDesired Settlement: I want the $86.75 taken from my checking account refunded to me. I also want no collection attempts made on the early termination fees as well as no detrimental comments made on my credit reports. AND I want the latter put in writing.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the top credit card processors in the nation and we take complaints such as this very seriously. We have reviewed the account records including the signed agreement. The representative did explain to the merchant that there were no yearly fees. The annual PCI compliance fee on this account should have been waived, but was not. The account was originally set up as 100% keyed, but our risk department was able to figure out the issues and assisted the merchant with correcting it. The entire 4 page application/contract is available to read when a merchant is signing it online. We do not add anything after the merchant signs the application, it is just the 4 pages. A link to download a copy of the application is also sent to the merchant at the same e-mail the online application is sent to so the merchant may download a copy and print it if they would like. The $40 non-compliance fee is only assessed f you do not complete the annual PCI compliance survey within the first 3 months of processing and is refundable once you do complete the survey. The rate the merchant and representative discussed were for her qualifying transactions. It was never stated that the merchant was on a flat rate program and all rates were on her signed contract. The merchant’s month end fees were $86.75. This amount included the fees the merchant knew she would be responsible for which were 30 transaction fees at $.18 each for a total of $5.40 and the $7.95 a month that was also explained to the merchant. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund $73.40 to the merchant and close her account with no Early Termination fee saving the merchant $350.00. The merchant should receive her refund in 7-10 business days. LEADERS will not attempt to collect any fees from the merchant that are not owed to us per her signed contract. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: Leader's was very misleading in convincing me to sign up for their services. I asked several times if there were any fees, such as gateway fees, connection fees, etc., in addition to the CC fee and transaction fee. I was told multiple times that these were the only fees in addition to the $7.95 a month fee for Visa or something. I was also told that the tiered fees were tied to Tier 1 debit, Tier 2 credit card and Tier 3 manual credit card. When I received my first bill I found that almost all of my fees were tied to Tier 3. I called to complain and then was told that it was because of the kind of CC the customers were using. I complained and was told that my rate would be lowered and the difference would be credited to my account. The next month their was no change and no credit. I called again and was assured that it would be taken care of. The next month it was the same thing. I finally told them that if the rate was not changed and the money credited by the end of the year that I would cancel my account. The rate changed and when the statement came in January there was still no credit. I have requested to cancel my account and told them that they were not authorized to take the $350 out of my account. I am tired of getting lied to and misled. The biggest issue that I have is that they say that you have 30 days to close the account but they wait past that time to show their true colors of how they have misled you and then say you have to pay $350 to close the account. All a part of the scam.Desired Settlement: I want a refund of my $129 fee and I will not pay the $350 fee for closing the account. Leaders owes me more than this from the rate change but I believe this is a fair settlement.

Business

Response:

As a LEADER in the industry Leaders Merchant Services LLC strives to provide the highest quality services to all out merchants. We strive to resolve any issues with our merchants as quickly and efficiently as possible. We have reviewed this complaint along with the phone calls that were recorded while the merchant was signing the agreement on the phone with his sales representative as well as the signed merchant agreement. The merchant was billed correctly according to the contract he signed. After listening to the recording of the conversations between the merchant and his sales representative, the representative never mentioned how the processing would break down between the 3 tiers. We are not sure why the merchant believes he was mis-informed by his representative unless he spoke with other merchant service providers looking for the best rates and possibly got our offer confused with someone else. We would like to stress that if the rates and fees were not what the merchant felt he had discussed with his representative he should not have signed the agreement. LEADERS customer service did offer to lower the merchants rates and to refund the difference. The rate change was delayed until December and the refund was not processed as per the promise to the merchant. LEADERS has calculated the refund to be $48.77 and is in process to be being refunded to the merchant. Since this was an error on our part LEADERS will also refund the $129 PCI compliance fee as a good faith gesture. The merchant should see their refunds in 5-7 business days. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS has closed the merchant's account with no Early Termination fee. LEADERS considers this complaint closed and wishes the merchant much success.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10432335, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,