LEADERS

Review: Im the Treasurer for the Parent Teacher Club for a Chula Vista Ca Elementary School. We decided to have a CC machine for our non profit event to raise money for the school. After comparing many merchant service offers. I decided Leaders had the best offers. They would waive our monthly fees and no minimum fees for not processing. We are not a business so we don't run the machine every month. Our strongest is when school starts and in October our Fall Festival is when we have the most fundraisers. They offered to waive all the fees and only charge for the transactions we did. Since its a non profit organization. And we dont use it every month. Well to my surprise we were being charge $20 equipment fee plus $89 in other fees. Taken out of the school bank account. When I called to try and fix it they told me just to cancel my account. They transfer me from one rude person to another I tried talking to a supervisor and customer service just left me on hold. Would give me other telephone numbers to contact. Finally I cancelled. But with no response from them. I told them what my contract stated. They did not care or even would review it with me. When I opened my account I gave them the school non profit tax id number they asked me for my social security number telling it was just for security reasons to state my identity. When I received the 1099 tax form its under my Social Security. When I called to asked what happen the girl was very rude telling I needed to report that income. I told her its not my income its the schools. I spoke to 4 persons no one would care to help me with the issue. We are a parent teacher club (PTC) raise money for the school, it all goes back to the kids on educational programs. Leaders Merchant Services, LLC was dishonest and charged over %1300 in fees that they said where be waived. With the lies they told us they took money from our school kids. I felt I could trust them since they had a Revdex.com A+ rating.Desired Settlement: I want to school money back, that we have worked hard to raise. I want them to respect what the offer me. No monthly fees. No PCI No Minimum.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC, endeavors to provide superior merchant processing services. In our efforts to resolve this merchants issues, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records. LEADERS would like to apologize if any of our representatives were not as professional as they have been trained to be on the phone as well as for any long hold times the merchant may have had to endure. Our records indicate the merchant signed a merchant application for a sole proprietorship with a doing business as name, not a non-profit organization application. The school tax id the merchant mentioned is nowhere on the contract so the funds that were ran through the terminal were reported to the Social Security Number on the contract for the account. Since receiving this complaint LEADERS has had one of our managers contact the merchant to see what can be done to fix any problems with how the account was set up and any problems with funds being reported under the merchant’s SSN. The manager can be reached at ###-###-#### Ext. 7577 if the merchant needs to get in touch with her again. The merchant also signed a free terminal placement program agreement with LEADERS. By signing the Free Terminal Placement Program Agreement in addition to the Merchant Agreement, the merchant understood the terminal was being provided at no charge based upon Merchant’s commitment to process a minimum of $3000.00 per month in Visa/MasterCard transactions. If the merchant failed to achieve this minimum processing volume in any full calendar month, Merchant agrees to pay via ACH a fee of $20.00 for any month in which this minimum is not met. In addition, LEADERS notified the merchant of all fee or processing cost increases at least 30 days in advance via their merchant processing statement. The notice was sent in the merchant’s November 2012 merchant statement and was effective for the January month end fees. Pursuant to sections 17.5 and 22.3 of the Merchant Services’ “Program Guide” LEADERS may adjust processing rates or fees provided that the merchant is provided 30 days notice. Since LEADERS does not want to cause hardship to the merchant or any schools, as a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund 3 months of the merchant’s end of month fees. Total refund will be $248.85 and the merchant should see the funds deposited back to the bank account in 7-14 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success with their fund raising and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: When I contacted Leaders requesting info on their services I received an email which said,"LEADERS is rated the #1 Credit Card Processor by a major independent research firm!LEADERS has an A+ Revdex.com rating with the Revdex.com (Revdex.com)" Sound good, huh?They called to get me to sign up and told me only about their low transaction fees and the ease of adjusting the plan to what works best for me. I was "guided" through the online registration process by their representative on the line -- he was on the phone telling me what I needed to do for each step. In about an hour after that was completed, I received an email with an attached Merchant_Services_Program_Guide3.pdf which was 42 pages of fine print and that's what turned out to be the contract revealing all their fraudulent fees and policies. I never had a chance to read it before enrolling, neither did I ever sign it. There was NO mention of monthly fees ($25), PCI non-compliance fees ($30) and finally a three-year-long contract with $350 early termination fee by their representative before I enrolled. How's that for a company with an A+ Revdex.com rating which is of course just another lie?Desired Settlement: Refund of termination and other hidden fees.

Business

Response:

LEADERS would like to address the merchant’s complaint about hidden fees. All the fees the merchant has been billed are in the 4 page contract the merchant signed while over the phone with his representative. There are NO hidden fees in our contract. The $25 monthly minimum is in the schedule of fees and the PCI fees, including the $30 PCI Non-PCI Compliance fee and Early Termination fee are mentioned on both page 2 in the schedule of fees and on detailed on page 3 of the 4 page agreement. LEADERS sent the merchant a welcome packet that explained the importance of being PCI compliant, advised he had 3 months to become complaint before being billed for non-compliance. LEADERS also reminded the merchant to take his PCI compliance survey on every monthly statement sent to him to avoid being billed the $30 PCI non-compliance fee he was billed. The merchant did not take the PCI Compliance survey so therefore was billed the $30 non-compliance fee until he became complaint. The Program guide the merchant received is a standard processing guide approved by Visa/MasterCard. It Explains in detail the processing guidelines set forth by Visa/MC. It is available on our website to review before signing a contract if the merchant wanted to review it before signing his contract. A copy is always e-mailed to our merchants to ensure they have it along with their signed contract. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $350 ETF billed to the merchant for closing his account prior to his 3 year contract being complete. The merchant should see the refund in 7-10 business days. We consider this complaint resolved and closed and wish the merchant much success with his business.

Thank You,

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC

Review: I signed up with Leader's Merchant Services in 2/15. The customer service rep informed me of the fees I would be charged, which seemed reasonable. I was upset when the charges were much more than I had been promised they would be by by account rep. I was also charged a non-compliance fee and was told this was a standard fee in the industry for not answering some questions. I have never been asked to answer questions, nor been charged such a fee and I have used 3 other credit card processing companies in the last 7 years. When I called to cancel my account I was told I needed to fax in a form, which I did. I was charged almost $50 after my account was supposedly closed. I called back a month later and was told that they needed to leave a message for my account manager to close the account. A week passed and nobody contacted me so I called back. The woman on the phone did close my account and told me I would receive a refund of the $49.00, which I have yet to receive. But, the very next day they took $350 out of my checking account for a cancellation fee. I called and spoke to the same customer service rep I had spoken to the previous day and asked her why I was not informed of this $350 fee and she said it was in my contract. I asked her why nobody I had spoken to in the four previous conversations explained to me that there was a cancellation fee. She didn't have an answer for this. I did inquire about my contract when I spoke to the account manager who set up my account and he assured me that I could cancel their services at any time and HE NEVER MENTIONED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY $350 TO DO SO. I was lied to when I signed up for this service. Buried in the very tiny small print on the contract is this fee but it's impossible to read.I didn't expect to be blatantly lied to so I didn't read the contract as closely as I should have. Nor was this fee disclosed where the other fees were listed on the contract, which is where I did look closely. Beware, this company misleads potential customers.Desired Settlement: I want my $50 returned and the cancellation fees reversed.

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. The refund of December’s month end fees was submitted is currently

being processed. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS will also refund the Early

Termination Fee that was billed for each account. This refund will take

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

considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11109142, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. If the money is not refunded to me as promised do I have the option of reopening this complaint? Thank you.

Regards,

P[redacted]

Review: The company has numerous hidden fees. I was told that the credit card processing terminal was free. But it turns out that it is not free. I have been charged PCI Compliance fees. I was never informed of these fees. Customer service is very very poor.Desired Settlement: I want my equipment fee of $40 refunded. I want the PCI Compliance fees of $129 and $40 refunded.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services LLC, strives to provide every merchant with the highest quality merchant services possible, and to receive a complaint such as this is disheartening. As a result of this complaint LEADERS has investigated what the merchant has been billed versus what was in their contract. All rates and fees billed to the merchant were part of his signed contract. LEADERS ensures each merchant has a copy of their signed contract e-mailed to them immediately after they sign and submit the contract. If the information in the signed contract did not reflect what the merchant and the sales representative discussed then the merchant should not have signed the contract. One of LEADERS managers has diligently worked with this merchant to resolve his issues. The manager has returned all phone calls and has repeatedly contacted the merchant to assist him. In an effort to resolve the merchant’s issues LEADERS has already refunded $40 to the merchant. As a good faith gesture LEADERS has agreed to close the merchant’s account with no Early Termination Fee, saving the merchant $350.00. The merchant agreed to this resolution with our manager. LEADERS will close the account as soon as we receive the signed closure request. The merchant needs to be advised that this account will continue to accrue fees until the closure request is received, and the terminal is returned to Leaders in good working order. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Business

Response:

Tell us why here...The merchant signed a contract with LEADERS and signed an equipment agreement, both explained the fees the merchant would be billed. The contract included the $129.00 PCI compliance fee and the equipment agreement stipulated the amount the merchant must process each month to avoid the $40 fee. The merchant signed both agreements and had copies of the agreements sent to his e-mail. If the merchant did not agree to the rates and fees listed in the agreements then he should not have signed them. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS will refund both the PCI compliance fee and the equipment fee. The merchant can expect his refund of $169 in 5-7 business days. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10367688, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: Complains of unauthorized fiddle into my account

Leader Merchant Services have been collecting money from my account for over a year and when I notice this first time I called and they said they will counsel it but to my surprise they did not and the reason I did not know, I have to forward the case with my bank who said they will fill a complains with them and $97.95 was credited to my account but I was surprise when I check pass month I find the have withdrawn from account the amount of $993.50 from my account without my authority for merchant services on my personal account which not possible, not business account.

I have not dealing with them and I ask why they said I should give them my fax number that they will fax me the form and the account will close, I waited for four days they refuse to fax me the form and I called again they refuse to fax me the form second and third time.

I need my $993.50 back from them. They collected from January, when I complain they stop in February, and started in March to December 2015 making a total of $1,091.44 but the my bank is helping me to collect $97.94 because that was the I saw before check other pass months and I saw great mount have being collect with my authority.

All the money was taking from my personal account and they said merchant services which I did not have.Desired Settlement: I never ask them to collect money form my account, I called many time without send me form even fax it to me and I believed they are fraud

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services strives to provide every merchant with

the highest quality merchant services possible. In our efforts to resolve this

merchant’s issue, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records,

which includes notes from our Customer Service Department. When merchants

request closure of their merchant account, our Customer Service Department

requires a closure form be signed by the merchant authorizing the closure.

Because our Customer Service Department never received the closure form, the account

was never closure. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS will refund fees that were

collected for August, September, and October as well as close this merchant’s

account. The refund will take approximately 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes

the merchant good luck in future endeavors and considers this complaint closed.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 11005211

I am rejecting this response because:The refund was for three months but this company need to refund 11 months they collected even a lot some of $261.00 for one month. I need all my money return because I never authorize them when discovered it early I called and they promise to close but they refused even I called again they said they send form but after days they refuse to send form even when I called they hang phone on after collecting money from someone and playing games even there was time I paid over charge of $35.00 when I have no money in my account which they collected wrongly. How can they said they refund 3 months I need all including the lot some they collected.

Regards,

M[redacted]

Business

Response:

Unfortunately after further review, LEADERS will not issue any more refunds.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 11005211

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: When our company signed up to use leader Merchant services for credit card processing we were told that there were no contracts and no cancellation fees. I was also told that the monthly fee was only going to be $8.00 a month if we didn't meet the minimum. After 1 month of not meeting the minimum we were charged $24.99 for a monthly fee. We decided to cancel because of the monthly fee and then we were charged a $350 cancellation fee.Desired Settlement: $350 for the cancellation fee

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the fastest growing merchant services providers in the country, we are accomplishing that by our superior customer service and low rates. LEADERS would like to apologize to the merchant if they did not receive the quality customer service that we are known for. LEADERS has reviewed the merchants’ complaint and our records. LEADERS has billed the merchant according to the signed contract. The contract is what governs our relationship with the merchant. The $25 monthly minimum the merchant feels they should not be paying was in the signed contract. The Early Termination Fee was also in the merchants signed agreement. If the agreement did not match what the merchant believed they were getting then they should not have signed the agreement. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $350 billed to the merchant for the early termination fee owed because the merchant closed their account before completing their agreed term. The merchant should expect their refund within 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10287839, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: I was quoted an average rate of 1.88% for credit card processing fees along with a $5 monthly fee and .18 per swipe. I was told there were no other fees involved including cancelation fees in going with their company. When I received my statement I was charged almost 5% and a monthly fee of $9.70. I sent the sales rep an email asking for an adjustment. I received no response to several emails and phones and sent another email to cancel the account. After canceling the account I saw my last statement had a charge of $129. I have been calling several different supervisors for over a month to have the fees adjusted to what I was quoted and to have the $129 charge removed. They keep telling me that their customer service department is reviewing the case. I have had no response whatsoever. I feel this company scammed me into believing their company had the best rates and customer service.Desired Settlement: I would like the $129 charge refunded to my bank account and I would like a $45 credit to reflect the fee I was quoted.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is a leader in the Merchant Services Industry. We stand behind our services 100%. The fees involved in providing our services are minimal to our merchants. The $129 PCI compliance fee is clearly stated in each merchants’ contract on page 3. The contract is sent to the merchant via a link to the same e-mail the application was sent to. The $129 annual PCI compliance fee charged to merchants in their third month of processing covers the cost incurred to ensure the merchant is PCI complaint and ensure the merchant does not have issues with fraud or stolen credit card information through their terminal. As the credit card industry moves further into the technological world there is more risk of the information sent to the processors being hacked and used fraudulently. The Credit Card industry has set new standards to ensure the cardholders information does not get broken into and compromised, with that is a substantial cost. To keep processing costs down LEADERS bills merchants a $129.00 annual fee to cover the cost of keeping their merchant account safe from outside invasion and possible costly fraud situations. In regards to the fees, the Sales representative did tell the merchant there were no other monthly fees other than the $7.95 a month as well as she would have no Early Termination Fee which was how she was billed. The annual PCI compliance fee is not a monthly fee so therefore was not mentioned when the rep and the merchant were discussing the monthly fees. As a good faith gesture LEADERS has already refunded the $129.00 to the merchant and the merchant should see that refund in her bank account within 1-2 business days. LEADERS has reviewed the phone calls and the e-mails between the merchant and her representative. The e-mail sent to the merchant on 2/4/2014 did mention a $5.00 monthly fee but when listening to the phone call from 1/28/2014, while the merchant was filling out her contract, the merchant agreed to the $7.95 monthly fee. She also agreed to the rate structure she was given, not the rate structure in the e-mail that was after the actual signed contract. The merchant changed her mind after the contract was signed and approved, LEADERS billed the merchant according to her contract. Since the merchant worked out an agreement with her representative AFTER the contract was signed and approved, LEADERS will honor the agreement the merchant made with her representative and refund the merchant $4.58 for the overage billed for her processing rates. Also as a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund 2 full months worth of the $7.95 monthly fee the merchant was billed instead of the $5.00 the merchant and her representative agreed upon after the contract was signed. Total refund for the monthly fees is $15.90 and may come as a separate refund. The merchant should expect to see her refunds within 5-7 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: I signed up to accept credit cards through merchant leader services for my small business. I do craft shows and wanted to offer other payments for my customers. I was told by "[redacted]" back in August there were no contract, annual, hidden or cancellation fees. I filled out the form online while on the phone with him and he told me put my info in, scroll down and hit submit. By doing this I was in a 3 year contract (which was not told to me). They charged my checking account $162 dollars putting me in the negative with over draft fees from my bank now. I called and the man told me I was under contract and he couldn't help me. I said I would like to cancel my account with them and he said $350 or I would be charged $45 a month until my 3 year contract was up. I asked to speak to the "[redacted]" who promised there weren't any hidden fees and they said it was against their policy. I was on the phone all afternoon trying to get someone to help me-I have googled this business and they are all terrible reviews, not one good one. Their website says how fabulous they are, giving themselves 9 1/2 stars out of 10-they are ripping people off left and right. They are small businesses that want to help themselves a bit by offering their customers more and this company is taking 100% advantage of them.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the $162 taken from my account but I understand I was under contract. If there is any type of loop hole I would like to find it. It says 100% satisfaction guaranteed. I am NOT satisfied at all. I was actually in tears today on the phone. I can't believe they are still in business doing this to people.

Business

Response:

LEADERS specializes in assisting small businesses accept credit cards. LEADERS has researched this complaint, including reviewing the signed merchant agreement, account notes and the recorded calls between the merchant and the sales representatives. The merchant is claiming her rep told her there that the fees we have billed her did not exist. Nowhere in the conversation between the sales rep and the merchant or on the signed application was it indicated that there was no contract, no PCI fees or cancellation fees. We are not sure why the merchant is stating that her representative told her that unless she is confusing information told to her by other companies, as she did indicate in the phone call she had spoken with one of our competitors that same day and was upset about their fees. LEADERS in no way wants to financially burden our merchants who are struggling as a small business. Our goal is to assist them in growing their business. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund this years $129 PCI annual fee that was billed to the merchant in her October month end fees as well as lower her $25 monthly min to $5 a month. The merchant should see her refund in 5-7 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint closed.

Review: We have had constant overcharges since we opened this account was supposed to be in the 2-3 percent range and have been billing us at 6-7 percent of our sales, but they have charged us with a $1660 chargeback that we disputed and sent in the info they requested and have the emails to confirm it. The customer even kept merchandise and is trying to get their money refunded. These people are threatning now collection and they only notified us today. I see they have lots of complaints like ours and we only wish we had checked here first.Desired Settlement: We want all these overcharges and threats stopped....now we are even being charged $350 to close this account......PROFESSIONAL CROOKS

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 in dealing with the chargeback from one of his customers. The merchant’s customer has disputed one of the charges through his credit card company. Although the merchant has provided information regarding the transaction, the merchant has not provided sufficient details to uphold the chargeback. At this time the merchant is liable to LEADERS for the $1660.00 transaction that LEADERS had to refund to the cardholders bank. The merchant refuses to pay LEADERS for the $1660.00 transaction so his merchant account was closed due to risk issues and the merchant is also responsible for the $350.00 early termination fee per his signed agreement. The merchant is also liable to LEADERS for his September month end fees in the amount of $389.82 which have already been turned over to our collection department. The September month end fees were rejected by his bank as account closed. Per review of the merchants claim that we billed him incorrectly LEADERS has found that all fees charged to the merchant were in his signed agreement. If the fees were not what he thought he was going to be paying he should not have signed the agreement. LEADERS wishes the merchant well with his business and considers this complaint with the Revdex.com closed as it is LEADERS who has a claim against the merchant for outstanding fees.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is not sure why the merchant is saying the account is not closed. The account was closed by LEADERS on 10/21/2013 due to the security risk involved with the account. The transaction in question is now in arbitration with the Merchant’s Customer’s Credit Card Company. LEADERS requested information from the merchant to help resolve this case in his favor, which the merchant did not provide, at that time nor has he sent anything to assist us in defending his transactions since. The only evidence the merchant provided us to send to arbitration for his case was a letter that wasn’t the evidence needed to properly defend the transactions. The merchant did not provide any evidence that the customer knew that the product was not refundable nor did they provide any signed sales slips or signed agreement to their terms and conditions. At this moment, the case is in arbitration and will be decided by a third party arbitrator. Until then, the merchant is responsible for the transaction until the case is decided per his signed agreement with LEADERS. As for the carpet the merchant states he gave to the merchant, that is between the merchant and his customer and has nothing to do with the transaction in question. Once again we would like to state that the rates and fees billed to the merchant are exactly what were in his signed agreement. We did not bill him anything that he did not agree to when he signed his agreement. The cancellation fee that was billed to the merchant was also in his signed agreement and since the account was closed prior to the 3 year contract by default of the merchant the fee applies. LEADERS has never cheated the merchant, we have simply followed the terms set forth in the signed merchant agreement.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9768461

I am rejecting this response because:Leaders promised to refund annual charges twice that they never did and is hiding behind the buyer beware of all things you sign....that in itself is proof that they know they are cheating their customers....why would they not offer to settle this in an agreeable manor.....I can tell you why.....they are lying and prey upon their customers and when their customers find out how they are being done...what do they do hide behind they signed this....I will continue to pursue this on facebook and the net,,,,,they are crooks.

Regards,

It took awhile to get this done but that was my fault. My account executive was very knowledgeable and helpful in getting me signed up.

Review: We called leaders to get a quote for merchant card processing back in November of 2012 and talked with a salesperson that explained our cost would be around 2.5% to 3.0% for Visa and Mastercard transactions. After about 6 months of processing credit cards we discovered that our average cost was almost twice as much as we were quoted so our fees were nearly 6% and sometimes more. We called Leaders to express our dissatisfaction and they offered to lower the fees by less than 1 percent. Since that wasn't even close to what we were quoted we shopped around and found another service that has met the fees that they promised and for the last two months we have averaged 2.5% total cost on transactions. Another reason that we are dissatisfied is that the salesperson with Leaders said we needed two accounts for processing our transactions. One for phone orders that we have to enter through the internet and the other for over the counter transactions where someone walks into our store to pay for items. I found out later that this was never needed as we could enter the phone orders through the terminal that we have on the counter for helping customers that walk into our store. The reason that this is important is that now that we have cancelled our service with Leaders they charged us two $350- cancellation fees for two accounts.So today leaders withdrew $700.00 from our bank account for cancellation fees when it was them that didn't fulfill their end of the agreement. Next, they will write a response to this complaint explaining how there is no specific transaction fee and that they vary depending on "qualified" transactions and varies types of cards have varies fees. The whole process is very misleading and is a deceptive sales practice that needs to be brought to the attention of anyone in the market of credit card processing and the Federal Trade Commission.Desired Settlement: We would like a refund of $700.00 for the contract cancellation fees.

Business

Response:

LEADERS reviews all complaints thoroughly and would like to address this merchants concerns. Yes all merchant service companies are different and will design rate plans to best fit their merchant’s needs according to what they have available. This merchant was set up on a swiped plan for his walk up customers and for his other account it was a keyed in plan so that the merchant could get the lowest rates possible through LEADERS using 2 different accounts. Yes the merchant could have keyed in his transaction on a swiped account or the other way around but the rates associated with that type of account would have been much higher than what the merchant was offered. The sales person the merchant spoke with tried to set the merchant up with the least expensive option to process both types of transactions through LEADERS. Each account had it’s own contract with it’s own rates and fees. All rates and fees were in the contracts that the merchant signed including the $350 Early Termination Fee the merchant was responsible for if the merchant closed their account prior to the 3 year commitment. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS will refund one of the Early Termination Fees to the merchant saving them $350.00. The refund will be processed in the next 7-10 business days. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed and wishes the merchant much success with their business.

Review: This company fraudulently charged me many fees which they did not disclosed. They continued charging my bank after I terminate the contract. Their representatives told one thing and they charged the same fraudulent fees again the following month. This merchant service company engages in a predatory behavior by taking advantage of busy small businesses who do not have time to go over every single charges and take time to dispute it.Desired Settlement: Refund me fees!

Business

Response:

LEADERS has been serving our merchants since 2000, and our attention to detail and superior customer service has made LEADERS one of the largest merchant service providers in the industry. We strive to resolve allcomplaints our merchants have as quickly and accurately as possible. In our efforts to resolve this merchant’s issues, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our Merchant Service records, which include the Merchant’s signed Agreement and theFree Terminal Letter enrolling the merchant in the Free Terminal Program. The Agreements, formed by the 4-page Merchant Application, a Free Terminal Letter, and Merchant Services' “Program Guide”, clearly indicate that the Merchant has,in fact, been billed correctly according to the documents they signed. These documents also include the Rates, Fees, Terms and Conditions for their Merchant Account as well as the free terminal program. The contract all merchants arerequired 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 and the Free Terminal Program for themerchant to see prior to signing. If for some reason the sales representative failed to go over any fees the merchant will be charged, the contracts detail the fees so the merchant can clearly see them before signing. This merchant’ssigned agreement acknowledges they read the agreement and agreed to all rates and fees. The merchants account is closed however based on the Free Terminal Letter the merchant also agreed to, the terminal must be returned in goodworking order or the merchant will be charged applicable fees listed in this letter. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $250 Early Termination fee. The merchant should see this refund in 5-7 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: As a small upstart I needed an affordable way to process credit cards. I contacted Leaders and they lured me in speaking of rates as low as .35%. I explained I was sitting on some cards and charges that needed to be processed right away they promised two days. It was over 10 days before I was able to process a card. They apologized. While I waited to be able to process cards, I found out that the charges were not what they said - they were much higher in fact, more than triple the advertised rates. Again, apologized for "MY" misunderstanding. Then they told me about an additional fee for authorize.net. I was frustrated but again continued on. Throughout this I had to sign up with Square to process the charges I had waiting. On 10/10 I was finally sent the info to set up my account and it was not working. I called several people and had to go through about three before someone could help me. It took more than 20 minutes and still required some more information they had to get back to me on. We got the account good enough to take cards and it wouldn't work. So the tech took the info and tried to run it and told me to contact the client as the card was no good. I was worried as this was only my 5th client so I ran it on square and it worked great, the process was simple and no techs were involved. I explained my disappointment in the product, the frustration with the misinformation and explained that one person was very rude to me on the phone when I called and asked for help. They responded that the office is small and they are doing their best. On 10/11 I was still working through this and requested my account be cancelled. This was not handled professionally, but finally I got confirmation that it was being cancelled on 10/18. Then on 10/31 they used my bank information (I had provided for deposits) to withdraw a $350 cancellation fee without notifying me. I also have authorize.net fees I am contending with now as they didn't handle those. I was never notified of such a fee.Desired Settlement: I want my $350 fee returned. I am a brand new upstart. I came to Leaders for help and they literally took money, time, and delivered nothing. I have nothing to show for my short relationship with Leaders, I was not notified that cancelling would result in a fee and I have no record of a contract where I agreed to any such fee. I don't even know if its a real policy. They drafted it out of my bank account instead of charging my card, so it is much more difficult to dispute. Unethical!

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the largest merchant services processors in the country and we strive to provide superior services to our merchants, so to hear a complaint of this nature is disheartening. LEADERS billed the merchant the $350.00 Early Termination Fee per his contract if the account was closed prior to the 3 years of service. LEADERS will refund the $350 ETF charged to the merchant since he never process with us.The merchant should see his refund in 5-7 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9799199, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: In October 2013, I made a contract with Leaders Merchant Services for debit card services, Mr. [redacted] was my representant. They sent me a device for make the transactions and after a lot of telephone calls they fund the device was defected. On November 2013, they debited my account because the terms are if I didn't make any transaction at the end of the month they charge me $32.95. Obviously, they refund me this money because the device doesn't work. They sent me another device and this time they concluded the device doesn't work specify with my cellphone for some reason that we unknown, because is supposed the device function with this galaxy model. I explained that don't has another cellphone for use it and I can't change the cellphone because I have a contract with Sprint and I won't renew the contract with them. At this time I spoke with [redacted] and he said me that they will close the account for the reason mentioned and not was needed return the devices. He sent me a request form and I sent to the company by Nov. 26, 2013 by fax. I called again on Friday, November 29,2013 to the company for make sure they received the form because this week was the end of the month and the Thanksgiving Weekend. I talked to [redacted] on Customer Relations Department and she notify me didn't receive nothing yet and I resent it the form to her once time again, and explained to her that I want avoid the monthly charge again because not was fault the situation with the cellphone. She said don't worried and make me sure that you will don't have any problem. The next Monday December 2, they debited my bank account again for $32.95. I called and I talked with [redacted] and [redacted] for return me the money and they said simply that they can't do nothing about that. As you understand is completely unfair that they take me my money for nothing because I did all the things that was in my hands for sent the form at time. But obviously they ignore my request all the time.Desired Settlement: I want the refund for December 2013 monthly charge for $32.95 because it was not applicable. At this time I not sure if they close my account. For avoid other debit I was forced to close my bank account. When I make the contract Mr. [redacted] make me sure that my contract was without penalty if I want cancel at any time. As you imagine after all these experiences with this company I didn't trust in them. Thanks for your attention.

Business

Response:

LEADERS has received the merchants complaint and because her phone was not compatible with our system we will resolve this complaint as quickly as possible. LEADERS will refund the $32.95 for the merchant’s November month end fees. The merchant should see her refund in 7-10 business days. We wish the merchant good luck with future endeavors!

Review: Leaders, requires a rating lower than minus 10. First of all they operate under three names. When I joined I was told that there was no cancellation fee. What I was not told was that even though I was approved and setup with Authorized.net, the actual company I used for card charge services, was that I had link to a certain hyperlink through Leaders and verify data I had already supplied or there was a $ 40.00 per month penalty on top of a $ 50.00 dollar monthly fee, even if I did not run one card.. Between a lie and failure to explain a penalty obligation no way should they be ranked as the number ! provider of Credit Card Providers. Today they tell me I have to pay a $ 250.00 fee to cancel the contract. I will devote hours over the next weeks finding all the review sites the will allow me to review them. I have never written a review that was negative until this experience. Their charges have offset almost all my credit card income. Please read all the negative reviews on Yelp. I have never seen as many negative ratings as there are for this so called business. I want a COMPLETE RELEASE and a settlement that waives the closing fee. Larry OliverDesired Settlement: Complete release from cancellation fees of $ 250.00 as the intend to continue to charge me $ 50.00 if I don't pay it.

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 clearly indicates that the Merchant has, in fact, been billed correctly according to the documents he signed. LEADERS has all merchants sign a contract so there is no confusion about what they are going to be billed and what rights and responsibilities each party has. All fees billed to the merchant were in the signed application including the $250 Early Termination Fee that would 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. PCI compliance is also disclosed in the merchants’ contract and a reminder to complete the PCI compliance survey to avoid the $40 non-compliance penalty is on every monthly statement sent to the merchant. Although the merchant is completely responsible for the $250 ETF, as a good faith gesture LEADERS will close the merchants’ account and waive the $250. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: To start the salesman [redacted] was very personable and seemed to understand what kind of business we owned and assured me this would be a great fit. We are a small business and very rarely need to accept credit cards but wanted to make that available if a customer so desired. I made sure [redacted] understood these things as he we over expenses and percentage rates. He assured there was only a $5.00 fee each month with the plan we selected. And sure enough March 4th I was charged 5.28. The April 2nd I was charged $40.90 and then on May 2nd charged me $169.90 when I discovered these charges balancing my statement. I immediately called they informed me there was a monthly charge if there services weren't used and a annual fee. I told them none of things were explained to me and it wasn't in any of the paperwork sent to me. I told them I wanted to cancel immediately, they then informed I had a TWO YEAR CONTRACT, WHAT!!! I know no one said anything to me about that. I was at that point transferred to Michael Gomez. He assured me he would take care of things and would contact me in two days, he even gave me his extension number. (Which never works!) I left many messages as he was never available and didn't return my calls. 6/2 $80.90 and 7/2 $80.90 I finally made contact again July 18, when he informed me they needed a letter stating our requests (why didn't they tell me that the first time we spoke?)and that he again would get back to me in a few days. It was all sent via email 7/18, no response, sent again 8/16, no response 8/2 $70.90, 8/22 $10.00, 9/3 80.90. He finally answered and cancelled my contract with no additional fees, and said he would work on a refund, for all of the past fees. He would call me the next day.....no response. This company is unreal I have never worked with anyone who's phone lines don't work properly, who don't receive their emails. It is a good thing they aren't charging me a fee because they already stole $539.68 with no services used. Users beware of hidden unexplained fees!!Desired Settlement: All fees refunded as we never used any of their services and they stretched out the length to keep getting more money. Unprofessional from start to finish. How they have an A+ is a mystery to me, and was one of the main reasons I used them.

Business

Response:

As a LEADER in the Merchant Services industry, our company takes all complaints very seriously. After careful review of the merchants' records including the signed application and account notes, LEADERS would like to state that all fees charged to the merchant were in the signed application. If the merchant is stating that the contract did not match what was discussed with the sales representative, then the merchant should not have signed the application. LEADERS would like to apologize to the merchant if they were promised callbacks and never received them, that is not our normal practice and we appreciate the merchant bringing this to our attention so that we may address it with our representative. As a good faith gesture LEADERS has already closed the merchants account and waived the Early Termination Fee saving the merchant $350.00. Since the account indicates the merchant attempted to send in the closure request in May 2013, LEADERS will refund the all fees billed to the merchant for May, June, July and August. As a final good faith gesture LEADERS will also refund the $129.00 PCI compliance fee she was billed in April. The total refund to the merchant will be $452.60 and may be deposited to the merchants account in several different batches which may take up to 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

My experience with you and Leaders has been nothing short of excellent! I have referred you several times and everyone else has also been impressed with what you do. I actually get a response when I'm told you will, if you don't have the answer you tell me so and then go and get the answer. I can only hope that you never go away, because it truly is a pleasure working with you. I give you 5 stars only because that is the highest rating I can give-but you deserve a 10!

Review: Application turned into a Contract without proper process. This service is a scam - agent takes application and then misrepents fees and services. Contract is long and a 3 yr contract with exorbident cancelleation fees.Service was never used but they still charge 6 months of exorbident fees.Company proceeded to forward me a non-accepted contract with all my personal information including bank account numbers and social security number in plain text. On my computer it wa blacked out but on my phone it was clearly readable.Desired Settlement: All fees refunded and no termination fees.

Business

Response:

LEADERS would like to address all of the merchants concerns in his complaint. First the merchant was sent a 4 page contract, not a long contract considering the legalities of having a merchant account and being responsible for acceptance of his customer’s credit cards. Secondly all fees LEADERS charged the merchant were in his signed contract, there was no misrepresentation of fees as all fees the merchant would be charged were in his signed contract. Third, the merchant did electronically sign the contract via his electronic device. In signing the contract he agreed that upon approval LEADERS would open a merchant account for him. Once the merchant signed the contract a copy of the contract was e-mailed to him immediately to the same e-mail the original contract was sent to so he could download and/or print. In addition, a welcome letter was mailed to the merchant on 2/8/2013.If the merchant was unclear he had an open merchant account when he was approved then the welcome letter should have cleared that up. Lastly, LEADERS blocks all personal information on applications. We have never had an issue with the security of our merchants information before, if the merchant would like to send us a screen shot of his phone showing his personal information on his signed application that was sent to him after we opened his merchant account, LEADERS will investigate how that could have possibly happened, as of now this would be the very first time we have ever heard of a merchant receiving a copy of their contract that their private information was not blacked out. As a good faith gesture, LEADERS will close the merchants account via this complaint and waive the $350 Early Termination Fee. Also as good faith gesture LEADERS will refund 2 months of the merchant’s monthly fees totaling $151.80. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: I agreed on a percentage and they are charging more than agreed I call and they say that's the way it is. There are more issues too.Desired Settlement: I want a refund for charges

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. Our LEADERS Support Department has been working with

this merchant since their approval date by issuing refunds and lowering fees.

If the merchant would like to continue processing, we can make a few more rate

adjustments. If the merchant would like to close the account, we can also close the account and waive the Early Termination Fee. We ask that the merchant call Monica

at 800-985-2566 extension 130 with her decision.

Review: I got my merchant account setup with leaders a month or so back and when I opened it I clearly mentioned them about our website which sells all kind of products similar to eBay amazon and the sales representative said I will have my underwriting department look into the website and then he comes back and says yes we can approve this please fill the application and we will have you the approval within 24hrs. After 24hrs I get approval and after 1 week I start getting paid for what my credit cards batches comes. Now 2 days back I get 1 charge back for $11 and I replied within 24hrs by giving all the records showing this chargeback is not genuine the customer has already received and the falsely disputed but they don't listen. They then say that your account was opened as we will be selling only Clothing and Jewelry ( Which Leaders mentioned is a big big false ) I clearly mentioned and it was up and running which they already saw it online while confirming/approving my application they how can they say. When I research about this company all over internet its about scam by this company. Now they charge me $350 as cancellation fees. Hello ???? did I cancel this account no so I want this to refunded right away to my account. They also said my reserve amount will be transferred to me in 90days. I want this $350 returned to my account right away. I have all my proof stating to that particular representative that we sell all kind of products including electronics. I will have to go legally to get my money back in my account. This is a falsely mis represented business. Very bad companyDesired Settlement: I need the $350 which was debited from my account right away in my account I want them to process my payment which they have held ASAP which there person said in 90days.

Business

Response:

Unfortunately we cannot find any account under this name or email address. If you could please provide us with the last 6 digits of your Merchant ID Number we would be happy to do some further research.