FIRST AMERICAN PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Dear Ms. [redacted]: We are in receipt of Mr. [redacted] complaint.  In response thereto we have enclosed the Merchant Application & Agreement (“the Agreement”) and the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions (“the Terms & Conditions”) for your review.  The merchant’s account...

became active on 04/05/2017. The merchant electronically signed the Agreement online. By way of background, the merchant is given the opportunity to review all documentation prior to typing his name to “sign” the Agreement. By signing, the merchant acknowledged to have received, read, and agreed to be bound by the Agreement and the Terms & Conditions. Our records indicate the merchant called in to troubleshoot the terminal issues he was having, and no resolution was reached. As a gesture of good faith we have closed the merchant’s account without penalty and refunded the 6 months of processing fees the merchant paid ($369.27). Please allow 2-3 business days for the funds to be available in the merchant’s bank account. Upon receipt of the equipment the merchant purchased, we will refund the cost of the equipment. A call tag has been sent to the merchant to allow for the return of the equipment. We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned directly. Sincerely, Merchant Relations

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]: We are in receipt of Mr. [redacted] complaint.  In response thereto we have enclosed the Merchant Application & Agreement (“the Agreement”) and the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions (“the Terms & Conditions”) for your review.  On October 31, 2016, Mr....

[redacted] entered into an online credit card processing Agreement with First American Payment Systems (“First American”). By digitally signing the Agreement Mr. [redacted] acknowledged to have read, received and agreed to be bound by the Agreement and the Terms & Conditions (See page 4 of the Agreement). Our records indicate that Mr. [redacted] informed the System Implementation team on November 1, 2016 that he did not accept the contract until he spoke with his sales rep, and had not agreed to process with First American yet. The Merchant’s account still was opened, with the information provided in the original digital application, and was charged accordingly when the end of the month fees were drafted from Mr. [redacted] account. First American spoke with Mr. [redacted] the next day about the fees, and agreed to close the account as it was not supposed to be opened in the first place. Also, First American attempted to refund the fees to Mr. [redacted] that was charged for the month end of October. Mr. [redacted] put a stop payment on the original fees that were charged on November 2. This resulted in Mr. [redacted] getting the $69.00 back from his bank, and the amount back from First American as well. When First American automatically drafted another $69.00 from Mr. [redacted] account due to the fact the account was still open in November 2016, Mr. [redacted] put another stop payment on the draft. Again First American attempted to refund Mr. [redacted] when it became aware of the charges, and again Mr. [redacted] collected funds back from his bank and from First American. To date, Mr. [redacted] owes First American $138.00 from the refunds. First American has not attempted to scam or otherwise negatively affect Mr. [redacted] or any of its merchants. This situation has been a result of multiple incidences that led to Mr. [redacted] dissatisfaction. We have attempted to correct the matter at the same time that Mr. [redacted] stopped payment and the result was a double correction and led to Mr. [redacted] small debt to First American that he mentioned in his original complaint. If Mr. [redacted] would please send a check in the amount of $138.00 to the ACH Department Reference No. 5623322, First American Payment Systems, [redacted], we can close this matter amicably. As a good faith gesture at this time, the collections amount and efforts have been removed. Ms. [redacted] corrected the issue December 12, 2016 when she was informed the account never should have been opened so Mr. [redacted] did not owe First American for any early termination fees or collections fees that were charged as a result of the ACH rejects from Mr. [redacted] account. Mr. [redacted] account has been removed from collections and we ask that he disregard the collections letter he received as it was unnecessary. In summary, First American has closed Mr. [redacted] account without penalty, and will not be pursuing any further collection efforts against Mr. Spatig. We regret that Mr. [redacted] has had the troubles he’s had so far with the account process. We hope going forward, that Mr. [redacted] will not be prejudiced against First American. We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned directly. Sincerely,[redacted], Merchant Relations

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I have not been released from liability as I was told I would.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: 12592458
I am rejecting this response because: I will continue rejecting this until I get the letter from my attorney releasing me of liability.Thank you for coming to your conclusion as this is the correct one. I have encountered endless hours of sleep, stress, pain, suffering, and attorney fees.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]: Thank you for forwarding Mr. [redacted] complaint.  Attached you will find a copy of the electronic Non-Cancellable Commercial Lease Agreement electronically executed by Mr. [redacted].  The incorrect address on the lease referenced by Mr. [redacted] is actually the address pulled...

from his original application for credit card processing; however, he did change his address in April of 2016. Nonetheless, at the time Mr. [redacted] took possession of the leased equipment he confirmed his acceptance of the lease terms and verbally verified that the lease was non-cancellable.  I have attached a recording of the lease verification phone call for your review. The lease was defaulted and the balance was accelerated.   The account sent for collection.  The balance owed on the lease is $1,953.70.  In an effort to resolve the matter an offer was made to accept $1,273.25 in full and final settlement.  That amount was paid via credit card on 09/08/17 and this matter has now been closed. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Merimac Capital Merchant Relations Tell us why here...

We are in receipt of Mr. [redacted]‘s complaint.  Please be advised that as Mr. [redacted] does not have a merchant account with First American Payment Systems (“First American”), and we are unable to review or provide details on an account to him.  We would be more than happy to review this matter...

directly with our merchant upon direct correspondence from them. We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned directly.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The mere fact that any company that would continue to charge their client monthly bankcard fees for 5 years without any service rendered is totally unethical.  I would hope that any company, especially one that is accredited by the Revdex.com, would have enough integrity and decency to contact one of their clients after they noticed a full year with zero activity on that client's account.  I would expect any company that cares about it's clients would suspend their client's account or at least inquire about their client's intentions after they noticed zero activity on their client's account after a 2,3, or even 4 year period.  I would most certainly think that any respectable credit card processing company who had clear data showing them that one of their clients had not made a single credit card transaction over a 5 year period, would take some action to determine whether or not their client was aware that their account was still open and that they were still incurring monthly charges.  But to my disappointment and honestly disgust, First American Payment Systems, instead thought it was in their best interest to automatically renew my contract with no notice or communication year after year for the last 5 years.  They thought it was totally good business practice to automatically debit my bank account monthly for the past 5 years knowing full well that I was under the impression that I had cancelled my account.  They claim that their contract may only be cancelled with a written cancellation letter.  As of this moment, I have no way of proving that 5 years ago I mailed the cancellation letter, just as they have no way of proving that I didn't.  However, there is one thing that is 100% indisputable: The fact that from 2012 to 2017 I have not made one single transaction with First American Payment Systems yet they have automatically debited my account over $3000. During the last 5 years.  I have not used any part of their services during that same time period.  Yet they have month after month and year after year debited my checking account under a nondescript name "bankcard fees."  Not once in the past 5 years did they make any effort to communicate to me.  Not once did they notify me of my contract renewal.  Not once did they inform me that my monthly service charges and yearly contract fees had increased in price.  No phone call, no email, and no letter for 5 years.  The one thing they were certain not to neglect was that monthly debit to my account.In addition I reject their response because the sales person who signed me up for this service was misleading.  They did not do an adequate job explaining the terms of the contract.  The sales person never mentioned the auto-renew portion.  I believe that First American Payment Systems acted incredibly unfair in this matter.  As a large business in the banking credit card processing industry, I believe that First American Payment Systems has an obligation to be above reproach.  Handling people's hard earned money requires a high level of integrity and trustworthiness.  First American Payment Systems has displayed zero integrity and has completely broken my trust.  The way they have handled my situation amounts to theft in my view.  If I am not refunded the money that was taken from my account from 2012 to the present date then I plan on consulting with a lawyer to see what legal recourse I have at my disposal. In the mean time I will accept this one portion of their response and only this one portion of their response: The portion where First American Payment Systems as a "courtesy" offered that upon a written letter of cancellation to cancel my contract with zero cancelation fees.  This response is actually insulting due to the fact that they would even consider charging anyone a cancellation fee after 5 years of zero activity.  However, it is a first step in ending this nightmare of dealing with First American Payment Systems.  Just to be clear, I do not accept any other portion of their response.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]: By way of background, First American Payment Systems is a credit-card processing company that processes transactions for merchants set up by various Independent Sales Organizations, including Eliot Management Group “EMG”. We are in receipt of Ms. [redacted]‘ complaint.  In response thereto we have enclosed the Merchant Application & Agreement (“the Agreement”), the Mobile Account Addendum (“Addendum”) and the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions (“the Terms & Conditions”) for your review.  The merchant signed the original Agreement to open the primary account with EMG on May 27, 2008. On August 17, 2014, the merchant signed the Addendum and set up a mobile account with EMG. It clearly states on the Addendum that the merchant will be held to the Terms & Conditions of the primary account. Our records indicate that the mobile account automatically renewed on August 20, 2017. This was in accordance with the information given on the Addendum when the merchant signed up for services. The paragraph states “Following the initial term, the Agreement will automatically renew for additional one-year periods unless the merchant provides notice in accordance with ¶23 of the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions.” Also, the auto-renewal policy is additionally disclosed in ¶23 of the Terms & Conditions. The $99 closing fee is valid and will not be refunded. Additionally, within ¶28 of the Terms & Conditions, it states that the merchant must not process transactions that vary from the information contained in the merchant profile section of the Agreement/Addendum. This paragraph states that the company, at its sole discretion, may require the merchant to return/credit a sale that results from a variance in the information, including ticket amounts. The merchant’s high ticket limit was $1,000 and the merchant ran a sale for over $12,000, many times the limit for the account. The transaction was flagged by the risk department and it was determined that the sale would need to be reversed. Per ¶28 of the Terms & Conditions, the merchant agrees to pay all bank fees associated with processing any transaction, regardless if funds are held, suspended, or if merchant is required to run a return/credit. The discount fees apply to the merchant, and will not be refunded. We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned directly. Sincerely, Merchant Relations

We have received the additional documentation Mr. [redacted] provided for this matter. As a note, we set up Mr. [redacted]’s merchant processing account in accordance with the Merchant Application we received. According to our records, Mr. [redacted] processed throughout the month of September for approximately $500. Mr. [redacted] also called into customer service on 10/04/16 in order to discuss the PCI non-compliance fee. He did not, at that time; mention that his account was fraudulently opened. In an effort to satisfy Mr. [redacted] and provide a resolution to this matter, we have already closed the account without penalty per Mr. [redacted]’s closing letter. At this time, we will consider this matter closed.   Sincerely, [redacted]     Merchant Relations Specialist

Dear Ms. [redacted],We are in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint. It states clearly in paragraph 23 of the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions, which Ms. [redacted] received when she digitally signed the Merchant Application and Agreement on April 29, 2014, that in order to stop an account from the...

auto-renewal process, the merchant must submit a signed notice of non-renewal no less than 30 days but no more than 90 days before the anniversary date, May 1st, 2017. Ms. [redacted] needed to have submitted her closing letter by April 1st, 2017 to properly close her account at the anniversary date with no penalty. In this case however, since Ms. [redacted] is still before her Anniversary date and the account has not auto-renewed, we will as a gesture of good faith, schedule her account for anniversary closing on May 1, 2017 with the receipt of a signed closing letter by end of business tomorrow, April 25, 2017. Ms. [redacted] should send the closing letter to [redacted] by fax or [redacted] by email. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact us directly. Sincerely, Merchant RelationsTell us why here...

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. I understand it to mean that there will be no penalty for terminating merchant services with them. I therefore accept their response.
[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted],We are in receipt of Mr. [redacted] complaint and have investigated the matter thoroughly. In our investigation, we found that the merchant had in fact made a settlement agreement with our collections department for $400.00 after two ACH's had gone out from his account. Because...

the merchant was unaware of the ACH's before he sent the settlement check of $400.00 in his effort to settle the account, we have refunded both ACH's back to Mr. [redacted] accounts in the amount of $545.21. We ask the merchant to please allow 3-5 business days for the funds to show up in his account. We regret the confusion in this matter, and hope that this good faith gesture will restore Mr. [redacted] faith in the company. We appreciate his business as we appreciate all of our merchants, and will continue to strive for excellent customer service now and in the future. Thank you for your time and consideration,Merchant Relations[redacted]

Dear Ms. [redacted]: We are in receipt of Ms. [redacted] complaint.  In response thereto we have enclosed the Merchant Application & Agreement (“the Agreement”) and the Merchant Processing Terms & Conditions (“the Terms & Conditions”) for your review.  Ms. [redacted] opened the...

account on July 13, 2009. By signing the Agreement, she agreed to have received, read, and be bound by the Agreement and the Terms & Conditions. Our records indicate that we received a closing letter from the merchant on May 11, 2017 to close the account on July 13, 2017, the anniversary date on the account. Normally the account would have closed on anniversary and no fees would be charged. In this case, however, the merchant’s bank rejected the monthly fees draft and the account was automatically closed and sent for collection on July 11, 2017. The early termination fee applied because the account had closed before the anniversary date. The merchant paid the last month’s fees directly to the company via check. As a gesture of good faith, we are waiving the collections balance for this account. No further charges will apply, and the account is closed in good standing. We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned directly. Sincerely, Merchant Relations

We understand Mr. [redacted]'s upset, and want to reiterate that we offered to close Ms. [redacted]'s accounts with no fee in our previous offer in return for a signed closing letter. We were not asking for any more money, and attempted to reconcile Ms. [redacted]'s frustrations by extending the good faith gesture of waiving any closing fees with the receipt of a closing letter.  We hope Ms. [redacted] will accept our offer. Sincerely, [redacted]Merchant Relations Specialist

Dear Ms. [redacted],We are in receipt of Mr. [redacted]'s complaint. We apologize for the late response. It is our policy to respond to all Revdex.com complaints on a timely basis, and we did not intend to overlook the previous notification for the complaint. We have received an Attorney General...

complaint from this merchant, and already resolved the matter through them. We closed this merchant's account without penalty in an effort to resolve the complaint. If you have any further questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact us directly. Sincerely,Merchant Relations

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11096752, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  Even though they kept on taking out of my back account after I cancelled in October,  I am happy this has ended.  Please tell them to erase my bank account from their records so this will never happen again.  Thank you for your help.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11577892, and have determined that this does not resolve my dispute.
Please enter your reason(s) for rejecting the business response below.In the most recent response from the company, the response states, "we have been in direct contact with the merchant and consider the matter closed."  The company HAS NOT contacted me regarding this complaint.  The last conversation I had with the company was when I called in to pay the settlement amount.  I don't know if this is the "direct contact" the business was talking about.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Complaint Resolution Department, We are in receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s rebuttal to our original offer. It appears she is still claiming fraud on the company’s part in the inception of her contract and lease. Ms. [redacted], in order to be in compliance with PCI regulations and avoid charges, had to set up an account with the PCI system and do an entire survey as noted in her welcome packet she received after setting up her account. It includes her signature as well. Ms. [redacted] processed with First American Payment Systems for over 18 months without stating any issues. She processed over $105,000.00 worth of transactions during that time. First American Payment Systems was able to successfully ACH the contractual processing fees every month from Ms. [redacted]’s account, and there was never once a note or call asserting that these charges were unwarranted or not valid for 18 months of account ownership. Until Ms. [redacted] closed the account, there were no problems with processing, payment, or compliance from Ms. [redacted]. Only after she closed the account and was subject to the fees from the non-cancellable lease did she begin to assert the notion of fraud occurring on her account. Ms. [redacted] received two terminals for the price of one during her processing with First American Payment Systems. She negotiated with her sales rep at the inception of the contract and lease that she could have one terminal for her bar area and one terminal for the front of the store under only one lease payment of $30 per month plus taxes and destruction waiver for 48 months, essentially granting her a free terminal. She returned both terminals to the sales office when she closed the account. She used both terminals for the entire 18 months she processed with First American Payment Systems. First American Payment Systems does not have access to Ms. [redacted]’s personal records, and therefore could not have acquired an expired, five-year-old contract from another processor in order to steal the signatures from it as Ms. [redacted] asserts. The only person with access to that contract would be Ms. [redacted] herself. We have also noted ink smears and other signs on the contract itself that indicate individual signing of the pages, not copies lifted from somewhere else, or a stamp or other such measure. We again, in a gesture of good faith, will keep our original offer of $1080 to close her lease and the collections efforts on her account. She can still contact [redacted] at [redacted] to make the payment arrangements.  We are willing to work with Ms. [redacted] as much as possible to get this lease taken care of and invite her to negotiate with Mr. [redacted] if she cannot pay the reduced $1080. At this time, we consider this matter closed as we have thoroughly investigated Ms. [redacted]’s claims and have determined her contract and lease were executed fairly and legally.