LEADERS

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: 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 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: When I originally signed up with Leaders Merchant I was pleased with their low per transaction fees and felt confident that I could carry out bank charges with their services. Right off the bat, I had problems swiping cards. I then spent hours with their technical staff who originally said I had the wrong card swiping unit for my phone. They said their would send a replacement. Never got it. But was able to swipe cards after rebooting the system numerous times. Then I didn't use for awhile and they without telling me, shut down my service. Had to call again to get it re-inactivated. I was able to do some transactions during the time I had their service but still had problems one of which was totally embarrassing in front a client, was it would not accept their card or any card for that matter. Basically Leaders Merchant is a very over priced, poor customer service and you had sign a very lengthy contract (42 pages) of which hidden is a the early cancellation fee (was not told about that) and was not told about the monthly fees or PCI compliance fees (the highest out of merchant card services).Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of my early cancellation fee in the fact that did not satisfy their end of the contract and that was to provide a service for for my business. I held my end and paid all of those fees that were not explained to me (except the $5.00 customer service fees). I should have the option to get out of a contract if they did not provide the service that they promised without a penalty.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services LLC has a reputation of being one of the most user friendly and supportive merchant services companies in the industry. LEADERS apologizes to the merchant for any struggles they may have had with using the card swiper sent to them. In an effort to resolve this dispute as quickly and accurately as possible LEADERS has performed a thorough review of the merchant’s account including the merchants signed contract and all call notes on the account. The contract that governs the relationship with the merchant clearly states all fees billed to the merchant as well as the Early Termination Fee if the merchant chooses to close the account prior to the end of the 3 year contract were correct. After careful review of the account notes we do see the merchant called in to customer service with processing issues and was offered different equipment but the merchant declined. The merchant was advised to contact her sales representative if she wanted to change her account to a wireless account. The merchant did not utilize the mobile phone application for her merchant account for a period of more than 30 days. To ensure the account maintained it’s security LEADERS closes the gateway until the merchant contacts us to re-activate it. An e-mail is sent to the merchant to advise them the gateway has been closed and to contact LEADERS when they are ready to reactivate it. When the merchant contacted LEADERS to reactivate the gateway it was activated immediately. LEADERS understands the merchant had issues with the card swiper but the merchant had other options for processing available to them, the merchant just chose not to utilize the other options (i.e. keying in the transactions on their phone or utilizing a computer to process the transactions). As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $250 ETF although the merchant is completely responsible for the fee. The merchant should see the refund in 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

I really appreciate my Account executive contacting my business to share your services with me. You explained everything to me, and I believe this new tool for our business will enhance our services to our clients.

Review: My problem is that I feel that I was sold a bill of goods and taken advantage of. During the admission process application, I was told there are no charges at all. When I called back to say that I saw a $5.00 customer service fee, the intake person, Morgan told me that would be taken off and to disregard that. I have not only been charged the $5 fee, but 25.00 Min Discount fee, a 7.95 regulatory fee and 129.00 for additional fees.

When I called to complain, I was told those are the fees according to the contract. I never agreed to pay those fees, nor did I give permission for those fees to be taken directly out of my bank account. Now I have to close my account because they keep charging me without my permission. I was told that I would be reimbursed for charges on 3/12/13 and today is 4/8/13 and the reimbursement is still pending.Desired Settlement: I would like to be credited the $166.95 charge for March and the $28.76 charge from February. I closed my account t 2/28/13 and was sent a bill for $166.95 for March. Customer service told me the charge was for 2012 membership fee even though I joined in Jan. 2013.

I already sent a closure form yet technical support has no record of my closing the account. I was kept waiting for 40 minutes each time I called. I was told I would be credited for Feb. on 3/12/13. It is still pending.

Business

Response:

A complaint of this nature is taken very seriously by LEADERS. We have tried to review the phone conversations between the merchant and the sales representative to see what exactly was said during the application process as we do not want to receive any further complaints of this nature. Unfortunately we were unable to locate the sales call for this account. LEADERS does have a signed application on file from the merchant with all fees she has been billed clearly stated on the application. On February 28,2013 LEADERS received a closure letter from the merchant. She was advised it can take up to 30 days to close her account due to settlements and chargebacks. The merchant called on 3/11 upset about the fees she was billed for February. As a one time courtesy LEADERS refunded the merchant $28.76, for the month end fees she states she never agreed to in her contract. The refund was processed on 3/12 and should have hit the merchant’s bank within 1-2 business days. This refund has already been processed and should already be in the merchants bank account. The merchant called back on 4/8/2013 about her March month end fees. Included in those fees was her annual PCI compliance fee for the year 2013 not 2012. Since the merchant was already given a one-time courtesy refund the refund she requested for the March fees on 4/8 required a higher level of approval. The refund was approved and processed in 4/12/2013. The Merchant should see this refund for her March month end fees in the amount of $166.95 hit her bank account in 2-3 business days. LEADERS has agreed to refund all month end fees assessed to this merchant for March as a good faith gesture and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: In March I spoke w/ a rep from this company because of an ap I found in the I-Store. I asked about the rates and fees associated w/ being able to run credit cards using this app. I explained to the rep that I rarely take credit cards and havent taken a credit card in about a year. I had cancelled my previous account because of how infrequently I now get asked to take a credit card. He explained to me that the rates are better than PayPal and if I dont use it or run any cards then there wouldnt be any fees, just like PayPal. So I agreed to give it a shot since it wouldnt cost me anything to get started and wouldnt cost me anything if I didnt run any cards. Well, that couldnt be any further from the truth. 6/3/13 my account was debited $169.90 and today (7/2/13) debited another $80.90. I have not run any credit or debit cards at all and certainly havent used this service in any way. This company straight up lied to me.Desired Settlement: I want my money refunded in full immediately as well as my account closed and deactivated.

Business

Response:

A complaint against our company is taken very seriously at LEADERS. Our goal is to provide the best merchant services and customer service possible, and when we receive a complaint such as this it is taken seriously. All of our Sales Representatives are trained in depth on the application process developed by LEADERS. The sales representatives are trained on the fees the merchant’s will be charged and how merchant services work. The miscommunication between this merchant and his sales representative is very confusing since all fees are clearly stated in the merchant’s simple 4 page signed contract under his schedule of fees and within the contract. LEADERS recognizes the account has not been used and does not want to cause the merchant a financial hardship so in good faith we will refund all fees billed to the merchant. We will close the account with no Early Termination Fee saving the merchant $350.00. The merchant will receive 2 different refunds. The first refund in the amount of $169.00 for the PCI annual fee and one $40.00 non-compliance fee. The merchant should receive the first refund in 3-5 business days. The merchant will receive a second refund in the amount of $122.70 for all of his regular monthly fees from the day he opened his account. This refund will be processed in 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success with his business and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Thank You,

Leaders Merchant Services, LLC

Review: I see now from reading other complaints that this is undoubtedly part of their standard business practices. I am complaining about the $350 fee that they are attempting to charge me for closing the account. What is amazing (and really angers me) is that they denied the only transaction I tried to put through. I originally signed up with them prior to starting my business. I did not utilize them for several months, all the while paying monthly fees (which were not properly explained by their phone operators, but that was small potatoes compared to the closing acct fee). When I finally tried to process my first transaction, it was denied, but not without subtracting the money from the credit card account, and not having the amount being credited back for 2 weeks. I was charged some fee at the time for this transaction, even though Leaders ultimately DID NOT process the transaction. I spent several phone calls explaining to them that since I was not going to be able to use them (as they couldn't process my transactions), I was cancelling their service. I was told several times that there would not be any additional fees, but lo and behold, a month later, a $350 cancellation fee shows up in my bank acct. I of course called them to tell them that I was assured there would not be any additional fees on top of what I already paid (and again, even though they never actually processed anything for me). They told me "it's in the contract", and I had no recourse. It certainly appears that their main business is not actually processing credit card transactions, but keeping the float on the transactions that they deny for as long as they legally(?) can, and charging exorbitant fees for closing accounts, and given that their Revdex.com rating doesn't seem to be suffering, I think that's a pretty smart and profitable business model. Here is a link to other customers who seem to have the exact same type of complaints about them:http://www.yelp.com/biz/leaders-merchant-services-los-angDesired Settlement: I would like a refund on all of their hidden fees that they don't tell you about, but to charge a fee for closing an account that I have not used, and cannot use, is absurd, if not criminal.

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. In our further efforts to resolve the issues stated in this complaint, LEADERS has thoroughly reviewed our copy of the merchant’s signed Agreement (formed by the 4-page Merchant Application, the Intake form and the Merchant Services’ “Program Guide”). LEADERS would like to refer the merchant to the Merchant Services’ “Program Guide”, page 20, section 12 “Association Compliance”: ‘MasterCard, Visa and Discover have established guidelines, merchant monitoring programs and reports to track merchant activity such as, but not limited to excessive Credits and Chargebacks, and increased deposit activity. In the event you exceed the guidelines or submit suspicious Transactions as identified by an Association or any related program or reports, you may be subject to: (i) operating procedure requirement modifications; (ii) incremental Chargebacks and/or fees; (iii) settlement delay or withholding; (iv) termination of your Agreement; or (v) audit and imposition of fines.’ It is the merchant’s responsibility to know and to understand the terms of the signed Agreement prior to processing credit cards. It is also the merchant’s responsibility to abide by these terms in order for the terms of our business relationship to be advantageous. LEADERS would like to point out that we did in fact process the two transactions that were run on the merchant account, however, these funds were held by LEADERS risk department due to the fact they were over the merchants limits on the account. Due to this, the transactions had to be refunded back to the customers. This is why the merchant may feel like there were no transactions processed. The merchant closed their account in February, 2013. At that time we offered to waive the ETF that would have been billed because the merchant had not used the account. The merchant requested the account be re-opened in June, 2013. LEADERS re-opened the account for the merchant with the same contract they had originally signed, which included a $350.00 Early Termination Fee. Since the merchant used the account the offer to waive the termination fee was null and void and the fee applied when the account was closed the second time. We are not sure where the merchant got the idea that there were no other fees on the account, as there are notes that the merchant spoke to someone who then waived the fee on more than one occasion. As a good faith gesture, and since the merchant states they were told there would be no more fees, LEADERS will refund the $350 ETF to the merchant once it has cleared our reject report. The refund will take about 7-14 business days to process. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: This company has forged my signature on a contract and has deducted $250 from my company account for a cancellation fee that I was never aware of after having this account for over one year and when I called to cancel, they never informed me there was a $250 cancellation fee and they deducted it from my account without my knowledge and provided me with a contract they said I entered into that clearly was forged, nothing like my signature on each and every page of said contract.Desired Settlement: I want the $250 fee credited back to my account that they illegally withdrew it from as well as expenses for my time spent in resolving this matter.

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 records and the merchant’s signed Agreement. The Agreement was sent to the merchant via a secure link, the merchant then signed the application with their mouse so the signature is not always identical to their actual signature. It is not possible for anyone other than the person on the other end of the e-mail given at the time of the application to sign the agreement. This account was opened on 7/16/ 2012. On 8/7/2013 LEADERS asked the merchant to file a police report if they felt the account was opened fraudulently under their name, the merchant has not faxed a police report to us since they were advised that would be the only way LEADERS could open a fraudulent account investigation. The merchant advised LEADERS the reason for closing the account was they were not using it very much. If the merchant feels the agreement was signed fraudulently LEADERS encourages the merchant to file a police report and provide LEADERS with that information so it can be investigated further, although the merchant does admit opening and using the account. LEADERS is not responsible for a refund to this merchant since all fees billed to the merchant were in his signed contract. LEADERS would like to wish this merchant much success with his business and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Review: I started a small design business a couple of years ago and "thought" I would need a way to handle credit card sales. The salesman at Leaders could not have been nicer, even when I asked him about what would happen if my business did not take off & I did not need their services. I was told that if it really did not take off, then they would of course cancel my account & wave any cancellation fees. This has not turned out to be true. I never "actived" the account or used it, my business did not take off, and when I called to cancel the account I was told that there would be a $500+ cancellation fee. After arguing for some time about this, I decided to just pay the fees for a few months before deciding what to do. This month I received a bill for $211.95, $169.00 of which listed as "ADDITIONAL FEES" including an "annual" fee that I never agreed to or was asked about? I can't believe that I have paid this company so much money for a service that I never used!Desired Settlement: I would like at a minimum for the Additional fees for February be removed from my account and for any cancellation fees to be waved as was originally promised.

Business

Response:

As one of the largest merchant services providers in the country LEADERS works diligently to resolve any all disputes with our merchants as quickly as possible. After careful review of the merchants account it is clear the merchant never used the account. LEADERS does not have nor have we ever had a $500+ cancellation fee so it is unclear why the merchant is stating we told him that when he tried to cancel his account. The merchant signed a contract for a 3 year commitment to LEADERS. For merchants that have gone out of business, LEADERS will waive the cancellation fee if the merchant shows proof in writing that they have gone out of business. This merchant did not provide this proof to LEADERS therefore we could not waive the ETF. In the merchants’ signed contract the annual PCI compliance fee is explained. Annually the merchant will be billed $129.00 for this fee. The merchant is required to take a yearly PCI compliance survey and is reminded to take the survey on every merchant statement sent to them. If the survey is not taken within 3 months of the required timeframe a $40.00 non-compliance fee is assessed to the merchant monthly until the survey is completed. Once the survey is completed the $40 can be refunded to the merchant. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $129.00 PCI compliance fee and the $40.00 non-compliance fee assessed to the merchant in his February month end fees. Total refund to the merchant will be $169.00. Since the merchant has already closed his account, as a good faith gesture LEADERS is attempting to stop the Early Termination Fee that was assessed to the merchant, if the fee cannot be stopped LEADERS will refund the fee once it has cleared our reject report in about 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Don't do business with this merchant company. I'm taken back over the amount of complaints and should have done my homework. Believing they're a merchant company, I trusted adequate boundaries being this is banking. They're likened to a kid on drugs that goes gangbusters with a parent's bank account. You get quite a surprise at every turn. They need to be held responsible. They pull money without your consent or knowledge.

Review: Leaders called me for weeks attempting to get me to give them a try. I already had a credit card processing company in place but after much convincing and after being told that the PCI Annual Fee and any early term fees would be waived, I agreed to use their services.The first month there were additional fees in rates added on top of the rates that I had been given. The second month I was charged an $89 fee on top of the rates given!! The charge was for the PCI annual fee that was promised to be waived on my account. In the end, I believe this company is out to scam small business' out of money wherever they can. I have sent in my cancel fax and will sticking with ProPay as my trusted provider of credit card processing. I am only hoping that my cancellation is taken care of without extra fees!!!!-Very disgruntled customerDesired Settlement: $89 Refund!!!!! And account closed immediately with no further charges.

Business

Response:

LEADERS takes all complaints very seriously. We have reviewed this merchants signed agreement and the phone calls the merchant had with several of our sales representatives. The signed agreement clearly has all the fees billed to the merchant in it. The merchant is stating that we agreed to waive the PCI fees and Early Termination Fees on his account. The account was set up with one representative who did not state that he would waive these items. There may have been confusion with what the other representatives promised the merchant and what the sales rep who opened the account promised. As a Good Faith Gesture LEADERS will refund the $89 annual PCI compliance fee and close the merchants account with no Early Termination Fee saving the merchant $350.00. The merchant should expect to see their refund in 7-10 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 9824679, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I expect there will be no new charges on my account going forward, including any PCI fees of any amount.

Regards,

Review: SCAM ARTISTS!!! stay away from these people! Told me there would be no monthly fees for my merchant account and there were. I then tried to cancel my account on feb 6th and they assured me my account had been canceled, and then I got charged $75 for a monthly fee just this past Monday (March 3rd). I called a little while ago, and they told me that I never canceled. I tried to resolve this matter with them only to get the run around and to be told that I should have read a booklet, that I never received, instead of taking their word for it. I've never left a bad review about anyone or any company in my life, but I feel that strong about these guys: STAY AWAY FROM THESE GUYS FOR SURE!Desired Settlement: It would be nice to get all of the hidden fees I was charged back, but at the very least The $75 I have been charged for the month of Feb 2014. I am a small business owner and I feel as if this company is set up to rip small businesses off. Based on their reviews on yelp and even some on here in the past, I can see that I'm not the only one to think so.

Business

Response:

LEADERS is one of the top Merchant Services Providers in the country, and to receive a complaint such as this is disheartening. We have reviewed all account records including the signed merchant contract, the account notes and any recorded calls that we had between the merchant and LEADERS. According to our records all fees billed to the merchant were included in his signed contract. We are not sure where the merchant got the idea that he would not pay any monthly fees above his processing fees. If the contract did not match with what the merchant thought he was agreeing to the merchant should not have signed the contract. The merchant had the ability to download and/or print the contract and the merchant services program guide(booklet) immediately after signing it. The merchant services program guide was/is also available on our website to review prior to signing a contract with LEADERS. The merchant did call in on 2/6/2014 to close his account. He spoke to our retention department and LEADERS agreed to refund the $129.00 annual PCI compliance fee if the merchant would keep his account open. LEADERS did not receive a signed closure letter from the merchant at that time. The merchant called back on 3/6/2014 when he was billed for his February month end fees and claimed he did not want to keep his account open when he spoke to us on 2/6/2014. LEADERS informed the merchant he could close his account but we would need a signed closure letter, the merchant signed the closure letter and sent it back to us, we closed his account on 3/7/2014. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $75.90 that was billed to the merchant for his February month end fees once the fees clear our reject report in 7-10 business days. The merchant was also billed a $350 Early Termination Fee due to the fact his account was closed prior to the end of his 3 year contract. The $350 ETF the merchant was billed was rejected by his bank so LEADERS will waive this portion of the fees owed to us. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success and considers this complaint resolved and closed

Review: When we opened the account the name on our paperwork stated Mediation Plus of Oklahoma, there paperwork showing the name of the company is Meditation Plus of Oklahoma. That was our mistake also, not Jakes. The Service regarding closing of our account with them they stated that we would not be charged if we closed the business and then charged us after they could not tell us what documents where need to prove that we where no longer doing business and had not run any credit cards through the account in over 7 months an could prove that we had not done any work in that field. when I asked the account specialist he could not tell me what forms where needed. The month amount they charged was increased by 50 percent and was not told to us why until they had received a complainant about the service. Then I was told that they had been charging those fees for almost a 9 months an would only refund them for the past three months. They told Us we where advised by email and I asked how we could be charged for something we didn't know about he said we should have check our account and seen the amount was increased. NO email was received and they could not show proof that it was received. I am amazed at the lack of training of the staff and to refuse to give the names of the supervisors to paying customers. I have never been treated with such disrespect, from a company that makes it living through customer service or lack there of.Desired Settlement: refund of 350 early termination feesrefund of additional charges with out approval. Written apology letter regarding the sales practices of the man maned Jake when asked a direct question about the product and requirements to close the account.to be able to talk to someone who can answer questions about there products and services.Have allot more to say and will when I cool off. Thank you for your help.

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 and any recorded phone calls. 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. The merchant states that their fees increased, LEADERS notified the merchant of a fee and processing cost increase at least 30 days in advance via the merchant’s August processing statement. Pursuant to sections 17.5 and 22.3 of the Merchant Service’ “Program Guide” LEADERS may adjust processing rates or fees provided that the merchant is provided 30 days notice. The merchant signed and accepted the Agreement in June 2014, in doing so, the merchant acknowledged that they read, reviewed and agreed to the terms of Agreement now being disputed in this complaint. Per the Merchant Services’ “Program Guide”, the merchant has 30 days to dispute or close their account upon receiving notice of a rate or fee increase. Since the merchant did not send in a written notice of intent to close the account, the LEADERS rate and fee increase went into effect for the merchant’s October Processing. Per our records the merchant never called in about the rate and fee increase until February 2015 when they called to cancel their account. LEADERS sales support representative advised the merchant about the $350 ETF to close the account. The merchant stated they were told there was no ETF. The call was reviewed and the merchant was advised the call states there will be no ETF if they went out of business. The merchant then advised they would close their business because they could not afford the monthly fees and or the $350 ETF. The merchant was told they need to provide documentation from the state or county that they had gone out of business. Each state and county have different forms but each one will give a business owner proof that the business is closed once the owner has went through the proper channels to close the business through one of these offices. The merchant was e-mailed a cancellation form on 2/16/2015. If the merchant did not receive the form they should have called LEADERS and advised so another could have been sent to them. On 3/10/2015 the merchant called again wondering why they were still being billed and were advised they never sent in the signed cancellation from. The representative re-sent the cancellation form to the merchant on 3/10/2015. LEADERS received a signed cancellation form on 3/10/2015, but no documentation that the business had gone out of business. LEADERS billed the merchant the $350 ETF the merchant agreed to when they signed their merchant agreement. On 3/13/2015 LEADERS received a call from the merchant very upset that they had been billed the $350 ETF. The call was given to the manager of the department due to the nature of how the merchant was treating the representative. The manager of the department agreed to refund the $350 as a good faith gesture although the merchant has never sent in proof that the business was closed. The merchant should receive their refund in 7-10 business days. LEADERS wishes the merchant much success with all their future endeavors and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Leaders have significant holds on m funds without even a suggestion as to when they will be released.

Review: To: Revdex.comFrom: Tom Propst for the Orange County Chapter of the California Land Surveyors Association: Leaders Merchant Services Account Number - 4[redacted]00811Regarding: complaint against Leaders Merchant Services, LLC, 725 Via Alondra, Camarillo, CA 93012June 4, 2013Dear Sir or Madam.:After unsuccessfully attempting to resolve my complaint with Leaders Merchant Services, I'm turning to you to lodge this complaint against their organization, and particularly their misleading business actions.In March of 2012 I entered into an agreement with Leaders Merchant Services on behalf of the Orange County Chapter of California Land Surveyors Association, a professional organization and nonprofit entity. I was assured by Leonard of merchant services that there would be no early termination fee should I choose to rescind the agreement at some future date. It is important to note that he specifically said that there would be no charges in response to my particular question on that issue.In March of 2013 I terminated the agreement with Leaders Merchant Services. Subsequently they billed the organization an additional $181 annual fee, and a $250 termination fee.On April 19, 2013 I spoke with Gail at leaders merchant services and she promised to refund of the $181 fee within 30 days. At that time the $250 termination fee had not been charged to our account.When I learned of the $250 termination fee being charged to our account I contacted Leaders Merchant Services on June 4, 2013 and spoke with Rosie, who refused to rescind the fee or adjust the account in any way. Rosie said that it was clearly stated on the contract agreement that I had signed with Leaders Merchant Services. I do not dispute that in the fine print on that four-page agreement there is a statement that there is a $250 early termination fee, but I had been assured verbally by Leonard the salesman for Leaders Merchant Services that there would be no such early termination fee under any circumstances.To date we have not received the $181 refund promised.Those fees have been a substantial burden upon our small nonprofit professional association. I was assured by the sales staff at Leaders Merchant Services that the only charges for opening this account would be a one time annual fee, and a charge of six dollars per month that the account was kept active. Over the course of last year we have been hit with over $1000 in charges. In that time we have not run more than 20 credit card transactions through this service.I would like to lodge a complaint against Leaders Merchant Services for their misleading sales pitch, their excessive fees, their poor business practices, misleading statements made by their sales force, failure to follow through on promises made, and general bad faith business practices.Please let me know what you can do to rectify this situation.If there is nothing further that you can do please inform me of what regulatory offices to inform so as to ensure that this organization is properly regulated.Thank you for your time and assistance, we look forward to hearing back from you.Sincerely,Tom Propst on behalf of the Orange County Chapter of the California Land Surveyors AssociationTom @TomPropst.com###-###-####Desired Settlement: Refund of the $181 annual fee, and of the $250 "termination fee".

Business

Response:

LEADERS Merchant Services is a leader in the merchant services industry and to receive a complaint of this nature is disheartening. We have reviewed the merchant’s records. All fees charged to the merchant are correct according to his signed contract. We are not certain what was said between the merchant and his representative over a year ago and we have no recorded calls for this account, this is why we have the merchants sign a contract and ensure they have a copy of what they signed. Our system only bills according to the contract not verbal agreements. If the contract did not match any verbal agreements then the merchant should have had his representative update the contract or not signed it. The signed contract does indicate the annual fee of $129 for PCI compliance that the merchant was billed. Customer service attempted to get a refund for the $129 PCI fee approved for the merchant. It was put in as a rush but since the fee was in the contract the refund was denied. The merchant was billed a $250 Early termination fee per the signed contract. LEADERS would like to settle this complaint in good faith and will refund both the $250 ETF and the $129 PCI compliance fee since the merchant closed his account. The merchant should see the refund in 7-10 business days and considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9569269, and find that this resolution by Leaders Merchant Services to refund both the $250 ETF and the $129 PCI compliance fee within 7-10 business days is satisfactory to us.

Sincere thanks for your assistance,

Review: Overcharged for services,different charges for using non compliant cards,.Tried to talk to them and got no where. They said it was in contract in small print. I had asked sales man at time of signing contract to explain contract. I was told there were no charges other than the % stated. He was not truthful.my merchant id is 4[redacted]125254.They tried to withdraw around $169.69 from my account which caused me to over draft. They sent a letter dated 1/6/2014 from collections dept.and saying that if I didn't pay they'ed cancel me and that no other credit card company would accept me.I don't owe them this money and am going to check bank account for other over charges.Desired Settlement: I want the $169.99 removed that they say I owe and refund of any other over charges.

Business

Response:

Leaders Merchant Services 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 their 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 her sales representative discussed then the merchant should not have signed the contract. LEADERS has done nothing deceptive or tricky, but as a good faith gesture LEADERS will waive the collection balance of $169.69 and close the merchants’ account per her request in this complaint and waive the $350 ETF. LEADERS considers this complaint resolved and closed.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9888036, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: BAIT and SWITCH!I spoke with [redacted] to set this up based on web advertising for low rates.Dave assured me that the company I signed this up for would be paying $10 / month PLUS $7.95 (fee) plus 26 cents per transaction. [redacted] told me there were no minimums.I am filing this upon my first invoice from them showing a $25/mo "MIN DISCOUNT".I have called and have received a "Close Merchant Account" request form but was told there were "fees" to close. Due to the Bait and Switch they will only be getting the fee that they promised.I am shutting down the account and might just shut down the company.This happened with POWERPAY for another company I have which is WHY I was so adamant upon asking David about such things as minimum fees. Too bad as I was going to recommend LEADERS to others once I got my site and processing set up. Payment has not yet been made due to receiving the bill today with the wrong amount.Desired Settlement: Closure of account with ZERO additional fees, nor collections AND my company ONLY paying for March and April as advertised. That is the least to compensate for the Bait and Switch tactics.I will pay $10 + $7.95 for March and since it is April I will pay for that too:Total of $36.90 for two months. Nothing more.It's unfortunate that Revdex.com gives them an 'A' rating.

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. If the merchant did not agree with the fees in the signed contract he should not have signed it. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will waive the $25 Monthly Minimum the merchant claims he did not know about and we will close his account waiving the $350 Early Termination Fee. 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 10001091, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to my company.

Review: Every business should be aware about this company and their practices. I feel it's unjust to close an account with them for a reason that is not fault of our business. I started a Leaders Merchant Service account in March 2014. My account number is 4[redacted]138596. My business is an online business that sells electronics and niche gadgets. This week, I called the company because I had a customer who couldn't use their credit card on my Web site to make a purchase. When I called about this issue, I was told my account closed by the risk management because a credit card batch that was coming in had excessive authorization declines. There were customers who attempted to use multiple credit cards on our web site either fraudulently or legitimately just until they use the one with a sufficient balance to make a purchase. That is the general nature of a business online. I think it is unfair that not only they closed my account but charged me a early termination fee for an issue that wasn't under my control.Desired Settlement: I'd appreciate a refund of my early termination fee that was charged to my bank account. It is unfair for my account to be closed because of excessive declines when that's part of holding a business online. There are customers who'll use different credit cards, some of them declining until they use the one with a sufficient balance.

Business

Response:

LEADERS has one of the largest chargeback and fraud departments in the merchant services industry. We take pride in protecting our merchants from illegal and fraudulent activity on their accounts. We certainly understand the merchant’s frustration about his account being closed due to excessive declines on his customers credit cards. However, LEADERS simply followed standard industry practice to close the account after seeing excessive declines. This subject is addressed in the merchant services program guide that LEADERS provided the merchant during the application process. The program guide and the merchant agreement govern our relationship. As a good faith gesture LEADERS will refund the $350 ETF to the merchant once it clears our reject report in 7-14 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 10011614, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: I wish I had read these complaints before signing up. Leaders pulls a typical bait and switch, I was promised no contract and no cancellation fees. Lo and behold, the contract I signed contains stipulations for both a three-year contract and a $350 cancellation fee. I asked them to review the calls in which I was guranteed this and the representatives said that they reviewed them and that there was no such promise made. Why then did I call the person who signed me up, David Gallant, who assured me that the contract was incorrect and that he would make the changes so that the contract reflected what I was promised? STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!Desired Settlement: I would like the $350 early termination fee waived.

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 has reviewed the merchants’ complaint and our call records. LEADERS would like to apologize to the merchant if they did not understand what they were signing up for but LEADERS has billed the merchant according to the signed contract. The contract is what governs our relationship with the merchant. The Early Termination Fee was in the merchants signed agreement and after listening to the phone calls between the merchant and the sales representative it was discovered that the representative never told the merchant there would be no contract term or early termination fee. LEADERS had already agreed to waive the ETF prior to receiving this complaint as a good faith gesture. LEADERS will close the merchants account per this complaint and the merchant will not be billed an ETF. 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 10434028, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,