Prestige Payment Systems

Dear [redacted]:
This complaint was previously closed as Unanswered. The complaint, however, was sent to my personal email address rather than the email address to which we have instructed the Revdex.com to send complaints ([email protected]). As a result, we did not receive this in a timely...

manner and inadvertently missed the notice. We therefore respectfully request that you re-open this file and consider this response.  We feel we have adequately addressed and resolved all issues raised in the complaint for the following reasons.
[redacted]’s main complaint is that First Data (not our company) listed her husband’s name on her business’s Form 1099 when she is in fact the primary owner. As an initial matter and as stated in her complaint, [redacted] gave our company her husband’s information during the welcome phone call with our compliance administrator after signing up, and this is why her husband’s information is on the 1099. When [redacted] called our company about this, our customer service representative explained this to her and asked her to send us proof of her business’s tax filing so that we could attempt to correct the issue for her. At that time, [redacted] refused to send us this information. On March 8, however, [redacted] sent us her tax filing information and we are in the process of working with First Data to fix the 1099 issue. Since the 1099 is prepared by First Data, we cannot guarantee that they will fix it, but we are providing them all the information they need and doing all that we can to assist [redacted] in resolving this issue with First Data.
[redacted] also briefly takes issue in her complaint with the annual fee she was charged. This fee was fully and accurately disclosed to her in a statement message well in advance of 30 days prior to imposition of the fee with an option for her to call and opt out of the fee. She did not exercise this option and thus was charged the annual fee in accordance with the terms of the statement message.
In addition, as a courtesy to [redacted], our customer service department agreed to reduce her per-transaction debit fee to reduce the overall cost of her program.
[redacted] expressed satisfaction with all aspects of this resolution and is continuing to process with our company. As a result of the above, we feel that we have addressed and resolved all issues raised in this complaint. If you need any additional information in order to close out this file, please let us know. Thank you.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
[redacted]This will be resolved when they refund the amount they took from out of our bank account after we terminated service because their system did not work as promised.  The amount owed is $539.08, when will we receive this??  I have called several times with no response and have been told Steven will call you back and never receive any call backs.  Please advise.

Dear Revdex.com representative:Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention.  We take complaints like this very seriously and have a team dedicated to resolving all complaints and other issues involving our company.We have reviewed this complaint and the customer file and have not found any...

support for the customer's claims.  The customer clearly agreed to and signed the equipment lease which expressly states that the agreement is "non-cancellable" with a term of 48 months (as is common with any lease).  There is no evidence that the customer was told that it could cancel the service at any time at no charge.  Contrary to the customer's complaint, our records show that the customer wished to cancel because a competitor told her that its service is less expensive, not because she was told she could cancel at any time as claimed in her complaint.  Also contrary to the customer's complaint, our records show that our customer service team spoke with the customer on July 21 and July 23 to address her concerns, and tried to reach her again on July 24 and July 27 to discuss her cancellation request, but she was not available.  The customer is free to return these calls to discuss her cancellation options.As such, the customer agreed to a valid and enforceable contract and the company has taken significant steps to resolve the customer's concerns, but no grounds exist for early termination of the equipment lease, the rights to which are owned by a third party.  The company's fully staffed customer service department stands ready to work with the merchant to resolve any specific concerns she may have. Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com Representative: Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention. We have reviewed the complaint and the customer’s file and have found no support for the customer’s claims. The customer signed a Merchant Processing Application and Agreement (MPA) that sets forth all terms and...

conditions of the agreement, including an itemized list of all credit and debit card processing fees as well as the month-to-month lease of processing equipment for $109 per month. Additionally, the customer participated in a recorded verification call with the company’s compliance administrator in which she expressly confirmed her understanding of the primary terms and conditions of the agreement, including the equipment lease term and monthly payment. During this recorded call, the customer indicated the months her business would be seasonally closed, October thru February. The merchant signed with us on February 24th, 2017, her account was approved on February 28th, 2017. With the information we were provided there was no reason to seasonally close the account, or cease billing, until October of this year. All statements have been mailed to the merchant’s corporate address as requested. We show no record of a $97 charge on this account. The customer may have confused us with another entity while reviewing her bank statements. That said, our customer service department received notice of cancellation on May 9th, 2017 and will be processing this closure accordingly. However, no grounds exist at this time for reimbursement of any kind. We feel we have addressed and resolved each and every issue raised in this complaint.  Should you need any additional information in order to close out this file, please let us know.  Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
 
Thank you for sending us the customer's rebuttal. As requested by the customer, we have provided her Silverdale location with a $100 credit paid on 4/5/2016, $24.75 PCI refund paid on 4/5/2016, $100 credit paid on 4/13/2016, $100 credit paid on 5/18/2016, and $29.70 PCI refund paid on 12/9/2016. We have provided the customer’s Kingston location with a $100 credit paid on 4/5/2016, $24.75 PCI refund paid on 4/5/2016, $100 credit paid on 4/13/2016, $100 credit paid on 5/18/2016, $24.75 PCI refund paid on 8/24/2016, $98 annual fee refund paid on 8/24/2016, $19 refund paid on 8/24/2016, and $14.85 PCI refund paid on 12/9/2016. If the customer continues to see charges she does not agree with on her account, we welcome the customer to let us know so we can address the issue.
 
As a result of the above, we feel we have addressed and resolved every issue raised in this complaint and respectfully request that you consider this case closed. Should you need any additional information, please let us know. Thank you.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: 1 have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and are STILL actively working with Prestige to receive refunds to our account.Complaint still not resolved. Please keep open Sincerely,[redacted]

From: [redacted] [mailto:[redacted]@merchantsolutioncenter.com] Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 12:58 PMTo: [redacted] <[redacted]@theRevdex.com.org>Cc: [email protected]: Revdex.com (File No. [redacted])- [redacted]
 
Dear Revdex.com Representative:
Thank you for...

bringing this complaint to our attention.  This complaint was closed on the 6th day following the last notice we received from the Revdex.com even though the notice gave us a 7-day response deadline.  As such, we respectfully ask that the Revdex.com re-open this file and consider the below response and resolution.
We have reviewed the complaint and the customer’s file and found no support for the customer’s claim.  The Merchant Processing Application and Agreement (MPA) signed by the customer discloses all terms and conditions of the agreement, including the non-cancellable equipment lease for $77 per month for a term of 48 months.  The customer also agreed to the primary terms of the agreement (including the lease and monthly lease payment) in a recorded telephone call with one of the company’s compliance administrators.  The customer has also used our services and processed payments through the leased equipment consistently since May 2015 and we don’t have any record of any complaints until now.  That said, we do not see any support for her claim that she was unaware of the lease.
Though a valid and enforceable lease agreement exists, we have arranged to terminate the lease prior to expiration of the agreed upon term at no cost to the customer in order to bring this matter to a swift resolution.  Because the customer is processing payments through our service as of this date, we are leaving the processing account intact so as not to interrupt the customer’s business.  We have been trying to reach the customer to discuss the processing account but the customer has not returned our calls.  We welcome the customer to contact us if she wishes to cancel or otherwise discuss her processing account.
As a result of the above, we feel we have addressed and resolved every issue raised in this complaint and request it be reopened.  Should you need any additional information, please let us know.  Thank you.

Steven is not at the leasing company, please call the number you have for him and ask ANYONE who answers for the number to you specific leasing company. Your refund is coming from the leasing company, not us. Thank you.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and are STILL actively working with Prestige to receive refunds to our account.
Complaint still not resolved. Please keep open Sincerely, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: I was told 3 weeks ago that a refund would be forthcoming within 5-7 days. As Pristine was constantly giving me lip service,  I had asked  the business to provide me with a date and how the refund would be handled. Also, this complaint was several months of back complaints where nothing was done. I have a very concise timeline with both dates, personnel contacted, and disposition of my inquiries.  It reached a point where  Pristine would put me on hold and leave me there rather than respond to my "overcharge" complaints, which were recently sustained by the office manager. Finally Pristine, with pressure from the Revdex.com indicates that a refund was just issued. Timing of the alleged refund coincides with the Revdex.com inquiry. I still would like to know what date and how this refund was initiated. My thanks to the Revdex.com for at least getting a response for my business.  Sincerely,[redacted]

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
Thank you for sending us the customer’s follow up response. In addition to the steps outlined in our original response to resolve this matter, we have spoken to the customer and agreed to arrange for early termination of his lease agreement at no charge. As well all requested credits have been issued to the merchant’s checking account on file.
As a result, we feel we have addressed and resolved all issues raised in this complaint.  Should you require any additional information in order to close out this file, please let us know. Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com representative:Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention.  We take complaints like this very seriously and have a team dedicated to resolving all complaints and other issues involving our company.We have reviewed this complaint and the customer file and have not found any...

support for the customer's claims.  The customer clearly agreed to and signed a Merchant Processing Application and Agreement ("Agreement") that contained a separate two-page "Schedule A" expressly setting forth each and every applicable rate and fee for credit and debit card processing.  The Agreement also includes a clear and unambiguous "non-cancellable" lease for processing equipment for $397 per month for 48 months.  Furthermore, the Agreement clearly describes the three pieces of processing equipment the customer ordered - one terminal and two pin pads.  The customer additionally participated a training telephone call with the company's compliance administrator in which he confirmed his understanding of and agreement with the terms of the Agreement, including the "non-cancellable" lease term, monthly lease payment, and types of equipment ordered.  As such, the customer's claim that he was unaware of the equipment he ordered or that the lease is non-cancellable is without merit.  Indeed, all leases by nature are non-cancellable without payment of some early termination fee.  Moreover, the customer admits in his complaint that he was advised of the "$400" monthly lease payment, so it is not clear from the complaint what he is alleging the company misrepresented.  The customer's claim near the end of the complaint that he realized two months into the lease that he has to pay "$400" per month is directly contradicted by his own statement near the beginning of the complaint that the sales representative disclosed the $400 monthly fee to him.Even so, our customer service department worked diligently with the customer to to resolve its concerns.  On or around 6/24/2015, our customer service team reduced the customer's offline debit card processing rate from 1% to 0% and the customer's non-qualified card surcharge rate from 2.99% to 0.005%.  These are significant rate reductions provided as a courtesy that will result in a significant financial loss for the company.As such, the customer agreed to a valid and enforceable Agreement and the company has taken significant steps to resolve the customer's concerns, but no grounds exist for early termination of the equipment lease, the rights to which are owned by a third party.  The company's fully staffed customer service department stands ready to work with the merchant to resolve any additional concerns he may have.Should you have any further questions or concerns regarding this file, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I did not agree to those terms or conditions, and those were not the terms lined out to my by the representative that made contact with me. I'm not sure how many times I will have to point that out.  I will not be paying the company anything else, and will go further into making sure the steps are taken for action against the company. I was hoping to resolve this without legal action.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Dear Revdex.com representative:
Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention.  We take complaints like this very seriously and have a team dedicated to resolving all complaints and other issues involving our company.  We noticed that this complaint was recently closed as...

unanswered, but we respectfully request that the complaint be re-opened and that the below response be accepted.  Thank you.We have reviewed this complaint and the customer file and have not found any support for the customer's claims.  The customer clearly agreed to and signed a Merchant Processing Application and Agreement ("Agreement") that contained a separate two-page "Schedule A" expressly setting forth each and every applicable rate and fee for credit and debit card processing.  The Agreement also includes a clear and unambiguous "non-cancellable" lease for processing equipment for $77.00 plus a $10.20 tax handling fee per month for 48 months.  The customer additionally participated a training telephone call with the company's compliance administrator in which she confirmed her understanding of an agreement with the terms of the Agreement, including the processing rates, "non-cancellable" lease term, and monthly lease payment.  As such, the customer's claim that he was promised he would pay only $77 per month plus 1% for credit card transactions is without merit.  
The customer’s claim that she was not told about the early termination fee is also baseless.  The customer clearly signed a Merchant Receipt that sets forth the fee for terminating her processing agreement before expiration of the agreed upon term.  In particular, it states that in the event of early termination, all minimum monthly fees for the remainder of the term are due (which in no case shall be less than $250).  The fee quoted to the customer represented the amount in minimum monthly fees due for the remainder of the term.
Even so, our customer service department worked diligently with the customer to resolve its concerns.  On or around 2/4/15, the company reduced the customer’s non-qualified surcharge processing rate from 2.99% to 1.00%.  The company also provided the customer with a refund of her $150 PCI compliance fee, a courtesy credit in the amount of $231, and another courtesy credit in the amount of $571.96 to cover her early termination fee from her previous processing vendor.  This represents a total of $952.96 in refunds and credits.
As such, the customer agreed to a valid and enforceable Agreement and the company has taken significant steps to resolve the customer's concerns, but no grounds exist for early termination of the equipment lease, the rights to which are owned by a third party.  The company's fully staffed customer service department stands ready to work with the merchant to resolve any additional concerns she may have.
Marlene H[redacted] | Project Manager
Email: [redacted]@MerchantSolutionCenter.com
Phone: [redacted] | Fax: [redacted]

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
 
Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention. We have reviewed the complaint and the customer’s file and found no support for the customer’s claims.  The Merchant Processing Application and Agreement (MPA) and Non-Cancellable Equipment Finance...

Lease signed by the customer disclose all terms and conditions of the agreement, including the 48-month non-cancellable equipment lease. 
 
During the course of the merchant’s contract our customer service team diligently addressed each concern and question presented to us. In June 2013 the merchant’s entire rate plan was lowered to make her overall effective rate in the 2.3% - 2.6% range, well within industry standard. As well a sales incentive of $400 was issued to offset costs during the transition to our services.
 
When the merchant requested her processing contract to be cancelled this year our specialist inquired if there was anything we could do to retain her business. The merchant made no mention of wanting half of her fees for the last 4 years returned. Based off the numerous refunds, adjustments and time spent on this merchant we will not be issuing any further credits to her. As of 5/17/2016 the merchant’s processing account is closed.
 
As a result of the above, we feel we have addressed and resolved all issues raised in this complaint and request it be reopened.  Should you require any additional information, please let us know.  Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
Thank you for sending us the customer’s follow up response. In addition to the steps outlined in our original response to resolve this matter, we have spoken to the customer and agreed to arrange for early termination of his lease agreement at no charge.  
As a result, we feel we have addressed and resolved all issues raised in this complaint.  Should you require any additional information in order to close out this file, please let us know.  Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
 
Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention. We have reviewed the complaint and the customer’s file and have found no support for the customer’s claims. The customer signed a Merchant Processing Application and Agreement (MPA) that sets forth all terms...

and conditions of the agreement, including an itemized list of all credit and debit card processing fees as well as the non-cancelable lease for processing equipment for $57 per month (plus applicable taxes) for a term of 48 months.
Furthermore, our customer service department has worked diligently with the customer to resolve her concerns. Per the customer’s request and to reduce the overall cost of the customer’s program, we have removed various processing fees from her account and are currently in the process of issuing her refunds in two equal payments of $352.00. Additionally, the customer’s account will be placed on a seasonal hold to prevent unwarranted processing fees from accruing in the future.
As a result of the above, we feel we have addressed and resolved each and every issue raised in this complaint. Should you need any additional information in order to close out this file, please let us know. Thank you.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:  If all of the charges were legitimate and per the contract, why would they return money that was charged?  The contract does not show a termination fee on the front page where there is a blank for that specifically.  They left it blank.   The information was buried in the following pages of information.  However, their representative, Mr. James B[redacted] who seemed to be a very honest person and not surprisingly no longer works for them,  gave me information over the phone that did not explain early termination fees.   He made promises and then I had to fight for what we had agreed upon.
Again, we entered into this agreement assuming that this company was reputable.  They are not.   I did some research on them when I was continuing to have to call them once a month and sometimes twice a month.   They offer 1% on all accepted credit cards which they list and then you find out that the cards that give points, even though listed as qualifying for the 1% charge was charged instead 3%.   I have lost many hours of work time to work with this company each time the dollar amounts were in excess of this 1% and the $.10 charge per transaction.  On one occasion I never rec'd a reason for a $70.00 charge that I processed having more than a 1% charge in my account.   The numbers never would add up so we could anticipate the fees.   They are correct that they made adjustments but the reason they made them was due to unjustified charges. We made complaints and let them know that we were unhappy with their service each time.  Finally, we waited for the last dollars to be adjusted in our checking account and then wrote the letter of cancellation and stopped them from taking any further amounts from our bank account.   As far as the equipment being from a third party company, this was never disclosed to us.  We found out when the monthly payment was again removed from our bank account and we made yet another phone call to that company which is First Data to inform them of the issues we've been having.  Unfortunately, this affects them as well as Prestige Payments who entered into contracts with them to provide equipment to their customers.  If Prestige Payments had been more trustworthy, we wouldn't have cancelled our agreement with them for poor service and lack of honesty when it affected our bank account and our hard earned funds which we use to run our business.  They were in some cases very large amounts that most people would have not known was missing and made checks that would have had insufficient funds due to the unpredictability of their withdrawal amounts for transactions.
If you do a check on our credit history you will see that we are in very high numbers reflecting our history of being responsible for our debts.  In this case however, we do not feel that we owe Prestige Payments or their contract company for the equipment.  The equipment has been returned to Prestige Payments and they can deliver it to Data First themselves since they refused to give that information to us when asked.   Ashley S[redacted] is the woman that represented the company when I inquired about cancellation and when I called to verify their receipt of the letter I had written to the address she had given.   As usual the call wasn't returned and we didn't receive any information that they had actually received the letter.  I had to make another call, spoke to Ms. S[redacted] again and at that point she was very rude and unprofessional which is typical of their attitude and the poor way they conduct their end of the the business.
Again, We do not feel responsible for any further payments to this company due to their unprofessional and dishonest business activities and the many hours lost to deal with them each time.  Attached is the letter written to us by Ms. S[redacted] to inform us of the process to cancel.  We didn't receive the benefit of a cancellation officer as she declared herself in charge and refused to cancel or to give the information we were requesting in order to return their equipment as we no longer planned to ever use it again or to be linked with their 'company'.
Sincerely,[redacted] And [redacted]

We regret the customer’s dissatisfaction, but this rebuttal brings no new information for review.   As a result of the above, we request that you close out this complaint. Thank you.

Dear Revdex.com Representative:
Thank you for bringing this complaint to our attention. We have reviewed the complaint and believe we have fully addressed all of the customer's concerns.
As noted in the complaint, after signing up with our company for payment processing services and a related equipment...

lease, the customer's processing bank (First Data) shut down the customer's processing account due to the high risk nature of the customer's business. Our company has worked closely with First Data Global Leasing (the owner of the equipment and related equipment lease) to arrange for the equipment lease to also be terminated at our company's expense and to refund the customer all payments it has made to date under the lease. As such, all issues raised in the customer's complaints have been resolved.
The customer is free to contact us directly with any questions about the status of the lease termination and/or refunds. Should you have any further questions or need any additional information on this account, please let us know. Thank you.