Complaint Review: Total Merchant Services

We are small time merchants that aren't stupid but are new, learning and working hard to build a good reputation with customers. We are experienced in business and the Internet technologies but new to Internet commerce.

We setup 5 accounts for 5 new websites that we opened just before Christmas. It took them 2 weeks to set them up as opposed to the 2 days we were told it would. December 10, 2004 we began processing orders.

By December 14 we had processed about $15K but no money was dropping. We called and they said not to worry, that they had us on some new customer 3 day hold thing. Whatever.

On December 16, we had processed $24K and still no money had dropped. We called again and they told us that Risk Management was shutting down our accounts. Under the heading "reason" they put a check next to "other." We called and asked why and we were told that we had violated some unspecified security parameter. However, if we would provide tracking numbers for a few orders that they would specify from each website they might reinstate us. We provided this to them with the exception of a few tracking numbers that we had yet to receive from drop ship vendors.

December 17 they called and said that wasn't good enough. After much pleading, they agreed to fund us for what we could prove we shipped and refund our customers the rest. The catch? All paperwork must be in by midnight of that day. We call friends and family to the office and get it done.

Weeks go by with no funding, no refunds and no returned calls. Refund customers are calling and calling and we keep telling the customers that their refunds have been submitted. TMS stated that the refunds were processed on January 6. Then TMS asks for a copy of the list on January 14. It becomes clear that they are liars and they had not processed any refunds.

We tell them that we don't feel we're getting anywhere with them and are getting an attorney, to which they retaliate by stating they are no longer going to fund or refund anything and hold the entire $24K in reserve for a full 180 days (6 months).

January 18 we send them a new list asking them to refund all customers that we still have CC records on since we have new merchant accounts with another processor. They refuse to process the refunds.

Many of the customers that were supposed to receive refunds had wanted to go ahead with their order but we could not recharge them with promised inconvenience discounts until they were credited. The phone is still ringing from customers and so at this point we were forced to recommend to customers to call their credit card companies and request charge backs.

Now the charge backs are starting to trickle in, but instead of taking that money out of the money held in reserves with TMS, the money is being pulled from our bank accounts driving us further in debt. So now this is the third time we're faxing over bank statements to our attorney, who incidentally is now up to around $2000 in fees.

It's April now and still not a dime. I can categorically and definitively state that from a life rich with mistakes and misadventures, signing a contract with Total Merchant Services is the worst mistake of my entire life!!!

Tex
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.