Please read this completely if you care about the little guy in corporate America.

Avoid EMS at all cost! Their contracts are written to benefit only them. They do not care about the customers. They do not care about the little people. They refuse to accept responsibility for deceptive sales practices by their own representatives and choose to not be sympathetic to legitimate customer complaints.

They are a very huge corporate giant and many banks and institutions not only use their services but recommend them to others...especially small business owners. No matter how good their pitch may sound, Don't Do It!!! You will be signing your life away and will end up paying for it in blood...yours to be precise.

Do NOT rely on the word of your sales rep. Undoubtedly, the Agreement that you sign will say something different. But you will not see where it says anything different because their "fine print" is so fine that it literally makes my eyes cross trying to read it. There are all kinds of clauses buried in the multiple full pages of "fine print" that override anything you thought you were agreeing to on the front of the Agreement. I don't necessarily think that the reps are intentionally trying to deceiveI don't think they can read the fine print either and probably some of them don't even know all of the fees and penalties and waiver of rights that are contained therein.

We were never shown or told about anything on the reverse of the Agreement. There are even signature lines provided at the bottom of the fine print side that were never signed or initialed by us. When I brought this to the attention of EMS Corporate they said that those lines were for use with facsimile transmission only. All the fine print that allows for blood letting is not disclosed to the consumer in a means or fashion that a person of reasonable ability or intelligence can identify. It is not on the face of the Agreement that is in a readable and legible font. It is minutely tiny in grayscale font in large, lengthy paragraphs.

A 12 month agreement is not really for 12 months. You have to notify them in writing at least 90 days prior to the end of your 12 months or face a $300 cancellation fee. Then, apparently, the actual "cancellation" does not happen for some period of time after they take withdraw your fee. We have been charged $71.25 additional more than 10 days after EMS withdrew the $300 cancellation fee.

You will not be able to reason with them. The harder you try the worse it becomes. I'm sure there must be some wonderful people who work for the company, but their reputation will become marred by association. Your bank probably won't be able to help you. You will be the one who will have to pay to change your bank account that you have given EMS the right to access. You will be the one to pay for new checks. You will be the one to pay the overdraft fees because of a "surprise" EMS ACH withdrawal. The pain will FAR outweigh any rate savings there might be (or at least initially looked enticing to you).

When my husband first spoke to EMS corporate, he was told, "well...there are companies that charge cancellation fees of thousands of dollars..." Is this supposed to make us feel better about ONLY getting ripped off for $300 or $400? Translated into the vernacular..."Hey...it could be worse..." Is this an understanding position for a company to take with a customer who has a legitimate complaint?

AND, If you are a small business with little or sporadic use of your processing system (credit card transactions), you will be charged close to $30 per month as a "minimum monthly fee".

There probably will not be any help from the BBB or your state's AG's office either. EMS is Goliath and you, the lowly consumer, are David. You are left holding the bag...now empty...plus all the extra bank fees from the overdraft situations that unexpected EMS withdrawals have now caused. The "five little stones" that you "threw" trying to reason with an unreasonable giant just pinged off the armor and feel to the ground. The mocking laughter still rings in your ears. You are alone in your battle with the giant.

This type of legal abuse of consumers should be stopped. Contracts should be written so that ANY clause that affects the terms and penalties or waiving of rights should be itemized independently and signed or initialed separately. In the interest of full disclosure to consumers, companies should be forced to end the verbose mumbo jumbo and deceitful, but legal, practices that they engage in to become wealthy at the expense of the consumer.

And EMS is just one of MANY companies that engage in these types of practices. Enough is Enough! If you are outraged by this type of financial "rape" of consumers by big companies, start a grass roots movement to state and federal government legislators to hold big companies accountable to consumers and make them stop perpetuating these practices in our country. Keep trying until you can bend the ear of someone who not only cares, but who has the power to try and do something about it.

Please copy and paste this information and send it to everyone you know who is fed up about being ripped off by big companies.

David v. Goliath

Small Town America

U.S.A.

Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on Electronic Merchant Systems , EMS, Francis David Corp Et Al

8 Updates & Rebuttals

ChairmanJW

Land O Lakes,
Florida,
USA

Sure thing Dant oops Byron

#2UPDATE EX-employee responds

Tue, March 06, 2012

Byron now you changed your name to Dante. LMAO good luck with EMS you will do well until the entire town you live in figures out your a liar.

Dante D.

California,
USA

Ha ! Ha ! chairman jw ? Land o Lakes ? Now that's humorous ! LOL !

#3UPDATE EX-employee responds

Mon, March 05, 2012

Dude you have got to be kidding ! Get a job ! Get a life ! FYI, speaking from my experience with EMS, they are a great company and have been since 1987. You must have had a bad experience. Time to let it go.

Dante

ChairmanJW

Land O Lakes,
Florida,
USA

Byron you need to Lie better

#4UPDATE EX-employee responds

Mon, March 05, 2012

Byron,

Your first reply you said you just started with EMS and you were getting ready to order your "first exotic car" now you said your retired and living off your EMS residuals. Typical EMS. Full of BS.

Here is Byron's other post here on Ripoff Report:

""Poor little Chairman JW has a grudge !!!!! AUTHOR: Bryon - Hicksville (United States of America) SUBMITTED: Saturday, March 03, 2012 Judging from all your negative responses on several different EMS ripoff reports, you are a very angry person. I suggest you get some professional help fast, before you hurt yourself or someone else.

I can say honestly that I now work as an agent for Electronic Merchant Systems. They never rip anyone off and they pay all there agents and employees very well. I did how ever at one time work for a scumbag ISO out of Goose Creek SC that actually really screwed everyone they ever touched !!!!! These guys regularly fudged residual reports and cheated reps out of thosands of dollars !!! They never even paid reps on mid and non qualified transactions. These idiots were so stupid !!!! They lost so many good sales reps and employees over the years !!!! But now they are being sued by several ex-reps and employees. Nothing was beyond them, the owner even ruined his wife and his kids credit, after he ruined his own. But what does he care . . . he's always drunk or drugged up any way.

Yep, now I'm with an good company. I'm getting paid regularly and and making a lot more !!!! Oh yeah, and by the way. . . there are a bunch of agents and executives that have tons of hot cars and boats and beautiful homes. I'm actually just about ready to order my first exotic car. For some reason I don't think it's going to be a mini cooper either !!!!! Grow a pair of balls and use your real name.

Bryon Sims

Hicksville, New York"

Bryon

Hicksville,
New York,
United States of America

Chairman JW Land o Lakes is a very angry person.

#5UPDATE EX-employee responds

Mon, March 05, 2012

Don't you just love those alleged ex-employees with an ax to grind. Chairman JW ? Now really that's a original name ! This guy has responded to just about all the EMS Ripoff Reports !!! He must be either a competitor or really a worthless ex-employee that was fired. I can assure you Chairman JW, EMS never screwed anyone. No merchants were ever cheated, no employees were ever cheated ! I am a real ex- employee and I can assure you, if all merchant service providers were like OHMS, the merchant service world would be a better place.

My advise to CJW Land o Lakes, spend less time on these ridiculous websites and seek out some professional help.

EMS ex-person retired and living very well on my EMS residuals !

ChairmanJW

Land O Lakes,
Florida,
USA

Sure

#6UPDATE EX-employee responds

Sat, November 19, 2011

The post of EMS being a positive for your business is obviously written by an uneducated employee of the company. Don't worry when you cannot go into the business's in your community because EMS ripped them off you will understand.

Greg Gorgeous

Foster City,
California,
U.S.A.

EMS a Positive Influence on My Business

#7Consumer Comment

Fri, December 26, 2008

I can tell you going into my fourth year with EMS, my sales have more than doubled as a home based business. They have always been responsive to questions concerning the equipment and look out for you in terms of suspicious transactions. The fees are what I expected and reasonable. Compared to the Credit Card Companies out there that offer you 0% for a year and then boost your rate up to over 24% if they allegedly receive your payment a day late... those practices are criminal and make EMS look like saints. I recently fulfilled my contract for the first three years and opted for the NEW Wireless Nurit 8020 which sends and receives on cell/satellite without needing a phone line. Now, when I work those 'shows', I can avoid $150.00 to hook up a phone line which is a real rip off. Early on, I noticed that First Hudson was still charging my account for more original Slumberger Credit Card Swiper which needs a phone connection. A couple of phone calls and they agreed to let me keep the Credit Card Swiper as compensation so I have a great back up. Thank you First Hudson and EMS. I currently pay 99.00 a month for the rental of this new wireless technology... any additional fees and or credits are reasonable and besides... these type of charges are written off against your business. Have you ever seen all the various govt charges in your Utilities, or Cell Phones? Who likes taxes? But, lets be reasonable you want Police, Fire Protections, Roadways, Military etc.... that's part of why we have so many taxes. So my advice, read the contracts and communicate. I find Electronic Merchant Systems to be resonable and supportive and that customer service means a lot to me.

Some Dude

Cleveland,
Ohio,
U.S.A.

An ex employee's take on EMS

#8UPDATE EX-employee responds

Thu, August 28, 2008

I used to work for Electronic Merchant Systems and lets say I am glad I do not anymore. The company has a very unfeeling "Office Space" - like environment. For instance, in customer service, if you need to go to the restroom you are timed and you have to write your name on a dry-erase board if you have to go. They have a no fault system of "occurrences" where if you are more than 3 minutes late from a break you get penalized. One woman was fired from her job because she got in a fatal car accident and could not come into work and was then issued her final occurrence and let go. The company consists of a bunch of half-wits who get off on making people feel inferior by subjecting them to a hierarchy of communication. You were not allowed to talk to someone in the same room with you unless you talk to someone in the next room over first. Which would further delay the process of helping the customer that you had on hold for the past 20 minutes. I would get phone calls everyday from merchants who were dissatisfied with their service and despite knowing the information they asked for in terms of cancellations such as fees and when they could cancel, I was not allowed to give them any information and had to transfer them to retention where they would try everything they could to give them the run around and make the process for canceling difficult and would try and swoon them into staying on board by offering them a half of a percentage point off their processing fees. Often times they would kick back the call to another rep and the process would start all over again. I cant count how many times i had been cussed out but angry merchants, whom I had never spoke with before because they were getting bounced around. I had also received NUMEROUS calls from merchants that had been promised something completely different from the sales rep and I had to tell them no, we dont do that but by the way you cant cancel or else you will be charged a huge fee, how much ($300) I could not say, I would just have to wait till the said "I want to cancel" til I was allowed to transfer them to retention. Even if they were being ripped off and got duped into buying something they didnt need I couldnt send them to cancel until they said those magic words, I would be told to keep them on the phone and solve their problem - which I could not do. I even remember one instance of a merchant faxing in their contract only to see that the copy we had, had been forged at a higher rate by the sales rep who were almost impossible to get into contact with for the merchant; I brought it up to my manager and it was just swept under the carpet, I had never heard from it again but im sure if they canceled they were charged a fee. The sales reps are commission based and they used the most deceptive tactics to get people to sign up with them.

David v. goliath

East Rochester, NH,
New Hampshire,
U.S.A.

EMS Electronic Merchant Systems et al

#9Author of original report

Wed, August 06, 2008

For whatever reason my post isn't being lumped with other reports on this company. PLEASE search under all the names listed. They also have other affiliates as well that I did not name. You can use Google as a tool to find out what other names they use to do business under. I'm sure they would not be any better to deal with under another name. BEWARE!

Reports & Rebuttal