Complaint Review: Total Merchant Services - Basalt Colorado

I worked as a customer service rep for Merchant Services for over two years. In any job that I do, I work hard at learning everything I can so that I can do the absolute best job possible. That 11 page contract? I read it many, many times. I wanted to make sure that if the bank WAS dealing unethically with merchants, that I would not be a party to it, as soon as I found out. I was VERY WARY of taking this position, just because of the fear of the bank possibly dealing in unethical practices. Maybe I'm one of very few, but I will not work for a business I feel is abusing ANYBODY. I took thousands and thousands of calls. I researched fee issues to such a degree that my manager would come to me for assistance, at times, in vetting out what was going on. Not that she COULDN'T, it just was quicker for her to come to me if it was dealing with something she knew I had researched to the nth degree. While I DISAGREED with the fees charged, they were NOT hidden. Merchants would call, utterly bewildered, and it was so frustrating, because the fees were very clearly spelled out, and not deep within the contract, either. I knew many of our sales reps, and they were not, on the whole, fast talkers. They were doing a good job, and for the few that WERE less than ethical in how they explained the contracts, I am so happy to be able to honestly say that, more than once, those reps didn't last very long. When a merchant called that had been victimized by one of those reps, we knew who those reps names were, and we absolutely waived fees, and definitely went the extra mile to try and make up, in some way, for the damage the rogue rep did. I know this is true. I clearly remember the files on my desk that I personally went to the mat for, because of a particular rogue rep. That is why I stayed. Because when something really WAS wrong, the bank allowed us to make it right. We also had MAJOR discretion in waiving the fees I personally disagreed with, such as the $100 fee applied when the account was being closed. We also had many merged merchants, and it was standard procedure to know that particular merchants didn't sign a contract with the fee, and we were to waive the fee as soon as we identified they were a merged merchant. Even with the merchants who clearly signed the contract with the fee NOT HIDDEN - even then, we were permitted to waive it. This wasn't encouraged, no!! But, if a merchant had multiple ties to the bank, for one thing, no, we didn't want to lose all their business over a lousy $100. Well, big surprise, the bank, itself, got merged. So, the department was closed, and I had to move on. That was my first experience in non-stop, 40 hours a week customer service, and I wish so badly I was still there. I've read a ton of posts today dealing with contract issues. If you are rushed through ANY transaction involving a contract, and DON'T READ IT - I hate saying it, but you don't have anyone to blame but yourself. You should realize the importance of signing your name. If you don't know that, you will learn the hard way, and lose money. If you are being rushed to make a decision because ONLY TODAY will an offer be valid - how good of an offer is it? This business has specially selected YOU, today, to receive this once in a lifetime offer, and ONLY TODAY. How lucky is that! Pretty fishy, if you ask me. Consumers, whether just personal, or business, HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. If a business has gone to the trouble of creating a contract, I feel safe in saying, IT'S WORTH READING IT. As for the consumer who do read their contracts, and the company acted in violation of it, that is a whole different story. But a company abiding to the terms of the contract that the consumer DIDN'T READ - because of all that fine print, you know!, well - caveat emptor. As for not understanding the terms they use, etc., LEARN WHAT THEY MEAN! I did it, without any benefit of inside information through working at a job that taught me what those terms meant, nor had I been to college, at all. I learned, because I was scared. No one is going to watch out for you, and no one should have to, when it's a situation where taking the time to learn how business works, and to read what you sign, would prevent so many ripoffs. To Kevin - ummm, sad to say, you are so right. Visa/Mastercard DO own the world lololol. Hope they don't decide to evict all of us! I do appreciate the time you took to explain how these things work. I may not be in that position right now, but may do it again in the future, and nevertheless, always good to learn from a veteran.

I am a registered agent with TMS and would like to respond to your complaint. While I am not, as a salesman, completely happy with any credit card processor I have ever written business for, I can tell you without a doubt that TMS does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. Also, if you have an online account, it probably involves a gateway such as Authorize Net. They have their own charges, but they are not hidden either. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all. As a 13 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with. The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days. The bottom line is that there are something like 144 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it. Best of luck to you.

I am a registered agent with TMS and would like to respond to your complaint. While I am not, as a salesman, completely happy with any credit card processor I have ever written business for, I can tell you without a doubt that TMS does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. Also, if you have an online account, it probably involves a gateway such as Authorize Net. They have their own charges, but they are not hidden either. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all. As a 13 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with. The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days. The bottom line is that there are something like 144 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it. Best of luck to you.

I am a registered agent with TMS and would like to respond to your complaint. While I am not, as a salesman, completely happy with any credit card processor I have ever written business for, I can tell you without a doubt that TMS does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. Also, if you have an online account, it probably involves a gateway such as Authorize Net. They have their own charges, but they are not hidden either. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all. As a 13 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with. The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days. The bottom line is that there are something like 144 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it. Best of luck to you.

I am a registered agent with TMS and would like to respond to your complaint. While I am not, as a salesman, completely happy with any credit card processor I have ever written business for, I can tell you without a doubt that TMS does the best job of listing all of their possible charges right there in black and white on the contract. The schedule of fees page clearly indicates all the charges that can be charged for anything. These fees are not hidden. They may be fees that you don't like, but if you don't like them, you need to complain to Visa and MasterCard for the way they charge your transactions. Also, if you have an online account, it probably involves a gateway such as Authorize Net. They have their own charges, but they are not hidden either. I guarantee if you actually read the contract you signed and look at the schedule of fees, you will see that all of these "hidden fees" are NOT hidden at all. As a 13 year veteran in this industry, I hear this every day. If you make the mistake of signing the contract without knowing what you are signing, you can only blame yourself when something you don't like comes up. If you have questions about some charges on the contract, ask the rep. If the rep cannot answer the questions, that should be a red flag that maybe this rep isn't worth signing up with. The sad truth of this business nowadays is that if you had an honest rep, who told you verbally what all the possible charges were and explained the contract and your responsibilities as a merchant, you would send him packing and find one who would lie to you and tell you all the things you want to hear, while hiding all the things you don't want to hear. You can't get the service and equipment for nothing and that is what everybody wants these days. The bottom line is that there are something like 144 buckets of interchange that your transactions can fall into. It would be impossible for any sales level representative to go into all of these for you in detail and you would never understand it all anyway. If you want to simplify, complain to Visa and MasterCard directly, and good luck with that! They own the world and just allow us to live in it. Best of luck to you.