Review Retail Merchant Services based in Milton Keynes

[IndividualityDilemma]

So we are 100% clear, let me quote myself...


What I find most interesting about this thread, and some of the sites being mentioned is that they're all owned/run by employee's of PaymentSense ... a rival of this Retail Merchant Services company.. Can someone verify this is the case?

Now, clearly in my statement, I throw out something I'm TOLD, then offer it to the forum for verification. I won't make comment on the fact that you represent PS in some form or another...I'm glad we agree on the simple solution that we [you, me, others] must take greater care in reading contracts and such. I'm no legal expert but for the best part, it might be that half the contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on.. who knows, right? Suppose so long as we we look after our own, we're good. Thank the Lord I don't need a merchant account ha!

 

[LMDServicesUK]

We are not "bad mouthing" the competition, we do not need to, their own merchants are posting their experiences on this forum, and we also sometimes receive negative feedback, however we will always respond publicly to try and resolve the posters issues.

My posts are based on my direct experience and I have walked away from many deals where I felt we were not the right solution for the merchant.. I would rather win 1 in 4 and get referrals than win all and then get bad mouthed for the service I provided / contract I forced the Merchant into, and no subsequent referrals..

I agree bad mouthing the completion helps nobody, however identifying cowboy practices and making other members aware is a completely different matter..

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Why do you think the posters are all competitors of RMS, the majority of these threads were started by unhappy Merchants who contracted with RMS, not by their competitors.

Yes they are venting their spleen, and in some cases they were naive in others they were misled.

We work in an industry that has a mixed reputation and some of us are doing our best to clean up that image and ensure that a more ethical approach is taken to the selling of Merchant accounts.

PS does not always get it right, but I know we do all in our power to solve an issue where there is a genuine grievance, with the service we have provided.

And welcome to the forum and I look forward to your future thought provoking posts.

In conclusion PS is privately owned by two Directors who are highly successful serial entrepreneurs (Jan Farrarons & George Karibian)who came into the Merchant Services market in 2008 with a plan to disrupt the then monopoly of the Banks post the deregulation of Merchant services.

Mark

 

[kulture]

So we are 100% clear, let me quote myself...


What I find most interesting about this thread, and some of the sites being mentioned is that they're all owned/run by employee's of PaymentSense ... a rival of this Retail Merchant Services company.. Can someone verify this is the case?

Now, clearly in my statement, I throw out something I'm TOLD, then offer it to the forum for verification. I won't make comment on the fact that you represent PS in some form or another...I'm glad we agree on the simple solution that we [you, me, others] must take greater care in reading contracts and such. I'm no legal expert but for the best part, it might be that half the contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on.. who knows, right? Suppose so long as we we look after our own, we're good. Thank the Lord I don't need a merchant account ha!

Yes, it is always best to be 100% clear and upfront. This is why I have banned Forumfan1 who seems to have the same IP address as you, and I am thus letting everyone reading this thread know.

 

[kavb]

can anyone tell me how to create a thread here.. I just signed in and am lost

 

[IndividualityDilemma]

Yes, it is always best to be 100% clear and upfront. This is why I have banned Forumfan1 who seems to have the same IP address as you, and I am thus letting everyone reading this thread know.

ForumFan1 & I work in the same Sales Office and are therefore on the same IP address. Upon discussing my comments, naturally she wanted to air her own opinion. Freedom of speech and expression of opinion if you will. Banning her is fine, she's unlikely to comment too much anyway.

Cheers.

 

[oldclaypaws]

Here is an update after RMS tried to take me for about £500 7 weeks ago.

I had 3 phone calls but no written demands, despite asking for them. I stood my ground and told them I had blocked the direct debit and they wouldn't get a penny from me for the following reasons;

I was miss-sold the contract by a commission based rep who did not reveal the penalty charges, despite being asked directly.

The contract had run its course, it was for three years and was finished, you can't 'fine' someone just because a contract ends.

I gave ample indication I did not want to renew the contract in writing, they claimed to have not received this, but I had a copy.

They never sent me anything in writing. Infact they had no record of anything I'd said or sent them, their customer service was appalling.

They also, while trying to extract money from me, wanted me to ring them on a premium line so I paid for the privilege. I told them I wouldn't talk on the phone, and would only respond to written communications so I had something to show my solicitor. Nothing turned up.

They failed to collect the terminal, I sent it back at my own cost, so they had done nothing to merit any charges.

At no time had they made any attempt whatsoever to express interest in being my provider at my next retail outlet. They were not interested in building goodwill or a long term association, just screwing me for one off charges.

I indicated I would relish the opportunity to stand up in court and describe the way they had treated me as I had legal training in law of contract (true) and their terms were utterly unenforceable.

That's the last I heard, they've crawled under a rock.

 

[pampas]

Hi like most people on here I have also been misguided into a contract with rms by a rep who (coveniently) does not work for them anymore.When they sent me a letter saying i owed them over £1000 i phoned them and was told they would reduce it to £616 if i paid now I told her i could not afford it so she said i could pay £200 now and the balance on the 20 December,so i did this. I then fould this forum and have followed the advice,I stopped direct debits and reported them to trading standards.I sent them an email telling them this.now i have recieved a letter from Remas to my home address not my business wanting the original amount. What do i do now?

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Review what other posters have done and act accordingly. If you can show clearly (with documented evidence) that you were mis sold and that the contract is therefore unenforceable, they will eventually go away.

I suggest that you write to them (recorded delivery) pointing out the reasons why you are cancelling your agreement and if they continue to use harassment you will seek further legal remedy.

If you read some of the previous posts on this and other threads you should get some more help.

In our experience they will not take you to Court as you would then have the chance to air all the mistreatment you have had in public, which they do not want..

Good luck

Mark

 

[pampas]

Thanks Mark will do that

 

[baguette]

Hi like most people on here I have also been misguided and conned into a contract with rms by a rep who (coveniently) does not work for them anymore.When they sent me a letter saying i owed them over £1000 i phoned them and was told they would reduce it to £616 if i paid now I told her i could not afford it so she said i could pay £200 now and the balance on the 20 December,so i did this. I then fould this forum and have followed the advice,I stopped direct debits and reported them to trading standards.I sent them an email telling them this.now i have recieved a letter from Remas to my home address not my business wanting the original amount. What do i do now?

Hi Pamaps

what a terrible ordeal to be giong through at Christmas.
Trading Standards in Milton Keynes are very aware of Retail Merchant Services and have already visited them. My Trading Standards team in liaison with Milton Keynes got my contract rescinded - so you can win. You can also report them to the Office of Fair Trading, as the T&C of their contract are unfair and not legally enforceable. REMAS are the 'in-house' debt team and despite having a PO box number & different post code are based in Matrix House with RMS. Debt collection agencies have to be registered, REMAS are not. These are just bullying tactics which all of us have suffered.
Do not accept any phone calls from them as they make false promises and you have no way of proving that conversation - unless you can record the call (which is not illegal). If you believe you were fraudulenlty misled, report it to the Police. The Fraud Act 2006 states:
Fraud by false representation
(1)A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a)dishonestly makes a false representation, and
(b)intends, by making the representation—
(i)to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2)A representation is false if—
(a)it is untrue or misleading, and
(b)the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.

Another interesting piece of legislation worth looking at is:
The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008
This is what my TS team told me to use in the first instance.

You are doing all the right things.

Good luck

 

[baguette]

What I find most interesting about this thread, and some of the sites being mentioned is that they're all owned/run by employee's of PaymentSense ... a rival of this Retail Merchant Services company.. Can someone verify this is the case? Sources tell me this is infact true... Assuming it is, it's a crying shame that in this day and age, people are resorting to such low tactics..

I haven't had any direct dealings with this business myself, but know someone who has...Seem's alot of us are making a few simple human errors which can only be rectified by following a few simple rules :

1. Don't offer to see one of these money hungry field sales people if you really don't want to.
2. If you do, don't sign anything until you have read every little detail on the contract/terms and conditions.
3. If you don't read everything and are then "stung" by something you didn't read, perhaps you are your own worst enemy and shouldn't be so trust worthy! Plus, we have to expect charges these days.... we're all subject to them in some shape or form. It's how most companies make money; lets face it

I do feel for anyone who feel's they have been stung, but equally, the blame has to lie somewhere and you are only accountable for the place where you sign and all the small print that lays above it.

Unsure what becoming a keyboard warrior will solve if I'm brutally honest folks. But, to each their own.

Again, I haven't had any dealings with this business but I bet if I did with their competition, I could find something to glare at that I didn't like the sound of.

Also, a colleague has just told me that "RMS" as they're affectionately known, have won some industry based awards lately... ironically enough for outstanding service.

Funny that.

The industry awards refered to are not really 'industry' they were only open to resellers for Elavon - so a closed shop. Getting high volumes of new contracts is easy if you lie and cheat. You can win at sport if you cheat, but eventually you will be caught and exposed

 

[pampas]

Hi
I have just had a phone call from trading standards and she said there is nothing she can do to help me.I have to pay up.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

As others have suggested, if you are confident that you can evidence that you were misled, mis-sold this contract, let them take you to Court, in our experience these Organisations do not want the associated publicity that would result from a court hearing so will just give up chasing you for money. However you do need to be confident you can evidence the miss-selling / misrepresentation, at the very least find a good litigation Solicitor who can give you an initial view to confirm you have a strong case (most quality solicitors will do your intro meeting FoC).

The fact that they are mysteriously reducing the o/s fees at a rate of knots also suggests they known their case is not strong..

Good luck.

 

[baguette]

Hi
I have just had a phone call from trading standards and she said there is nothing she can do to help me.I have to pay up.

Hi Pampas
I dont know which are you live in, so I cant comment on why your TS wouldn't pursue it, mine did - but only after a push. I suggest going back to your TS, via e-mail, and putting to them the RMS contract, especially T&C 1.1 'You acknowledge that in applying for membership of RMS you have not relied upon any representation made to you or any statement or sales literature by or on behalf of RMS'.- this is in direct conflict with the The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 [which is the legislation my TS used]. You will need to demonstrate you were misled. Also point out that Milton Keynes TS have visited them and rescinded other similar contracts on the same basis. Finally, as you have had a letter from REMAS point out they are not registered as a debt collection agent as they do not hold a Consumer Credit Licence and they do not appear on the Consumer Credit Register, that may get their interest. REMAS.CO.UK is registered in Matrix House, same address as RMS [use 'whois' website to verify] thus a strong link, which indicates they are not 'open and above board'. You can also report REMAS to the OFT and whilst the OFT do not work with individuals, if they agree, they will pass the information onto Trading Standards.

 

[Tombo46]

I haven't read through the whole thread but when I first read it I was thinking "oh dear! I'm with RMS!" and thinking about all the people I have recommended them to. Then my brain started working and I remembered I got rid of RMS a while back (also ripped off) and went with Payment Sense. Never had a problem since!

 

[sheffield ben]

Avoid at all costs. My mum had them in her shop and really struggled to get out of the contract. She eventually said "fine. Take me to court" they didn't. End of. Good luck

 

[baguette]

Hi,
Please can someone advise me.. I'm with retail merchant services and have got to say I'm absolutely appalled with their service. I signed a contract all via phone and email thinking that was 12 months but to Learn it was 36mths.
I've not had the footfall i was expecting via business has been dead so the terminal has not been used for 12mths and just sat in a box. I've tried to advise rms I'm financially struggling and in arrears but they won't listen . I've been told about cancellation costs etc. I would like to know as a sole trader what rights do i have to cancel my contract.
X

Firstly, did you contact RMS or did they cold call you?
You said the contract was signed via phone and email, what did the email contain?
Was there an attachment with the Terms & conditions of the contract? Rental and transaction charges?

 

[Retail Merchant Services]

Hi,
Please can someone advise me.. I'm with retail merchant services and have got to say I'm absolutely appalled with their service. I signed a contract all via phone and email thinking that was 12 months but to Learn it was 36mths.
I've not had the footfall i was expecting via business has been dead so the terminal has not been used for 12mths and just sat in a box. I've tried to advise rms I'm financially struggling and in arrears but they won't listen . I've been told about cancellation costs etc. I would like to know as a sole trader what rights do i have to cancel my contract.
X

Hi Kuli,

We are sorry you are not happy with the service you have been provided. We are fully committed to providing an excellent service to our customers and would like to assure you that this will be dealt with and fully investigated. Unfortunately, we are not able to retrieve your details on our database from your user name. Please could you get in touch either by private message, email or call on the number below so that this can be resolved?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Marketing Team - Retail Merchant Services

 

[Retail Merchant Services]

A Mr Harpal Singh from RMS Retail Merchant Services Ltd. Arrived at my Hamlet House Bed and Breakfast. I have a credit card machine with Payment Sense for the last 18 mounth as he walked in he said Payment Sense is going bust!! so straight away I started to worry I trusted Mr Singh. He said I can beat Payment Sense prices so he did at the time, then he said just ring Payment sense and cancel there will be know cancel fee no problem. I then sighed the contract there and then thinking that all would be well. RMS mac came after a month and I rang Payment Sense to cancel they said there would be a cancel fee of £550. So I told Payment Sense of what's happened he said we are not going bust and they gave me a better price than RMS


Then real problem started with RMS so I rang them to cancel spoke to some one and to take there mac back which was still in the box so we arrange pick from a carry in 24 hours which they did. In the mean time they took £108.00 out of my account and then on for two mounts £20.00 so cancelled from the bank then they sent me a canalisation fee of £1,228.02 this is not right I am beside my self with worry don't know what do hope you can help me reporting this mater, and as on the net it is a big problem of miss selling.

Hi Bedfast,

We are sorry you are not happy with the service you have been provided. We are fully committed to providing an excellent service to our customers and would like to assure you that this will be dealt with and fully investigated. I have asked the Customer Services Manager to look into your account and contact you on Monday to resolve.

Kind regards,
Marketing Team - Retail Merchant Services

 

[kuli]

Hi,
I've been in touch with trading standards and they are taking my case seriously.
I've told them my situation and of my financial struggle and as well as rms I'm paying elavon fees as well. I have been contacted by rms and have been told they will pick up the terminal and that I have to pay £120 exiting fees...

 

[Retail Merchant Services]

Hi Kuli,

Very happy to hear that your account issues have now been resolved by our customer services department, we really appreciate your patience.

Anything you need in the future, please do not hesitate to call us on 0845 241 9960

Kind regards,
Tom

 

[kuli]

Hi Tom,

To be honest it's far from resolved as yet it will be when I receive a letter from rms stating the points I have added being the account is fully closed with no fees oweing and end of and no pursuing afterwards.
The other thing is elavon asking for money again 2 weeks ago I paid them..an amount for pci compliance which again £56 for a unit I never took out of a box...on top the monthly fees which i pay for no transactions made..
so once all this is sorted and i get confirmation then yes..This awful experience i can put it behind. Once all that is done I'll let you know.

Regards
kuli

 

[LMDServicesUK]

So are RMS now saying that they have also now removed the infamous 12 month auto renewal clause from their membership agreements as previously in force?

If based on the experience of various Members of this forum who have posted in the past and present, we now have this wrong, we would welcome you providing clarification for all the UKBF membership..