Anybody dealt with 'PaymentSense' Merchant Co???

[LMDServicesUK]

Can we please clarify this misleading statement re Paymentsense / FDMS.
Paymentsense is NOT FDMS, it is not owned by FDMS it is a totally separate company to FDMS.

First Data Merchant Solutions is a Merchant Services Provider that Paymentsense resells the services of, as do other companies.

I have explained this subtle but important difference in some detail on previous posts.

Paymentsense and FDMS are separate companies, you can buy services directly from FDMS or go through one of their Partners like Paymentsense.

We have no control as to what information FDMS choose to post on their website..

 

[timepiece]

I care not what their relationship is. They work closely together, they support each others product, and when a sales rep sells their products as a combined package, who owns who really does not matter.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Yes you are correct they do work closely, as I have explained before, PS is a Sales Channel for FDMS but that does not mean that they sell exactly the same solutions that FDMS sells directly.

The most recent post suggested that you post a link as to where the 12m contract claim was made by Paymentsense, in support of your previous posts, so you quoted an FDMS website as your source, which is fine as FDMS DO offer 12m contracts.

Paymentsense have never offered a 12 m contract for terminal leases or Merchant services contracts period, please just accept this as fact, and stop trying to claim otherwise.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

The only thing that Paymentsense provides for a 12m term is a premium advertising bolt on package, (FoC) and we also pay our Merchants PCI Management fees for the 12 months of their contracts with us.

Perhaps the confusion arose from these additional items which Paymentsense would have provided to you as part of your overall package ?

 

[timepiece]

Ok, I am moving house this weekend, so I have little time for this. I do not have a post count of 30 or more so I cannot post links.

My complaint is quite simple...

1/ That representatives of Payment Sense acted in a dishonest and underhanded manner. They hid within pages and pages of electronic data a 5 year contract while telling me verbally, both on the phone and during 2 face to face meetings that the contract was for 12 months.

If you go to review center and search paymentsense you will see that out of 48 impartial reviews, 40 note that they have experienced the same dishonesty that I have.

If you go to the website of the governments Better Regulation Service, you will also see that payment sense are being investigated by their team for similar underhanded behavior.

2/ That Payment Sense, and its partner companies treated me in a disrespectful and threatening manner when I tried to address the issue, taking funds out of my bank account (that were returned by my bank) for a full 6 months after I canceled the direct debit and wrote to them instructing them that I no longer gave them authority to do so.

Now Mr PaymentSense, over to my thoughts on you. You clearly have a financial relationship with Payment Sense, so your defense of their products cannot be seen as impartial, in fact it is anything but.

Each time you reference the contracts or remind me that I should of read the small print, you sound like a dishonest sales person selling dodgy motors... aint my fault govner, should a read the small print...

I will not be replying to you again, this is getting a bit boring !

 

[deniser]

Timepiece, I can quite believe this as I also found different figures in the electronic contract for online payment services to those I had been given in writing beforehand.

The online contract prompts you to click on the signature boxes and as soon as you click on the last one, the contract is whisked away. I had planned to query the figures but suddenly it was too late; there was no final button to press to complete. Neither could the contract be amended. It says everyone who is a party to it will get a copy of the signed agreement by email but I didn't and my requests for a copy were met with silence. Luckily I had printed out a copy beforehand so I have the agreement to refer to but I bet most people won't have done this.

My requests to amend the figures have also drawn a total blank on the basis that it was too late, I had signed the electronic contract, despite my providing email correspondence as to what had been agreed.

When you then activate the account another set of T&Cs pops up on screen which you are required to confirm - I read them - they are incomplete, refer to parts of the website which you can't see until you have confirmed acceptance of the conditions, say that all previous agreements will be superseded and in parts contradict the electronic agreement.

The whole system is unsatisfactory given that I actually read all the small print and was still caught out!

 

[mhall]

There are words and then there is the truth. Payment Sense staff DO sell "12 months deals". They don't say - "It's a 12 month deal but you will be signing for a 5 year contract with someone else for the actual machine" They then, quite truthfully say that they don't offer 12 month lease options - it's all designed to confuse.

 

[kelvin1950]

Fascinates me that the geezer from payment sense who is "investigating" all the complaints has never come back and said what the outcome of any of these complaints was.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi Timepiece

Tx for finally clearly summarising your concerns with your PS agreement, can I again suggest that you PM Ben Kirkwood (a PS Senior Manager and a member of this forum ) and he will update you as to the progress of the investigation of your complaints as originally raised..

And as I have suggested before perhaps you would like to post the outcome of your discussions with Ben to date ?

Deniser
If you have not received an email copy of all the agreements you signed please PM your MID details, and I will raise the issue with HO for you to get the documents sent out. They are supposed to be issued immediately the e-sig is signed by yourself and accepted by PS.

mhall,
Please stop promoting this line about 12 m contracts, PS DO NOT offer 12m contracts for Merchant Services or Card terminals, I wish we did !

Please do however post the evidence to support your statements and at least you will then give PS an opportunity to address the matter accordingly.

I like Timepiece will now consider this thread concluded, until such time as Timepiece can updates us as to progress..

PS Hope your house move goes smoothly

 

[kelvin1950]

mhall,
Please stop promoting this line about 12 m contracts, PS DO NOT offer 12m contracts for Merchant Services or Card terminals, I wish we did !

And there we have it. I actually believed you when you said you didn't work for them.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi Kelvin

Correct I don't work for PS, however I do resell their services ( amongst other services), and I do wish I could sell a 12 m contract, as others have said not everyone wants to sign up for a min of 3 years..

 

[kelvin1950]

That's not how it looks to me, nor I suspect to many others. It's the word WE that gives it away.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

That's not how it looks to me, nor I suspect to many others. It's the word WE that gives it away.

Use of the word WE in this context was perfectly valid as I do RESELL Paymentsense services, but I am not directly employed by them. They are but one of a number of Organisations that I resell the services of.

Mark

 

[kelvin1950]

I resell chocolate made by Cadbury but when I talk about it and the manufacturer, I use the word them not we.

 

[mhall]

Ok, I didn't say Payment Sense offered 12 month contracts, I said that Payment Sense staff sell 12 month deals. One of the problems of having unregulated, commission only sales people I guess - they say what they can to get the deal. We left Payment Sense some years ago for just that reason. Pity really because they have the potential to be up front, open and honest and a real alternative to the banks. Nothing I have read or heard about them since gives me any reason to think they have done anything to control the sales process. I wish they would.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Fair comment, (should have read your post more carefully..)

I also agree with you, which is why the Business will take action where it uncovers such cases, and these comments are reviewed by senior people in PS, so that where we get it wrong action can be taken.

But like all things in life please do not assume that we are all promoting such bad practices, as I will not and do not, I would rather walk away from a sale if the Merchant was not completely happy with what I had offered them. A happy customer will give you referrals an unhappy one will not.

Simples.

 

[Paul Brooke]

If you are looking for excellent rates but with only a 12 month rolling contract then please pm me. I am not in this business but I know a lovely woman that is and she would be only to pleased to sort out something for anyone that needs/wants to change merchants

 

[ragtime27]

i've had a few quotes recently i name few AIBM,paymentsense,cardsave and strangely streamline even both owned by worldpay,barclays,syemour direct,acceptcard...etc.
none of them offered me a 12 months contract,i guess it is very uncommon and the shorter the contract the more you pay(correct me if i'm wrong).

I wouldn't dare to say which was the best offer,not to drift away from the subject and upsetting some people

 

[CloudPursuit]

Has anyone dealt with PaymentSense. We are keen to know your experience.

 

[simon field]

Why not read the thread?

 

[CloudPursuit]

Simon Realised that after posting!

 

[primed101]

In line with what many other people have said on this thread, I was promised that our contract would be 18 months not 5 years. I have said that I will honour the 18 months because that was what I agreed to (verbal discussions regarding sale can be taken as being part of the contract as much as the written part of the contract)

I have written to PS and asked them to send me the transcripts from phone conversations that I had with the sales person. I actually know the date and the time. I have sent two letters (recorded delivery) and have had no reply. In these conversations it is quite clear what the rep said and since it is a financial transaction, PS have to keep the recordings.

I fully expect PS to get a debt collection company involved and I am absolutely determined to fight this all the way to the financial ombudsman (and court) if necessary.

I have been in touch with Rogue Traders and newspaper consumer writers and had a sympathetic hearing.

The real shame of the matter is that we have been with our current merchant provider for over 15 years, and if it was not for this devious and underhand sales tactics, we would probably have continued with them for quite a few years at least and in the long run they would have made much, much more from the commissions earned from us than the short term signing on profit.

 

[CloudPursuit]

Thanks Primed101,

All I would like to do is bring few aspects to any potential new customer who is thinking about taking PS as their gateway/merchant account.

For eCommerce, there are two packages. Starter and Pro. £14.95 and £19.95. On their website, PS mentions that Merchant Account is included. They also mentioned 'one fixed monthly fee' and 'zero commitment' on both packages.

Truth is that:
- You would pay £14.95 for the gateway and min £14.95 minimum processing fee for merchant account. So if you take their package, you will pay min £14.95 x 2 + VAT.
- Zero Commitment is 90 day notice.

So, I would urge all who are considering PS to read the fine print and understand minimum charges before signing up.

Sales is pushy, tricky, somewhat covert and will not tell you 100% truth about this. Once you sign-up, forget about expecting any response to your issues.

We are PS customer and we have decided to switch to other providers. 15+ days w/o any response to emails to their customer services. Four phone calls when you end up repeating the issue to their reps from start. No acknowledgement to any complaints via email yet. No acknowledge to the cancellation request yet.

Hope this helps!

 

[LMDServicesUK]

In line with what many other people have said on this thread, I was promised that our contract would be 18 months not 5 years. I have said that I will honour the 18 months because that was what I agreed to (verbal discussions regarding sale can be taken as being part of the contract as much as the written part of the contract).

Primed101
If you are a Sole trader or a Partnership your FDGL terminal lease is governed under the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, which allows you to exit the lease after 18 months subject to a restocking fee.

If you are a Private Limited Company THERE IS NO early release option, so if you have signed a 36, 48 or 60 month lease agreement, and you choose to terminate it early, you will be liable for the remaining lease charges, just like any other leasing agreement.

This is very clearly stated on the first page of the leasing agreement, and if it was not clearly explained to you when you first discussed your requirements with PS, that is an error on their part.

However as I have said many many times if you are signing any form of Business contract with PS or any other Merchant Services Provider, and you are not sure about something, then seek clarification before you sign the agreement.

 

[primed101]

Thank you for your reply.

I was told time and again that the contract was 18 months. I clarified this several times. The sales rep knew our legal status (we provided bank statements, merchant statements, invoices etc). Don't take my word for it, let's check the phone recordings.

I wanted to check the contract and was advised that the online signing was just to set up the account and the original would be posted to me. I took the sales rep word, not think for one minute that all he was interested in was to get his commission.

The difference between signing a normal lease agreement and this agreement, is that when you are given false information and you use that to sign a contract, then as far as I am concerned, that contract is not valid.

I appreciate your prompt reply, but strange, how letters that I have sent have not been acknowledged or replied to.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Tx Primed101

Pls PM me your details so i can escalate within HO again, and can you confirm what type of Legal Entity your Business is ?

Whilst I am not a direct employee of PS, my business sells PS products and services so if something goes wrong for one of our Merchants, I will always see if I can help get it put right, if PS or FD are at fault.

Happy Merchants refer new prospects to you, unhappy ones do not, hence my trying to assist where I can

Kind regards

Mark

 

[m71]

My experience with payment sense as a company has been very frustrating. I signed with them and suddenly started getting invoice for services l didn't request for and had to call to complain almost on a weekly basis. In space of 3 weeks received 3 separate invoices that made it very expensive - capped rate fee (for signing a fixed contract) so why sign a fixed rate in the first instance, then another invoice for client-line fee, then received boxes of till rolls that l didn't order for which cost twice the market price.
I read my contract before signing and queried all the extras and requested l did not need them yet they were all added. My advice is look for another supplier that is more transparent. Sometimes the big company may charge a bit higher at least you know what you are getting

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Contact PS Customer Services on 020 8962 5455 they should be able to cancel the service elements you no longer require (or did not realise you had signed up for..) e.g. ClientLine and the Till Roll Service.

Re the Capped (not Fixed) Rate fee, that should have been explained to you at the time you signed up the service, and it is designed to protect you from future increases in acquiring rates, as it is an open secret in our Industry that once the BoE starts to move the Base Rate, all the MSP's will move their rates up as well, the capped rate option will provide you protection from such future increases..

All these items would have been shown on the MSA contract agreement you signed, so I am surprised that you did not notice them at the time you signed ?

Mark

 

[smudger1234]

I'm finding Payment Sense to be the most the most ridiculous and frustrating company I've ever had to deal with.
I've been miss sold four merchant accounts when I only needed one, on top of that they within a few days have stripped my account of way over £200 for the accounts I don't need, on top of that and crucially the gateway does not work with a single page checkout!

I have been passed to their development team who are equally as bad at getting back to customers as the customers services team. After a month they replied saying they still can't fix the issues.

They have sold me a product not fit for purpose and taken my money, they don't answer the phone (you're felt listening to their answer machine) they take a great deal of time to reply to emails if they reply at all.

I have directly asked them to refund me and cancel the account, I've have no refund and no reply... Does anyone know what I should do next to recover my money and costs?

 

[GPHO]

My experience with these people led me to cancel my direct debit mandate just to be absolutely sure they couldn't get any more of my money. They claim my company owes them for cancellation fees so I know there's no chance of getting back the money I have paid them. To make sure they couldn't get any more I folded my company. A drastic move but I am now so deeply suspicious of them that I had to be sure they cannot get any more money from me, whatever they try to do. I believe they will take from you whatever they think they legally can, regardless of whether that is fair or not. I would urge to take whatever steps you need to prevent that happening.

 

[promdressers]

it is an open secret in our Industry that once the BoE starts to move the Base Rate, all the MSP's will move their rates up as well,
Mark

When I owned a retail store my biggest bugbear was credit card charges and fees.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not recall charges coming down when the BOE rate collapsed?
The banking industry, IMO, is a world of parasites.

 

[EdgePS]

These are by far one of he worst companies I have ever dealt with. I have been trying to get them to reply to an email for 6 days now about the end of the contract. We are coming up to the five years and I want to know if there is a time limit to let them know we want to end it and also if there will be a fee, because this company seem to be determined to get a fee out of you one way or the other. The 020 number is no longer valid and you have to ring an 0845 number, which costs money, and surprise surprise you are kept on hold for ages. All in all their customer service is terrible and I can't wait to get rid of them.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi Edge PS,

I am sorry to hear you are having trouble contacting our CS team, I have asked a member of our CS / Retentions team to contact you to discuss your situation and provide you options now you are approaching the end of your initial contract period.

However if you could PM me with your MID this will help us identify you and then ensure whoever contacts you has your details available to them re your existing contract.

 

[BenKirkwood]

Edge PS I've sent you a PM so I can help resolve this for you.

 

[Ann White]

There seems to be so many people saying how good Payment Sense are and yet I am having problems with them and cannot seem to get them to do what I need. I have random amounts on the bank statement which do not refer to the merchant machine/till receipt. It takes me hours to sort out and am becoming very frustrated. Has anyone else had this problem please and what did you do about it, so that the payments agree with the till receipt.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi Anne

Which charges are you struggling to reconcile as there will be other charges besides your merchant Acquiring fees.

Also when you receive incoming payments they will be grouped into a single batch payment by the day they were authorised, so if you took say 5 payments in a day for
£ 10 each they would be consolidated into a single payment of £ 50 to your bank account.

Have you raised a case with our CS team at all, If not please call them on 0845 434 3001, and they will see what they can do to assist you.

 

[Ann White]

Yes ever since we had the machine if there was £1500 taken in the day then a random figure like 785 turns up on the bank statement. It has got worse and worse. Now I only get 1 day when the days takings match the bank. Tried my best to get it to work but am so fed up with now.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi Ann

Please raise a call with our CS team as mentioned before ( 0845 434 3001), as something sounds out of whack, are you undertaking the End of Day procedure, on a daily basis ?

Do you know what Banking window you have been allocated ?

Our Cs team should be able to investigate on your behalf.

Kind regards

Mark

 

[BenKirkwood]

Hi Ann,

Our new CS number is free: 0800 103 2959
You might also get the information on our help center
Any problems, I'd be happy to refer you directly to someone in CS that can help, just drop me a PM.

Ben

 

[Ann White]

I feel silly here but what's a PM