Anybody have any Seymour Direct reviews for Card Processing?

[RichardUK]

I am looking for credit card processing and all Seymour Direct reviews seem to be good so far, can anybody support this? I have looked on UKBF and I only saw a review regarding their Mail/Phone card processing, it was also dated 2009 so I wanted to see if things have changed since then.

I have looked at Seymour Direct's website and they have a variety of card machines and they look the most modern from ones I have seen on their competitors websites. I run a small mobile PC repair company and I like the look of the Ingenico iWL series.

I have spoken with banks like Natwest plus a company called Paymentsense but their rates are too high and they didn't seem eager to assist me with any required paperwork or suggest a suitable PDQ machine. I spoke on Seymour Direct's livechat and on the telephone with them and they didn't seem pushy and their support personnel were polite and laid out all the options I have available, I don't think I will be making a mistake with them and they quote rates as low as 0.98%.... I just wanted to double check if anyone on here has used Seymour Direct recently?


Thanks in Advance

 

[BusinessPaymentSolutions]

Personally, i've not heard of Seymour Direct.

My advice would be to ensure you check the following:

Rates

• Is the rate you mention taken off their website or have you been told you are eligible for that rate?
• Are your rates capped or will they keep going up once you have signed up?

Set up time

• How long will it take them to set you up?
• What effect will this delay have on your ability to accept cards and, therefore, you ability to make money?

Reliability

• How reliable is the terminal?
• When can you contact the company to raise a fault? E.g. is it only open Monday to Friday 9pm to 5pm?
• If it goes wrong, how long will it take them to fix it or replace it? Again, if you are unable to accept card payments during this period, what effect will this have on your business?

 

[LMDServicesUK]

I would agree with the previous Poster, whilst I have not heard or read any bad feedback re Seymour Direct, the devil is always in the detail of the Merchant account agreement, as Seymour are like PaymentSense an ISO, so will be partnered to a Merchant account provider.

However you should be wary of anyone claiming credit card rates as low as 0.98% those rates are firmly in the territory of National retailers and would not I suspect ever be offered to an SME Business. Also what kind of rates do you think you should get ?

What you will be offered will be based on your actual or projected turnover Credit vs Debit card mix, your Risk Profile, how long you sign up for ? More importantly if you have never taken card payments before, you will not be offered as good rates as if you were a Switcher Business.

Depending where you are based, I would strongly recommend that you arrange to meet with a F2F rep who could then like Seymour, be able to find out more about your business model and then give you options as to what would work best for your business, thus allowing you to make an informed decision.

Make sure you get a VERY clear understanding of how they will support you through the PCI Compliance programme as well !

Furthermore in the case of PaymentSense we will ALWAYS assist you with the application process and assuming you are a LOW Risk business could if approved, have you up and running with a chip & PIN terminal in 5 working days from when you submit your application.

I would strongly suggest you avoid the major Banks completely, the majority long since sold their Merchant processing businesses off.

Rather choose an Organisation that will support you through the application process, but more importantly will provide you inclusive 7 x 24 UK based support once you are live with your solution as well.

Hope this helps a little, and if you would like to learn more please do PM myself or the previous Poster.

Kind regards

Mark

 

[CardswitcherUK]

Richard
Can't offer you any input on Seymour Direct. I know they are a streamline ISO partner but havn't any recent stories to share.

We are a price comparison site for card processing (UK's only). As well as providing instant quotes from multiple providers (no sales calls), our partners will offer you assistance on application completion - our partners on our site call all merchants within 24 hours to assist in completing the paperwork on the phone.

You will also find that Ingenico terminals are the most popular on the market and a number of providers will offer these.

Good luck
Regards
Stephen

 

[british steve]

Whichever card processor you decide to use always make sure that everything is filled (especially the rates you will be paying) in on the contract before you sign it and return it, card processors have a nasty habit of adding things in later! Always make a copy of the contract before you send it back to them or tear off and keep your part.

Also before sending back contracts I always go through the contract with a black marker pen and void all the empty boxes, ON EVERY COPY - every card processor I have ever used has tried it on at some stage!

And finally if the sales rep tells you anything other than what's written in the contract - ignore it! Especially regarding contract length and cancellation charges

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi RichardUK

Just to support British Steve's comments,

If any sales person comes to you and asks you to complete a paper application, make sure you follow his advice !

In our case we use a combination of both a document to capture some basic information from you to authorise us to prepare an application only, and agree the headline rates you are signing up for, and then we generate the actual contracts electronically, for you to review and agree BEFORE you sign and therefore commit yourself..

The techniques as mentioned are still used by some organisations out there so if you feel you are being pressurised or it just does not feel right WALK AWAY.

More importantly if a Sole Trader or Partnership you have a 7 day cooling off period under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, just make sure whoever you sign up with is offering you a contract governed by the act..

If you are a Limited company, get your solicitor or trusted Legal adviser to vet the agreement, so you know what you are signing up to, and that way you get the solution you want and you will be happy you have avoided the traps other Posters on UKBF have fallen foul of over the years.

Hope this helps.

Mark