First Data Global Services

[Tette]

Has anyone tried cancelling the above company? I cancelled their equipment in October 2009 asking for address to return equipment. In November I received a letter stating my direct debit had failed (I had cancelled it) so I rang and was informed they hadn't received my letter and asking for a copy and they said they'd send the address for the equipment. I got the letter dated 2nd december received 11th December!) warning me that if I didn't return the equipment within 10 days I would be charged £189 - nothing about a cancellation fee. I returned the equipment immediately and have proof of posting and proof of delivery. Since then I have received numerous letters demanding money including rental since the return of the machine. Today I received another one demanding £228 cancellation fee and £165 + VAT if the equipment is not returned in 15 days! As my lease was taken out in July 2005 for two years and I have not signed another since and cancellation fees were only for that period I have written refusing to pay them any more money. I have also reiterated that they have had the machine since 17th December. On checking the internet I found a site of numerous complaints about the company on a complaints board site (sorry cannnot post url yet)but these are all in america. Can anyone advise on what to do next?

 

[gibby]

I would send them a letter recorded delivery stating what has happened so far. Might help to send it to the chairman or someone high up.
Ask them to confim in writing within 7 days that they have the equipment back & cancellation.

Its sounds as they are just after your money & I doubt they will progress with it further legally as you have copies of letters etc.
Firms like this just seem to scare ppl into paying them.

let us know how you get on.
What type of business are they? What do they offer?


G

 

[Tette]

I have written to them again today - didn't send it recorded though. They are an american financial company and I got involved with them by changing my merchant banking to RBS and they use this company for the credit card machines. I have contacted RBS about this matter and all I get from them is that it is not their problem! The complaints website which I found has pages of complaints about them taking rental moneys from accounts after cancellation and seemingly making up charges. I did think of contacting Trading Standards as the office I am "dealing" with is in Berkshire but I am not sure if they could do anything with it being an American company. I'll keep you posted.

 

[gibby]

I would file a complaint with TS. TS are designed to help consumers but if they get a few complaints they will step in & investigate.

We had a similar issue a few years back & they came out, gave us lots of good advice & sorted the matter. We had the same issue with unfair charges & trying to cancel an agreement.

The law changed last year to help firms out in this way as there was a big hole. It may also help to ask other firms who have had the same issue to file a complaint with TS.


I would also send a complaint to the bank to the highest person you can find details of.


G

 

[Tette]

Thanks for the adivce. If I don't get a satisfactory reply from letter sent yesterday I'll contact TS.I'm just making sure I have a copy of everything whilst waiting for their reply

 

[Tette]

My husband had a telephone call from First Data today (I have a day off on a Wednesday). He says the person was very very nasty and threatening and said my lease did not run out until 2012 (false) and that I had to pay the rental term until then and in 2012 they would then decide if I could cancel or not after another 18 months!. My husband was given a telephone number and reference number and told to tell me to ring tomorrow and if I did not they would take me to Court immediately.

As far as I am aware I signed a contract for 2 years in 2007. I would never sign one for 5 years According to the complaints website I found this is what they are doing to everyone on there. Hopefully I can find the agreement tomorrow and then I think its time to contact TS.

I shall telephone them tomorrow to tell them that I require everything in writing (this is a legal right) as I haven't got the facilities to record them so will have no proof of their threats. I shall also contact the agent who putme on to RBS and this company in the first place.

Any other suggestions please as it looks like I'm going to have a fight on my hands.

 

[Deleted member 65659]

We are have been having exactly the same problems with this company since September last year. They appear to ignore all communications and letters and merely keep sending demand letters and emails. They are a total nightmare!! I've posted the last letter (recorded) today - I have no doubt the demands will keep on coming though we have had no threats of court action yet!

 

[Tette]

I wrote to them last week really taking them to task over ringing my husband stating it was a breach of client confidentiality and requesting copy of agreement and stating I wanted all communication in writing so a bloke called Jamie rang me yesterday morning stating he had received my letter. I asked him if he had read it to which he said he had soI asked him why he was ringing,when the last paragraph stipulated that everything had to be in writing! He started on again about the money owing and I again said I disputed it and said I wanted their copy of my agreement. He said he would send it and it arrived this morning. As I can't find my copy ( I don't think they ever sent it) I can't be sure but I think the 24 months has been changed to 60 months before photocopying. I can't get hold of the woman who signed me up. I've spoken to a solicitor friend of mine and he says that without my copy there's nothing I can do. As I said I can remember signing the agreement and dating it but as far as I am aware the agent took all the paperwork with her and I never got a copy back. My advice look for your agreement (on back of New Lease Tracking Report or you haven't a leg to stand on.
I've now gone with AIB which I was assured was Irish bank and guess what First Data now own them! As soon as the agreement term (which is def 24 months) is up then I'll be off!!!

 

[Yvonne Eady]

We took out a contract with First Data in July last year, and I cannot find any copy of the contract, which is very odd as I file EVERYTHING !I had made a note in the diary to check out competitors prices June/July this year, with a view to switching. After contacting them and asking to confirm the contract term, I was also informed it was five years. There is no way I would sign up to five years for anything. They are emailing it through, so it will be interesting to see !
I will keep you posted.
Good luck.

 

[franca]

This also, I feel, is about to happen to us, we don't remember ever signing anything. However, reading the posts will prepare us to deal with the coming nightmare. I think it's a good idea to put everything in writing. The bottom line is, can they provide a copy of the said agreement signed buy us? We'll see.

Franca

 

[andrew1964]

I'm in the same position of attempting to cancel a 60 month lease, like others I was not given any paper work so don't know what the T&C are. I tried phoning the 0845 number but gave up waiting for someone to answer.
Does anyone have a number that I can contact First Data on other than the 0845 one?
Has anyone had any success in cancelling their agreements?

Andrew :|

 

[evertheoptimist]

Andrew, I work for First Data Global Leasing and depending on what merchant bank you're with and what legal entity you are (sole trader, partnership, ltd company etc) will depend on what your T&C's are.

And if any of you have any questions relating to FDGL I'd be more than happy to answer them, because so far most of the stuff I have read on here has made me laugh

 

[CharityClear]

Andrew, I work for First Data Global Leasing and depending on what merchant bank you're with and what legal entity you are (sole trader, partnership, ltd company etc) will depend on what your T&C's are.

And if any of you have any questions relating to FDGL I'd be more than happy to answer them, because so far most of the stuff I have read on here has made me laugh

What bits made you laugh?

 

[british steve]

Andrew, I work for First Data Global Leasing and depending on what merchant bank you're with and what legal entity you are (sole trader, partnership, ltd company etc) will depend on what your T&C's are.

And if any of you have any questions relating to FDGL I'd be more than happy to answer them, because so far most of the stuff I have read on here has made me laugh

Do you offer GPRS card terminals on two year lease/buy at a sensible price?

 

[evertheoptimist]

Quite a few things, actually.

The 'I would never have signed a 60 month contract' is a classic, and something we hear regularly, day in, day out. On the front page of the contract, underlined, in the first line of the first paragraph, the length of the contract is clearly stated, the same page in which you have to sign. We don't expect customers to go through the terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb, but contract length is the first thing you see after the First Data logo, so no excuses.

Also, no FDGL agreements are sold directly by FDGL themselves. They are sold by the merchant banks, so if you have an issue with being mis-informed when signing up to a merchant account or a leasing contract then you should direct your complaint to them. If we are passed a contract that says 60 months on it that is signed and completed in full, then we are not going to question it.

The length of our contracts are always 36, 48 or 60 months, no more, no less (unless it's a short term lease, which is a maximum of three months), so these people saying it was a 24 month contract and that we are lying are completely and utterly wrong. Case in point, "I can't be sure but I think the 24 months has been changed to 60 months before photocopying," sorry, but that is absolute rubbish.

Another query that I've seen on this thread says that they have had their terminal since 2002 and that they were out of contract with FDGL. For a start, FDGL only started leasing terminals in October 2005. Chances are their bank would have asked them to upgrade their terminal and given them a lease agreement from FDGL, hence why they are still in contract. It would have had to have been signed, though.

The bottom line is that FDGL have almost nothing to do with the setting up of these agreements. Once you are in one then we're the people to speak to, but if you wish to complain about being mis-informed, lied to, duped into a signing a new contract or anything like that, then you need to direct your arguments and complaints to the banks.

Regarding the collections issues, if we have a signed contract agreeing to pay a rental fee for a piece of equipment then we are well within our rights to claim that and chase it up if it isn't paid. I can't comment on what has been said by the collections team, but I think I've made my point quite clear that not everything said on here is to be believed.

 

[evertheoptimist]

Do you offer GPRS card terminals on two year lease/buy at a sensible price?

No, we do not offer any terminals on two year leases.

The minimum, long term, contract we have is 36 months. The prices are set by your merchant bank who set up our contracts on our behalf, so I cannot comment on how much the rental price for a GPRS terminal would be as it varies.

The purchase cost of a GPRS terminal is around £1100 with four years maintenance and help desk.

 

[british steve]

Quite a few things, actually.

The 'I would never have signed a 60 month contract' is a classic, and something we hear regularly, day in, day out. On the front page of the contract, underlined, in the first line of the first paragraph, the length of the contract is clearly stated, the same page in which you have to sign. We don't expect customers to go through the terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb, but contract length is the first thing you see after the First Data logo, so no excuses.

Also, no FDGL agreements are sold directly by FDGL themselves. They are sold by the merchant banks, so if you have an issue with being mis-informed when signing up to a merchant account or a leasing contract then you should direct your complaint to them. If we are passed a contract that says 60 months on it that is signed and completed in full, then we are not going to question it.

The length of our contracts are always 36, 48 or 60 months, no more, no less (unless it's a short term lease, which is a maximum of three months), so these people saying it was a 24 month contract and that we are lying are completely and utterly wrong. Case in point, "I can't be sure but I think the 24 months has been changed to 60 months before photocopying," sorry, but that is absolute rubbish.

Another query that I've seen on this thread says that they have had their terminal since 2002 and that they were out of contract with FDGL. For a start, FDGL only started leasing terminals in October 2005. Chances are their bank would have asked them to upgrade their terminal and given them a lease agreement from FDGL, hence why they are still in contract. It would have had to have been signed, though.

The bottom line is that FDGL have almost nothing to do with the setting up of these agreements. Once you are in one then we're the people to speak to, but if you wish to complain about being mis-informed, lied to, duped into a signing a new contract or anything like that, then you need to direct your arguments and complaints to the banks.

Regarding the collections issues, if we have a signed contract agreeing to pay a rental fee for a piece of equipment then we are well within our rights to claim that and chase it up if it isn't paid. I can't comment on what has been said by the collections team, but I think I've made my point quite clear that not everything said on here is to be believed.

I think the biggest problem with these sorts of contracts is the the companies offering them tend to send them out without some of the details filled in, once the customer has signed and returned the contract thats when all the other bits get added on. We have been looking for merchant services for a while and almost every company we have dealt with has sent out contracts that way. On one of the contracts sent to us I put a big black marker pen lines through the empty boxes (after being told that there were no aditional charges to be added) the company then told me the contract was unacceptable and would need to send me a new contract - I told them not to bother.

 

[british steve]

No, we do not offer any terminals on two year leases.

The minimum, long term, contract we have is 36 months. The prices are set by your merchant bank who set up our contracts on our behalf, so I cannot comment on how much the rental price for a GPRS terminal would be as it varies.

The purchase cost of a GPRS terminal is around £1100 with four years maintenance and help desk.

That is still cheaper than what I have been quoted to lease over 3 years! so do you only sell machines through resellers? If so can you give me a little more detail because this is something I am now looking at. Fed up with these dodgy rip off merchants!

 

[andrew1964]

Andrew, I work for First Data Global Leasing and depending on what merchant bank you're with and what legal entity you are (sole trader, partnership, ltd company etc) will depend on what your T&C's are.

And if any of you have any questions relating to FDGL I'd be more than happy to answer them, because so far most of the stuff I have read on here has made me laugh

Thanks for replying. I have PM'd you with the details. Basically its a LTD company and the Merchant bank is Bank of Scotland. Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give me with regards to getting the lease cancelled.

 

[syam]

We have just cancelled our merchant services with BOS.

Sent back the terminal which had a 3 year lease on it (special delivery to Ingenico as instructed by First Data when I phoned them) - which has finished. Sent letters to first data and bank of Scotland (same thing now apparently) recorded delivery.

Got a letter today saying that there is a £200 termination fee according to clause 29.2.6 - our original conditions doesn't even have a clause 29, but on the fee schedule they have sent, they say that they can make changes any time. The conditions do say you have to pay a termination fee for early termination (not applicable) or if you default. However, we have cancelled the direct debit to avoid them taking this termination fee, but it won't default until later this month.

We will be fighting this, but it seems to be a common problem that nobody has resolved as yet. Will keep you posted.

 

[shadesofblue]

I deal with first data along with a number of other companies that offer a similar service. The first data contract is a carbon paper contract with three sections these go to the customer, bank and Firstdata. All the information is then written in including the length of the contact. In the middle of the first page is a note regarding cancellation fees.

Firstly I do find it odd the mount of people in business that are unable to read a contract themselves and just sign on the dotted line.

Secondly I don't understand why people think they will be given low prices without any form of tie in. Would a bank offer you a mortgage with no tie in? You're getting these prices because a company wants your business for a period of time not because the like you.

Solutution - Like BritishSteve read the bloody contracts!

 

[andrew1964]

My friend was tied into a 60 month lease after just asking for the account details of an existing card machine to be changed into her name. Her English is very poor and she was tricked by the salesman to sign the contract. She did not receive a copy of what she signed. We have tried to cancel the lease but have been sent a invoice for over £1400. All attempts to reason with this company have failed.

 

[WasNotMeHonestGuv]

Well I was about to sign a contract with FDG tomorrow but after reading all this above have decided against having anything to do with them

I have a T&C sheet and then the next page is where I have to sign. Surely, if I am to sign any agreement then the signature box should be on the same page as what I am signing for. WELL DODGEY!!!

The guy, when I mentioned about the 60 month contract informed me that it was not a problem and that I can cancel after 18 months no bother. THAT is a bit weird as above it states different!!!

My advice to anyone is STAY WELL CLEAR of this company IMHO

 

[Sparx]

First Data are a joke of a company, we have hundreds of merchants switch over to a provider I work for and I can hand on heart say - 99% of them always comment when I am on the phone to them setting up there new PDQ - "my god I am so glad to be rid of that first data.." - and I had 1 actually last week a guy saying he thought he was in contract for 4 years but he was with BoS since 2002, he then moved to us this year - tried to cancel told he was in a 60 month agreement as of 2009 and he hadn't put pen to paper anywhere at any point! Always get comments as well like it is ridiculous trying to get a hold of someone who would take initiative or do anything about an issue or anything..

Needless to say, First Data and Bank of Scotland didn't have a care in the world - just sent him a nice hefty invoice.

 

[golden_dragon]

Hi I signed a contract via "paymentsense" in January 2011 the contract was sent via e-mail & returned by post.

I asked a lot questions & read through the contract before signing - the sales man at paymentsense was re-assuring, .....It now turns out that the company is FDGL
However the first contract I signed was resent a few weeks ago due to some discrepancies they asked me to resign a 2nd document.. again the T&Cs were sent by e-mail.

I signed the PDF document on line & it was completed & filed at their end.
However I recently received a letter saying they have been unable to debit my account and have requested a new DD mandate to be signed. They claim £113 outstanding but on checking my account the DD was set up correctly at my bank and payments have gone out at just over £30 each month. So what is the £113 for!!!
I went to check the T&C's that I recently signed online via FDGL and the document I downloaded is password protected and can not be re-opened!!!
I wonder if the following letter would be useful in obtaining a copy of the agreement.
Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account/Reference Number 123456789000

With reference to the above agreement, we would be grateful if you would send us a copy of this credit agreement.

We understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), we are entitled to receive a copy of our credit agreement on request. We enclose a payment of £1.00 which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

We understand a copy of our credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days.

We understand that under the Consumer Credit Act creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully
Mr A N Other

Not sure if the FDGL signed lease agreement comes under the Consumer Credit Act - can anyone advise.
Thanks