Major problems with EPOS and card reader provider

[Olzki]

Hey folks - so - I wanted to switch my card reader and EPOS provider to try to save some money - a company was strongly recommended to me by a business associate, so I made enquiries and signed up. A definite mistake.
It's been an utter nightmare from day one. I was assigned an account manager who was unprofessional (kept calling me mate from day one, and would ignore any form of communication that wasn't through Whatsapp), and dishonest (he told me the EPOS met certain specific technical requirements I had, which I quickly discovered when it arrived that it didn't). I decided to ignore the red flags and try to use the system.
It took over a week for the "setup call" to happen, and when it did, it was never completed, as someone always needed to "call me back" which they never did (something I am now very aware this particular company NEVER does!). I was able to use the "incompleted" system, without any of the custom discount buttons I had asked for in place, despite being repeatedly told that they would be done "shortly", for about four days, before the printers in both the card reader and the EPOS itself started randomly chewing up all the receipts. Queue another round of the worst customer service and technical support I've ever experienced.
I soon switched back to my existing provider, boxed up the new one, and started the process of getting my contract with them cancelled and the equipment returned. That was back in September.
Since then I think I have sent around 20 emails, including two "official complaint" emails. I have received one reply, in November, where I was offered a refund of one months worth of payments and a technical support specialist, who would rectify any technical issues.
Having already experienced the shambolic customer service and technical support, and feeling zero goodwill or faith in the company, I replied, politely declining their offer, and insisting I get my contract terminated and be provided with a postal address where I can return the equipment to. I have had no reply. I have sent several emails, but no response. I have spent literal hours on hold, only to be disconnected, or told someone will call me back (they NEVER call back) or an email will be sent shortly, which it never is.
I am paying them about 70 quid a month, on a 24 month contract, for the equipment and the service and the atrocious technical support, and I have now started the process of getting my bank to try to dispute the payments. Maybe that will prompt them into some form of action?
Anyways, what I'm interested to know is if there's like a higher power I should be complaining to, like an ombudsmen for financial services like EPOS and card readers? I'm also curious to know what people's thoughts are on leaving negative reviews about my experience, as I tend to think of that as being a bit petty, but at the same time these guys have been a total nightmare, and I wouldn't want any other small business owners to get saddled wiith a dud the way I appear to have been.
Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Casually made]

It sounds like you were sold a dream and failed to do any kind of diligence about what you were buying and who you were dealing with

Business is pretty cut throat , and at the moment it is dog eat dog out there

and thanks to our fantastic governments actions over the last few years it's highly likely to get a lot worse before it gets any better

I would just cancel the direct debit or whatever else it is you have set up with them that should trigger some sort of communication

AS far as the complaining goes i would just leave a bad review on trust pilot and then get on with it

 

[Sil_14]

From my experience with Epos providers, it’s not necessary about doing diligence, but as suggested, I would cancel the direct debit asap and post a review on Trustpilot once a day until they get in touch. Good luck, I know how time consuming it can be…

 

[bovine]

As an Epos provider for over 20 years, I'm fairly confident I could tell you which provider you're referring to just from your post. Its not that unusual and very difficult to get them to accept a return of the hardware. Bad trustpilot reviews can be made to disappear quite quickly or flooded away by glowing reviews. Its why I always recommend filtering by 1 star.

I think some of the problem with getting a system like this is the purchase and install process. Getting sent a box and then going through a setup call to discover technical features arent there is almost the opposite of how we would approach this. I would have an initial meeting/demo and go through the functionality and what would benefit the site. By visiting the site its easy to see and suggest how the system can be used to improve/enhance the operation. Then once we have an order (we dont push for a decision on the day) we get menus/product lists and set up the system before delivering, installing and training. One year onsite warranty and one year tech support is included, with the option to extend this towards the end of the year. Can be a bit more expensive with the initial outlay to go with us, but costs over 3-5 years are very similar, but you the end user would have had to spend far less time setting up the system and have a system better suited to your business. Btw, not trying to sell to you, thats not what I use ukbf for just highlighting the different approaches taken.
We pick up a reasonable amount of business from people who have had bad experiences like this and then come over to us.

Theres not a lot you can do, apart from move on and look to get a better provider in. You've signed a b2b contract which has limited cancellation options.