Transfirst Fifth Third Bank (Merchant Bank) Retains access to your bank account after lease expires and debits at will Louisville, Colorado

In 2006 we were referred to TransFirst by our bank for credit card processing through our small convenience store. Our bank will no longer recommend them as they told me it turned out to be a "one way" agreement.

I was also on the board of a non profit organization that was holding a wine tasting event and we signed  a one time use agreement for $99 with them. The year after after this event was long over with, I noticed monthly services charges being deducted from the account. I called Chris Cochran who signed us up and asked what was going on. To make a long story short-they said they would "close the account to future charges" but the non profit was not getting any of their money back.

Two plus years into our contract with the store, I decided we had had enough of extra charges for this and extra for that so I switched processing to another company and thought we were done with TransFirst. Wrong! They told me we still had months left on our contract and could either pay $1,000+ in termination fees or continue to let them take out $47 a month until the end of the contract. I opted for the $47 which would be about half the amount in the end. I called them 3 times in the last 6 months of the contract to verify the ending date. Finally we were done with them. Wrong! They put through a $77 charge, their minimum monthly had gone up to $50, and I had my bank return it and put a stop payment against any future charges. I got a call from a vicious woman named Maryann asking me what I thought I was doing. Told her we were done and she informed me I hadn't signed their termination agreement, which she would fax to me. She did, I filled it out, and she demanded "their" $77. I declined saying that any one of the three people I had spoken to should have sent me that termination letter to fill out. She was angry but seemed to concede. Finally over? Wrong!

On March 31, 2010, six months after our contract expiration and right after the stop payment expired, they took $400.00 out of our account for a pin pad that I forgot I had signed for in 2006. I called them and offered to return it and they offered me $200 back. I told them that wasn't fair and consulted an attorney who advised me to get any dealings with them in writing. They had violated federal banking regulations and who knows what else. They have been stringing me along for weeks telling me we could resolve this matter and I was last told to send an e-mail to Steve Close-it came back undeliverable. I called again and was transferred to, guess who, Maryann who gloated about how she had talked to me before. She informed me I would get no letter, none of my money back and this was a done deal as far as they were concerned.