Pivotal Payments Charge National Committed Fraud by withdrawing funds illegally from my banking account internet, Internet

I signed up to Pivotal Payments unknowingly through Charge National back in August of 2011. They promised me great rates, low fees - sign up today to take advantage of discounted offer for a hypercom Terminal.

The agreed price was $1350 for the terminal, to be paid in 4 payments. I was also to get a $250 cash back bonus which to date has never occurred. The payments were $500 deposit, then $288 + change to pay the terminal off - no lease, out right buy. First payment went ok of $500.

In the meantime, I was using the terminal for the first couple of months and waiting to get some sort of statement so I could balance my books. Nothing! After 2 or so months I called them up and waited on hold for the entire day - nobody answers their phones there! Second day i found different phone numbers to call and eventually got through. They told me I should have received a welcome email to which I never did. Guy said he would email me that day. I called back a few weeks later and got ahold of someone else who actually did email me the very late 'welcome letter'. Brutal service to begin.

Big problems occur when I found all these reports about Pivotal Payments in the meantime - very unsettling as I truly did not now I was signing up with Pivotal Payments. I was still under the impression I had signed up with Charge National - not through Charge National!

They tried to take the second payment of the terminal out of my credit card as agreed. Payment did not go through, but instead of calling me up to discuss it and for me to arrange alternative payment for it right away, they just helped themselves to my checking account! Completely unauthorized! There is a check box you fill out for them to be authorized to either 'Pre-Authorize Debit' or withdraw funds from my credit card. It is clearly marked as only the 'credit card' as being authorized - to which it is marked with an 'x' by a computer and to which I have the original copy. They literally helped themselves to my bank account and withdrew the $288+change - completely illegal and what is can only be described as FRAUD!!!

I called to complain and their response is well we tried you credit card and it didn't go through so we just took it out of your checking account. Pivotal Payments - you are NOT authorized to go into my bank account illegally! You call me first and we work out a solution!

I asked to cancel my account because I am quite unsettled they would go into my bank account illegally, have terrible reviews online. I was informed I signed a 3 year contract and would have to pay almost $1,700 CDN to cancel. Where does it say I agreed to a 3 year term??? Oh, in the small print, saying to go online and look up their "Terms of Service'. BURIED in the terms of service it says in not very plain english you are signing up for a 3 year term and essentially if you are ever want to cancel they are pretty much locking in that they can charge some sort of outrageous fee which is not even explained to what it will exactly be except it is by their calculation only.

I told them I'll send the terminal back, it is in perfect condition. Keep the almost $800 I've paid for the stupid thing and call it even. All they say is "we'll get back to you next week as we have to discuss it with our supervisor to see what happened here".

I'll tell you what is happening here. I'm so pissed off at this stupid so-called 'company' that I will take it as far as I can to press charges or the fraud they have committed. There is no way I'm paying any more fees for a terrible service, terrible customer service to a company that outright commits fraud and wants ME to pay THEM to cancel!

I was completely deceived by Charge National to begin with and Pivotal Payments on the other side. I was NEVER ONCE told I was siging up for a 3 year term. That is not something you hide when you ask someone to sign up. If you can't be forthright and honest in your dealings with people then you should not be in business. Pivotal Payments has clearly not beginning with never ensuring I got statements until I called about it, stealing money from my bank account, never once told I was signing up for a 3 year contract and then expected to read and completely understand all the lawyer jargon on the terms of service page.

And its my fault? All I ever wanted was a fair merchant services rate - not to be screwed by a lousy company that makes a fortune off the backs of hard, honest small businesses and then tells us where to stuff it!