Heartland Payment Systems HPaymentSystem promises to undercut our last merchant service by at least $100/month then turn to double charge us. Clermont, Florida

We allowed Heartland to see monthly report from our previous Merchant Pmt Company, to see if they can do better. It was for Aug 2012, in which they charged us roughly $518 in total for $31.8k worth of credit card business.  Heartland advised us that it can do better by $100 if we would use Heartland.

Believing in this analysis, we signed up with Heartland, starting December 2012.

For the month of Dec-2012, we did a total of $39.9k worth of Credit card business.  To which, Heartland charged us $1082.80 for that month.  Our business with the previous company at similar business volume $38.6 cost us $631.  So we were expecting a Heartland charge starting with that number, less $100 minimum, which should be less than $531.

Instead, Heartland charged us $1082.80, roughly $550 more than we expected. 

I had discussed this issue with Ana Fouts (sp?) at 888-798-3133 x1327, a Heartland agent.  Ana said that Heartland mischarged us at a higher rate and blamed Wendi Cintron, the local lady who signed up up, for filling out the form incorrectly.  When asked "What would Heartland charge be, at the same volume and at the correct rate?"  Ana did not have an answer.  Furthermore, she tried to "negotiate" with me that if we would stay with Heartland, her manager would return the difference.

I could not believe what I had heard!  The December difference of $550 is NOT a point of negotiation in our view.  THAT is ours, simply stated.

"Bait and Switch" is a form of Fraud, a federal offense, see FTC website.  An implied contract was breached.  We have the document which Heartland gave us saying that it can better our previous company by at least $100.

Another issue was the $990 charge back.  An incorrect charge back.  It was made without informing us.  It was done around Jan-9th when we made our expense pmts on Jan-2nd.  As a consequence, expense checks and commission payout checks were bounced.  Those are additional costs at the time of weak business.  We had expected Heartland to be a better company than that.  Is this really how Heartland treats its clients?  Can you sign new clients if they know about this treatment?

Heartland continued to charge us at the high rate two weeks after January at which point we closed the account.  While owing us some $550, they continued to charge us additional $480 for the two weeks and turned that into collection.

Do not do business with this company.  We had been working with one for two years at half their merchant rate, and now has returned to them.