International Treasure Chest (ITC) Costs more for a merchant account with Cardservice International via Internet Treasure Chest ripoff deception Lebanon Tennessee

Didn't know too much about merchant accounts, but you would think that if a company has an alliance with a merchant account company that at the very least, it would be the same price if not cheaper, than if you applied for an account with the merchant company itself. But not with Internet Treasure Chest.

When I got the kit from ITC, I saw that you need a merchant account to do this business. So, when I called ITC, they told me that I can get such an account thru the company, and Michael the sales rep told me that I can apply online to Cardservice International through ITC which would be for $495.

Didn't know two things. First of all, applying to Cardservice International directly is only $395. Secondly, once you sign up, you are stuck in a contract for six months to the merchant account company paying $35 a month even if you don't do any business.

Being naive, I followed the directions, and only later found out these two things. Besides the fact that few merchant account companies have you pay at least $395, that's something else, but ITC made it look like as though it made a special deal with the merchant account company when I wound up paying $100 more than if I would have gone to that company direct.

As a result, aside from the ITC's kit which I didn't return for a refund so I can't complain about this, but I threw out $705 in the toilet due to this merchant acccount thing that ITC "allianced" with. Nowadays, I know that you can get a very low start up cost or free application fee with certain merchant accounts, but what happened to me is just one more scam that ITC produced. Did this kind of thing happened to anyone else reading this?

S.B.
North Miami Beach, Florida
U.S.A.