International Card Services Integrated Card Services, Merchant Account Solutions This company uses deceptive sales tactics, lies about fees, and fails to mention any contractual agreements such as terms and cancellation fees. Thousand Oaks Internet

      Merchant Account Solutions, owned by International Card Services LLC, dba Intergrated Card Services had called to set us, a fairly new small business that didn't use a lot of credit card services.  We spoke to one person initially to see if we were even interested and then passed on to Bryan Pelto to fill us in on the details.  He said the equipment is free, told us the rates were 1% for debit and 1.5% for credit, and there was a $5 monthly fee.  I asked him over the phone if there were any other fees, such as minimums or any other fee that would apply and he said no.  When we were discussing options on what machine we should use, I told him the phone/internet company had not set-up our lines yet and he said that it wasn't a problem because they had a wireless machine.  He never mentioned that there was a monthly $15 wireless access fee.  After confirming again that there were no additional fees, we said ok what's the next step.  He then sent us a link to apply for approval.  He walked me through the online application, where we submitted some info, and I gave him further info over the phone.  He asked me what our sales were monthly and what we would expect to charge on the machine, but we never charged any cards before so I couldn't really give him a good guess, but he based it off what our monthly sales were and said it was fine and it could be adjusted later.  We were never sent any contracts to sign or any info after that.  I received a packet, which did not include any terms, minimums, or info on fees.  It basically just told me what I had to do, such as register with the PCI Compliance, which I am now worried about.  I will be looking further into that as well.   I had thought after reading their info sheet about PCI, that it was a mandatory governmental compliance center that I had to comply with to avoid non-compliance fees.  The packet also provided some info on American Express, Discover, and Visa.  It also showed me how to log onto their online systen, iAccess, which I did, but there's not a lot of on there, just my account balance and activity pretty much.   We then received a few emails saying that our account was approved and they have verified our TAX ID and we should receive the equipment in a few days.  I asked Bryan through email again about the rates and fees and also if we could get some sort of written agreement.  He just responded that the info on the fees and rates were correct.   I never heard from Bryan again. 

       The first month, we had no credit card charges from our customers, and I noticed they had directly debited our bank account for $18.  I was not aware that they were going to directly debit from our account.  I decided to wait another month to see what the next statement was in case there was a mistake.  The second month, we had one charge for about $250 and this time our account was debited $56.  I then called Merchant Account Solutions to cancel our account.  The first time I called, I was sent to a voicemail, which I had left a message. I didn't get a call back.  The second time, same thing, except someone called me back.  He was very friendly at first and didn't make it seem like a problem and went on about how he thought I should try to keep the terminal.  He then mentioned that it was a $350 fee to terminate the contract (which I still dont' have a copy of).  I made it clear to him that the salesperson never mentioned any of those fees, the termination fee, the wireless access charge, or any terms and conditions to me and he said that the salesperson isn't responsible for that and that he wouldn't have mentioned them either.  I told him that it is very dishonest and that they are lying about what they are charging and are ommitting very important facts.  I told him if I had known the truth I would have never even submitted any info to Bryan.  He said that there was nothing he could do and my only option is to pay the $350 termination fee or continue to use their services.  From the two months of having the option to pay by credit card for my customers, I already  know that they would rather write me checks, so I have no way of meeting any minimums each month.  I am tempted to just pay the termination fee and send in my cancellation form, but after reading other reviews, that may not even solve the issue and they may possibly continue to directly debit from our account. 

        I have gone over so many complaints/negative reviews about International Card Services and I do not understand how they are able to continue scamming consumers like this.   This is my first time dealing with a merchant service provider and I have learned my lesson.  I will do my homework next time and read every single review.  It is so disappointing that there are people out there that are dishonest and outright con-artists.  They take money that they do not deserve and continue to do so because the system has not done anything about it. I feel so vulnerable as a consumer and I am limited in terms of what I can do about being taken advantaged of.