Leaders Merchant Services Deceptive and Fraudulent Activity of Leaders Merchant Services Camarillo California

Leaders is a terrible merchant processor company.  I called them up asking for rates.  They told me rates over the phone and answered questions but they lied.

I asked if there was a monthly fee.  They said no.  But there is a monthly min and there are other monthly fees not including the gateway fee.  Is there a cancellation or contract length? They say NO but they have fine print saying it is 3 yrs and $350 to cancel.

Here's the biggest LIE.  You are asked to fill out an "APPLICATION" .  An application is something to see if you qualify.  It is not a contract.  This is where they are really decieving people.  You fill it out verbally over the phone and you can't see the fine print and they don't tell you about it.  You also don't see the other manual which constitutes the "AGREEMENT" and it isn't provided to you when filling out the application verbally.  But you aren't really thinking that far in advance because you think you are just filling out an "APPLICATION" not a contract.

My application got hung up in underwriting because in the guys haste to get through it he wrote some things down incorrectly.  So I emailed both the underwriter and the sales agent and told them to stop all work on setting up any accounts because I had decided to go elsewhere.  They ignored this written request and pushed it through underwriting AFTER I said do not proceed.  The next day I got emails congratulating me on my new account.  

Now they say I have to sign a "Close Account" form.  I am not signing anything more from them.  The account should not have been created.  I have proof that I informed them not to proceed PRIOR to the account being formed.  I am not paying $350 for filling out an application over the phone with a LIAR in the first place.  

My bank has put a stop payment in place but I do not know what the charges from Leaders would look like. If anyone can provide me information on what the charges from Leaders would look like on a bank statement (both credits and debits) I would appreciate it.  I am trying to avoid having to close my business account all because I filled out an application on the phone (without getting the opportunity to see any fine print).  

By the way, I recommend people go to CardFellow.com to find a merchant processor.  You'll get several quotes and you can see ALL the fees detailed in the quote.  Plus they give sample statements so you can see exactly where all the charges are and help you understand it.  They give interchange plus pricing only which is far better than tiered pricing.  They GUARANTEE that there is no cancellation fee or contract.  AND your rate is locked so you don't have to worry about a bait and switch 3 months later when you aren't looking.  The only thing that can change are the interchange rates themselves.  I hope this helps someone.