Complaint Review: SKS Associates - New York New York
- SKS Associates P.O. Box 7861 New York, New York United States of America
- Phone: 866-781-0440
- Web:
- Category: Credit Card Processing Companies
SKS Associates Northern Leasing Debited $ from account 2 years after account closed New York, New York
*Consumer Comment: Don't pay... see this post for more information...
*Consumer Suggestion: Please file with the NYC BBB against SKS and original leaser
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I (stupidly) signed a 48 month lease with Northern Leasing for a credit card terminal, after 2 years of paying approx. $47.00 a month plus $7.50 for a statement, and hardly using the thing I tried to cancel the contract and was told it would be over a thousand dollars to do so.
I am a dog groomer and a very small operation, I didn't have access to that kind of money and was threatend with legal action and adverse credit reporting, so feeling like I had no choice I payed the lease out and never used the machine more than a couple of times.
As soon as the lease was satisfied I immediately sent the machine back and cancelled any further obligations (which there were none). The next month I noticed that they charged me the $7.50 statement fee!
I called and was told that because I didn't call them before the anniversary date of the original contract that it automatically renewed and I would have to pay the statement fee for the entire year.
I DIDN"T even have the machine and could not do any transactions what the H*ll do I need a statement for? She told me I could go ahead and fax them a letter cancelling the statement the next year after I paid the fee for 11 more months.
Once again threatened with legal action and adverse credit reporting I paid the $7.50 a month for the additional year without benefit of anything. I did however go ahead and fax the termination letter the very same day.
End of story right?
Noooo, while checking my account balance on Friday, April 8th, 2011 I see a $125.00 charge that I do not recognize which caused two overdraft fees, now I'm mad so I head out to the bank to clear up this mess.
Once I get there and she pulls up my account we see that it is an ACH debit under the name of SKS Associates, never heard of them. It was deposited in bank in Phoenix so I call them they tell me I need to call SKS.
So I try, once I call the number they ask for my SS# or my phone number, theyr'e not getting my SS# so I continue to put in my ten digit number and each time is omits the final number and I have to start over (IMHO, I believe they were just hoping I'd get frustrated and enter my SS#).
After about twenty tries I finally get connected to Alan who barely speaks English that I can understand. He tells me that after an internal review of my account that I owe five cycles of property tax @$25.00 each for a total of $125.00.
I tell him that my contract with Northern Leasing had expired over two years ago and that when I returned the machine our business was done. I told him that I had already been to the bank and disputed the charges and they had already been reversed and they would not get another dime because I don' t owe them anything.
He insisted that they paid these fees on my behalf and that I must reimburse his company, I told him I never asked anybody to pay anything on my behalf and I don't owe anything! He became agitated and told me there is no statute of limitations on collecting taxes and I am obligated to pay these charges.
I continued to tell him I didn't owe them a dime and he stressed over and over that there is no statute of limitations, I told him I was pretty sure that if I truely owed them money they would have been Jack on the spot asking for it they wouldn't have waited over two years. I also asked him where is the bill, I haven't received anything in the mail.
He said he would send me a copy of the contract I told him he could send out anything he wants but I have a copy of the contract and if I were him I wouldn't waste the postage.
He never answered the question about billing and reverted back to the statement about statutes and then added that he was going to report this to all three credit reporting agencies. I was so angry by now it had become a shouting match he told me I signed a contract and was legally bound by it, I told him that our contract ended over two years ago and again the statute statement.
I told him he couldn't just up and make up false charges two years later, nobody can, and you certainly can't just steal money out of accounts without authorization.
He again threatened with the credit bureaus and I told him that due to massive medical bills we are preparing to file bankruptcy and I would put his name on the top line of the creditors.
He told me I couldn't do that I have a contract I asked him didn't he think I had contracts with Home Depot, Sears, and Capital One etc.also, and theyr'e not getting any money either and I actually owe them money!
After 27 minutes he either gave up or got tired of arguing and told me he would be reporting to the credit bureaus and I told him that he could do what ever he pleases but wouldn't get anymore money from me and he repeated about the credit bureaus and the statute of limitations.
I finally had enough and hung up, I have NEVER been so mad. I paid these people a huge amount of money for a machine that could be purchased outright for a fraction of the cost and it would have been mine, I also paid for a statement for an entire year once my merchant account was already closed! I think they owe me money and if there is a way to get it I'm gonna get it!
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 04/11/2011 12:06 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/sks-associates/new-york-new-york-10116/sks-associates-northern-leasing-debited-from-account-2-years-after-account-closed-new-yo-716337. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#2 Consumer Comment
Don't pay... see this post for more information...
AUTHOR: JennM - (USA)
SUBMITTED: Monday, April 11, 2011
Dispute it with the bank.
A Temporary Restraining Order was placed against SKS on Friday the 8th. You can find a copy of it either on our Facebook page, "SKS Associates Raided My Bank Account" or on our informational website, skspmt "dot" net. I/we are not part of SKS, we are fellow victims. My lease ended in 2008 and they pulled the same stunt.
Don't let them get away with it. Copy the TRO and take it to the bank to get your money back.
I contacted that bank in Phoenix myself on March 30 to alert them to the fraud, and referenced the 100 or so reports that were already posted here at that time. I guess the bank doesn't care.
There are 2 class actions against the parent company presently and one of the law firms engaged in that suit, applied for and obtained the restraining order.
Feel free to check out the aforementioned sites. We have info on where to file complaints (BBB, FTC and NY Attorney General.
I went on the CBS Affiliate last week in my city and another victim near Albany, NY did too last Thursday (the 7th of April).
Get your money BACK, but don't stop there - surely if enough complaints are filed with the authorities, somebody will wake up and do something about it.

#1 Consumer Suggestion
Please file with the NYC BBB against SKS and original leaser
AUTHOR: DivineJustice - (United States of America)
SUBMITTED: Monday, April 11, 2011
There are so many of us in the same boat as you. I filed with the BBB NYC and SKS backed off.
Call your bank and provide them with information from RipOffReports.com and the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that went into effect against SKS and all the other shell companies of Northern Leasing. They cannot legally take your money from you and a nation-wide cease and desist is in effect. Your bank MUST reverse the charges immediately.
Please join our facebook page and learn from what we have already done. You can get a copy of the TRO through this group.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SKS-Associates-Raided-My-Bank-Account/214666205214255#!/pages/SKS-Associates-Raided-My-Bank-Account/214666205214255


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