TransTech Merchant Group, CTI Financial Uncancelable Contracts and Undisclosed monthly fees Fort Worth Texas

Matt G

I have a business too. Balloon Creations in Urbana Illinois. I am contacting Gregg Abotts office. Texas States Attorney.....Texas Governor if I have to....I won't stop until someone stops Transtech...

Also doing business under these names...

APPSTAR FINANCIAL
Eliot Management
FIRST ADVANTAGE
MERIMAC CAPITAL
Summit Merchant Solutions
TRANS TECH
TRANSTECH MERCHANT GROUP

Be very wary before doing business with these companies!

Here's their BBB report.

The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.
Number of complaints processed by the BBB
in the last 36 months: 225
in the last 12 months: 114

With so many complaints, I would bet this in not an isolated incident.

Our business has been approached by a rep for this company at least 5 times in the last 2 weeks. First the rep repeated a conversation with my partner to another business near by that came back to us. The red flag went up automatically, why would we trust him with our personal info. if he could not even handle a conversation, and we did mention he repeated the comment incorrectly, which we let him know upon his second or third visit. Then he returned to our office at 5:PM, which our office was full of people and he was trying to sell us the service, which angered me once again.

My clients pay for my time and not to listen to some guy spill off about how bad our credit card company is and how they are taking us for a ride. He pressed on to see how much we were paying with the current comp. and how much he could save us, after calling his financial advisor. Then he wanted to see our contract which has personal info. on it and we were reluctant. People that are reputable don't down the competition, do you ever hear Rice Krispies saying Cheerios suck, my point is made. The rep returned the next morning first thing upon us opening our door. By this time I had done my homework and called my current company rep and inquired about our fees and contracts and such., he explained that TT hired reps all the time with little training and there were all kinds of hidden charges that might not come out in the initial sales pitch and told us to listen and get a copy of the contract and he would review it for us and let us know if we were getting a better deal.

We decided to not put this guy thru it and waste his time as he had done with ours and told him we were not interested in changing companies. He stood and debated for 10 minutes about how we were making mistakes, the comp we deal with was ripping us off and how could we stay with them knowing this. Finally after repeating for the third time we were not interested he finally left our shop. I came home and did a search for the company TT and found this on RR.com, boy was I glad that I was skeptical of this company, because everything my rep had told me was listed on this site. What was even funnier, our rep asked how long the guy had been doing this and I later found out 3 months. He had told me earlier in the morning he was probably new and gung h*o and prob not aware of all the charges that were involved with the contract and so he prob thought he was doing us a favor and saving us money. Just so people know there are comps out there that are not scam artist, we may pay more but our comp info and customer info is with a safe reputable company and I can feel sure when I swipe a card that I am not making any of thier info available to anyone that should not have it.

My advice to anyone looking for a merchant acct is to ask people that you trust, like your banker or someone in the finance world, in our case it was a long time friend who would never put us in a comprimising position.

What is truly fascinating are the myriad of happy TransTech Stepford Wives, er, happy employees sputtering around these threads on a site called "Ripoff Report." Truly remarkable that such people, spouting company mantra jargon like "closer" right out of the so called (joke of a) training manual would even bother! The truth is that the whole thing seems to be little more than a sham, or pyramid scheme where the only people making money are the Houston call-center based "Team Leaders," and their overlords. The facts are:

-I was hired after a five minute telephone interview, and don't recall ever applying. The Red Flags went up immediately, but against my better judgement, I was lured by their promises of huge, lucrative paychecks-BS...

-My appointments too were little more than pushy telemarketers' fantasies, largely in poor, urban areas ands with people that more often than not didn't know I was coming

-There is almost no respectable training conducted (one lousy day), and the overall price is never made know to the rookie sales representative being used until well after several deals have been made

-The Team Leaders are pushy, bossy little pukes that act as if they're actually paying you a salary, lie about the appointment times (I had one knowingly send me to an appointment that was for "10:00," but when I got there, the ladies were dumbfounded and the owner wasn't there. He later told me that the appointment was for 9:30am, the exact time he called to tell me about it!), and are pretty shady acting overall. And the whole company seems to change their stories and expectations at the drop of a hat...

Face it, if TTM was for real, they would have regional training centers where product knowledge was reinforced and ethical sales seminars were run to train real sales professionals by real sales professionals. Instead, everything is run from some shady call center in Houston, and for training you get a less than half-assed, one-day home teleconference with some dumb, shallow guy that barely knows his own product, and after a few weeks, I still had not even handled the said device that these fine TTM salesmen extol the virtues of.

By way of comparison, a regional mattress sales store with a commission based salary TRAINS THEIR SALES PEOPLE FOR FIVE WEEKS, paying $100 a day, before they even let them near the floor! Sales reps have almost zero actual product knowledge and this is certainly not considered important by the fine people in the Houston offices. After about five minutes of working for them, one is under the impression that they blatantly withhold pricing information so that the "Team Leaders" can take care of the dirty work. Of course, this is all on purpose. Because the obvious corporate policy here is to just take advantage of people without ever actually paying them a salary, nor making any of their lucrative paychex's promises in writing interestingly...

Don't work for this company. The people here schilling for them are just marketing dept. scum, lying their behinds off!

I have had great success at TransTech. The issue with the appointments is not true. You are definitely not handed a sale. The idea for the appointment is to get you in front of the decision maker and use our sales ability to overcome objections that the merchant may have.

It is to bad that an individual's lack of sales abilities causes one to blast the company.

What a great opportunity you are missing out on!

I have had great success at TransTech. The issue with the appointments is not true. You are definitely not handed a sale. The idea for the appointment is to get you in front of the decision maker and use our sales ability to overcome objections that the merchant may have.

It is to bad that an individual's lack of sales abilities causes one to blast the company.

What a great opportunity you are missing out on!

I have had great success at TransTech. The issue with the appointments is not true. You are definitely not handed a sale. The idea for the appointment is to get you in front of the decision maker and use our sales ability to overcome objections that the merchant may have.

It is to bad that an individual's lack of sales abilities causes one to blast the company.

What a great opportunity you are missing out on!

Matt, the things you should really be aware of that have not been addressed in this thread between:

a) the obvious transtech employees who know that all of their competition BROADCASTS this website and it's numerous threads to as many merchants as possible.
b) yourself and other "victims" who are just trying to be heard
c) and the predatory, competitors, who all state. "you should have gone with me"

flogging each other verbally to save face in an internet thread.

Here's what you need to really know:
1) The "Merchant Pro 3" terminal is nothing more than a "souped up" Hypercom T4100 Terminal (hypercom) or look on an auction website to find out the going rate for them. It's in the core, a decent terminal that's made well but they decorated it with their cover and branded it as the "Merchant Pro 3". It has a few features that save TT administrative overhead by "dialing in" to TT to let them know what you need ...sort of like hitting the "call button" on an airplaine to summon a flight attendant but other than that it's just a hunk of plastic. Because they have made this terminal a "proprietary" terminal (meaning NO other processor can reprogram it ...just in case you ever wanted to change) and they have convinced their partner leasing companies that they possess more value they can lease these terminals for GROSS amounts of money.

2)The reason you were charged a lease,especially such a long and large one is that the sales rep makes a VERY large commission for convincing you to lease. probably by offering you no startup fees etc. They are young, inexperienced and impressionable people convinced to sell to their families and friends and go to 3-4 appointments a day and call "managers" or "team leaders" which are basically sales closers to push you into chosing today. That sales rep made about $2500-$3000 dollars on you (And for those of you TT reps .

If you aren't making THAT on a 60-month lease for $99.95 a month even after lease funding, you are the victim and the jokes on you! TT is making, after lease funding, $5200 before your commissions (minus the cost of the Merchant Pro 3 which is about $350. So hahah you are getting played like sheep and you deserve it) Matt the rep, is basically indemnified by the company. Also the rep makes a small percentage of EACH TRANSACTION YOU RUN THROUGH THE TERMINAL! Every month!

3) Beware of the word "FREE". it is not only a 4-letter "F" word but NOTHING in life is free. You do not give away "Free" collectibles do you? if they say free supplies, it's in the price, free support. oh it's in there, free replacement terminal..remember they have a warehouse full of their "super secret proprietary terminals" back in their office in Texas!

4) There ARE ways to break a cancellable lease. Can't disclose them here but there are resources available to you. It alot easier than you think.

5) and as someone said earlier, I absolutely love TT! 65% of my business is unwinding their deals! and I'll have you know (hopefully it makes you feel better) I have run them out of my area. and my business is doing great! Everytime they hire a rep. the rep goes to the merchants and they are already aware of who TT is and how they handle business historically in my local area. Very rarely they find 1 merchant that my other local competitors and I didn't have time to educate. But it's no problems. There are a few loopholes in their "airtight" contract and we exploit them as an industry.

6) TT reps are the laughing stock of our industry which is just like any other industry. There's good and bad everywhere. I suggest asking a friend in business that is happy with their processor and get a referral next time and make sure you feel like you understand what is going on with YOUR MONEY.

I apologize on behalf of the industry. There are resources out there for you and you can stick that lease right back in their face and if the agent still represents TT. When/If you succeed they will charge back the agent's commission $2500-$3000) and the agent will have to suffer for a bit. Might be karma taking a bite out of the bad.

I expect the "TT Sheep" will attempt to rebute my facts. However my statements are based on 5 years in this industry. A retention rate of 99.5%! And a portfolio of clients that they can only dream of having! And I assure you when a TT rep approaches any of my clients or clients even from competitors in my area...they are sent packing. TT trains their agents on the PHONE and exhausts them until they have sold all they can sell. (Or until they can never show their face in a business in their own hometown again)

Best of luck I hope this helps you understand what happened better.

First of all, every processing company has leases that you cannot cancel and termination fees should you wish to terminate the processing; just as the cell phone and other industries have.

I fault the sales representative for not explaining, in detail, all the rates and consequences to you before the contract was signed. We are taught and encouraged to be honest and forthright about all transactions.

Had I bee your M.S.C., I would have waived or lowered some of the initial costs; which this representative certainly could have done for you. You were leasing a processor from him along with taking out a 3 year contract on the payment processing rates. We are told to meet 'your personal needs', not just ours as a consultant. Unfortunately, there are good and there are bad sales representatives in any industry. This does not reflect what Trans Techs intentions are; but once a contract is signed you have 60 days to cancel the processing without incurring a termination fee and the lease is locked in unless you are offerred a 60 days trial for that also. All avenues we are able to offer you.

The MP3 is an excellent machine, so I hope you are at least able to utilize the processor. It should be the last one you will ever need due to the technology built into it.

I apologize for the fact you were obvioulsy not made aware of all charges that would apply, but I can't apologize for the company as they have bent over backwards for my customers and done all they can, legally, to solve any complaints or problems a merchant may have. The lease on your machine is a legal document; one that is done through the leasing company. Hope you were able to write off your lease costs to recoupe some of the monies.

I wish you continued success in your business and bet you read every bit of information and ask more questions after this experience; I know I would.

I DID take the time to read the contract, all 10 or 15 pages, front AND back, including the "fine print" AND the addendums(sp), MUCH to the dismay of the transtech rep they sent me. HE wasn't very happy about it. The contract didn't agree with most of what he had told me AND he "forgot" to mention alot more, like all the additional fees he "forgot" to mention. I guess he thought I'd just take his word for it and sign the contract without reading it, which was just what he was hoping for when I threw his *&* out. Again my favorite transtech line "It won't cost you a thing, the IRS will pay for it". But let's be fair, maybe he was just a bad apple.

Mr. Matt G. from San Antonio, Texas has my sympathy for his belief that he thinks
he was taken advantage of. In the first, place, with regard to the 'fine print', a significant portion of that 'fine print' is required to be placed on those agreements by the federal and appropriate state governments. It isn't entirely the fault of the processing company that those items are there and worded the way they are.

In the second place, the processing companies incur significant costs and risks when they offer their services to merchants. If you think your card processing company was less than honest, you ought to do some serious research into the rip off scams that merchants pull on the processing companies. You wouldn't believe some of the things they come up with to rip off the company. Employee theft from their boss' checking acct. is easily done and that can cost those card companies millions if the proper security isn't in place. The fees that the card companies pass on to merchants are necessary to cover the costs of the fees they must pay to the various card companies, pay employees, overhead and everything else.

If Matt G. has been selling collectibles for 25 years, he certainly has to know the expenses a business owner incurs just to stay afloat no matter the size of the business. It's even worse the bigger you are. I have not seen the agreement he signed but I would be willing to bet and give 10 to 1 odds that there is nothing in the contract or anything left out of the contract that is or isn't pertinent TO that contract. He just didn't take the time to read it and that's HIS fault and has no one to blame but himself. If he would have asked to read it, I am pretty sure the sales person would have allowed it. In fact, he couldn't have denied him that right. I have been in sales most of my life. I get tired of people slamming sales people for their short comings.

Yes, there are scams everywhere but those few culprits are in the minority and most sales reps are honest. They have to be. Mr. Matt G., read the next contract you sign BEFORE you sign it. That way you won't have to accuse anyone of ripping you off. If you don't like the terms and you sign it anyway, then YOU are the fool.

I have been involved with Transtech for over 2 and 1/2 years as an agent. I have several of my friends on transtech and several business's that do daily business with me on it. Transtech is a great company. First off, I read your Complaint. 2nd, the wording "NON-CANELLABLE LEASE" is in BOLD, CAPITAL PRINT, at the top of the lease form. It is not in microscopic fine print as you stated. I can read it from across the room.

Early termination--paragraph 24 of the terms and conditions. Apparently you didn't read this either.

You can cancel with no obligation in the first 60 days. After the first 60 days, Transtech asks for written notice not less then 30 days or more then 90 days. If you do not follow the contract you agreed to you may pay an early termination fee of 300.00. We will pay the early termination fee (up to 250) just to get your business.
I have been proud to represent transtech and will coninue to sell their service.

I did have training in reading contracts though not from transtech. I would highly recommend that you take some classes .

I have been involved with Transtech for over 2 and 1/2 years as an agent. I have several of my friends on transtech and several business's that do daily business with me on it. Transtech is a great company. First off, I read your Complaint. 2nd, the wording "NON-CANELLABLE LEASE" is in BOLD, CAPITAL PRINT, at the top of the lease form. It is not in microscopic fine print as you stated. I can read it from across the room.

Early termination--paragraph 24 of the terms and conditions. Apparently you didn't read this either.

You can cancel with no obligation in the first 60 days. After the first 60 days, Transtech asks for written notice not less then 30 days or more then 90 days. If you do not follow the contract you agreed to you may pay an early termination fee of 300.00. We will pay the early termination fee (up to 250) just to get your business.
I have been proud to represent transtech and will coninue to sell their service.

I did have training in reading contracts though not from transtech. I would highly recommend that you take some classes .

I have been involved with Transtech for over 2 and 1/2 years as an agent. I have several of my friends on transtech and several business's that do daily business with me on it. Transtech is a great company. First off, I read your Complaint. 2nd, the wording "NON-CANELLABLE LEASE" is in BOLD, CAPITAL PRINT, at the top of the lease form. It is not in microscopic fine print as you stated. I can read it from across the room.

Early termination--paragraph 24 of the terms and conditions. Apparently you didn't read this either.

You can cancel with no obligation in the first 60 days. After the first 60 days, Transtech asks for written notice not less then 30 days or more then 90 days. If you do not follow the contract you agreed to you may pay an early termination fee of 300.00. We will pay the early termination fee (up to 250) just to get your business.
I have been proud to represent transtech and will coninue to sell their service.

I did have training in reading contracts though not from transtech. I would highly recommend that you take some classes .

I have been involved with Transtech for over 2 and 1/2 years as an agent. I have several of my friends on transtech and several business's that do daily business with me on it. Transtech is a great company. First off, I read your Complaint. 2nd, the wording "NON-CANELLABLE LEASE" is in BOLD, CAPITAL PRINT, at the top of the lease form. It is not in microscopic fine print as you stated. I can read it from across the room.

Early termination--paragraph 24 of the terms and conditions. Apparently you didn't read this either.

You can cancel with no obligation in the first 60 days. After the first 60 days, Transtech asks for written notice not less then 30 days or more then 90 days. If you do not follow the contract you agreed to you may pay an early termination fee of 300.00. We will pay the early termination fee (up to 250) just to get your business.
I have been proud to represent transtech and will coninue to sell their service.

I did have training in reading contracts though not from transtech. I would highly recommend that you take some classes .

I responded to an ad with this company. They have responded to my Resume'. I will be sure to bring up this site and the comments.

Why do we have to be at fault if there is a lot of fine print to read and we're busy people, Why can't TT just be up front and honest? I am just beginning my painfull journey with them all because a customer sold me to this piece of garbage company. CAN WE GET SOME INTEGRITY IN THE CREDIT CARD BUSINESS ONCE AND FOR ALL PEOPLE.

I do feel for you but everyones situation is different and i just recently started working for this company and me being who i am i made sure i went over every thing before i left and on my first appointment i made a sale

I guess what im trying to saying is im an honest person and i've went over our policy over and over again and i haven't seen anything that we tell you, thats not in the policy. its all what you make of it. you being a buisness owner should have known that with any buisness transaction you always read the fine print. you always make sure that you go over everything before you agree to anything.

i will tell you one thing though this is my job and this is my financial stability i would make sure that you knew what you were signing up for so do'nt blame the company you should blame yourself. like i said "they are not mistakes, If you know what you're doing" to me its lack of common sense. This is just one of lifes little lessons...:}:}:}:}

I would not recommend following Len's advice. As you have admitted to signing the contract and were made aware of the monthly fee. The other fees were also enclosed in the contract you signed. You have also stated you did not read the fine print, not TransTech's fault.

They may have a shady past as CMS/TMS but seemed to have learned from their $30 MM+ settlement with the FTC. It's good to see they are giving full disclosure.

You will need to watch you actions with regards to Len's advice. If you file a false complaint with you local Chamber and the BBB you will be liable for slander, and could loose more then just $111.00 per month. Everything you have saved for. If you protest around the sales reps house you can be charged for harrasment, and be liable for punitive damages as well.

Lastly if you file for bankruptcy just to get out of this contract so you don't have to pay for it, well that is fraud and you can go to jail for that. Take this as a lesson and next time, read the fine print.

Good Luck

greetings. it can be fixed.

1-contact your local C/C. let them know IN WRITING what has happened.
2-send a copy to the transtech.

contact others in the area to see if they are using this same co. have them repeat the above.

once you have more than a dozen companies that have LEGT complaints, send copies of ALL of them to the state atty general. as they deal in funds ane elect transfers, they are VERY seriously regulated.

3-prepare to file in small claims to keep YOUR name on top. dont actually FILE it until the end.

4- send a demand letter, mannerly, professional, direct, demanding satisfaction [rescission of contact, return of money, pain & suffering for your anguish, etc].

5- go to the newspapers, the radio stations, any tv station that has a 'consumer watchdog' advocate.

6- file against them with BBB. a toothless tiger, to be certain, but many listen to them.

7- if you are not to far from the sales agent's home or bank/ office, PICKET THEM! get photos of you & th ekids, dog, ferret, etc protesting.

if this all does not work, then submit the lawsuit from small claims and have everything ready to PROVE to the judge they are engaging in unethical business practices. see if it can be taped or videotaped.

very effective method. quick, cheap and legal.

NEVER swear at them.
never be dragged into a urinating contest.
never admit ANYTHING over the phone OR in person,

and, as you said, NEVER sign anything unless you FULLY understand what it is.

last worst idea.
but it IS legal and it WILL work.

file bankruptcy. they get nothing.
screws up your credit.
but, it is the last resort.

The finance company I mentioned in this report is not CTI, but CIT Financial USA,Inc. 233 North Michigan Avenue Suite 1800 Chicago IL 60601-5519 (312) 980 5600. Sorry for the typing error. Seems this is the same company that several others have reported recently.

If you are not taking credit cards you do not need to be in business. My mom never pays for ANYTHING without her credit card. She will not shop at a place that doesn't take CC's because she feels they are not credit worthy to get them. You definitly paid way to much for the wireless terminal. Did you ask the salesman if that was the lowest price? When you buy a car do you pay sticker or neg. a better deal. I bet you shocked the salesman when you said yes to that price because almost NOBODY does pay Retail+++.

Why blame everyone else for you not shopping around and taking the first price of the first company. You can put in a phone line and get a regular terminal and pay 1/3 of what you paid.
Didn't the salesman say OVER AND OVER AGAIN that it was a non-cancellable lease. Gee- I was very dumb but its not my fault its should be against the law for someone to be this dumb. Hey blame the world- this is America we don't have to be responsible for our actions.
AND YOU RUN YOUR OWN BUSINESS-