Merchant Warehouse
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Merchant Warehouse Overview
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Merchant Warehouse (merchantwarehouse.com) is one of the best rated merchant account providers that this reviewer has encountered to date. The company was established in 1998 and was one of the first merchant processors to offer credit card processing equipment over the Internet. While other companies have come and gone over the years, Merchant Warehouse has maintained a reputation of providing great customer service and fair pricing for over a decade. The provider boasts that over 30,000 merchants chose Merchant Warehouse each year and that the company processes over $7 billion in credit card sales annually. In 2009, the Electronic Transaction Association (ETA) chose Merchant Warehouse as the “ISO of the Year,” which is a prestigious award in the merchant services industry. In this Merchant Warehouse review we will examine how Merchant Warehouse credit card processing differs from most other merchant account providers.
Merchant Warehouse Sales Strategy & Tactics | A
Merchant Warehouse relies primarily on lead generation, client referrals, advertising and an inside sales staff to acquire new merchant customers. This strategy eliminates many of the problems that most other processors have with “hidden fees” because Merchant Warehouse does not use outside independent sales agents who are only interested in high sales commissions. Additionally, Merchant Warehouse does not advertise rates or fees on its website. These two things combined are what have earned Merchant Warehouse an “A+” rating in this section. Business owners should be wary of any processor, or agent, that openly quotes rates without first understanding your business as they are often “bait” rates that do not truly reflect all of the other possible rate tiers.
Merchant Warehouse Pricing & Contract Terms | A+
By far the biggest appeal of Merchant Warehouse this that the provider offers month-to-month contracts with no early termination penalties. This alone makes Merchant Warehouse stand out from nearly every other merchant processor in the in credit card processing industry. In this reviewer’s experience, the average agreement with most processors is three years with a $300 early cancellation fee. For Merchant Warehouse to have neither of these clauses in their contract awards them a high mark in this section. As for rates, Merchant Warehouse appears to be very competitive – as they would have to be with month-to-month contracts.
One thing to note is that Merchant Warehouse uses First Data has its credit card processor; however First Data only plays the backend role processing and routing the transactions. Merchant Warehouse fully services their merchant accounts with its own internal staff and processes.
Merchant Warehouse Service, Complaints & Dispute Resolution | A-
Where Merchant Warehouse takes a few minor dings is this section. Although the Merchant Warehouse has far fewer complaints filed online than most providers of its size and time in business, this reviewer did uncover a handful negative Merchant Warehouse reviews. The complaints centered mostly on issues relating to misunderstandings of fees. In most cases Merchant Warehouse addressed the complaints directly and provided explanations of the circumstances from their point of view. It’s apparent that the company places great importance on maintaining a positive online reputation. The complaints are infrequent and not widespread, so it only lowers the rating of this section slightly. Merchant Warehouse certainly isn’t a scam as one well ranking complaint suggested.
Merchant Warehouse Better Business Bureau Report | A
As of this review, Merchant Warehouse maintains an “A+” rating with the BBB. According the the BBB.org website, 70 complaints have been filed in the last three years with all of them resolved the customers’ satisfaction. The bulk of the complaints filed were related to billing and collection issues, product and/or service issues, and advertising. Although 70 complaints filed in three years may sound like a lot, it is well below average for this industry. Due to the type of complaints filed, it is advised to thoroughly read your merchant account agreement and to make sure you understanding the pricing before signing.
Bottom Line
Merchant Warehouse scores well, and with month-to-month contracts it’s tough to go wrong with them since a merchant can cancel anytime without the fear of an expensive penalty. Although the company has suffered a few complaints, there doesn’t seem to be a common resounding theme among them which is something that usually stands out with other poorly rated processors.
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Merchant Warehouse (866) 460-5538
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8 comments
Greg Mayer
May 10, 2012 at 3:40 pm (UTC -7)
I was processing cards at a flat rate of 2.75%. After spending a good part of two days trading e mails, account statements, applications, and several different forms, I was approved. I requested the ability to accept American Express, which was a flat rate of 3.5%. No problem. The rates for non qualified rates concerned me. I was told, and I quote
“After looking over your bank statements and learning a bit about what you do I wouldn’t worry too much about non qualified rates because those are just for some corporate cards and government cards which you probably wont see too much of. The rates for Non are +1.99% + $0.10. For rewards cards the rates are +1.79% + $0.10. Based on what I saw from your statements it looks as though the majority of your cards will be debit and personal credit cards which are 0.39%+$0.04 and 2.19% + $0.21 respectively. ”
My first charge was a Visa Card. I was charged over 4% by Merchant Warehouse. My second was an American Express Card, I was denied because the application was never filed. I called AMEX directly and was approved. I was charged 3.5%. When I questioned the charges, I was told that AMEX made a mistake. They did not. After four e mails to my salesman and customer service, I still got the same answer. Finally I spoke to a different customer service rep, and the charges were explained. I was charged for three batches, even though I only charged two cards. My Visa rate was a non qualified rate of 4.18%, precisely what I had inquired about when I applied. Smoke and mirrors to get me on board! Wish me luck getting my $100 for Merchant Warehouse not beating my rate. I cancelled my account after a grand total of ONE charge.
chris
May 7, 2012 at 8:38 am (UTC -7)
I contacted Merchant Warehouse for services processing my online credit card transactions and upon discussing the fees prior to signing up with sales agent I was given the following information:
$10 per month from Merchant Warehouse and $7.95 per month fee for processing VISA,MC,Discover and AMEX with a 2.19% +$.25. I was assessed what i was told was a pass through charge of $79.99 without notification to me.
Had I been aware of these charges it would have made no sense for me to begin service with them. When discussing fees with my sales rep I specifically asked multiple times about any additional fees outside of the fees listed above.
I was told no on both occasions. I feel I was taken advantage of and given false information just to get me to start a account with them. It is the duty of the sale representative to accurately inform the consumer of the product they sell and in this case the product/service was misrepresented despite direct inquiry regarding the fees. When speaking with customer support the simply stated I signed a contract and I have to pay it. The contract is so full of legal speak that even after looking back at it I am un aware of how they came up with a $79.99 fee.
I am in the process of canceling my account with them. and also disputing charges at my bank.
Roberta
April 24, 2012 at 12:01 pm (UTC -7)
I closed my account also 900.00 early termination fee. Well worth it to get rid of these liars, thieves. Do not do business with this company. I closed my one bank account and they were taking fees out of both the closed and the new account several hundred dollars of nsf charges. What a rip off. Plus they said the would pay early termination of last company. They didnt. No one will return your calls.
Say away1
Phillip Parker
April 24, 2012 at 4:26 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Roberta, I’ve seen Merchant Warehouse’s merchant account agreement and they do not charge early termination fees. Are you sure you are leaving a review for the right company?
jimmy
March 29, 2012 at 11:27 am (UTC -7)
The reason why I cancel with them is because we asked Merchant Warehouse several times to include gratuity in the charge slip and we were declined for the reason that we are a fitness gym. We are not a gym! But they decided to put us in this category. Just because we are called Training Room doesn’t mean we are a gym. The reason why we called it this way is because we come from professional sports background and in any professional team the Training Room is were athletes get massages and medical treatments after and before games. Indeed we do offer some fitness training but we are far from being a gym.
We offer primarily massage. Most of our income is based on massage services. After explaining this to customer service we were told that it may be possible to add gratuity however we had to purchase a different(more expensive terminal) in order to do so. So in other words if we pay more bucks they might change their mind.
Well we found a merchant company that with the same terminal is giving us the option to ad gratuity.
By the way they also have horrible customer service and we will try as much as we can to let that know on internet.
Patricia
March 22, 2012 at 5:37 pm (UTC -7)
Very unpleasant experience with this company and I haven’t signed on yet. Spoke to a salesman who promised me 2 free swipers upon opening an account (this offer was made to me without me asking). This sounded great for me for my small business startup, the savings would’ve been great. When I contacted them again to open the account, suddenly the offer was removed from the table, they came just short of calling me a liar. To make things worse, I was bombarded by emails from the first salesman and another salesman, it seems as though they were competing to sucker me in, pressuring me to hurry as I had 1 month to say yes to the new offer or everything would be cancelled. I was so angry, these are not the type of people I’d do business with EVER. Be warned, they are bullies and their word means absolutely NOTHING. They are unscrupulous and I do not do business with those types.
Tasha
March 16, 2012 at 2:37 pm (UTC -7)
Well, I have called and spoken to just about every rep in that office. They are holding several thousands of dollars of mine in my account. No one calls me back, nobody explains why my account is under review, they just say “Ill let Hannah know, she is in charge of your account”. I am now sueing them. They give you the run around and then laugh im sure once they get you off the phone. Is anyone else on the verge of suing?
Phillip Parker
April 19, 2012 at 9:47 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Steven,
What were the “unauthorized” charges that you experienced?