Summit Merchant Solutions Review
UPDATE 2/6/2019: The Summit Merchant Solutions website is no longer active, and the Summit brand appears to have been discontinued. We therefore will no longer update this review. It is reported that many of the people involved with Certified Payment Processing, Apex Merchant Group, and Summit are now operating a business by the name of Cypress Bay Solutions.
Summit Merchant Solutions (sms-360.com) is a Carrolton, Texas-based merchant services provider that focuses primarily on the sales of merchant accounts and credit card processing equipment. This provider lists either 1991 or 2006 as the year it opened its doors. This is because Summit Merchant Solutions is part of the First American Payment Systems network of businesses, but the Summit brand was not launched until 2006. Summit appears to be a more direct subsidiary of Certified Payment Processing than of any other First American companies, but the connections between all of these businesses are not entirely clear at this time.
It has been suggested in various merchant reports that Summit Merchant Solutions may also be affiliated with, or under the same ownership as, the following merchant services providers:
- Trans Tech Merchant Group
- Appstar Financial
- Eliot Management Group
- Apex Merchant Group
- Trinity Merchant Group
- First American Payment Systems
- Certified Payment Processing
Summit Merchant Solutions is a registered ISO/MSP of Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati and of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, California. The company’s general manager is Tony Norrie.
Key Points
- Sales & Marketing: Summit Merchant Solutions hires independent sales agents and has received a moderate-to-high number of complaints about its sales practices.
- Costs & Contract: Summit Merchant Solutions appears to offer a three-year contract with an early termination fee of $495.
- Complaints & Service: Summit Merchant Solutions has received more than 150 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: Summit Merchant Solutions currently has an “A-” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 99 complaints in the last three years.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Summit Merchant Solutions
Summit Merchant Solutions Customer Reviews
Here's What Their Clients Say
| Total Online Complaints | 150+ |
|---|---|
| Live Customer Support | Yes |
| Most Common Complaint | Hidden Fees |
There are currently over 150 Summit Merchant Solutions complaints online, many of which describe the company as a scam or a ripoff. Of these complaints, there are two common types:
The first type of complaint is from former agents who report that they were hired under false pretenses and empty promises. These agents claimed that Summit promised them qualified leads and preset appointments; however, they claim that the majority of merchants never expected their arrival or had actually declined the appointment. These former agents complain of wasting their own time and resources chasing undesired appointments with merchants. Apparently, the appointments are set by the company’s telemarketers and the leads are bought from Experian. Several agent reports also complain of poor training regarding the contract terms and pricing of the merchant account agreement, and were instead trained primarily on how to sell merchant accounts and equipment for the highest commissions.
In one complaint, a person who claimed to be a former recruiter reported that Summit Merchant Solutions is basically a “hiring mill” of independently contracted sales agents. He wrote that his department of 30 recruiters had to hire 350 agents per week, most of whom would quit within the first three months. Our research has found that companies that engage in this type of hiring practice often have numerous negative reviews.
Of the merchant complaints, the primary type of report is of surprise fees and higher processing rates than what were quoted during the merchant account activation. There are also several complaints regarding nondisclosure of Summit’s 36-month contract with a $495 cancellation fee during the opening of the account. A few merchants even complained of being locked into 60-month equipment leases on top of the 36-month merchant account commitment. Many of the merchant complaints name specific sales agents, which appears to be an important factor in a merchant’s future satisfaction with Summit.
There does not appear to be a dedicated Summit Merchant Solutions phone number for customer support on the company’s website, indicating that its customer support is likely outsourced.
Summit Merchant Solutions Online Ratings
Here's How They Rate Online
| Product & Service Complaints | 28 |
|---|---|
| Billing & Collection Complaints | 14 |
| Advertising & Sales Complaints | 57 |
| Guarantee & Warranty Complaints | 0 |
| Delivery Complaints | 0 |
Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
As of this review, Summit shares its Better Business Bureau profile with Certified Payment Processing, which has an “A-” rating based on 99 complaints filed in the last 36 months. This is down from 196 complaints the last time we reviewed Summit’s BBB rating. Of the complaints, 28 are regarding problems with products and services, 57 with advertising or sales issues, and 14 with billing and collection disputes.
The BBB report states that Summit has successfully resolved 28 of the complaints but that it did not make a good faith effort to resolve five complaints, resulting in its lowered rating. The remaining 66 outcomes either left the merchant dissatisfied or did not receive a final response from the merchant. It appears that Summit’s reduced complaint total may simply be a result of the company transitioning away from the Summit brand, so we have left the company’s CPO-adjusted rating at a “D.”
Summit Merchant Solutions Fees, Rates & Costs
A Closer Look at The Contract
| Swiped Rate | Variable |
|---|---|
| Keyed-in Rate | Variable |
| Early Termination Fee | $495 |
| PCI Compliance Fee | $120+ Per Year |
| Equipment Lease Terms | 48 Mos./Non-Cancellable |
The rates and fees of a Summit Merchant Solutions account will likely vary by the agent setting up the account and the merchant’s business type. It appears that the company’s standard contract includes a 36-month service agreement with a $495 Early Termination Fee (ETF) and a $120+ annual PCI Compliance fee, among other monthly fees and processing fees. Agents also appear to receive commissions for selling equipment leases, which merchants have reported as containing 48-month non-cancellable lease terms. Even more troubling is the fact that these leases appear to be through Northern Leasing Systems, an “F” rated provider on CardPaymentOptions.com. Overall, there does not appear to be any consumer feedback online that recommends Summit Merchant Solutions to small or large merchants.
Summit Merchant Solutions Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs
Should You Work For Them?
| Employs Independent Resellers | Yes |
|---|---|
| Advertises Deceptive Rates | No |
| Discloses All Important Terms | No |
Summit Merchant Solutions appears to use the common “agent hiring mill” strategy, a practice in which a company aggressively recruits and hires independently contracted agents to sell and market its services. In this strategy, agents are paid on a commission-only basis and often encouraged to sell expensive merchant accounts in exchange for high commissions. The overall pricing of the merchant account fees are usually tied to the merchant’s initial payout and ongoing residual commission. All the evidence we’ve found suggests that Summit engages in such practices to the dissatisfaction of hundreds of merchants. The company also appears to heavily utilize telemarketing as suggested by numerous reports.
Our Summit Merchant Solutions Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts
Summit Merchant Solutions rates as a substandard credit card processor according to our rating system. The company appears to have several areas that need improvement, including its marketing strategy, sales training, and merchant account policies. Summit Merchant Solutions can improve its score by revising the policies that are generating public complaints.
If you found this article helpful, please share it!
Maribel
Horrible company to work with. We asked summit merchant to trouble shoot our terminal and each swap is $179. We either pay that amount or get charged monthly for a non working card processor. We’ve had 1 swap and still having issues. We will be trying a $20 “new” SIM card from them as they recommended. We have 8 months left of contract with summit merchant services and 3 more years with the terminal leasing company which we’re paying a monthly fee to lease. So now even if we cancel summit merchants we will still have a 3 year contract left where they would still withdraw a monthly fee even if it’s not being used. This is pathetic and such a rip off. Lesson learned as I now know there’s true and loyal companies that you can go with and summit merchants is not one of them.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
Pam Riggie
This is the worst company EVER!!!!!! They take your money that doesn’t belong to them. I have to contact a lawyer to get my money back (more money I have to spend because of them) DO NOT use this company if you value your money. They are evil and talk you into their web on faults pretences.
jd2000
As we can see, Summit is a scam company. Many hidden fees. My pos machine mysteriously stopped working, and the new one they offer had a lease totaling $2400 over time… I refused to buy new machine so still get $67 mo. in charges. cant cancel without a $595 cancellation fee. Extra hidden charges whenever they feel like it. Good luck disputing these hidden charges… Expect maybe another $20 charges a month over time. Not even sure if all these charges are legal.
Bill
I have been in business and taking credit cards for 11 years. I have dealt with four or five merchant providers in that time, among those, Summit Merchant Solutions is the most frustrating merchant services provider. After a couple months, Summit refused to accept payments from my biggest client, who had been a client for a number of years, and from whom I’ve never had a chargeback. Their loss prevention department explained that she had spent too much money with us, and that they could not accept any credit card payments from her for a period of several months. I spoke with several different people at Summit, and the general attitude was “deal with it.” After getting nowhere, I switched back to the provider I’d been using previously, and all the problems went away. However, Summit still demands that I pay them an early termination fee of nearly $900, even though it was they who refused to provide the service I’d hired them to provide.
Tilahun Befikadu
Let us file a class action suit against this company. Let us stop their scam. I am in contact with a good attorney (my son) who is willing to file a class action against this company. One of his administrative assistance is looking at each case thoroughly. She found how they forged my signature and my name she is fureous about it. Let me know if anyone wants to join on this class action. I hope we have the number to qualify as class action.
Donnie Whelchel
I’m in. I moved and they wanted $650 for new machine or charge me $495.00 to cancel. I cancelled and they kept charging for 3 months. I called and they said my cancellation couldn’t be done over phone that I had to send a letter. CROOKS!!!
Pam Riggie
I am there, last month alone they took over 1,100 from us and we don’t even use their stuff and they have already taken 300 this month. I am beside myself.
THEY ARE BS
Summit merchant solitions is the WORST decision I have EVER MADE!!!! DO NOT TRUST THEM!! I got charged wrong and they will not do nothing about it!!! I got told it would only be $5 something a month and got charged $60!!!! I did not have the money in my account so I got charged and they will not refund NOTHING!! Called Customer service and they were very rude saying it’s not their fault my bank charged me but in fact it was because they charged to much!!!!! Will NEVER recommend!!! PLEASE PEOPLE TAKE THIS AS A WARRING JUST AS OTHERS SAID(wish I would have read reviews first) A rather lose a customer then deal with this company!! ITS A JOKE
Chris Parachini
After getting scammed by Summit Merchant Solutions, I began searching Consumer Watch Websites on the internet, and found that I am one of numerous people cheated out of money by Summit Merchant Services–and its three other sister companies: First American Payment Systems, Certified Payment Processing, Trans Tech Merchant Group.
They lied to us about giving us a no obligation 90 trial period with their Credit Card Processing Service and Equipment. We were told of we cancelled Summit’s service within 90 days, we would not have any charges.
Their Team Leader via speakerphone also said after each credit card sale was processed, our funds would be placed in our account within 24 hours. When Summit refused to release large sales for more than seven days, we called our “local” Summit Representative, who called the folks in Carrolton, Texas, to try to resolve the problem.
We found numerous hidden charges being debited from our account, so we asked our local representative to come get the equipment because we were not satisfied with the service.
She contacted the person in charge of sales at Summit to let them know we opted to no longer use them.
This is where our nightmare with Summit began. They have harassed us by phone and mail for 18 months. Through their sister company, Lease Finance Group, they have damaged my credit. They have threatened is and attempted to extorted ridiculous amounts of money from us, when we refused to pay, they hit my credit with a $2,880.15 charge off.
All of these companies use the “churn and burn” method of scamming people into working for them, using locals to scam small businesses into contracts that will never be serviced because of hidden fees, broken verbal promises, and frozen deposits.
They have no intention of providing servicing clients with credit card processing, but collecting on the early termination fees that they get when the merchant gets frustrated with all the hidden fees.
They hire locals through online employment recruiting, train the employees over the internet, and as their “local” sales representatives receive complaints from newly contracted merchants about hidden charges, and poor service, Summit burns their local representatives by not paying them or embarrassing them with angry local clients.
The Consumer Reporting websites have labeled this method “churn and burn.”
Many of the Better Business Bureau complaints are by Summit employees who did not get paid for work or commissions promised by Summit.
Embarrassed and frustrated, the burned employees quit and find another job, leaving the merchant clients stuck in a bad contract with Summit or one of their other companies, such as Lease Financial Group.
Summit or one of the other three companies with the same address in Carrolton, Texas, just hire more people simply wanting to make an honest living.
This is how they churn out massive numbers of contracts, with the “team leaders” in Carrolton calling the merchant while the local representative is in the store–promising a 90 trial period verbally, but in fact having the merchant sign contracts with fine print that do not allow any cancellation of the contracts.
As part of the application process, the merchant signs a document allowing Summit complete access to their Credit History through Experian, whom Summit and its three other companies also pay for “leads.”
They pick a town, hire sales reps, churn large numbers of contracts, then burn the new clients, and their new employees.
They have everyone’s credit data, so they know details about the merchant’s life that few people have access to–because Summit pays Experian for credit histories.
If a merchant closes their bank account and refuses to pay the “cancelation” fee in the fine print, Summit calls the merchant and threatens to ruin the merchant’s credit by using Experian.
Extortion.
In my case, it was David Nguyen, Vice President of Sales, who called me over and over again, threatening to ruin my business future–and my ability to purchase a home.
He used personal information from my Experian credit report to harass and intimidate me–and personally insult me, again with information provided to him by Experian.
He called me up to 20 times a day, and from numerous numbers, from different area codes listed in Chicago, New York, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Texas.
Originally, when David Nguyen called me, I did know that their company was only out to scam and extort me, I explained to him that their local Summit sales representative had picked up the credit card processing equipment prior to the end of the 90 day trial.
He became quite hostile insulting me saying I was an idiot and needed to pay the cancellation fee. I told him I had a 90 day trial period. Mr. Nguyen told me he was going to get his money on way or another.
As Mr. Nguyen continued to harass me by different phone numbers, I would use the block option on my IPhone.
Eventually the harassment has ceased, but we still receive threatening “legal” letters through the mail.
The other merchants in downtown Bastrop who were scammed by Summit Merchant Solutions, paid the cancellation fees to get Summit to leave them alone.
No one in downtown Bastrop has continued to use Summit Merchant Solutions.
My guess is our local representative got burned by Summit, because she did not work for them very long.
We were all scammed and then extorted by Summit Merchant Solutions. After researching numerous consumer awareness websites, I have found hundreds of complaints similar to mine for ALL of their credit card processing companies with the same address in Carrolton, Texas.
Mr. Nguyen held true with his threats. I refused to pay a cancellation fee, so Summit’s sister company, Lease Finance Group billed me for $2,880.15 claiming we never returned their credit card processing equipment.
When I tried to contact the person on their billing letter, Virginia Velazquez, Account Manager, Legal Collections Department PO Box 7861, New York, NY 10116, I was forwarded to a message.
The phone number listed is (800) 863-5433 Ext. 8214.
The address on the bill is for Lease Finance Group 6500 W. 65th Street Unit 204, Chicago, IL 60638.
True to Mr. David Nguyen’s threats, Summit’s trade partner, Experian, has given me a low credit rating with the charge off of $2,880.15.
Before I discovered how much business is conducted between Mr. Nguyen’s companies, and Experian, I filed a dispute with Lease Finance Group’s charge against my credit. I received a generic letter from Experian saying the charge stands.
Now I am taking the following actions:
1. Initiating a Congressional Inquiry with my local Congressman.
2. Submitting my complaint with the Texas Attorney General.
3. Submitting my complaint to the federal office of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which regulates credit, phone (855) 411-2372.
4. Contact our local news media to initiate an investigative report to warn other consumers.
5. Contact Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank, and ask why they are assisting with this scam.
6. Report my complaint to the local police, county sheriff department, state patrol, and FBI.
7. Send a copy of my report to the local chamber of commerces in my area, do they can warn other merchants.
8. Notify our city manager when these peddlers are going door to door in our town, because Bastrop requires a “Peddlers License.”
10. Report this to every Consumer Watch Group online.
11. Send report to the Better Business Bureau.
The bully weapon these scammers use is Experian. Summit and their other scam companies use the threat of unleashing their trade partner, Experian, to extort unfair fees from their victims.
Summit screens their potential marks by paying Experian for data to gain insight on leads.
Without Experian, Summit Merchant Solutions would not be able to take advantage of small businesses all over the US.
Experian is the billy club Summit and its ilk have, once that is removed they will be toothless; contact your Congressman to initiate an official inquiry.
Tammy Lepick
I too have been scammed by this company. I’ve been in business for 25 years and have never experienced a company more unethical than this one. When you try to conduct an honest business deal and get lied too, that brings the frustration level to an incredible level. It makes me feel feel better By reading your complaint Go get ’em. They need to be shut down
Diane Kellett
I am extremely dissatisfied with Summit Solutions and Card Payment Solutions. This business is a scam and a ripoff!! First of all my processing machine which I bought outright from them does not work.
They have made no efforts to replace or deduct off my bill. Second of all, I was GUARANTEED by the sales rep that if I purchased the processing machine that I would not incur monthly fees. My account has been debited approximately $80 per month and I did NOT agree to this deduction.
I have phoned numerous times and everyone is rude and will not offer a solution to any of my problems or complaints. I encourage NO ONE to trust anything these people say and warn everyone NOT to business with this fraudulent company.
William
I have worked with a number of merchant processors in the 11 years I have been in business. Summit has been the worst. While their rates were reasonably competitive, their risk department was near impossible to work with. They demanded extra documentation for any transaction over $750, when we routinely process bills in excess of $1,000. Ultimately, we were told that they could not accept any more payments from our largest client for a period of 6 months, even though we had never had a problem with them. Even with them refusing service to us, we were still required to pay a $495 termination fee. I had specifically asked the sales representative when signing up if there was a minimum contract period or termination fee and was told no.
lyna
Please don’t do business with Summit Merchant, the sale rep is a big LIAR. He promised if I cancelled my previous Credit card comp the termination fee was $497, then sign with Summit Merchant, Summit will refund my early termination fee $450. One month later I found out Summit Merchant would pay me $297 not $450 like he’d said.
Now I’m stuck with Summit Merchant for the next 3 yrs. and I don’t even saved any money like it suppose too.:(
Please any one has small business out there, do search carefully, before you sign, and don’t ever do business with Summit Merchant.
Cristina
I have started the process of filing a complaint with the FTC. I am trying to cancel my contract and was not informed that it needed to be done “no less than 30 days but no more than 90 days prior to the end of the applicable term”, they have renewed my contract for ANOTHER YEAR! If I cancel it will cost me$ 595! My contract does not end until April 6th, 2015 – they want me to pay to end the contract that is not even up yet!
randi
I met and signed with Troy Staggs in Garland Tx for Summit Merchant Solutions.
I signed on a Wednesday and he came back Friday to install. He promised and LIED.
1. He said I would own my equipment by the end of lease term 2. repairs and upgrades were free and kept up with compliance 3. I would receive free printer paper etc. 4. I would have a flat rate of .79% and $125 a month ONLY. 5. He said he was the direct processor 6. batch automatically (no fee) 7. My account would not be touched or drafted unless I made the shots. 8. He said it would take all credit AND debit cards 9. no hidden fees (AND THERE ARE MANY throughout the lease, it pretty much states over and over how they can take anything anytime with no notification. “reminder that these monies may give us a profit” is continuously said throughout the contract along with “merchant acknowledges no verbal agreements or representation have been made.. merchant relied solely on the merchant application”
I started to read the complete lease as he was there that day. he had to leave because the code to initially set it all up hadn’t gone to my email yet. He didn’t hook up the equipment just left it at my store in boxes. I called him about 10 min after he left by the time I got to the 2nd page and told him I wanted to cancel and for him to come get his equipment. He said no problem and he would call me right back. He never called back Friday, Saturday.. now it is Sunday. I called the numbers in the packet and said I needed to cancel. A guy named Andrew took my messages and said he put a note in the file. I asked for a reference number or email confirmation and he replied with ‘NO”. I’m now putting together a written letter to get certified and mail to the company’s and hand deliver the one to the agent who tried to ruin me.
My question is… Has anyone else caught this this early? Tomorrow will make the THIRD business day and the equipment is still in boxes.
HELP, can I still get out of this?
Cyndi
we caught it early. With a notification from the bank of an over draft. EXACT same amount as the car insurance and exact same day as the car insurance. We have it cancelled, changed the bank account and now NO ONE wants the equipment back either. 1 transaction and it is stuck in limbo since it needs a managers code to settle. none of the numbers we use work and NO ONE at the help desk has any idea. BE WARE OF SCAMMERS. She signed on the 6th, letter from the finance dept on the 9 and did not remotely cover the agreement that was made.
Laurinda
I had just gotten out of a nightmare contract with Global when a Summit salesman came into my shop stating Summit had much lower rates. I shared with him my story of Global and how they had taken over $1600 out of my account when i canceled with them. (I later got that back). I told him how weary I was about using another company. He told me I would get a free machine and my fees a month would be roughly $9!! I signed up that day. Boy was that a HUGE MISTAKE!!! A few weeks later a man from Summit called introducing himself as my “new accounts manager”. He said its his job to manage my account and make sure I get the best rates. He told me I needed this other machine which had a pin pad so I could run things as debit not credit. He said I will Fedex it right away and also the paperwork for it. Told me to contact him as soon as the papers were delivered to me. He seemed to be in a big hurry. I had no idea i was signing an unbreakable 3 year lease with LFG. Not ONE time did he mention that I would be locked in a lease. I could never get a straight answer out of anyone who worked there. They are complete liars!! This month they took $222 out of my account. I have not used their machine since the first week in June. I put it back in the box under my desk. I was told today that they would not let me out of my lease because my signature is on the contract and verbal agreements hold no water. I’m not giving up! These bastards have got to be stopped! I am a small business and a single, hardworking mom. It’s totally unfair companies are alllowed to do this to us!
John
I signed up with summit in feb 2014. The rep had a promo that if I stayed with the company I would receive $1,000 in my account. I was promised that my merchant fees would be dropped in half. After 15 days there was no $1,000, and Im actually getting charged more fees then I was before! They told me the rep was no longer with the company, and that they never had a promo of any kind like that. The rep also told me there was no termination fee but apparently that was a lie also. On the contract in fine print it does mention there is a $495 “early termination fee” however when I called to cancel the girl informed me that it was $595! At this point I guess I have no choice but to pay, because I no longer want to do business with such a shady group (company). I had talked to my account manager Bob, who when I wanted to cancel asked how I got his number. He basically told me that I shouldn’t have signed up with his company which I found odd. I hope shady businesses like this get shut down. So hard working small business owners don’t have to waste time and money, (something I don’t have much of) on scams like these…
Harold
Doing any business with Summit Merchant is DANGEROUS and counter-productive to whatever business you are in. I am embarrassed to admit but I have found this out the hard way.
I have a small Restaurant Business, and I recently signed with Summit 4-14-2014, with a 30 day no-fee cancellation trail. I should had cancelled immediately on day one – the 1st thing they did was they sent me a obsolete looking unit for processing that looked to be at least 10 years old. Looking back on it now, this was actually a ingenious scum-tactic that I fell for right away.
After complaining was sent a blue colored modern unit called a PROXIMA 5 (I’ll explain the sucker lease I got hooked into afterwards). At first use, it worked fine for about 3-4 days. What I now suspect is as the paper roll inside the machine begin to reach about the half-point the unit begin to jam every other transaction. I then realized upon closer inspection this thing had a obvious but horrible design flaw looking right at me the whole time – the tear off part of the unit left a small part of the paper so low sunk into it after a transaction that it was sure to fail and jam on the next use. It was difficult, embarrassing, and confident losing with customers and my employees using the unit when were busy that their was real paranoid atmosphere (!) every time a Customer would pay with a credit card instead of cash that could not be helped.
I should had cancelled that LEASE (here it comes) with that machine and killed the entire deal right away. They(Summit) promised me the planet and were extremely nice and helpful trying to resolve this problem. I fell for it, and allowed my cancellation time (7 days) on the equipment lease to go by. The second machine they sent me did the exact same thing.
After a breakdown of a failed promise to pay back 100% my cancellation fee with my previous Merchant Service I then immediately terminated the Contract within the 30 days with Summit, BUT I am stuck with a 60 Month Lease with a pure piece of useless scam junk to protect my credit. I will pursue all Legal possibilities from this point on.
My hostility towards all Merchant Services is now complete. Do not do business with Summit Merchant if you want to stay in business, as they are a parasitic counter force against just that.
Lawrence Uebbing
Very disappointed with Summit and how they handled my wife canceling her Credit Card machine. She returned the unit and was continually harassed by a person that I wont mention their name as I will be seeking legal advise. Then the company attached funds from our personal banking acct. After she spent countless hours on the phone the acct was corrected. She then was threatened by this same person if she did not return the unit which she had. She finally got in contact with Paris, and not only helped her, but verified the company did in fact receive the unit some time ago. I will be contacting the BBB which doesn’t seem to bother this company, but will be filing a law suit for threating my wife and causing extreme hardship trying to straighten this mess out.
Lawrence
I can’t believe I did not see all these reviews prior to sending in mine this morning. I already contacted my state AG and have hired an attorney. I do care about all these people in the review section and the money wasn’t my major concern. But threaten my wife, your friggin done and I don’t care what I spend on legal fees. I also removed all the swear words I was going to use.
Alisa
Do not do business with Summit Merchant Solutions! hey are unethical! I was approached by a salesman, who told me that he could save me so much money, what a joke! The salesman told me that they were a direct processor (they are not). The salesman failed to inform me of all the HIDDEN FEES, not to mention they only give you 15 days to terminate the contract without a fee. Summit Merchant Solutions are deceitful liars. There should be some consequences for these RIP-OFF companies. I only stay in business because my customers know that I am truthful with them; how can Summit Merchant Solutions stay in business? They are unethical, deceitful liars!
Sharon R
I have joined a large group of people who have been taken by SMS. I was out of contract with previous processor and was told they would save me money. I was told 30 day trial period and contract said 15 days. 8 days into the 15 I have a working machine and process for the first time. Set up processing on wrong bank account and when I call to have it set the way it should be said I would be charged $35.00 for their error. Asked to have me send previous companies machine to them! Reluctantly I did when the boss of the rep was on the phone (Colt) and said they would provide me a machine at no cost. I requested it be returned the next day as the company who owned wanted it returned. Was told that was impossible even if I had the tracking numbers. I have been put on hold for 25 minutes and finally gave up, asked for supervisors in professional manner and they are not available, had proof a letter of termination was received at 10:48 am and told not processed that day call next day. Called next day still not done and numerous times until I felt it was a waste of time.
No small business owner has the time to deal with this company!
Oh, the local rep quite a day or two after he was in my store.
Sandi
We paid their “settlement fees” sent the registered letter 3 times and they are still charging us. We have no choice but to take legal action.
Lori
DO NOT even consider this company as a processor for your small business. They are unethical and take every opportunity to STEAL from their customers especially if you end your contract with them I had them as a processor for 41/2 years. After living out my three year contract and continuing with them for another 18 months I sold my business and because the new owner opted for a local bank to process his credit cards, they have come at me with bogus charges of “early termination of the contract” and have hit me up with $765.00 in fees. Of course, they are “willing to settle” for $400 which says to me, how legitimate are the charges if you are so willing to “settle”? I would like very much to find an attorney and and others with similar complaints to file a class action suit against this company. [Last sentence redacted due to contact information]
Bill
Diane Powell from Summit is a LIAR, like others have stated. We where using Square and said she can give a better rate w/ local rep w/out any fees, just the 3% and monthly contract w/ free machine & supplies.
The 1st couple of pages of fees where waived but you pay for the set up cost and opening an account. You only get 15 days to cancel but your 1st bill is like 30 days – go figure! Once you want to quit since its monthly they say you have to finish the 3 year lease of the machine for $500+!!! and pay the monthly fees!!! No contract my ___.
I don’t know how people like that sleeps at night, so cleaver.
So stop feeding the leeches and don’t do business w/ Summit Merchant!
peter
hey bill i feel your pain . they got me last year with their lies. the sales rep had no clue what he was doing . i had to give 30.00 application fee cash . he would not take a check and told me my fees should go down. within 6 months they got worse and the pci fee that he did not tell me about was a shock . so I played their game until august of this year. i took 1 card in august on purpose just to see what the charges would be on a transaction of less than 15.00. they took over 40.00 for that 1 transaction. that let me know that are a bunch of crooks. in turn i closed my checking account unplugged my machine and put it up for sale. now i just take cash . they call me about once a week i just let them talk until they get tired and hang up. i also called my state attorneys general office . they said they get complaints like these all the time and recommend not to even entertain them. so everyone should BEWARE of this company
Chuck Vosburg
I just found out that the ISO/MSP aquiring bank (the bank that sponsors Summit) is Firth-Third. Please write to them and demand that they pull their sponsorship of Summit. Without this sponsorship Summit will have to go somewhere else to do business. We can then find out who that institution is and continue pressure until Summit can no longer find a lender willing to sponsor them. So write to Fifth-Third today.
Chuck Vosburg
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t check these people out on line before I did business with them. These people are crooks, plain and simple. They will lie and say whatever they need to get you to sign a contract. They publish a low “qualified” rate, which only accounted for about 1%-2% of my business. The rest of my business I was charged almost 4% for each transaction!!!! They held funds which were confirmed to have been released to them, but would not release those funds to me! I spent untold hours trying to straighten out these problems, but they are COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE AND FORTHCOMING! Do not deal with these people!!! If you do you will be sorry!!!!
Mai
As a business owner who currently have summits merchant as my credit cards processin, I am strongly NOT RECOMMEND to anyone who plan to switch over with Summit. Their representative are liars, and Summit themselves hold your funds for more than 48 hours before they deposit to your account. What they said and do totally different. I am currently stuck with them and cant wait to 12 months to get out. PLEASE DO NOT USE SUMMIT AS YOUR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING.
Sandi Pearmain
These guys are crooks. I have been trying to cancel our account for 2 years. We have to fallow their rules, we signed an agreement. We have sent 2 certified letters to close this account. The first one was rejected because we had to submit it during an exact time period. When the time period came we sent another certified letter and they refused to sign for it. I am calling a lawyer. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!
Bill do
Hello sandi, I am going through the same bull crap you are going through. Well back in march 2013 I called tem to cancel but they said it’ll cost me 500+ to cancel early or I can wait tell sept 2013 and pay only the 50.00 a month until then so I opted to save about 300 and wait tell sept 2013. Today (oct 2013) I tried again to cancel and they said now since I missed my closing date they automatically renew so I have to wait another year!!. So I’m curious to find out if you we’re able to close your account after the second request for closing letter to them. Please reply thanks
Sandi
I’m still not sure. We have been going around with them. I stopped payment with our checking account and we threatened to get legal but still felt bullied into paying their fees. about $500 later, I think we are out but are waiting for our next statement.
Diane
Nothing but thieves and liars. Their software will not work with my POS. They admitted it would not work.
They did not close my account therefore I was billed $48.02, the minimum fee amount, for a month of service I never received. They are also charging me a cancellation fee because they are unable to work with my POS.
They are thieves.
Nancy
I work in a small retail store that is currently being worked over by Payment Systems Corp. and Lease Finance Group. I did a Public Records Request with the NC Attorney General’s office regarding complaints about those companies, as well as Northern Leasing, Global Leasing, and First Data. Several of the complaints seem to indicate that it was a salesperson from Summit, rather than Payment Systems, who entrapped the small business owner into an oppressive contract with the Northern Leasing gang.
Tony Avallone
They are a bunch of lying crooks. One of their salesman came into my store and said we had to upgrade our machine before April 2013 so we signed up for a new machine when we did not need to because the date to be updated by is in 2015. Lying crooks.
Julie
I have had no problems with summit, they have lowered my monthy rates an have saved me a ton of money on processing. I understand people have problems, every time I have had a question I was answers in a very timely manner. For the amount of people they service you are bound to get complaints. I feel that they are a good company and I would refer to a friend.
Phillip CPO
Hi Julie,
In order to authenticate you testimonial, please reply to this comment with your business name and location. Thank you!
Linda McWilliams
I am a one person shop owner and was approached by a sales representative from Summit. It was during my regular business hours and I had customers in the shop. She said that they could give me better rates, and that I could save at least a $100 a month from my current bill. Since I was at the end of my current contract with another company, I took her at her word and said yes. She filled out paperwork and had me sign it, all the while I am waiting on customers, getting items out of my stock room, helping customers etc., and I signed where she told me to. I did not have time to read anything she handed me. She never mentioned that the equipment is LEASED from a third party company and I signed (unknowingly) not one BUT two non-cancellable contracts! Total of over $6000.00 for a five year lease!!! I have cancelled my contract with Summit (within my allowed 30 days ) but have hired an attorney to help with the third party leasing company. I have been told it does not look good for me with the lease because I did sign it. IF she had been an honest salesperson she would have explained to me what I was about to sign. This has made me ill and I am possibly looking at paying out this money for the next 5 years! I am going to send a letter to their home office and also to the attorney generals office. How can these people still be in business!
Kim Marsh
Worst processing company I have ever dealt with. My three year contract was up in Feb. 2013, tried to call several times and they told me the cancellation dept. was closed. Called today and they will not cancel, my contract automatically renews for another year without my consent ?!! What? The business I had my account with is closed, the equipment has been returned and there is no way to keep them out of my account! I am forced now to close a business account I have had for 9 years! Their compliance fees are $120 per year, some of the highest out there and they don’t share that amount when you sign. Have not used the terminal once this year and they keep taking their $38 out of my account each month, what a horrible company!!!
Jake roberts
This company tried to charge me an early termination fee of $595.00 even though I followed all their rules in ending services at the end of my contract with them. All proper paperwork was sent exactly as contract stated and they still renewed my contract for another year. It took several calls as I was to wait for someone from their accounts department to call me back, which never happened. Finally i called them back and they said the account was closed. Don’t sign a contract with this company.
Joshua Hosseinzadeh
I just want to point out that I have NEVER written a review on a company before in my 26 years of working but I have to vent my frustrations about Summit today.
I was a Merchant Sales Consultant for ONE DAY, today, and that’s all it took for me to realize how crooked this was.
So I was hired by what I thought was “Certified Payment Processing” a week ago, and the ladies I spoke to were all incredibly friendly, very informative, and they genuinely seemed like the cared about my life, which made me feel good. I don’t usually go for sales positions but this seemed like it was one of those “one-in-a-million” jobs…I know, I should have known better. I agreed to attend a non-payed training like everybody else here and sat on my cell phone using my minutes from 10:30am-5:00pm to learn their tactics. It was then that I found out that I would actually be representing a company called “Summit Merchant Solutions” but my paperwork all said “Trans Tech Merchant Group”…not the “CPP” I was contacted by previously.
Anyway, I then met my team lead. She was very nice and set me up for my appointments. I was very excited yet nervous. It seemed like this was a very real possibility to make money. This morning I got up and drove 40 minutes to my first appointment. I was so scared about delivering the presentation for the first time I almost couldn’t drag myself into the business to even attempt it. It turns out that I should have just gone home from there, I would have saved myself some time. The owner of the shop was not available. Nobody had any clue that I was coming to see them. I called my Team Lead, and they insisted on speaking to the person in charge. Nothing came out of it, and so I went to my next appointment, again, 40 minutes back to town. When I got to my next appointment, again, the lady in charge was confused, and thought I was “her bank” that was coming to see her.
I was very confused and discouraged at this point. How could these people not know I was coming when (A) they were the ones who scheduled the appointment in the first place, (B), they get called back by a verification department, and (C), they are given a reminder call the morning of.
So after lunch I was told my next appointment would be in Davenport, 30 miles away from my city. I didn’t want to drive that far but the thought of this one being a “Sale” drove me to drive there (no pun intended). I arrived to once again be disappointed by the fact that the owner had no friggin clue why I was there and had no interest in even hearing my presentation. After all this time preparing the night before and worrying about if I would even do the presentation right, I had yet to even get a chance at making an attempt. I was ready to go back home at this point, but I was already 30 miles from home and with one more appointment not too far away from where I was, I gave it one more shot. My last appointment wasn’t any better, the person I was supposed to meet with the company had no records of ever working there.
So that was it. I came home. I’m not going back out tomorrow and I have no plans to answer their phone calls tomorrow either. This was a complete waste of my time. I wasted a day yesterday in “training’ and today I wasted $20 on gas and 80 miles of traveling to places to not even have a shot at making a sale.
If you have a chance to work with Certified Payment Processing, Summit Merchant Solutions, Trans Tech Merchant Group, or any of their many other aliases, run away. It’s all a big joke.
YaYa's Consignment
Summit Merchant Solutions are a very dishonest corporation. I am in the process of arguing concerning my termination under their thirty day option. Commence in this agreement on 30 Jan, 2013. On Feb 6, I was charged a monthly fee. I call the salesperson and he corrected the erroneous charge. I was now skeptical of this, and request an extension of the 30 day option until I receive my first bill, in which the rep stated OK ( I have a witness). Upon receiving my first bill I was charged over 11% of my credit earning. I called the rep, he transferred me to customer service, who transferred me to an accountant. She refuse to accept that her agent agree on this extension. Now they want to charge me with the cancellation fee. She stated that the extension should have been on a written agreement. I stated that your corporation allows their agents to lie to consumers in order to trick them. No response. Now I have been waiting for a supervisor to call. Any one out there have any suggestions as to how I should proceed if they do not want to cooperate?
Resha
This website helped me! I was a rep for summit for a week. Had 4 different people sign up & then I found this website! I thank God that I found it when I did because I was able to make sure that none of the 4 people I signed up were screwed over by these people! Then my team leader Marcus Crowell had the nerve to ask me why I was quitting & taking my people with me. After avoiding his calls for a day I finally told him I would talk to him & tell him what I found out. He NEVER called me back! I wonder why! This is WRONG!!! I called the BBB of Lousiana & she told me that they keep changing their business name every few years! I am still trying to figure out how to get this business shut down! I’m telling everyone I know NOT to trust these people! We were blessed to find out about this business before we were screwed over but I see a lot of people weren’t!
Laura
This company is the kiss of death for a small business! The rep came to my store and asked for my business. He promised competitive rates and no contract. As a brand new business owner eager to start processing credit cards, I was an easy target. Essentially he lied to me and roped me into a 3 year contract. Of course, when I tried to find the rep, he was no longer with the company and I was told that they had problems with him misguiding customers. Shame on me….I signed the contract. I honored my commitment and paid their ridiculous fees for the full three years.
After the contract ended, I looked for an honest company. When another company, Ameribanc, asked for my business, I checked them out and decided that they were competitive, honest, and didn’t require a contract. I called Summit to tell them to hit the road and got another nasty surprise……they automatically renew your contract every year on your anniversary date. If you don’t notify them in writing 90 days before the end of your current contract, your theirs for another year! And it’s not just 90 days before….they have a very small window of only a few weeks during the year that they will allow you to give notice. Miss the small window and you’re stuck with them for another year!
Not only do they do their best to hold onto you for eternity, they continue to raise fees every year to boot. I don’t process a single transaction through these thieves, and I pay $43 each month in fees. I get hit with a compliance fee of over $100 every February, too. My current processor, Ameribanc, doesn’t charge a compliance fee.
Please avoid Summit at all costs! I wish someone had warned me.
YaYa's Consignment
An update to my situation with Solutions Merchants ripoff. They directed me to submitted a letter to the supervisor review requesting to cancel and stating the reason why I should not be Charged a cancellation fee. I was immediately denied for the same reason as stated above. This company has no integrity if it permits it employees to do whatever it takes, such as lying, to gain money . I even requested they listen to the quality control of the conversation to prove that I am speaking the truth. It sounded like a tape recording after that, stating their policy. I will follow the guidance of this website and try everything I can to bring legal and public attention to the unfair practices of this company. I will warn all store owners around me to avoid their services and to those that have already signed with them, GOOD LUCK! They are criminals.
Jolenne Stewart
These people are miserable liars. They represented themselves as working with our machine, as though they were with our bank, the folks we originally contracted for processing. They never hooked us up and just billed us $44/month until we noticed the charges on our bank statement. When we called them, their answer was:
“You signed a contract, and even though we didn’t do anything, you owe us and have to pay us $495.00 to get out of it”. I sent a complaint to the Texas AG, but have little hope these people will be stopped.
Yes, I was stupid, but their “salesman” caught me with customers in the shop, when I was busy, and because I thought he was with our bank, I simply signed paperwork he said allowed him to redo the contract I had. Grrrrrr
Please don’t ever work with these horrible people.
Lorna Cascio
up until today I was a “Merchant Sales Consultant” for Summitt Merchant Solutions, when a friend/account merchant called me very upset. She just recieved her statment and was being charged $89, 39 was fees and 50 for annual fee…..she has yet to receive her terminal. The unexpected fees resulted in 5 $35 service nsf charges to debit her acct. I tried to call my Team Lead and apparently he isn’t in today and was left on hold. I called the customer service department and was told nothing they will/can do about the $175 service charges, “she should have money in her acct”. Why did she change her processor? Very rude and thoughtless. Now I am reading all these comments which when I called myself checking out the company did not come across this link and in fact the better business bureau report they refered me to was A+ rating and a copy of that report was provided… so yes the leads from this company were bogus, but have a “go to, get the job done personality” I didn’t let that defer me from working and trying to make a paycheck that was so desperatly needed…. I was also told to go to my friend who own businesses that they would be more understanding and easier to train with. So here I am at a very dear friends business who just now opened her thrift shop, makes a small revenue monthly and every penny counts. If she can save a dollar right now it is like saving a $100. but now she is over drawn in her business banking acct $175 in NSF $89 paid out to Summitt and doesn’t have the machine or service and her existing company is still charging her, so since she has met summitt she is in the whole by $265 and her contract is only 1 wk old….how do you think this makes me feel….so before all you who are blaming the sales rep for being crocked, scam artist, thiefts please be asured that is not the case in all cases……
Renee
I was recruited and hired by Certified Payment Processing, had a phone interview and was scheduled for unpaid training the next day. I sat on the phone and on a webinar on the computer for over 4 hours in which case I was never actually trained on the actual prices of the products and services, just what to say to the merchants and how to sell them. I also learned that I would be representing Summit Merchant Solutions, not Certified Payment Processing. They sent me a package overnight via FedEx that included contracts, etc and I noticed that some of the training samples said TransTech Merchant Group on them. The recruiter said I would have 4 days of OTJ training with my team leader and then I found out that he’s in Texas and wants me to call him from the business. This is what they meant by being “right by your side” This got me very suspicious.
I spoke to my team leader and he introduced himself, asked me some personal questions about myself, and said that he would close my first 4 deals for me. That sounded great to me but I still had my suspicions. I spoke to him again this morning and he gave me 3 appointments all within about 10 miles of my house and I was feeling good. All I had to do was introduce myself, build some rapport, and get him on the phone to present and close for me. He told me to go in, introduce myself, ask about their business, and build rapport before tellng them I needed to call my support staff to let them know I made it there for the appt when really I was calling him to sell to them (very misleading). It didn’t make sense to me that I wouldn’t be walking and expressing that I was there for an appointment. In training the lady told us to say that we were there for an appt with the name given us, but at the end, she raved about how great the Team Leaders we were getting were, and not to question them if they told us to do or say something different from what we had been trained on beause they were top earners and knew what was best. So everything looks legit until your through your webinar training. This didn’t sit well with me and I’m a researcher so I decided to google the SMS name and found this site.
Boy am I glad I did before wasting my time, gas, and money chasing false hopes of high commission payouts. I even called the businesses that I supposedly had appointments with today and they either didn’t know we had an appointment, or were confused about why I wanted to meet with them in the first place. Needless to say, they were not interested in me or this company. It seemed too good to be true, and I knew something was wrong when they never asked me to sign any type of new hire paperwork or tax documents which pretty much means we have no agreement that you’re actually going to pay me for doing anything. I guess that’s an upside now because I can cut ties and clean my hands of this now. I wish I could contact all of those poor people that were in my training class yesterday and tell them to run away from this company as fast as they can. DO NOT WORK FOR OR DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE. YOU WILL LOSE EITHER WAY!!
Michael
I have been a Summit employee for a while now. First off, I would like to say that I’m a career salesman 15 years. I get a feeling that a lot of people complaining about the job are somewhat new to the sales field. It seems as if a lot of people have difficulty with the company’s sales process. It’s actually pretty relaxed and eazy to follow if you can grasp basic sales concepts.
The company DOES in fact have you fill out new hire paperwork. The info is sent to your email and the process of filling out w-2’s is done online. I have in fact completed the paperwork and the link was sent to me in a company email the day after training. Training was pretty thorough I thought. They give you everything you need to know right there. The prices are right there in the presentation booklet. The reason they don’t give you concrete rates is because the rates are negotiable. The information in an above post about reps being independent contractors is also wrong. Blue Cross/Blue Shield after 90 days.
I see a lot of people overwhelmed with this job, but the truth is they have worked a few days or less. This is a salesnjob and for someone new to sales, yes, you will be in over your head. I feel this is also the reason companies have been mislead. The rep lacks the knowledge and skills to sucessfully perform the job correctly. This is not the trainers or team leaders fault. This is the fault of the recruiter that hired you and the fault of the employee itself. Often the employee is so eager for a job that they”sell the recruiter on themselves. If you are new to sales and tell the recruiter that you can do the job, that’s your fault if you don’t understand procedure. I think the biggest problem with the company is that they should be more strict on the employees they hire. From the looks of some posts, the reps are performing their job incorrectly. I was able to make money the second day on the job and have done quite well for myself. No disrespect to you, Renee, but sales is my field so my motivation level is going to be higher than most people. As with all sales, you get what you put into it.
Realistically, I make from $600-$1500 a week. The smallest commission you can make is $175. Many bonuses that are easy to hit. Some are as easy as getting one single reprogram. I have done a countless number of deals and revisit the merchants frequently for THEIR service. None have ever express dissatisfaction with me or the company.
James
I am supposed to start work in the morning for this company……After reading all of these negative comments I am not sure what to do. Any advice? Do you get paid promptly and for the correct amounts. Are you still with Summit Merchant Solutions?
James
Sharon
Today was my first day out in the street working with Summit Merchant Solutions. They gave me a business name, and address to go to, but didn’t give me a person’s actual name to whom they had spoken to set up the appointment. After looking it up on Google maps, it said another business was at that address. I called my team leader and asked to whom he had spoken to get the appointment and he said “Ms. first_name”. When I drove there, it was an empty building. If they will lie about setting up an appointment to the salespeople, then obviously will tell us stories about what they charge the merchants. I will not work for someone who lied to me right off the bat. I am done and obviously would NOT have been paid for any work that I created.. It is a scam, so don’t bother! And please don’t blame the reps; we where just doing and saying what we were told to do and say!
tgreen
SUMMIT MERCHANT SOLUTIONS IS A TOTAL RIP-OFF!!! I was lied to by their representative and it is a total scan. Does anyone know the official agency where I can file a compliant? Any assistance is great appreciated.
jason keen
I am posting to warn anyone who is considering doing business with Summit Merchant Solutions about my experience as a customer of theirs. I was persuaded by a sales representative by the name of Diane Powell to sign up for a 30 day trial. She assured me that I would complete a full billing cycle (30 days) then recieve my bill and she would come back out to my business to review my bill with me. She informed me that I would then have 10-15 more business days to determine to enroll in their merchant services. She basically gauranteed me approximately 60 days before any contract commitment would be required. WARNING…THAT IS A COMPLETE LIE!!! I learned the hard way that I only had 30 days FROM THE DAY MY ACCOUNT WAS APPROVED. After that 30 days my business would be AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLED and a large cancellation fee would be required to break the contract. I was COMPLETELY MISLEAD by Diane Powell (representing the company in the Houston Texas area..Humble to be exact). She made a mistake in programming my machine for initial set-up and had to call in to have it corrected. Mistakes happen but as a new customer I WAS IMMEDIATELY BILLED FOR HER MISTAKE. Before I made my first transaction money was drafted from my account! I tried to contact Diane Powell and she refused to answer any of my calls or return any of the messages I left. Another issue came up with money being withdrawn from my account and I continued to try to reach Diane Powell with no success. I had to call her number from a blocked line to get an answer. Once I identified myself she said she had to look at my account and would call me back. That NEVER happened! I eventually called the corporate office to complain. It was then that I was informed I was mislead by my sales representative about the automatic enrollment. I immediately had to fax a concellation letter. A month later alomost $600 was drafted from my account by this company. Turns out that Diane Powell processed an order for a machine to begin my trial that required me to send a machine to Summit Merchant Solutions that did not belong to me. When she was attempting to persuade me to sign up for the trial she stated that there would be NO FEES for my trial. When it came time to sign the contract she told me I had to purchase a machine in which I refused! She said not to worry about it because she would get me a machine she had free of charge. Turns out that was a $600 lie! I had to have my bank stop payment and dispute the charges. I called the corporate office and complained and was promised a phone call back from a superviser to discuss my complaint and NEVER RECIEVED A RETURN CALL. I called Diane Powell’s direct superviser named CHRIS JOHNSON (at the Carollton office). The first few attempts were answered by someone else who found humor in my complaint and actually laughed while I described my situation. I felt EXTREMELY OFFENDED by the unprofessional conduct. When I did finally reach CHRIS JOHNSON about a week and a half ago he CLAIMED to be totally unaware of my situation. He said Diane Powell was on vacation and would return on Wednesday. He assured me that he would have a discussion with her and would call me back to further discuss the issues. Once again I NEVER RECEIVED A RETURN CALL!!! By that time I had already expected this level of EXTREMELY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE FORM SUMMIT MERCHANT SOLUTIONS!!! My experience with this company was EXTREMELY HORRIBLE!!!! I am a small business owner who was looking for better rates and quality service and received neither! The rates Diane Powell promised were false and I had to pay more in fees than I currently was. The customer service has to be the WORST IN THE INDUSTRY!!! I CAUTION ANY BUSINESS OWNER TO DO NOT CONSIDER THIS COMPANY!!! IF YOU WANT CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL BE GIVING YOUR BANKING INFORMATION TO AN HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY COMPANY PLEASE…I REPEAT…PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR FINANCES, AND ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT AT RISK BY USING THIS COMPANY!!! THIS COMPANY WILL ATTEMPT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU AS A CUSTOMER AND WILL SHOW YOU NO RESPECT AS A CUSTOMER!!! BE AWARE AND KNOW TO AVOID THE HASSLES I HAD TO EXPERIENCE!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!
Crystal
Hi I am currently dealing with the same issue!!! All of the same lies from the same sales rep and she changed her number!! I would love her hear if you ever heard back from her supervisor or if you have a good number for diane or chris! Thank you so much!
-Crystal
Tilahun Befikadu
A sales person, by the name of Yohannes Wolde, for “Submit Merchant Solutions” came to my store and asked me to switch merchant service provider and promised:
A monthly service of $7.50, 0.59% per qualified transaction fee, and $0.12 per approved transaction; nothing else. I repeatedly asked him if there will be ANY OTHER fees and he swear there wouldn’t be any other fees.
A month letter, I noticed that “Submit Merchant Solutions” charged me more money. I called the company and asked to discuss why the service fees is higher than what was promised. The person on the phone promised to send the sales person to me to discuss the terms and fees. The sales person did not show up. I called the sales person repeatedly using my cell phone and the store phone and went straight to his voice mail. I left several messages but did not get a call back from the sales person or his manager. One day, I used my wife’s telephone to call the sales person and he picked up. The 1st thing I asked him was why he is not returning my phone calls. He gave me some BS. I told him he has misrepresented the terms, and lied about the service fees, etc
1. I reminded him that he said there is no annual fee but Submit Merchant charged me $95 annual fee.
2. The qualified discount rate increased from 0.59% he promised to 1.74%
3. The transaction fee increased from $0.12 to $0.27
4. He said I can cancel the service anytime but the company is telling me that there will be a $600 early termination fee if I cancel the service.
5. There is a $12.95 fee for gift card that I don’t even sell, I don’t use gift card
6. The monthly service fee increased from 7.50 to $15
I told him if he did not straighten these issues I will sue him for gross misrepresentation and report him and the company (“Submit Merchant Solutions”) to BBB, and DC, MD, and VA state attorney’s office and any other regulatory agency under the sun. I gave him two weeks to straighten these issues. The two weeks deadline will expire tomorrow 12/27. I have a feeling he is not going to do anything about it. I have been with the company for about a month and half and paid double what I used to pay to my previous Merchant Account Provider (BB&T Bank. I just called the company and received the cancelation procedure. I will start drafting the letter to BBB and to the state attorney’s office.
My advice to others; when you see “Submit Merchant Solutions” sales person …run away as fast as you can. Their sales persons are scam artists and will take advantage of your busy schedule to rip you off.
lorna cascio
Hi, I just read your comment about summit and just wanted to let you know it isn’t their sales rep that are scamming its the company. I have a MBA and have been out of work for a year now…so when they called offering me this position even though it was strickly commission I was greatful for the opportunity and rationalized i would do this while continueing to look for full time work. Much to my surgrin….I am finding out just how crocked they are. I started asking questions and was told I was on a need to know basis and didn’t need to know anymore than one sale to another. yes there is a lot more going on here with this company, but please don’t blame it on the sales rep they are just a victim if not more as you were….
Haley
WORST COMPANY EVER! Double charge our monthly fees. Added extra fee’s. EXTREMELY deceptive sales Rep. Can’t cancel because of cancellation fee, and when contract was over, AUTOMATIC RENEW WITHOUT ANY NOTICE. GET OUT NOW! Illegal! Bad company! F rating
deanna
Help! I need to get out of this contract. The sales rep was very deceptive. I should have read further but I thought I could trust this guy. Does any one know the definition of within 30 days of bank acceptance? I thought it would be from the first deposit to my account.
anthony
i wish i had stumbled onto this page before i started working for them. i just started today, had no shows and owners saying they never set up appointments. i feel like an idiot now, i will NOT be returning to work for them monday. thank you all who wrote reviews already and i have now see the light
carmen
SEP, .26 estoy total mente de acuerdo de no recomendar a summit ,ya que se valen de mentiras para enredarte que firmes y despues vienen todos estos cobros y crei que por no leer en ingles me meti en este gran problema pero ya veo que igual da ingles o no para hacer caer a las personas en su trampa.es un a gran idea de estas personas para estafar pequenos negosios como se esta dando en mi pais claro que con mas cuidado lo hacen aqui pero al final da lo mismo es un fraude o como en mi pais a los pequenos negosios se les cobran cuotas para que no te molesten y aqui se estan copiando, querian que yo les page la cantidad de3,469. por dos semanas que estubo la maquina con migo y siendo que el papel que yo firme lo alteraron o mejor dicho desoues de que firme le agregaron informasion que no estaba cuando firme. tenemos que denunciarlos no dejemos que sigan haciendo lo mismo,con las agencias que sean para ,,
Mary's
One lie after another, don’t trust them!!!!….once they snag you into signing, you will not be able to talk to the sales rep that told you all these lies…..you call the company any they tell you that he is an independent…They also said that they have had “several complaints about him”, although nothing is done about it….at the end, they say they can’t do anything about what the salesman promised….i told them i “expect to be able to conduct business in good faith and good customer service” and that i would close the bank account if the issues are not resloved. they threatened with collections and i told them to “go ahead and take me to court and send me to the collections, i’m not answering phone calls and returning messages just like you’re salesmen is doing to me….additionally, i can let the newspapers and TV station know who you are and how you operate”…
dimitri
Don”t work for this company !!!!!!! What a scam they tell you they have appts for you what they don”t tell you is how they get the appts … they call merchants and tell them about all the money the durbin amendment for debit cards is gonna save them when you get there the merchant thinks your their credit card company …once they find out your trying to sell them they can”t wait to show you the door … This company should be investergated big-time …. Don”t waste your time please with this company …………..
Brandi
Hi was contacted by a sales person who came to my studio made me fill out the paperwork made a lot of promises that were never fulfilled for one reason or another. The paper work I was told not to be a contract just a start to the process so when we decided to go with them after many phone call from them then they tell me that what I signed was the contract not just the initial paper work. I have called and called and not one will return my phone calls they have cost me almost $1000.00 in fees. Is there anyone out they that can help get em out of this without destroying my credit????? Summit Merchant Solutions do not sign up with them!!!!
Gidget Rollins
I was approached by a local man about switching from my current credit card processing company to Summit Merchant Solutions. He asked that I sit down with him to go over my current rates in comparison to theirs and talk about my options. He appeared to be more of a “middle-man”. He didn’t know any details about the company, contract, equipment or rates. But was great at connecting me with the people I needed to talk to. I asked multiple times, both the man in front of me and the man on the phone if the fees discussed (per transaction fee for both debit and credit and leasing fees) were the ONLY fees that I would be charged. I rephrased the question a few times making sure there was no hidden annual fee or any other fee. I was told No, this is IT!! So, I signed up, got the equipment and things were great…….until, I tried to process a debit card as a debit instead of credit….(i was told there was a significant difference in interest rate for using it as a debit) to which I find it won’t work. I called the company and was told that I was not set up to take Debit. Well, that would make sense, promise me a better rate but then process everyting at the hight rate. So, the simple solution, pay an extra lease fee for this second piece of equipment. I agreed. They send the new equipment and new contract for the lease and it was a different price than agreed upon. So, i called and they agreed to the lower amount. Then, I receive a letter in the mail from PCI saying the law says everyone must be in compliance and they will be charging and annual fee of $124 for the service. So, i call the number on that paper because I’ve never heard of this PCI company and it must be a mistake. No! They are part of Summit Merchant Solutions and in section ?? of my contract, it states they will be charging this ammount annually for this service. Well, I call the original manager I spoke to, Jesse, and explain that I asked specifically if there were any other fees and he informs me that he has no idea what this PCI company is. He has never heard of it and needs me to fax him the letter so he can see what they are talking about. I did fax the lettter and didn’t hear back. So, I called again. I was informed that he was checking into it and would get back to me. I called him back a few days later and he said that he was taking the blame, he would get me my money back and that when the other department called me I should respond with “This is not negotioable, I do not want this service”. Over the next week or 2, I continue to call Jesse and get promises of calls back but never a call. Finally, I get to talk to him and tell him I havent heard from anyone and I asked for the number to the other department, which I later find is the PCI helpdesk. They inform me that there is no way for me to get this money back, I have been misinformed by Jesse and that they don’t know why he would ever claim he doesn’t know about this fee or the service. So, I call Jesse back and give him this information. Again, i am told that I will be recieving a call to which I should respond with “this is not negotiable”. Finally, I get a call and the woman says she just recieved an email asking her to call me to answer questions about the services proided by PCI. I explain the situation and how I’ve been told Im getting my money back but feel like Im just getting a run around to which she informs me that there is no way that she can return the funds and that I have been given false information. So, once again, i call Jesse and give him this info and tell him that I think he is just running me around and giving me the answers he thinks I want to hear and that I feel he has no intention of following through. He assured me that he does want to help and IS working on it but he is just so busy. Over the next 3 weeks I call perioidically to get told he is so busy and doesnt have time right then to give me the attention I deserve and asks that I call back later. I did fail at calling back at the exact times he asked since I had clients at those times. It has been since July 17, Ive yet to see any money and am still continuing to call them a couple of times a week. I do have most of this information documented and the last 3 to 4 weeks of conversation noted with times of calls and specific details. I emailed today, and will continue to do so daily, along with the calls. At this point, I am willing to pay to be done with them but don’t want to let them off the hook as Im sure most people do. I have a friend who is having similar problems witht his company and will send them in this direction. We also have discussed calling the BBB as well as the States Attorney to see what we can do about spreading the word on this company.
Patricia Jefferson
Summit Merchant is a big ripp-off!!!!! The fees the rep quoted was a lie. The machine was used two times. We had fees coming out of our accounts that was never revealed. Customer serivce just reminds you of the contract. The rep never tells you about all the hidden fees, he just tells you to sign here and here. I am in the process of reporting this to the BBB. BEWARE of Summit Merchant Solutions!!!!! They will take more than you will ever receive.
Lisa
I think Summit Merchant Solutions is a great company helping merchants with reprogramming their credit/debit card processing machines and offering the latest technology in CheckSecur scanners and imaging equipment. So many merchants do not know of the Durbin Amendment passed in Oct. 2011 that lowered their fee’s per transactions and Summit Merchant Solutions is the leader with the latest equipment and reprogramming older equipment so that merchants can save a lot of money and flourish in this down economy. Summit also helps merchants make more money with their Gift Card programs and PAYware PC software. They also offer wireless card processing equipment for people in industries that work out in the field such as Lawncare owners, carpet cleaning people that work independently, etc. for on the go transactions with a triple layer of encryption. They are a subsidery of Certified Payment Processing and their employees out in the field work much the same as Direct market sales people from ADT security systems, Knology cable/internet sales, and supplemental insurance sales agents to Medicare, Humana, etc. Direct Marketing with Summit Merchant Solutions has top notched training and Field Trainers that work very diligently to find the right solutions for merchants to save money and help flourish their business’s. A great company!
Bob Lackey
You can tell that Lisa works for Summit M. S. That is the sales spill the Sales Rep. Used on me. I don’t know how the employe’s can sleep at night knowing what a Rip Off this Co. is.
Phillip CPO
I allowed the comment from Lisa because it states that they are affiliated with Certified Payment Processing, which may be useful for some merchants. It does appear to be left by some sort of representative of Summit.
MeeMee
They charge more fees than my transactions monthly which the sales rep never mentioned. They take from the top of my payment from the customer then there’s two other charges monthly. They are getting more money from me than I make from my customers. God doesn’t like liars and thieves. Pray he stops them from hurting people.
Landell Pugh
This is not a company to do business with. Their customer service is very bad. Easy to sign up heck to get rid of. BEWARE. There are to many good credit card solutions out there to deal with these folks and the others don’t have a cancellation fee if you have to leave the service.
I had trouble getting my collections changed to my new bank. I had trouble with my equipment and got numerous reasons and no solutions.
Paul Clayton
Some of the same things happened to me. Equipment, promises, lease agreements buried in paperwork. I switched companies, went to Elliot and then finding they were one and the same. NEVER use any othe companies listed above. I’m considerint littigation against Eliot/Summit to recomver all fees I have been charged. D
Bob Lackey
A sales Rep from Summit came and offered a lower percentage rate than what i was paying. I told her i was all ready under contract with another company. She asked to see my contract and lease agreement. I showed her both and she calculated it up and called her Manager. They said that summit would pay off my Lease and Contract. Two Months went by and i was getting charged for both Cotracts. I called Customer service and told them that i was still getting charged for my old contract. He told me he would call and pay off my old contract and pay me back for the two months i had paid. He called me back and said that his supervisor said it was not in the contract to pay off my old contract. and they wouldnt pay it off. I talked to the supervisor and told her that the Sales Rep and her Manager told me that they would pay it off and she said it wasnt in writing. And they would not pay it off because it was to much money. She said i had to have proof that they said that. I told her i do have proof. She told me to send it to her i told her i couldn’t . She said why not and i said its on my Recorder. Just like this conversation and i will see you in Court. I will follow up after its over.
Jill Jester
Summit Merchant Solutions is a deceptive and misleading company. They bury financial commitments in their 30 page “binding contract” that their salesmen deny the company having. They have deceived me three times in the last 8 months, and have cost me a tremendous amount of money. Don’t let this happen to you.
1) Summit debited my checking account for $ 124.75 without notifying me or acquiring my authorization. They referenced Page 9 Paragraph 3 as their right to do this.
“CPP may make available a PCI DSS compliance program through a third-party. CPP shall have the
right to charge an annual PCI fee of no less than $124.75 whether or not Merchant participates in
the program.”
2) When I chose Summit as my credit card processing company, it was on the conditon that I was not locked into any contract. I was opening a new business and was not guaranteed that I would make it. When I was forced to close my business, I called Summit to cancel the service. I was told I would have to pay $595.00 in penalties for breaking the “binding contract”. When I told them I was not under a contract with them, they referenced Page 4 Paragraph 4 as their right to do this.
“Any lease agreement is a separate agreementand not subject to the Terms & Conditions of this
Agreement. Additionally, any lease agreement cannot be cancellled. If this Agreement is not
cancelled withing the thirty day cancellation period, then this Agreement shall continue in full force
and effect for a term of (3) years from approval by Bank and is subject to an early termination fee of
no less than $495.00.”
I referenced the Lease Agreement in the contract (which was an agreement to lease their equipment)where I had declined the lease agreement and purchased my equipment outright, and again stipulated that I was under no “binding long-term contract” with them, per my conversation and agreement with their sales rep. They responded with “they did not interpret that paragraph as referring to the Lease Agreement of the equipment”. I told them that was not how I interpreted that paragraph and asked them what other Lease Agreement in their contract did I sign (of which there is none) and they once again reminded me I was under a “binding contract with them and they would immediately debit my checking account for $595.00 if I chose to cancel.” When I asked them why they were charging me $595.00 instead of $495.00, they referenced the “no less than..” clause, saying they could charge any fee they wanted as long as it was not less than the $495.00. They then told me if I chose not to cancel, they would continue billing me over $50.00/month for “minimum maintenance fees”, regardless of the fact that I was not doing a single transaction with them anymore. They justified this action from Page 2 Section “Other Fees”:
“Annual Fee $95.00 per year”… which was waived on the contract
“Monthly minimum $25.00 per month”… they told me they were now charging me $30.00/month
“Green Option Fee (on-line statement) $7.50 per month”… they are now charging me $8.50/month
“Access Fee $2.00 per month”…they are now charging me $10.00/month
” Regulatory Compliance Fee $3.42 per month”…they are now charging me $5.95/month
I asked them why, if I was under a “binding contract”, were they charging me more than I agreed to. They referred me to another paragraph somewhere in the contract that gave them the authority to “raise their rates as needed.” I asked them since they raised the rates in April (again without any notification to me whatsoever), when were they planning on raising their rates again, their response was “probably October.”, again referencing the “paragraph” that allows them to raise their rates “as needed”.
I once again told them that their salesman had agreed to and assured me I was under a non-binding contract with Summit. Their response…”We do not honor any verbal contracts. You have a legally binding written contract with us and that is all we will discuss.”
This is a very deceptive and misleading company who has full access to all my monies in my checking account, and clearly has no issue in taking whatever they want whenever they want and I can’t stop them.
I PRAY NO ONE IS DECEIVED LIKE I WAS. NEVER…NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY OR ANY OF THEIR SUBSIDIARIES!!! YOU WILL PAY FOR IT!!!
Elliot
Today I noticed that I had a pending charge of $124.75 annual for pci compliance. I received a letter from them the same day! I was with Sams Club and never had to pay. Summit is a scam. They charge me $7 for a blank piece of paper for debit cards each month. Yet they never bothered to contact me to see if I was in fact PCI Compliant for 2012. I am switching banks for my business and will have them take over the credit card processing and report Summit for false and bad business practices soon.
Wayne
I’m glad I found this site about Summit. They scammed me as well. I call them today and the guy just kept saying, I can’t hear you, then hand up. I called them back and no answer. I want these idiots caught for the pain they put hard working people in. My question is, how do I report this?
Many Thanks
Phillip CPO
Hi Wayne, you might find this article helpful.
Gidget Rollins
I am just finding this site now, a little too late. I am having the same issues, completely described in a complaint above. I am going to do more than just write on this page and hopefully we can put a stop to this.
Robin Ballard
As a new contract holder of summit, I am nothing but dissatisfied as I and my coworkers have had so many arbitrary charges on summits behalf that were not disclosed that I And my coworkers are ready to pack everythi.g up and ship it back.
There seems to be no recourse but to lodge as many complaints as necessary to try and save others from this agrivation.
Heather
This is THE WORST company I have ever worked with! I do not even use their services anymore, and I still am getting fees taken out, PCI charges, etc my account is about to go under and they can just keep taking money from me like its nothing! I HAT HATE HATE this company with a passion! I am no a hateful person either but they are agaon the worst people I have ever dealt with. Any ideas of how to put them under!
Julia McClure
I totally agree with you. They are doing the same exact thing to me….they just took out $250.14 from my account, and Kevin (their agent “working” with my account) [phone number omitted] is a total liar. He tells me that he sent my two letters explaining why they were going to take actually $614.30 out of my account—-$495 being the cancelation fee, plus $30 collections, plus $25 for something else, and then another amount for something else. I never received the letters. He also tells me that he called three different numbers for me—I only have one! and the numbers he listed weren’t even mine. This company totally sucks and they are total liars.
T. Mosley
Today is my last day of working for SMS! They’ve sent me on a total of seven appointments, five of which were bad( i.e. wrong contact person, wrong address, or just plain didn’t set the appointment). When I told my “team leader” about these inconsistancies, I was basically insulted and told to roll with it. Of the other two, I sold one. I pray that they pay me for it as I’ve spent quite a bit of my own resources chasing “ghosts”.
Stopcpp360
Empty Promises on correct payment , Unethical, and unprofessional
“Certified Payment Processing (CPP),”, “Summit Solutions”, “TransTech Merchant Group”…. they have a few more names to thin out their trail of complaints. I am a college student that was desperate to find a job to work with my tight schedule. Then I get a call from Brandon Woodard at summit solutions. The interview was quick, and they wanted me to get started right away. It seemed fishy to me, but I took the risk. He told me there was potential to make around 4-5k a month, but it was all commission. I didn’t think this was a problem because I am a natural salesman.
Mr. Woodard explained that I was to receive 50$ for the 8 hour training. Also, would be paid 100$ for my phone and 500$ for my gas per month( that’s if you make 10 sales in the first month) I thought it was low, due to the minimum wage of $7.25/hr, but I had never worked 100% commission before. It was acceptable to me at the time. So I woke up bright and early to get on the 8 hour conference webinar. ( I had to use my cell phone for audio….my cell phone that was engaged for 6+ hours (-lunch and breaks)). This ran my phone over my minutes which i automatically increased my minutes.
After the seminar I received my team and supervisor’s name (team 8, Ronald Henry: 972-428-5200 ext 5803). I called Ron, and he was funny and supportive. He assured me the company was legit, and all those complaints online were of disgruntle ex-employees and customers who didn’t read the contract correctly.
I went on my first appointment, which it was not a preset appointment, she told them to stop callng her, but despite her resistance I made the first sale the Friday after my training. I then made another sale the next Tuesday (remember I am part time). I was at 100% conversion. I was thrilled. I joked with Ron about being the top sales. According to training and the manual I have on cd, you should get anywhere from 150-360 per reprogram. Although, according to Ronald Henry and an email by Mr. Woodard. I was to receive 250$ per sale. I was ecstatic.
I took some time for school, and patiently awaited my first paycheck. (I rushed my direct deposit form in because, your other option is an atm type card which you get charged a fee to take out your money…because they can’t pay you in a check?!?! hummm? Pay works, if you make a sale Monday-Sunday, then you should get your pay the next Friday. I awaited my training pay of 50$, but it never came. This is where it became unprofessional. Ron would call me all day, over and over, text me on the weekends, ask me about my personal life and boyfriends, send me pictures of himself. I was nervous about taking time off for my finals that I would joke back to keep everything “cool” with my boss. He acted like a guy you meet at a bar trying to smooth talk a girl into bed, or a salesman feeding you lies to keep you strining along to keep the sale. Since, talking to him more than I worked with him, it added up to over 600 minutes on my cell phone. All, thinking it was work related.
I called Ron early Monday inquiring about not receiving my training pay after I rushed to complete my hire paperwork. He said, “don’t worry, jen, I’ll check on it for you”. I then got a gut feeling to stop working until I got paid. After all, there are several complaints online with this company about little to no pay. So, I told Ron, I had finals, and I needed time off. He was cool about it. Another week came without any pay. I started to get frustrated. After all, this was 100% commission, and I wasn’t working. Finally, after more time spent explaining my frustrations to Ron over the phone, I received a small pay check for 70$ (minus taxes). This was my 50$ first sale bonus and 25$ forward pay for the first sale. Remember, I should have received all ( training pay, 1st and 2nd sales, commission, and my 50$ 1st sale bonus). Disappointed I told ron that I didn’t feel comfortable not receiving my pay. He again said he was going to see what happened and figure t what was wrong. I didn’t go on any sales jobs. Why work for a company who isn’t paying you?
After sending multiple emails to HR, and Jon Hur, and Ron about a breakdown of what I need to be paid for, the training pay comes into play. Ron calls me and tells me that he all of a sudden doesn’t know why I was told I would be paid for training. I am furious! I messed up by not getting it in writing, so I had no proof. Their recruiters make a commission, so I guess they tell you whatever it is you need to hear to get you on the team. I have been working for over 15 years, and have always been paid for training, and would not work if I didn’t. After several emails, and calls to HR, and complaints I am told that I definitely would not be paid for training. Then to top it off, I finally (after 4 weeks) get a commission statement from Jon Hur, saying I will be paid 175$ (200-25$) for my commission on the first sale ( it was supposed to be 250$). The statement said It may not reflect the actual. When I received the payment, it was exactly (175$ -taxes). Also, I have never received a ay stub with the tax reduction.
I write more emails explaining what I should be receiving. I then contacted the United States department of Labor and the Texas Wages Commission. Texas payday law that states if a worker on commission does training or works time outside of normal duty hours then they are to be compensated 7.25 per hour, at least. I told Ron, and Hr this information and when denied again I became emotional with Ron, and told him I would report the company. Finally, the needle on the haystack, I get told that my second sale , made over a month ago, has cancelled. Now, I wouldn’t be paid 300$.
In all my experience I have never worked for a more Unethical, Unprofessional, and Pain in the ass company in my life. CPP, Summit, Trans tech, whoever they are should be put out of business, or bought by a company who will do the merchants justice. This company doesn’t keep promises made to employees, lacks ethics within its operations, and will do anything to many a penny. The team leaders take desperate workers and use them any chance they could get. It’s sad, and wrong. Even if the promised me a million dollars I would not work for them, because I will not sell hard working small to medium businesses a service that will not keep to its word or contract.
I have set up an email for anyone else who has problem with this company. If we join together we can finally put them in the light. Remember strength is in numbers, it’s not what you know it’s what you can prove. So, Merchants, former employes , lets combine forces and bring them to justice.
Email : [redacted]
BBB business rating D
( remember they keep changing their name, and they are not Certified Payments)
Charles
I tried to cancel my service with them, they said it would be $495.00 or I can finish my 3 year contract until August this year. With continuing the contract I have to pay the monthly minimum of $30.00 and a statement fee of $6.00 (of which I don”t need) plus $5.42 in Access and reg fees.
They suck don’t use them!!!!!
Heather
And you get charged PCI fee on top of that!
Jennifer
Nothing but a hassle with this company. We have been in business with them for 5 years and we have paid them every month with no issues. We have sold our business and with 3 months left in our contract we can not get out unless we want to pay $600 term fee. The company is not flexible what so ever nor do they care about you as the customer. I will never do business with this company nor be locked in to a contract for 3 years then each year after that where they have no flexibility to help you when your business sells. Very unsatisfied with this company and customer service.
Stylin Hair Studio
We have had nothing but, trouble withe Summit Merchant Solutions since the day we were introduced to them by a representative that walked in to tell us about all they could do for us with their services which we were sucked in to their false promises that have been a nightmare!!!!!! The equipment we have hasn’t worked right since the day it arrived we have complained and complained and to no avail we’re we taken care of. We have tried to get out of the contract that we have but they won’t work with us in anyway. We have 5 accounts with them 1 for our salon ans 1 for each of us to use for our own business so there answer to our problems is too charge is 750.00 an acct. to get out of the contract but, it is the point that they are in breach of our contract with them and false representation of their company . We just want what is right but they have us by the short hairs and need HELP!!!! I would never recommend this company to anyone to use they shouldn’t be aloud to run their company in the manner that they do……
mark reed
Hello everyone,
I am currently working for this company and it is but a lie. I am a sales rep. Trying to make ends meet and they are just giving me the run around. They say they set appointmets and the merchant agrees to having the appointment set up. Which is a lie. The merchant 99.9 percent of the time says they denied meeting with any one, but they keep calling. I was never trained properly. Just have a team lead that contridicts herself everytime we talk.
Michele Hilrichs
We have had this companies merchant services for a little over a year and have had nothing but trouble with the machines,fees,and miss represented as a whole. They have hidden fees and won’t work with you in anyway. If you are a small business out there don’t use these services. I wouldn’t recommend them to my worst enemy.
jack
I have been a customer with this company for 1 year and i wouldnt recommend them to anyone.The salesman tells you one thing and does another. They give you a long contract and charge way too much to break it. They offer you free equipment that doesnt work and then they charge close to 1000 to buy a new one.
Cecily
I was hired 10/11 to work for Certified Payment Processing but got a name tag for Summit Merchant Solutions. I worked for 5 weeks and I got a bunch of sales. When the customers first bills came in SMS had added fees. The terms I quoted to them, under the guidance of my team leader were falsified and impossible. I went home and did some research that night and found out that they keep changing their name to stay ahead of the complaints. This is why I found nothing in my original research. They are all under the umbrella of a company whose name has escaped me since this was over a year ago. American something? Anyway, I had heard horror stories from potential clients about that company and I worked them to come over to us. Only to find out we were one in the same. I called all my clients and told them to take advantage of the 30 day guarranty and run. When I got my paycheck for half as much as I was told, my resignation was done.
Marilyn DeForest
I have a major complaint against your company. I was quoted one price by your sales rep. and charged a lot more by you, also was told there would be no termination fee, and again not true. You have very poor ethics as a business person, and will alert others of the scam you offer.
Barbara Balli
A sales rep came to our place of businees and “sold” us to accept to do business with them. It has been a NIGHTMARE!!!! She LIED to us about ALL the services and charges then trying to get corporate to help has been IMPOSSIBLE. They must have training classes on lying to the consumer!!! I DO NOT RECOMMEND this company and cant get out of our contract soon enough!! We have sought legal advice.
I would love to put the sales rep name and I have reported this to the BBB!!! I am posting this on fb, twitter and everywhere else I can get this company names out there…. There are five of us here and each of us is filiing a complaint.
Mike
First off I will be adding a complaint to the long list of complaints, for you to say your sales rep lied is total crap, you have no idea. I was a rep for this rip off company, I told the merchants what I was told to tell them. Reps have no control over anything except getting the proper signatures and FedEx the paper work in to these bunch of con artist. You blaming your rep is the wrong thing to do go after the rip off company not the rep, they hired us and told us what to do and say, some of the reps like me knew nothing about rates fees and credit card machines. when I was first hired they told me all I had to do was get paper work completed that the merchant was already sold, obviously a crock of bull.
See they hire reps to sale for them, they tell the rep what to say because they know that the rep will have to deal with you mad merchants “NOT THEM” your rep didn’t lie they told you what they them selves thought to be the truth. The rep was told by their team leader most every merchant would save 20 to 50% the only difference is the rep didn’t have a contract to read and you merchants calling innocent reps liars did, but chose not to read it.
I wished everyone of you guys that have posted complaints would ban together and hire a great attorney and sue Summit Merchant Services pants off. I would testify for every one of you. Just leave the reps alone they did nothing wrong.
Debra Casella
Thanks for all these comments. Had “Adam” show up unannounced today to try and coerce me into switching processing companies. I was ‘too busy to meet today’ and wanted to check out this company. I am always looking for ways to save money, but try to check the legitimacy of a company beforehand- glad I did. Will NOT be doing any business with them!
Bonnie
Summit Merchant Solutions is the worst company to work with. They kill you with fees and won’t work with you when you need help. Do not attempt to do business with these people. They are out to get as much as possible with no regard to scruples.
bri-bri
I was working with them for one week and some days and I will say they are fake and phony do not waste your time on these bums, in miami they had me go to the worst appts either no buisness or residential areas. So I began to complain and as i complained and told them I googled their butts the next morning james called and said that the executives felt like this is not a good job for me at the time!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A WASTE OF TIME WITH THESE PEOPLE………when i spoke to dorien he said that the negative info was false and they were ersuing a lawsuit so then and now all of sudden im FIRED!!!! Great i am happy i dont have to waste any more of my time and my life with these low down scum and they really dont pay you no MONEY at all.
DO NOT CONSIDER THEM PLEASE DO NOT EVEN WORK FOR THEM IF A CARLTTION,TX numbers CALLS YOU !!!!! DO NOT ANSWER IT
samantha
I actually worked for them for a brief 2 weeks untill i started noticing that it was a rip off. They change the prices for everyone all the time. They tell you at the contract signing that its this much and than before they have us send it in we have to add fees to the contract. on top of that i never got paid for the work i did. i drove around town all day in the heat and didnt get a penny! its the worst company ever i suggest no one go to them!
Dafney Hawkins
This company is a rip off. All they do is lie. They send some one out to small business as myself and tell them all the good and not the truth get you to sign your name and stick you in a contract. They told me I had 30 days to cancel and when I called back to cancel they tell me I can cancel the processing but not the machain what since does that make. What in the hell I’m going to do with a machain I don’t won’t to cancel everything. They send me to all different people one person say one thing then they transform you to different people but, never got an answer. They lie and tell story do not go with them find some one else… I am very mad paying 4,000.00 Dollie for a machain who does that. Some one who like me who got told a lie to…. Read All Small Print Before Signing Your Name!! That’s what they don’t won’t you to do….
Ron
Summit Merchant Solutions is a rip-off company. I have a small retail company and use quick books Point of Sale for all my transactions. The 1st thing I ask any merchant sales person that comes in, (and their are allot of them) “is their system compatible with the Point of Sale system”? She worked with their tech people and came back with a yes, ‘We have software we can download onto your system and it will work within Point of Sale.” Great! I signed up and if their were any problems I just send in my cancellation within 30 days and I get everything back. Well, it turns out that they could not make it work with Point of Sale and that they didn’t know why anyone would tell me that they could. They have no such software. No problem, I sent in my cancellation well within the 30 days and waited for my money to be put back into my account. After a month or so I called to see what was going on. They said that I could not get my $95 Application Fee because it already was approved. Well I would have never applied if they told me the truth up front. She said that she submitted the $199 Plug-in charge for refund. I called to find out why it never showed up in my account. He said the refund was declined because it was a cash transaction (pulled directly out of my account) and that once it is declined it was a done deal, I cannot talk to the supervisor, the claims department, no one. They never got far enough into the process to plug in anything. $300 and I didn’t get a damn thing but pissed off. This company should be raided and shut down. If you’re looking to work for this company your resume should have “Scam Artist” at the top.
Liliana Pava
I was doing my credit card processing transactions with a company with no contract. Made the big mistake to switch to Summit Merchant Solutions, I feel I was misled and deceived by the sales rep and the company. The rates were higher and when I called to complaint nobody cares. Its this type of company that makes you sign a contract because the service is very bad. The worst processing company “SUMMIT MERCHANT SOLUTIONS”
Elizabeth Goode
I opened a flower shop back in June, and we signed up with them. I have been getting charged for God knows what since, and I cannot ever get a clear and definate explination of what I’m being charged for. When we signed up, they told us we needed to sign up for 2 seperate accounts because we do a lot of manual in-putting, and they told us we would have a lower rate. However, what they failed to mention was that we would be getting charged seperatly for this account, and so for every random charge I see come out of my bank account, I’m getting charged double. If I want to cancel, I am going to hve to pay for BOTH accounts, which I just can’t do. No matter how much I hate this.
Gretchen
Elizabeth, I wrote about my disgust for this company too and I understand your pain. I was able to get out of my contract by re-reading my contract and showing them that they had UPPED my charges which they state in the contract is cause for cancelation within 90 days. That is my recommendation. They increased my monthly fee after a year and I sent them the accounting from my books and all the supporting data I had PLUS I sent a copy of my letter to their Vice President which you can google. I have not heard a peep out of them since.
Jaime
Unfortunately I don’t see that in my reasons for termination. Did you find this under the “termination” clause or was it hidden elsewhere. They are charging me over 4% on some transactions – I don’t see how that’s even legal!
Gretchen
Elizabeth, I would re-read your contract because there is a cancelation clause in there, there has to be. Without pulling my
contract, if my memory serves me correctly I believe I found a small paragraph in the lower right side of page 9 in mine. Check it out and use this as leverage. If they have upped your service charges or when they do, immediately use this “excuse” to get out of the contract and find a better company to deal with. Good luck.
Samer Dirani
Summit Merchant Solutions is a rip off company, nothing they promised was fulfilled. They are more expensive than other companies, and when I cancelled my service two months ago they kept delaying the cancellation and charging me more fees. That is on top of the cancellation fee of $495 that they charged immediately. I am still paying statement fees and so on.
Bad experience
Gretchen
I am a one person interior design business and unfortunately last August I got into a contract with them. I tried to cancel one month later and was not allowed and kept being put off when I called customer service. I was charged for the machine and then charged a 100. fee at another point for something absurd, then monthly service charges every month although I NEVER used the machine since I did not have a client. I was told every time I called that I would be charged $400 for canceling early, and that my contract was not up for another 3 years. Even after I spent an entire year with them, and no charges were ever run through their machine and I never once used their services. I scanned the contract looking for this “penalty”. However never found this fact in writing. I had no other option to get away from these scum bags unless I closed my bank account and re-opened another one, which I did. I returned the machine and was sent nasty letters and received calls that I owe them all this money for canceling although in my mind, I had just given them some $ 147 free and clear in a years time with automatic debits of 7.95 each month (+ the 100. + the rental) without using them even one time. They have now sent me a really nasty letter telling me that I now owe them an outrageous $557.95 and they will be sending me to collections and will taint my credit rating etc. I have made a complaint with the Attorney General’s office in Texas but do not understand why after reading about all the complaints people have written about them, that they have not been shut down. This should clearly be against the law and I am willing to fight tooth and nail to see some justice in getting these people prosecuted.