Credit Card Processing Equipment Leases
Founded in 2011, Ascentium Capital is a financing and leasing company that sells long-term equipment leases for point-of-sale hardware and merchant cash advances. In particular, the company is known to provide credit card terminal leases for a number of poorly rated i3 Verticals subsidiaries including Performance Merchant Alliance, Freedom Card Solutions, United Card Solutions, Direct Processors, Red Payments, Chyp, and Radiant Merchant Services.
A Warning About Equipment Leases
In the credit card processing industry, it is common for payment processors to partner with third-party leasing vendors to provide merchants with credit card terminals and point-of-sale equipment. These partnerships are usually not disclosed to merchants, and the leasing provider’s contract terms are often bundled with the overall merchant account contract. Merchants will unknowingly sign an agreement to lease credit card processing equipment for up to five years through a third-party vendor that has no connection to their merchant account provider. These leases usually run for 48 months and cannot be canceled without paying the full cost of the lease, which traps merchants into paying thousands of dollars for equipment that costs under $500. Unsurprisingly, leasing providers are some of the worst-rated providers on CPO, and Ascentium Capital appears to operate in a similar fashion to its peers.
Ascentium Capital Point of Sale
Like everything else about the company, it is very unclear what point of sale equipment Ascentium Capital offers. Their website gives only a single line about it, saying simply that they offer point of sale systems for gas, c-store, and car wash businesses.
Ascentium Capital Location and Ownership
Ascentium Capital was acquired by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC in 2016. They were then purchased again in 2020 by Regions Financial Corporation. This is likely to have a major effect on Ascentium, and we are monitoring the situation closely. Ascentium Capital is headquartered at 23970 US-59 N, Kingwood, Texas 77339. Thomas Depping is the CEO of Ascentium Capital.
Ascentium Capital Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Ascentium Capital offers non-cancellable equipment leases of up to 60 months with cancellation fees that can cost thousands of dollars.
- Complaints & Service: Ascentium Capital has received more than 100 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: Ascentium Capital (as Regions) currently has an “A+” rating and has received 828 complaints and 196 reviews in the last 3 years. The company had previously been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2015, now 1956 as Regions.
- Sales & Marketing: Ascentium Capital relies on independent resellers to sell its equipment leases alongside their merchant account contracts.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Ascentium Capital
8 Responses
They tricked me during COVID to sign some papers to expedite the process and avoid face to face contact, while my franchise confirmed we could use their system. We told them do not proceed, we could not use their 3rd party merchant services with our account management system, they did it anyway! When the equipment got to my business I called to cancel and they told me no worries, someone will pick it up. Was months after when I realized no one had picked it up, so I called again and then was when I realized i have been paying for this service and the merchant fees without a single card processed. SO, how can this person tell me he will not refund me, if service was never rendered?
I have been trying to reverse charges close to a year now of services not rendered for two merchant accounts and gateway equipment sent to me without request. Tried several times to reason with some customer service people, the last gentlemen A.J. was outright rude and basically told me that I was S***T out of luck because the cancellation fee is higher than the refund I am asking for, so I will still owe them money for early cancellation. WHAT?
I will attempt to talk to them again tomorrow and if not I will call The BBB and show them all the emails and how they tricked me out of hard earn money.
Terri Green from this company is harrassing me for payment for services they are not providing and they couldnt fix. THIS COMPANY IS PREDATORY THEY ARE TREATHNING AND HARRASSING HONEST HARD WORKING PEOPLE. DO NOT USE THEM AT ALL…. THEY HAVE POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CANT FIX YOUR PROCESSING PROBLEM. HOWEVER THEY DEMAND MONEY NO MATTER. WHAT. ITS LIKE YOU ARE DEALING WITH THE DEVIL. THEY ARE GLUTTONS AND THEIVES!!!!
DO NOT USES ASCENTIUM PROCESS! ITS A SCAM!!
Signed up with CCI which in turn charged us with interest on the machine right off the bat. That wasn’t disclosed at all to us. We get charged by CCI, Ascentium and the banccard company who deposits our money into our account from the credit card machine and charges a percentage of that also. Ascentium says they are separate from CCI but they are not because the associated themselves when we were falsely led into this horrible credit card company
this company as a bad taste for small black own business they gave me approved loan then said they could not do it i gave them all paperwork they ask for and also paid they so call dot fee up front its very hard to not think this is happen but it very true all things change when they ask me for my I D hell broke some loan guy behind the seen as problems with black own business his name they said is CHRIS will not speak to you all he wants to do is hide behind the seem and let other people do his dirty work
This company SUCKS! And the companies that they partner with are even worse! They are sneaky and unethical and have continued to debit my account for 4 months despite receiving their equipment back and having written notice of my cancellation. The company that linked my business to Ascentium capital goes by Merchant Services/National Processing Company and/or Charge Anywhere and they are ALL liars. My account was being charged for amounts that did not match the processing fees agreed upon and when I asked about them, I was met with confusion. I was promised refunds that I never received and given the run around for months! I am still having charges to my account reversed from this company and I absolutely hate their guts.
There are additional fees that were not disclosed. And there is no way to terminate the contract. I’m losing out on thousands/year for my small business.
Around July 2018, United Card Solution sakes people Chris called and made made fake promises. We agreed to use the service, signed a contract online after a while. It turned out credit card rate is high, and there is an equipment lease fee. He falsely claimed a $99 monthly payment is a payment to lock in a low rate of credit card processing. United Card Solution sales people cheated on making us to sign a contract which they never tell you it is a long term equipment lease contract. Most credit card processing service company offer free equipment and no cancellation policy. Be aware of this company and its sister companies and affiliates. They trap and destroy small business. It is fraudulent practice. Must stop them praying on small businesses.
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
STAY AWAY! COMPANY PREYS ON SMALL BUSINESS! This company’s salesman came into my shop and offered fantastic deal on credit card processing machines and rates. I checked into to it and signed up and never heard from or could contact the guy again. He was supposed to send me everything on how to login and use machines once they arrived. Nothing! After figuring it out ourselves we still tried to contact the salesman and he became a ghost but my account was being withdrawn monthly. Our business then transferred to new owners. When asked for salesman to come and tell owners about transferring lease on equipment no one showed…again Ascentium Capital representive is non existent. Still my account being charged monthly but impossible to talk to anyone that originally set us up! When no one showed for equipment transfer. Payment was suppose to be $396 a month. I was being charged $457 a month! I only needed 2 machines they sent 4! Two still in boxes! Charging me for 4 machines!!Tried to contact to send machines back salesman is still a ghost! I have been out of business since February and charged $457 a month almost $3,000 and no longer in business! Did not attempt to contact new owners to transfer lease to them. When called customer service they told me had to fulfill lease of $396 a month but they ACH transaction is $457 or payout $17,000 for machines worth about $500!! $17,000 payout! $17,000! $17,000! Attempted to communicate with Randy Woods is an executive but he gave us the I am trying to get help and now he does not answer emails or voicemails. This company preys on the backs of small business and should not be allowed to continue. National Payments Services is no better as they do not help! They just say oh you need to work with the lease company! Do not fall into this trap! They say one thing and have tons of hidden clauses and will try to charge $17,000 for machines that can be bought on Amazon for less than $500!
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip