In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.
After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.
I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.
Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.
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Chaz
Run as fast as you can when FTA rep contacts you. Ryan Jacques is a liar, and a cold call sales person has as much BS as the company has taught him. There rates after the first year are non competitive, they will not neogiate a new agreement and it is for 3 years as someone said. My own fault and lack of planning got me in this situation and I have less then one year and I am out.
If I can save one person in busines from these people I hope it is you reading this!!!
Charles
Be vey cautious with the FTA sales representative as they lie to get you into a lease with First Data for processing equipment that in outrageous and so called reduces rates . I was told I needed new updated equipment to use their processing system and get the huge discounts they could get me.
As it turned out due to my own lack of knowledge I signed a lease that I later learned I did not need, my equipment worked on there processing data, and the cost of leasing was four(4) times that of an outright purchase price.
I cannot get out of the lease nor negotiate a buy out!! FTA sales representative was just that a professional cold call sales rep.
If negotiating get everything in writing, do not agree on any deals until you have time to review your figures and stay away from any Lease with FIRST DATA, you can outright purchase equipment for thousands of dollars less than there 4 year lease.
Craig
While we agree about the misleading way they contact you in the beginning, we have found FTA to provide excellent customer service and good rates. This is after trying four other merchant services companies we were quite unhappy with.
As to the lease, ALL of those sales reps lie to get your business. It is the definition of caveat emptor — let the buyer beware. Our advice is don’t get a machine unless your are pretty confident you will need it for the term of the lease. And NEVER let them do an automatic bank draft. Since it is a business contract, the bank will NOT stop the payments coming out if you dispute them. And since they hit you every 30 days, it makes it nearly impossible to close the account.
Use only a credit card or a deduction from your mechant transactions. Credit cards will almost always put a block on anyone you ask and if you leave the provider, they can’t take payments out of a non-existent account.
Anyway, FTA has been better than the four awful companies we used before. Sales is a bit shady. But service has been excellent. They even assigned a specific person to handle our account personally so we get the same support each time.
Trish Hodge
At the time FTA sold the account to me I expressed concerns about the 4 year lease of the equipment. The salesman/actuary assured me that if I went out of business before the lease was up that the lease would be cancelled. I am now closing my business and FTA says they can/will do noting about cancelling the lease and I must deal directly with First Data, the company to which they have assigned the lease. Representatives at First Data tell me that salesmen make such promises all the time but the lease is non cancellable and I am liable for the remaining $900+ of payments. They are correct about the terms of their lease and my complaint is not with First Data. My complaint is with the misrepresentation by the salesman from FTA. I should have got it in writing but I took him at his word.