Ignite Payments Review

Terrible service, dishonest company Ignite was very difficult to work with. They continued to charge “cancellation fee” they will hold your money for up to 180 days even if you on a 2 year contract they just don’t care! i’m going to fill a lawsuit

Thank for posting the information. It is the only site that I have found to help me figure out how to handle (hopefully) this issues that I am having with ingnite first data. I found a charge back had been made when I opened my bank account last Thursday. The charge back caused my account to go into the negative and I have incurred all sorts of overdraft fees. That same day after I saw the charge back, I called them to ask why they didn’t notify me prior to taking the money out and what was the debit for. That’s when I learned it was a charge back. They would not provide me with any information about who made the charge back, who submitted it, or why it was being made. They only gave me the credit card number, so I had to search though all of my transactions to find the number and identify the client. I called the client and she said she never ever made a complaint that the charge wasn’t authorized. She even went to her bank and let me talk to the teller who advised that her account was open. I called back and asked that First data/ignite contact the bank while my client and I were confrenced in. They refused. They said i had to fill out a dispute form. They faxed it to me and I filled it out immediately and provided them with an affidavit from my client that the transaction had been authorized, and withdrawn and paid from her account. I filled it out and returned it to them that afternoon. It included proof that the sale was authorized, and and affidavit from my client that the she had authorized the sale and a number of the preson to call at the issuing bank. I demanded that the return the money to my account immediately. I heard nothing from them and called back at least 15 times to try to get someone who would do something to rectify the situation. I talked to supervisors and at least 8 or 9 different people, all of whom did nothing but insist that it would take 10 days to investigate and if they found in my favor, another 2-3 days to return the money to my account. So I have to wonder how it is that they can take the money out in a hot minute, but cannot manage to return the money in less time that 2 weeks. I asked why, since they already had the affidavit, the phone number for the issuing bank and all the proof that the charge was authorized from my end, it would take them so long and why they couldn’t just call the issuing bank with me and my client in a conference call to get this matter resolved. They claimed they couldn’t do anything because they had not even received my dispute form. I advised that I had faxed it and they said that it takes 2-3 days to even receive the fax. Can you imagine that? Who does business that way. I can just imagine trying to tell my clients or other attorneys that they were welcome to fax something but it would take 3 days for me to receive it. Then they claimed that the fax center was in Maryland and they were in Nebraska. I still didn’t get it. The document was being faxed not walked over to them from Maryland to Nebraska. They continued to tell me that my client was lying to me. That she had in fact claimed that the transaction was not authorized. I told them that she had already told me that it was, and she admitted it on the phone while she was in her bank. Then they said, well the account was closed. So first it was that it wasn’t authorized, then when they were put on the spot with proof that it was authorized, that the issuing bank was prepared to advise them of that at the phone number I gave them, they changed their tune to tell me that the account was closed. Well, I already knew from talking to the bank manager that the account was open, was never closed and that the issuing bank had in fact alread taken the money out and paid the charge. So while they authorized a charge back without any proof or documentation that it was valid, they would not return it upon being provided with more than enough documentation to demonstrate that it was a valid charge. I admit, that at that point I was furious and desperate. I didn’t have any money. I had employees that needed to be paid, and I was being told by ignite first data that there was nothing they could do to help. Meanwhile, the issuing bank said that they would make sure that the money was returned to my account. And the next morning the money was in my account. Two days later, on Saturday, 5/10 I saw another debit to my account in the amount of 780, not 750. I called my bank and told them that I did not know what the charge was and that I had not authorized it. There was no information, there was no name of who had withdrawn the money, and there was no phone number to contact. My bank stopped payment on the debit and returned the money to my account on Tuesday or Wednesday 5/13 or 5/14. Meanwhile on May 12, 2014 I ran a charge from another client for 2000.00. On May 14, 2014, Ignite First Data had finished it’s investigation of the 750 charge back and reversed it. The 2000 charge that processed and batched on May 12, 2014, had still not been deposited into my account however, and all my deposits are always in my account within two day after the batch is approved. So I called ignite first data and was routed to a collection department in Houston TX. They claimed I owed 780.00 (750 for the charge back and 30 for the fees associated with the charge back. It was at this time that I learned that the charge back had been reversed. Collections reviewed the events with me and said that they would document that the account was not in collections and return me to whatever department was responsible for depositing the 2000.00. I was told that my bank had put a hold my account and Ignite/First Date was not able to deposit or withdraw from my account. So, according to them, I had to go to my bank and have my bank issue a letter saying the First Data could deposit and withdraw from my account, signed by the bank on their letterhead with my signature also.
My bank told me that they can’t issue those kinds of letters once they have put a corporate hold on teh account. So I returned to my office and called First Data Ignite again. Again I am routed to collections. I talk with the same guy, Don, who tells me that this whole issue is ridiculous and that the money should have simply been deposited into my account and that the department he transferred me to did not do what he had told them to do. So he transferred me again and stayed on the line to explain what had happened and assured me that the person I was talking to would help me. This person told me that I simply needed to update my deposit bank information to provide them with a new account. However, I only the only other accounts I have are personal. At any rate, even if I could have, again, they tell me it is going to be a 4-6 day wait before the money is deposited into my account because, once again, the 2-4 day fax rule –2-4 days to get my fax with the information and 2-3 more days to actually review it and then deposit the funds. So I call my banks claims department to see why they have put a corporate block on the account. And guess what? My bank was not blocking anything. They advised me that if Ignite/First data made a deposit or withdrawal they would honor it. They were not blocking it from doing either thing. So I call Ignite/First Data. I again explain this exhaustive history to yet someone else new, who doesn’t get it at first but when it becomes clear to them (this is still the collections department because I cannot get through to anyone else. The minute they got my merchant number I was routed to collections) they exclaim that this is ridiculous. I don’t owe them any money and the 2000 needs to be deposited immediately. So they transfer me back to customer service I guess and they explain and assure me that they will take care of now. Customer service then tells me that they are going to transfer me to their RM department (Retention Management). Which I now understand is just a sales department…. Anyway I talk to a Tammy who apologizes up and down for the problems that I have been experiencing. She assures me that she will fix the problem. She then proceeds to tell me that I just have to get a letter from my bank saying that Ignite/First Data can credit and debit my account. AGGGGGGG?????!!!! This was where I started at 10:30 this morning. It is now 4:00 and I have been trying to do this all day, and she tells me the very first thing that I was told at 10:30 in the morning and it is the very thing that won’t work because there is no hold and my bank will accept the credits and debits. They will not issue a letter because there is nothing to release. No corporate hold on my account. So Tammy continues to tell me that my bank is lying to me. So I say, let’s call them together. Here’s the number. We call the number. We are on hold for a while and she asks for the number to my branch were I bank, instead of the claims department. We call the branch. The branch tells her we cannot issue a letter. I called Legal and they said that we cannot. my bank branch gives us another number to call. It is the wrong number, it is a number for reporting credit card fraud, not business account claims. So I again ask her to call the number I gave her and then it appears that we get transfered by my branch bank to the wrong department. I get cut off, I hear music and then Tammy calls back and says that she is on the phone with someon named brandon and that he says that my branch bank will issue the letter I just have to go back in and ask them to write a letter. I told her it was too late to go to the bank and that they were not going to issue the letter. They already told me that. Then Tammy tells me that if they do not issue the letter, I need to threaten to move my accounts to a new bank. Then they will do what I want them to do. I told her that I wasn’t not going to change banks, I didn’t have the desire to do that and my bank wasn’t doing anything wrong. I never ever got to talk to Brandon because I was cut off shortly after I was transferred to him by Tammy. Tammy had to get off the line because Brandon Claimed that he would not talk to me if the conversation was being recorded, by Tammy. When Tammy hung up, I was disconnected from Brandon. I did not hvae his number and I couldn’t call him back. I called Tammy to get his number. She didn’t have it. She couldn’t tell me how to get in touch with him or what department he was with. So I tell Tammy that I will go to the bank tomorrow and ask for the letter but they are not going to give it to me and I am not going to switch banks. I then tell her that I would prefer it if they just send me a check for the 2000 because I cannot tolerate the song and dance I am getting. I spent 9 hours on this today. ( hours of running back and forth to my bank, calling my bank, calling ignite and first data and still nothing. The only thing that I got our of anyone today was this. There is no hold on my bank. Even Tammy admitted that if Ignite/First Data desosited the 2000 it would not be blocked or rejected. She also admitted that if Ignite /First Data debited by account, it too would be honored by my bank. And, finally, Tammy admitted that it was Ignite/First Data that had issued the hold and blocked any more transactions from being processed, but they had to because it was against the law for them to deposit or withdraw any money from my account at this point.
I asked what law, she said the contract and I said what contract, and she said my contract. She claimed “they” were required to follow the law between my bank and First Data. I asked who they were, she said it was the contract. How a contract is a they I don’t know. So I said to her, after she made all sorts of offers to return service fees, cut my current rates in 1/2 and everything else but put the dam money into my account, the only reason that the money isn’t being deposited into my account is that Ignite/First Data won’t do it. Right? She agreed. And when I asked her why, she explained that she needed a letter to lift the hold that Ignite/First Data had put on my account. I asked her why, she said it was to protect them from my bank coming after them for continuing to make transactions with my account after I had claimed one of them was unauthorized. Even though, she knew, the bank knew and I knew and I had admiited 1000 times why I had ordered a stop payment on the 780.00 , and the had reversed the charge back anyway, so we were even, she would not deposit the money. And every time that I said well then just send me a check, she would start to make other offers and ways to fix it, except putting the 2000 into my account. I personally feel that they are doing this intentionally because I had to audacity to circumvent their 10 day long dispute resolution process and go directly to the source to get my money back. Then I did it again, by not letting them take it out when they submitted a debit for more than the amount of the charge back without even and number of name of who was taking the money out. And I figure that they want the letter from the bank so that if the want to debit my account in the future they can just take out any damn amount they want without me being able to claim that it was unauthorized. Austensibly, if my bank did issue that letter, Ignite/First Data could put the 2000 in and then immediately debit my account for 50,000 and I wouldn’t be able to stop it or object to it. Ignite First Data would have unlimited and unfettered discretion to take anything they wanted to, whether it was correct or proper, and I could do nothing to stop them, except file a complaint and go through protracted litigation over the matter. So, at this point, if the money isn’t in my account by noon tomorrow, I will be asking for a criminal investigation because I believe that they have wrongfully converted money that was mine and are refusing to return it to me. I hope that the Feds file a RICO charge against them as well. Given the stealth at which they tell stories and give a great song and dance, I suspect that this isn’t the first time that they have done this. In fact Tammy admitted that they get letters from other banks all the time and that my bank is lying to me when they tell me that they cannot issue that type of letter. Oh, the other song and dance that Tammy gave me was that she was going to make sure that the money was in my account tommorrow and if she couldn’t do it she would talk to the original saleperson who set me up with the account and he could pull some clout and make it happen. So I googled that guy and he hasn’t even worked for Ignite First Data for over 2 years. He works for Oracle now. This is truly ciminal in my opinion.