Overview
In this investigative review, we dig into the operations and reputation Leaders Merchant Services. Our exploration covers a wide range of critical aspects, from the company’s rates and fees, to the specifics of their contract terms. We examine common complaints and scrutinize the industry ratings, providing a view of the company’s reputation among credit card processors.
A significant section of our review is devoted to analyzing employee and user reviews, which shed light on both the internal functioning of Leaders Merchant Services and its public perception. We will dig into the company’s marketing tactics, raising questions about the ethicality of its approach, especially concerning Leaders Merchant Services ratings on various merchant account review websites.
Additionally, we’ll present an in-depth look at Leaders Merchant Services’ Point of Sale solutions, particularly its promotion of the Clover product line. We will evaluate its payment acceptance capabilities, covering the company’s range of payment options, including card processing hardware and mobile payment solutions.
Moreover, we won’t shy away from discussing the less favorable aspects of the Leaders Merchant Services. We will analyze its reputation and ethical issues, providing insights into the numerous complaints and lawsuits the company has faced, which question their credibility in the market.
Lastly, we touch upon the broader context of the company’s business practices within the payment processing industry, offering a perspective on how Leaders Merchant Services fits into the larger payment ecosystem. We aim equip business owners with all the necessary information to make informed decisions about Leaders Merchant Services and understand whether this credit card processor is right for your merchant services needs.
About Leaders Merchant Services
Established in 2000, Leaders Merchant Services is a merchant account provider that serves businesses of most sizes. The company specializes in retail credit card processing and e-commerce merchant accounts, enabling merchants to process “swiped” card-present transactions as well as “keyed” card-not-present transactions. Leaders was acquired by iPayment (now Paysafe Group) in November 2017. Leaders Merchant Services is a First Data (now Fiserv) reseller.
Reputation and Ethical Issues
Leaders Merchant Services ranks among the poorest-scoring credit card processors in the merchant account industry. Its acquisition by PaySafe group does not seem to have repaired many of the issues reported by current and former merchant services clients. We encourage readers of this article to pay special attention to the “Reviews and Complaints” section below.
Questionable Marketing Tactics
There are numerous “merchant account review” websites that list Leaders Merchant Services and other Paysafe subsidiaries as industry-leading credit card processors and “best” picks. These review websites appear to be owned by, or heavily influenced by, Paysafe or possibly under the control of Paysafe’s Canadian subsidiary IA Digital Marketing Inc. It appears that Paysafe may also be buying “top ratings” for Leaders Merchant Services on other “pay-to-play review” websites wherein top rankings are sold to the highest bidders, often without disclosure of such activities. Most of these websites appear to saturate the “sponsored” results at the top and bottom of search results pages when researching Paysafe subsidiaries and competitors. The following websites appear to be owned or heavily influenced by Leaders Merchant Services or Paysafe, or offer pay-to-play rankings:
Possible Fake Review Marketing Channels:
- thetop10sites.com
- idealcomparison.com
- top10.com
- best10creditcardprocessing.com
- compareguroo.com
- toppaymentprocessing.com
- best-ccp.com
- comparisun.com
- websiteplanet.com
- topcreditcardprocessors.com
Sister Companies
Leaders Merchant Services is a subsidiary under the umbrella of Paysafe Group along with the following U.S. merchant services brands, most of which have poor reviews:
- Flagship Merchant Services
- Openbucks Corp.
- Paysafe Merchant Services Corp.
- Paysafe Direct LLC
- Paysafecard.com USA Inc.
- Paysafe Payment Processing Solutions LLC
- Paysafe Capital, LLC
- Skrill USA
Dave Adams
I have never been treated this bad from any business anywhere. I received an email that they were closing my account. The “notice” email was curt and to the point. At first, I thought it was a scam. I talked to customer service and a “specialist”. I was told there was a “problem” because I did not respond to an email. I still don’t know why they shut down my account.
Avoid this company like the plague. I asked them if they wanted to keep my as a customer, and I guess I would have to find another processer. They said “I guess, you will have to and click, they hung up the phone.”
Still don’t know exactly what happened.
Wadie S Issawi
I been dealing with the Leaders Merchant services for only 8 months since the first month they been charging me 3.6% according to our contract the charges must be no more than 1.5% they claim that all the credit card that I get in my motel consider as None Qualify cards even though they inform me from day one that the none qualify cards are Government credit card navy all branches and out side the U S credit card, I never get any of those card in at all most my customer are local, till now they refuse to pay me back the over charges total of $765.36 when I called their office they can not understand what that mean none qualify cards I file many complain hoping I get my money back soon, by the way I cancel my account with them.
MICHAEL T BOYLIN
VERY POOR SERVICE GAMES GAMES AND MORE GAMES 59.99 FOR PCI FEES AND THEY LIE AND STEAL MONEY EVERY CHANCE THAT THEY GET GOING TO LAWYER UP
Dan
We started using Leaders, The Merchant Services Company in May-2021. In those 2 years our account has been under “REVIEW” twice and credit card charges were blocked from being deposited into our bank account. The company that is in charge of the “REVIEW” is called PaySafe Group. The current “REVIEW” started on April 10, 2023 and is ongoing. We have not had any credit card charges deposited into our bank account since the “REVIEW” started. We did not know our account was under review until May 4th, 2023 which was 25 days after the review started. We learned about the “REVIEW” when we received an email from PaySafe Group requesting documentation, which we forwarded on May 5th, 2023. We was told on May 8th the review was complete and the money would be deposited into our account. On May 16th, 2023 We contacted PaySafe Group because the money was still not deposited into our bank account. I spoke to someone named Steve that worked at PaySafe Group (he refused to give me his last name) and was told that my account was still under review and our company would need to forward 3 months of bank statements. When I complained that our money had already been held up for 36 days Steve told me that our company was a liability to Leaders and that PaySafe could hold our funds for up to 6 months. During my conversation with Steve he was curt, rude and unprofessional.
The trend that I notice with PaySafe Group is they tell you the review will only take a couple of days and request documentation. When the couple of day has expired PaySafe Group will request more documentation. In this manner PaySafe Group drags the “REVIEW” process out making it take longer than expected. The process could take could take days, weeks or months. When you deal with PaySafe Group expect to be lied to by their employees. Any company dealing with PaySafe Group should expect to as treated as though you are guilty until proven innocent.
C Neanover
Leaders merchant services almost caused our business to shut down overnight. We provide products that most payment providers do not want to cover and through research found that we may get approved through a high risk payment provider. We came across leaders and applied, we went through the phone interview and filled out the application with the help of a representative all over the phone. We were completely honest and transparent as can be, they ran our information, checked into our business, combed our website, we went through a full underwriting process and eventually we were approved. The help they said for integration we would receive was non-existent. We hired a company online and their online shopping cart that was custom built never worked right, which is a whole separate issue, and we almost shut down because of that. After finding a platform that already had an integration for authorize.net, which is the gateway leaders connected us with, we were fine for over a year. Our business was bringing in around 1-3 thousand a day so between 30,000 to 90,000 a month. Then without warning payments would not go through. It took , several calls to customer service, chats, it took us two days to find the issue, without anyone notifying us our contract had been given to payroc or ipay or something, I am still unclear or they bought them out, I was never told anything I could understand. They did say one of the reasons was leaders lied about our products and called them something they are not so they could get us approved and when they did a secret shop on us they did not cover our products after all or was choosing to no longer accept payments for them. They LIED on our application, this whole hardship was because they LIED just to get us approved and get the commission. It is sickening out of nowhere they decided they no longer wanted to accept payments for our products and closed down our payment gateway, no warning, no excessive chargebacks, we were above par, no nothing. We were owed almost 6 thousand dollars because they were always 4-5 days behind on payments, we never got it. When called we were told they refunded two days worth of orders we had already shipped out to the customers without reason. However, the customers said they never received a refund and we were out close to 10,000 dollars. This has been just over a year ago and we still have not fully recovered from the damages. That is not to mention the deep mental strain, depression, hardships, and extreme stress this has caused me and my fiance. This is the single worst experience of our lives and almost cost us our home, family, and livelihood.
Jennifer
Watch for the fake “best credit card processors” website — it pays to come up first and ranks Leaders as the best.
I fell for it. The salesman was sunshine and roses. The processing gadget never worked – how funny that they got several percent more from me because I had to key everything in. The salesman “just call me if you have any problems” never returned or answered calls. I wasted hours of my and my customers’ time trying to get the defective swipe thing to work. It never did. They sent me a new one — with no indication that they were going to charge me if I didn’t return the old one, no address where to send it either. The only way I found out was asking.
Phillip CPO
Hi Jennifer, if you can find the website that mislead you, I recommend reporting it to Google. You can do this by clicking three little dots that show up next to the web address after you do your search.
Clinton Stevenson
Hidden fees, poor customer service, raised rates every month.
Beverley Terrelonge
I returned their card reader on January 29, 2022. Card reader cost $42.60. I was told by Drew Copeland, initial contact, that there was no monthly fee. After I closed the account they withdrew $31.25 which was an unauthorized withdrawal and my account was frozen and locked. Spent 2 hours resecuring my account. This company has caused me nothing but grief. Please stay away from them.
Hannah
I was told there were no fees, no minimums, and that all I had to pay for was the card processor. I have been charged monthly fees, I was charged for a whole month of September (when I got approved for the account September 29 and didn’t even have a reader yet) on top of thinking there were no fees. I find out there’s monthly fees after, then a month later find out there’s a minimum I have to reach (which I can’t which is why I confirmed before signing up that there won’t be minimums). Also, I filed for a refund for the first month in October after finding out what happened, I never received the refund. Still having issues cancelling the account.
D Rauch
I was told there was No fees and No hidden charges, I must say that I have been paying both since I started the service a year ago. I was unfamiliar with what PCI compliant was and after I saw my charges were getting even higher for Leaders, I had reached out prior with very little to no response. Once I threatened to leave reviews then seems as if things became a lot clearer to me what I needed to do. I am very upset with this company. They offered to reimburse 3 months of theses “fees”, although that is unsatisfactory to me, I will be canceling my service after my reimbursement.
Dionne Garraway
Leaders merchant service put a freeze on my money. And charging me all kind of hidden fees. I contact my lawyer and am going to file a class action lawsuit against them.
I also contact the BBB.
I am going to called my bank fraud department and MasterCard cooperate office.
I am going to file a report federal trade commission.
I am going to do a social media live tagging my senate Rep Chuck schemer
Shereana Buchanan
I am so grateful to see this! I was a very new merchant and the first of only 2 of my first calls was a scammer.. Leaders risk management has my legitimate funds, a mere $170.00,( but I run a very small housekeeping business!) They are holding my money ..it’s been months and noone at the co replies to my emails. I am a poor and uneducated woman,just trying to earn an honest living. A friend mentioned I should get a provider bcz my business would grow if Iwas able to accept credit card payments. Reading these comments has helped me. If there are any known ,( for there’s NO WAY I COULD ever afford an attorney! )
But if you, or anybody reading these comments has knowledge of any options I have.. I just feel so used, played, and foolish.
Blake Griffin
Yes, this company is awful. Ive been signed up for 2 months and still havent received my credit card payments. Cindy in customer service was one of the rudest people Ive ever dealt with. They completely refused to help and atually acted like they didnt care. There are mu h better cheaper options.
Latoya Coleman
This company is the worst please to NOT do business here. I signed up and have NEVER used the service. They keep attempting to take funds from my account that is not there. I have closed the account and they are still attempting to take funds from me. This is ridiculous, I called and spoke to someone and they clearly see that I have never used thief service and that the account had been closed and their saying I have a balance of $171 for non use of service. They told me that I need to speak with their collection agency, this place is a scam. I wouldn’t advise no one to do business her go else where.
Christina Ho
this is not i want to do business with , no one can’t help when i call they transfer one person to other they not nice on the phone . This how your company treats customer ????
Escaped the Circus
I had the very unfortunate experience of working for this company. It was the shadiest, most unethical, abusive, HR nightmare, immoral, narcissistic, dishonest group of people I’ve ever experienced. They are crooks and are proud of it. The sh*t starts at the top with the mentally unstable brothers, their backstabbing sister, and criminal father who thinks he’s the Godfather or something. So disappointed to see they’re still in business. They shouldn’t be allowed to operate. Sounds like they’re still trying to pull off the “if you don’t mark the box, that means you want the service” bullsh*t. I argued with the father on this point and he manipulated the entire conversation trying to convince me if people are stupid and don’t read their contracts, it’s their fault for being charged hidden fees. Someone needs to investigate this circus and pull the plug on it.
Richard s smith
I processed a credit card through their services and discovered 9 days later that it was not in my bank. I have repeatedly called their customer support and been handed off to various departments. Long story short I still don’t have my money even though I have their receipt and approval form. I will be filing complaints with the SEC and other agencies on September 10, 2021.
Lise Schiffer
Horrible customer service and duplicitous practices. Despite multiple requests, I have never gotten a statement from them about how I’m being charged; they simply debit my bank account for twice the agreed upon rate and refuse to answer my emails. I will be filing a complaint with the BBB.
Tracey Groux
Dishonest, shady, unreal, never seen anything like it
Ana Ras
The app and the device work as advertised. My problem with this company and the reason why I am cancelling the service is that it was my understanding per discussions with sales that there were no monthly fees besides the percentage they take from each transaction. Our business is a medical office and the payments we receive are small as they are mostly copays. The reason to have it mostly is to provide an additional service for our patients in terms of them being able to pay the copay at the office instead of receiving a bill in the mail.
To my surprise, after a couple months our bank statement showed two fees adding up to about 130 dollars on top of the percentage of the fees. I called the company and they said that these were “compliance fees” and we had to respond to a technical questionnaire in order to have them waived. I explained that we are too busy to spare staff that can respond to this questionnaire and that we collected a total of less than 200 hundred dollars in the month of April and the fees came up to over 120 on top of the percentage of the transactions. I also explained that I had specifically inquired about hidden fees in my conversation with sales. I am cancelling the service but I want people to know about this before they sign up. Thank you.
Errin Reynolds
Worst Merchant account EVER! Ripped us off of $400.00- Do not use this company!!!
Alan Tuma
I was in retail for 20yrs. Years later I started a service business. Wasn’t going to use leader but had inquired. Salesman called made some good promises. After using leaders I find out they are worst cc company I have ever used. After two weeks of my first charge I still haven’t seen my money. Had to jump through hoops to say they will pay. Never use Merchant leaders or any company associated with pay safe
Laurie
Absolutely the worst company. They will take your take your money and make you go through months of BS to get it back. Getting ready to report to the better business. Do not use this company!
PAOLO Mugnaini
Leaders in scam.
John E Cook
I’m submitting this review in the hope it will save others from the tangled web and slick methods of Leaders Merchants Provider. We had not accepted credit cards until March of 2020 when Coronavirus-19 began forcing people to rethink contact with others. They began requesting credit card pay methods. Our research led us to the TOP 10 MERCHANT PROVIDERS LIST, Which listed LEADERS MERCHANTS as No. 1. this list is bogus as there is no legit criteria used to ascertain this ranking. The “list” is put together by a foreign company named Natural Intelligence, LTD. They maintain numerous “BEST” lists on various subjects and receive payments from those on the list.
We contacted Leaders to explore their system and if it would fit our needs. Our contact was an ‘agent’ in California. He explained their role in credit card processing and quoted some attractive rates. He also requested company info (Name, taxID, corp info, email) and banking info (routing number, acct number) so he could check our ‘credit worthiness’, whether we were a ‘real’ business’, and if our bank account was functional. Being new to the process these seemed reasonable and we complied. We continued our search for the right merchant fit, looking at numerous other providers before choosing a provider that fit our needs. It was NOT Leaders. However, we began receiving emails from them to join an online training session. We DID NOT respond and received no training , equipment, or virtual terminal from them. Months went by before it caught our attention that small amounts were being taken each month from our account through the ACH system. They were different amounts each month charged by a company called PAYSAFE, located in London, United Kingdom. If you want some interesting reading on international hokus-pokus look it up on wikipedia. Our Bank put a stop payment on the account, but Leaders came back with a different account identifier and withdrew a larger sum. They have learned a lot of nebulous methods and will use them to their advantage. It turns out the California “agent” used the information he requested for a “credit check” to set up an account in our name so he could collect his fees and bonus. We received NOTHING from Leaders. NO account notification, NO hardware, NO terminal, NO training, NO manuals, NO statements , NO explanation, NO thanks for your business (HA-HA), but we have not given up. Sorry this is long, but hopefully it will help the next guy. Our biggest mistake was to give too much information to the narcissistic “agent” . Thanks for reading!
NEWRULES
LEADERS IS A SCAM – SAVE YOUR MONEY. THEY ADD FEES WITHOUT CONSENT, THAT YOU HAVE TO OPT OUT. IVE BEEN GETTING CHARGED 59.99 FOR 3 YEARS BC I HAVE NOT COMPETED A PCI SURVEY! WOWZERRS
Mark Desiderio
Absolutely the worst experience with a Merchant Account Company in my 20 years in business. Both misleading and dishonest. Provided no customer service at all whatsoever, tried numerous times to get through and was always rerouted and told to go online. After closing my account they’re trying to say I still owe them more by hiring a collection agency.
AZ Metro Towing LLC
Leaders Should be known as Scammers they are the worst i have ever dealt with! The customer service is horrible and the fees are excessive not to mention 7 days to receive my money in the bank!! this is upsurged to say the least after arguing with customer service for months i finally had enough i cancelled with the 350.00 dollar cancellation fee!!!
Joanne
I have used them and they have the WORST CYSTO ER SERVICE EVER. They are scammers in
Jennifer S. Alton
Can someone find an attorney to start a class action lawsuit please!! I searched the internet and Leaders came up as the VERY BEST ! ( I did not see this site, June 2019). I do think their site is manipulated in some way. Immediately, I started to accrue strange fees but didn’t notice it at first as I didn’t think it would be necessary to check the Iportal.com on the internet. I was never told of any other fees other than the standard ones I was charged like from the bank credit card processing. In over a year , I was charged over $1000 of bogus fees. There was over 8 hours of multiple call to customer service. They say they care and they will try to do anything but it is all BS talk. The don’t refund any fees.
I didn’t think I had any recourse at the bank so I didn’t pursue it. After reading about the cancellation fee ( another fee never mentioned from Leader’s ) I called my bank today. They said yes they can put a stop payment to specifically block withdrawals from Leaders. ( I could of done it months ago ! ) There was no need to close the account.
I also am going to dispute previous charges re their bogus breakdowns for what they were for.
THIS COMPANY IS A TOTAL SCAM . WARNING !!! WARNING!! Call your Bank’s Fraud department and block them by stop payment route. US Bank waived Stop Payment charge without me asking….
CPO
Jennifer,
We offer to consult merchants on how and if they are able to get refunds for fees and other charges they should not have incurred. This service is free, you may want to submit a statement for us to analyze.
Andrew Montemayor
Warning to any business considering starting with this merchant service. My company initially reached out to Leaders with hopes that we could save money by switching to them. The sales person that I spoke to (Rob Nugent) was very cheerful/helpful and persistent with selling us the service that we inquired about, bringing forth massive savings, leaving me daily emails and calling constantly to gain our business. Finally, after discussing many detailed aspects of our business and the service we would require, contracts were signed. Shortly after this, we were put into contact with their “Installation team” (Robyn Alvarez and Zachary Hatcher), only to find out that we were sold something that could not be provided (a direct integration with Quickbooks Online). So we peacefully concluded that things would not work out, contracts would be voided, and no charges would be deducted from our accounts. It is now 6 months later and we have been charged an amount every month since, that comes directly out of our bank account. I have reached out to Leaders Merchant Service several times, regarding this situation, only to be told that the “Installation” team (Robyn Alvarez and Zachary Hatcher) that helped us, are no longer with the company. When we ask to be transferred to the sales rep (Rob Nugent), that helped us, we are told that he would not be able to help us with this situation. Resulting in the “Cancellation” department reaching out to us, stating that we would have to pay the contract cancellation fee to completely end business with them. Mind you, we have not processed even one transaction through this service.
Leader Merchant Service has completely taken advantage of the situation. It seems the only solution, is to keep up with the charges, that are deducted from our bank account, and continue to report them as fraudulent charges.
Our experience with Leaders has made us extremely cautious about doing business with any other merchant service.
Beware, and DO NOT sign anything before testing out the service for yourself
CPO
Hey Andrew,
This article should help: How to Cancel a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee.
-Phillip
Darren Isaacs
I absolutely am not happy with them.
I have tried to get them to stop talking money out of my account.
Everytime I call i get put on hold and eventually disconnected.
I have left call back request and never get a call back.
I have sent the equipment back in the manner they requested but they still take money out monthly.
CPO
Darren,
This article should help: How to Cancel a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee.
-Phillip
ross banfield
Disappointed with fee creep on agreement. Will cancel service and take $350 hit (early termination fee) to move on.
Carl Syslo
Leaders worked well untill you had an issue. First, their support staff only works on the week days. So if you have a problem on the weekend, your screwed. In addition, their hours are on PST so if your on the east coast you will need to wait an additional 3 hours to get the support you need. Watch for hidden fees. We canceled the service after 3 years and was hit with a $250 fee. Due an in depth analysis ask a lot of questions and get it in writing before you subscribe
Marjorie
When I spoke to the representative there were two main things I got interested about:
1.- one monthly fee of 9.99 and the charge per transaction.
2.- you can cancel anytime without charges.
I signed up for it… Then it nightmare starts.
As soon as you sing there is absolutely no response from them. I contacted via email the agent to notify I haven’t received the device to start using the service. I called the call center and they told me UPSP has confirmed the device was left at the mailbox but I never got it. I requested it to be sent to my home address, which is a very quiet and safe neighborhood, by this I mean it couldn’t have been stolen or anything… With mail a lot of thing could have happened, maybe left at a neighbor mailbox, or just whatever. They should request signature for this kind of charging devices being delivered. But anyways I insisted the device was never received and what could be the solution on that situation… I was AMAZED the response was “we have the shipping confirmation that it was left at your mailbox, so we can’t do anything on our end since it’s your fault”?????? Seriously????
Immediately I requested my contract to be canceled (remember I was told I could cancel anytime). My surprise was that I would have to pay a 450 fee for early cancelation?!
I reached again to the agent who luckily pick up the call, I let him know of the situation and he got all exalted saying that he could have never said that I could cancel any time and that the monthly fee is 9.99, in addition he said “all my calls are recorded”… So that was my way out, I asked him if we could get that recording so we could listen to it together.
He totally avoided my request and told me “I’ll talk to the customer service guys to solve it out” and immediately hang out without letting me say anything else.
5 days after that call I trying calling again, no response. Next day called again, no response. Thrid day attempt to contact him, nothing. I sent him an email requesting follow-up with my case, nothing.
This is day 7 after that email and yesterday I called at 8am, 10am, 12pm and 3pm. He would simply not answer my calls. And of I try any other phone number of the company, they will say “I can’t do anything you have to contact him”
Mendy Rothchild
Customer service is a nightmare
Be aware of the cancellation and termination fee. 250-350 and good luck calling them.
dave mattice
For me, I was told it would cost less than the one I was using. The one I was using was under 4%
I Tried Leaders for 6 months
They processed 250.
It would have cost less that 10. with the other.
In that time Leaders charged 430.
Then another 350 to cancel.
That might work for some,,, but not me. It was cost effective to pay the 350 to rid myself of this cancer. I have to believe any good reviews are selected or bought and paid for.
David Sheppard
We switched from Leader Merchant Services to Square Up. We had not realized that we signed a 3 year contract with Leader Merchant Services that caused us to be billed $350.00 to shut it down 27 months early!
We were never able to use the credit card services for a customer due to the Application Upgrade from Mobile Pay to “Pay Safe”. Leader services customer services has limited “real person” customer service and they contract the Chip and Card Reader out to another company so you can’t just make one phone call for everything.
Square Up does not have a contract that would charge us to cancel. Their fees are competitive or cheaper and provide similar management software.
I would never recommend Leader Merchant Services for anything!
Diane Gebhardt
Someone needs to take action against this company. They are thieves. The sales people mention nothing about early cancellation and monthly fees Somehow they have manipulated the referral rating on the internet to get people to believe they are a 9.8 rated company, when in fact they are thieves. It is extremely frighten that they have direct account information to my bank account.
Jeffrey Parks
Exactly, someone really needs to try to get the attorney general involved to investigate them. This kind of deceptive fraudulent behaviour has been going on way way too long. It has to be by design to bilk its customers (aka victims). I had a similar experience with them over 10 years ago, deceptive advertising, mysterious ACH debits and non-existent customer service that seem trained to delay and frustrate any legitimate customer enquiries. Nothing appears to have changed in the least bit. The amount of complaints on them is ridiculously high and its really time for the regulatory authorities to take some action on them, it’s just wrong to let them continue on year after year intentionally scamming people.
CPO
Jeffrey,
This article may help: Reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
-Phillip
Diane Gebhardt
The company is a rip off. I told the sales person from the get go that I would only need the service for 1 month and at no point did he tell me there was an early termination charge. They pop up as the number one merchant service company when searching for this service. There is a highly likely chance that they have manipulated the system to such. They should be investigated and a class action lawsuit should be filed against them. They are thieves. At no point was I ever told that there was a 30 day trial period. I never would have signed up because I only planned on using the payment card for one month in the month of December 2019. I was being proactive and signed up for the card in September. Than I started to receive monthly fees in Oct despite the fact I did not use the service and cancelled in November/ After sending back the card reader thinking my cancellation was complete, they then charged my bank account $350.00 for an early cancelation fee. Again, they are thieves and should be put out of business.
Sam
Well another sucker has got taken . I am a current victim of Leaders. Rep made it sound good told me a bunch of lies .After reading the contract decided to cancel with less than 24 hours from agreeing to contract. Still charged me 350.00.After two people told me there would be no charge. Be careful out there people . Can’t believe they can operate a business like this . Thats my two cents .
Garwood Weatherhead
The worst customer service I’ve ever had! We just cancelled our reader because we couldn’t even get anyone on the phone there to verify one of the charges we made to a client. Don’t ever use this company!!! They are pathetic!
Carlos Morales
RUN!!!!!!!!!
Steve
My advice. If you didn’t read their reviews before starting, close your bank account affiliated with them. Otherwise they will steal from you.
Olga Sellers
Total scam – promised no cancelation fee – no hidden fees- blah blahhh – They charged me $350.,,,,
For canceIation fee!!!!plus a lot of money in hidden fees was charged $34 on only $ taken in. Misc service fee- $5 Misc reg fee$4.95 – charged for – Worst was they are the same company I left for hidden fees – IPayment – Leaders gets thier mail to the EXACT same adress – but every employee says Oh we share some business. WOW what an illegal scam they got going. RUN thay are htreating a $300 cancelation after one month and oh so many other hidden “I think I can steal from you” charges. When prompted by a service rep why I was leaving she suddenly could better my rate- “i should be paying this much” Then why was it set up this way – “She didn’t know. RUN FROM THESE FRAUDULENT scam artists……
This company is a criminal organization!
Catalina Muniz
this company not even call me for training and they are charging me already. My account is not even completed. I want to cancel my account but there is no one to talk about this. They promised to call me and they haven’t do so. How can I cancel my account? Help Thank you
Mary Fazzini
STAY AWAY
LIES AND DECIET
WORST COMPANY EVER
SALES AGENT REBECCA WILLOWS
STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY
Eunice Hernandez
Thiefs! Watch out for fees you had no knowledge about nor signed off on. You will never get a call back from your complaints, or open tickets. They must follow a script because they don’t mind any attention to your concern even when stating undeniable facts. I would stay away 10000000% from this merchant! You will have many headaches and no resolutions from them.
Dee Green
Scammers that will steal money from the business account under any different deceptive reasons. Cancellation fee after few years of business and a lot of hidden chargers. One of the worst merchants.Beware.
chad parrish
They are scandalous. They contacted me about taking me to court. They sent me what I signed but the page with the early cancellation fees was not signed.
Mariam
Absolute fraudsters – will take your money without providing any sort of communication or customer support. Scammers. Please save yourself the pain of dealing with these cheats and use someone more reputable.
This post will help: Why Credit Card Processors Hold Funds
-Phillip
MARK HOWeRD
These people are liars and scammers. Do not give them your bank account information as they will begin withdrawing money from your bank account at will. The form that must be faxed in order to close your account goes to a fax number that is no longer in service. Do yourself a favor and do not get involved with this company!
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
Paul Daniels
Don’t bother with this company. They have hidden fees like the $129 yearly fee for “security” they don’t tell you about. I have other fees, like the “non-use fee” I’m trying to get someone to tell what it’s about.
The person, Rhett, that signed me up told me he would always be available to answer questions. i’ve contacted him three times and he doesn’t email me back.
Find a different company is my recommendation.
This post will help: Eliminate Hidden Fees From Your Monthly Bill
-Phillip
KASONDRA WEBB
I will never do business with this company ever again. I will make sure to tell everyone not to be apart of this company. This company sounds nice at first with the $15 a month, but then what they dont tell you is they charge you 7.95 twice a month just to use the credit card machine and then they charge you $ for not even using it $41.90, $119,$200 here and there every month its a different price they take from you. And then when you cancel it said it could be $250-350 no they charge you the whole $350 and then after you cancel they still take money out of your account and will say its for something and get away with it. I hate this company they steal from people that dont deserve it. I was going to start a business up with my BF and it fell through so thy are taking money away that i am not even making. they dont give a crap about no one but them selves. They suck. I will be going to the BBB and state attorney. Good day.
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
TOM LEWIS
Charged $350 cancellation fee when I never signed up for their service. Terrible! Two others did not do that.
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
chad parrish
The cancellation charge is ridiculous. Customer support is horrible. Has anyone not paid the cancellation fee?
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
Tiffany Hale
I have had Leaders since December. I have been extreme unhappy with them. I was told fees would be .15 with an .18 transaction fee. I explained to them I am a small business and didn’t do a lot of processing and they said that was fine. They told me it would cost $4.95 monthly and I would have no other fee’s. They did inform me of $350 for early termination. I have yet to see a month anywhere close to .15. They charge because I don’t meet a certain amount each month, they charge more because ALL my clients are using cards that do not qualify for lowest rate, and they charge me for the equipment that I was told was free. I wished I didn’t have a business and a personal account. It would cost me $700 to get out of this contract. And if you have to deal with MIKE FORD … BEWARE. He is not honest about anything at all. He got us in this mess and will not talk to us about our issues. Not to mention a lot of our customers have to run out to ATM’s and get cash because their card won’t even process. THIS COMP AY IS A JOKE. DO NOT USE THEM!
This post will help: Find and Eliminate Hidden Fees in Your Monthly Bill
-Phillip
alon tsukor
people this company is a scam. dont apply for this merchant. i worked with them 2 weeks and i canceled my account. i have a legit established business with papers and everything. after my second transaction they suspended for a review. the review took them a week and still no answer. i keep calling them they are saying wait. some lady name Michelle.
like after i signed up with sqaure is 10 times better then this. first they make all this promises but everything is a scam. i had a limit of spending $20.000 a month. i did 2 transaction all together it was $3500. and they said its a new account and all this BS. i stopped working with this company. i wouldn’t recommend anyone to work with them. your business is just going to stop in a middle of a day and they don care.
This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money
alona tsukor
is there a place where we can complain and have this company shut down. because they are totally a scam. they are making money by scamming people. i hope people read all this comments before signing up with them. i just feel bad whoever signed up with them already.
LEADERS YOU GUYES ARE SCAM AND YOU WILL BE SHUT DOWN SOON.
This post will help: How to Report Bad Credit Card Processors
-Phillip
Andrew larivee
I agree they scammed me and stole my money and everytime I call to get it back they said its a valid charge and mock me…. Terrible customer service and a fraudulent company
Lowell Noble
This company was fraudulent. They offered a no fees account and told me that there was no fee to cancel. It started with charging me $75 for a scanner than never arrived. They said I had to purchase another one that they mailed it, without insurance or tracking. There was a $350 cancelation fee in contract that I missed but I was lied to by sales. I was charged $1.75 for a couple of months then they decided to bill me $59.12 in fees after the 4th month and when complained they said they notified me, which they didn’t and that I could always cancel my contract. When I canceled they hit me with a $350 fee. I didn’t make a single credit card charge and am out over $500. Please re-evaluate this company. It is a scam.
This post will help: Cancelling Your Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
Russell Anderson
This company is a joke. They offered competitive rates, so i signed up and everything went down hill from there. After three and one half weeks we could not process credit cards. They sent three bad machines which were returned with proof of return. Leaders never could get our business names right even though correct on the applications. Their Customer Service Team Refused service when calling in and equipment would not work. Out of frustration because not being able to process credit cards, I pulled the plug. They then billed me delivery fees for broken equipment, cancellation fees for services never provided and the finally straw billed be for equipment that was returned and signed for at Leaders. In addition their PCI process requires an IT expert to respond to. They are refusing to return my funds, so small claims court looks like a good option. If you are looking for Merchant Services KEEP LOOKING, these guys are worse than bad.
This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Dentists
-Phillip
Victor
I had to pay $20 for service I never had a chance to use because they disabled my week long account. They never told me why the account was disabled. Don’t believe them when they say there is no termination fee. There is absolutely a termination fee of $300.
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
ed mcmullin
Not worth the time or money.
1. Signed up at one rate within 8 months I was charged over 200 is “Additional Fees” only after several hours waiting on the phone I got some of them waived.
2. Support: If you expect someone to pick up the phone on the other end within an hour your dreaming.
3. Marketing tactics: I got an email said with the fine print reading; “If I don’t unsubscribe to this new trial service I will be billed every month.
4. More tactics. On my statement page 2 there was a note saying next month we are raining you fees. If you don’t agree call now. Who reads the fine print? Went from $1.25 pr month to $60 per month.
5. Cancelling the service: don’t expect this to be free either even though it is in your contract.
Otherwise – stay as far away for these guys as you can. Don’t be fooled by low initial rates. They will raise them within a year.
This post will help: Find and Eliminate Hidden Fees in Your Monthly Bill
-Phillip
Isaac
They are scamming liars do not go with leaders merchant services it will cost you way more money and headache then any other service! Do not sign up with them. They belong in jail! They will tell you you’ll get a lower interest rate and no monthly fees to get you to go for it but when they signed the agreement for you and then send you the email with the contract it is way different!!
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
Anne Meurer
Beware! We have a great credit card company, but were looking around and comparing fees. I contacted Leaders to see how their rates compared to our current company. They said I had to fill out an application to see what their rates were. The next thing I know I have a credit card terminal at my door. I emailed them immediately letting them know that we never agreed to do business with them, we were just comparing rates. I sent the terminal back on 12-28-18. I thought we were done with them, but on 3-14-19 they charged us a $350 early termination fee! Now I’m fighting with them to get that back to us. Do not sign anything! Also, when I was shopping around they were borderline harassing us. Calling us four times a day and emailing us when we didn’t answer. When I was displeased that they sent us a terminal I emailed them and called and I couldn’t get anyone to respond to me. They’re very helpful, too helpful, when they want your business, but if you have any concerns or don’t want to use their business they are a ghost town. Please don’t make the same mistake we made for our small, family owned business. This has been a nightmare.
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
-Phillip
Jenn B
DO NOT SIGN UP with this company!!! Signing a contract with Leaders Merchant was the BIGGEST MISTAKE! In my line of business – Construction – I was looking for a CC merchant with a low monthly fee – knowing that I was only going to use their services maybe 1 x a month, if that. After speaking to my rep David Gallant (who no longer answers my calls or emails) it sounded like the perfect company – low rates – low monthly fees – cancel when I no longer needed it because I didn’t have any devices everything was internet based etc. First time I ran a CC – to my surprise the card didn’t fit within their “tier” so I was charged the hIghest rate 3.9 (I believe) I chalked it up to – 1 card didn’t fit into the 1st tier – 2nd time – same thing – accept now my monthly charge increased because they had to take out the remaining percentage – again maxed out the allowable merchant percentage. Month after month I called them and complained about bogus additional monthly charges or hidden fee that was never disclosed – they had an answer for everything – My last straw was when I decided NOT to Use the CC services anymore- they CHARGED me a NON-USAGE fee!!!!! I was livid – I called to cancel and get reimbursed for the non- usage fee. They told me that I was under contract and that cancellation will be $350. I decided to just pay the $10-12monthly fees to finish out the remainder of the 3 yr contract (David never answered me back when I questioned the cancellation penalty) they told me they had my verbal consent on the cancellation fee. I asked for a copy – they told me they would call me back with it – NOPE never did. So I placed a stop payment on my business checking account – they came in under a different name and debited my account. I immediately placed another stop payment under their 2nd name and It was rejected. Months later – I received a collections notice in the mail – to save my name / credit I bit the bullet and paid the cancellation fee. Lesson learned!!!! LEADERS Merchant is not whatbtbey claim to be!!!
This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Construction
– Phillip
Emin Izzat
Avoid!! Avoid!! The merchant forcefully closed my account after 20 days of credit card processing claiming account has a high risk (out of 25 transactions 15 were cross border with a domestic delivery addresses to the fulfillment center). I obviously have no control who buys it online especially in the first weeks of the small business start up. Shipped multiple items and the merchant stated that the transactions occurred during the cancellation and were not included in the settlement batch. I learned about it a week after the account was closed and the items were shipped to the buyer. Lost $650.00 of sale if buyers decide not to pay. Merchant requested no information to investigate the account in good faith prior to closing nor advised that some of the transactions were not included in the batch to help prevent avoidable losses. Complete disregard of care for the client. To top these all, just find out that they charged me $350.00 for early termination fees. Would’n you love to have such a business where you can close out accounts early and earn easy $350.00. They need to stand up to their name and learn to become true leaders.
This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for High Risk
– Phillip
Bernadette I Villanueva
customer service is not good. they put you on hold and no one wants to talk to you
This post will help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service
– Phillip
Jennifer Anderson
I have been charged exorbitant fees that are not part of my original contract. After days of being transferred from one “customer service” rep. to another, and so on, hung up on, transferred to an extension that has options that give you the exact same options, again and again, no matter which option you choose. I have not only wasted a ton of money, but also weeks of my time. My contract was cancelled, finally, but I am still being charged a fee for the gateway service. A service to which I have no explanation, name, contact information, or anything. And now the shenanigans begin again! Transferred, told they can’t do that, that I can’t cancel this, and put on hold/ transferred to no one. I just tried to call again, to have the recording tell me that I am the 115,000th call that will be answered. I have never had such horrible customer service, contact, support, expenditure of money for NOTHING!
This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
– Phillip
Chad Slaughter
This was a total nightmare dealing with this company. They may give you a rate which sounds great but you better get ready down the road, mine went up to 4.5%, you have t o wait forever to a get a person on the phone with to talk too on top of that. They put a 3 yr agreement in with a $350 early termination fee, I would NEVER agree to a 3 yr deal on anything!!!! Was told there would be no monthly minimums or fees, total BS!! Steer clear from this company unless you are just wanted to throw money away
This post will help: Eliminate Overcharges From Your Monthly Bill Without Switching
– Phillip
Ashley hayes
I haven’t been able to contact anyone for over a month, at least 25 calls were made on my end and have still spoken to no one. Right now I’m waiting to speak to anyone so that I can cancel the service and not recommend this service to anyone else trying to start a small business. Numerous fees have come out of my account that I was unaware of and am not able to speak to anyone to explain why am being charged these fees and where they’re coming from
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Eliminate Hidden Fees From Your Statement Without Switching
Deborah Jones
Worst company of all. Stay away…….very dishonest disclosure of fees.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Find and Eliminate Hidden Fees From Your Contract
Gheno B
Deceptive advertising, deceptive sales tactics, untransparent tiered pricing. Too many promises that they cannot hold on too and in addition they will not notify you about anything at all, especially about upcoming payments, or any charges about to happen. The customer services is one of the worse I’ve ever had.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service
Kim Wanner, Point of Impact Engineering
Leaders Merchant Services is still holding $2,356.65 from my first and only transaction with them on 10/31/2018. They claim they could not deposit the funds in my account which is clearly included in the contract with account and routing numbers, and yet my bank shows no attempt by them to do so. After multiple phone calls and transfers to multiple customer/management agents. I was told the best way to receive my money was to close my account and they would send me a check. So I immediately closed my account. My account closure request was completed on 11/16/2018. They promised me a check by the end of the month which would have been November 2018. I still did not receive the check! When I called the number back that was given to me by Nick, the last person I spoke with from collections, which is the department that supposedly handles payment of these funds, I immediately received this computer generated message: “Your account does not give you access to this phone number.” ….. Apparently my number has been put on the do not answer list!
I have read my contract which I printed off the same day it was signed with DocuSign. My contract shows 0.00 in the cancellation fee. and 0.00 in the early termination fee! I was aware of the 3.35% fee I would be charged for each transaction because I was only using the service every 6 months. But nowhere does it give allowance for them to keep the entire amount of any credit card transaction! This is clearly a crime, they have stolen money from me and my client at the same time. This company is clearly dishonest and cannot be trusted in any way shape or form. Based on the other complaints I have read here, how are they still in business stealing from hard working business owners and how is it possible that when I first looked them up with the BBB it showed an A+ rating?
If you value your time and resources at all, do not do business with this company~!
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money
Rustic Recall
I have had nothing but trouble with this company since I started dealing with them back in Feb of 2018. I started an account and received the equipment but was unable to set it up or get it to work even after at least 15 calls to their technical support. Finally I decided to cancel my account on March 2nd, when the last tech service person said ” I guess it won’t work with your phone”. I completed their form on March 2nd requesting closing of my account and after receiving an email indicating that they were processing my request, I sent the equipment back. I continued to get bills every month through August. In August I contacted them again and was told they did not receive my original request in March. After I sent them the email with the completed form and the one that they send me acknowledging receipt of my request they told me I would need to complete another form! They checked their records and found the original email from back in March and still told me that they needed me to complete another form since they could not verify my signature on the one sent in March. So just to end this whole thing I did submit another form and was told by Janice that since they had proof that I sent the form back in March that I would get a refund for 480 dollars which was the total of my bill from March through August. No refund was received. Then on Oct 17, 2018 I got a bill from them for $200 for non return of equipment. I called to find out what was happening and they told me that they could not find any records for my request for termination of my account. I now can not get anyone from the company to return my calls and cant get a hold of anyone who can help me. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. My next action will be to contact the better business bureau and my lawyer
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Online Furniture Merchant Accounts
Deb
Please DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY or Their services for your business. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE SCAMMING PEOPLE BIG TIME!!! What your sales rep tells you is all the fake. It was my biggest mistake I ever made in my life while choosing Leaders Merchant Services company.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Top-Rated Merchant Accounts
Laurie Sullivan
No equipment ever received, yet fees were (and still are) being charged. Now a $350.00 cancellation fee! For ZERO services or equipment! Long hold times, always the wrong dept or they can not answer my question. Fee are still not reversed and more continue. What a long, difficult process. I DO NOT recommend them, not even to my Ex!
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
Jason L Santee
This company LEADERS MERCHANT SERVICES needs to be investigated!!! What your sales rep tells you is 100% bs! I was told I can cancel anytime, no fee, no contract. Low transaction fee at .15%. Just all complete lies!!!! I was told my card reader was free, I had to pay $50. I called customer service only to be told sorry they were not apart of the original conversation with sales. So basically, tough luck. Absolutely zero customer service!!!! And now Im locked in a 3 yr contrac Im unable to get out of with a early termination fee over $300. Oh and I am being charged $26 a month….I did not sign up for this. I asked for a copy of my agreement and have not received a copy. Plain and simple I am being strong armed and bullied. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
Kenya L.
I can not believe I fell for this company!!! I never write reviews ever, but had to in this case. I am so upset. I am a new small business that have been trying to find the right processing company for my business. I Googled top Merchant companies and Leaders was at the top! Not sure how! Unbelievable! Anthony Herrera was amazing right up until I was approved for the device and now I can’t get a response to a simple email. I was on hold one day for over 20 minutes because everytime I call there is high call volume. I called today because I wanted to know where my next day deposit was. Once I finally got someone on the phone because Anthony never responded, I was informed that my deposits would be 48 hours later and that could not be changed because I was new! As it turns out, the turn around time is actually more than 48 hours, because they first have to verify then authorize! It was written in my contract that I can cancel anytime, I guess that is going to be bull crap too from the other reviews I read!
Dan Meester
THE WORST!!! Don’t let the low teaser fees fool you. These people have the most horrible service in the industry. I signed up for mobile processing. The equipment would not work, their tech support has no idea what they are doing. When I told them I think their processing hardware would not work despite HOURS on the phone with tech support and needed to be replaced they refused. I had no choice but to find another service provider and terminate the agreement because of Leader’s lack of performance. Guess what? There’s a $350 termination fee in their 64 page contract. So now I have to sue these losers to get my money back. STAY AWAY!
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Mobile Credit Card Processing Apps
David McFadden
We opened an account for our counseling business in July so that it would be ready to go when we started seeing clients in August. We ordered 2 card readers because we each work in a different office. We were not informed that we could not both sign on to the account from separate phones. Upon sign-on there is a code send to the primary phone, so in the other office we would not be able to use the account. The only way to make it work would be to have 2 accounts and pay double the fees. We never used the account, in fact we never even got fully signed up for it. Since it would not work for us, we cancelled the account AND then were charged an exorbitant $350 fee for an account WE NEVER USED! We fee that we were robbed.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Merchant Accounts for Psychologists
Jerry Naylor
I signed up with leaders for CC processing. The fees were super high. I called and they lowered the fees. Screwed up front. Couldn’t get reader to work so called customer service. CLOSED ON SATURDAYS. I called the tech support and what a run a round I received. I sat on hold for over an hour just to find out they needed to transfer me to another dept. I was on hold for another 45 minutes before I just had to hang up.
Customer service was so poor I never could get through. I left my number for them to call me back and 7 hours later they called. I could not talk to them at the moment because I was driving. They just said they could put me back on the call list but not time frame was offered for the call.
I was so frustrated at this point I just wanted to cancel the service. I did so just to find out that I got stuck with a $350 CANCELATION FEE.
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE SCAMMING PEOPLE BIG TIME!!!
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Merchant Accounts for Great Customer Service
Daniel Kotek
Terrible flat out lied about fees charged me 5 percent of sales.Having hard time canceling had to change banks so they couldnt steal any more money.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best Merchant Accounts for Painters
Ryan
I was told over the phone by the sales representative when I signed up that there would no contract for my account. After seeing the high charges for my monthly statements I wanted to cancel and go with someone else. They told me they did not say there was no contract, and charged me 350.00 for early termination fee. Very dishonest, I had a hard time getting anyone to get back in touch with me about this issue. Of course, it goes into the next month and I get charged another monthly fee. I paid all the fees just to get them out of my life.
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee
Richard Nelson
This place is horrible they just take your money and you receive nothing won’t send you machines to accept cards but charge you a monthly fee to accept cards then when you don’t like it and want to cancel they charge you an early termination fee..crazy that they can get away with this
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: How to Get Out of a Merchant Account Contract
Angela Powell
This is the biggest scam I’ve ever seen. All the information told to me when I signed up was a lie. The % of each sale was quadruple what they said it would be. No hidden fees they said, I’ve had more fees in 4 months that I’ve ever seen. In 2 months I’ve spent more in fees than I did with my previous credit card company in a whole year!! So I cancelled it, now they charge me $350! Funny they said try it and if you don’t like it cancel at any time. What a SCAM!!!
Jared Conelle
I have had the best experience with leaders merchant services! Customer service is GREAT. Received my device in just a matter of days, and got everything set up in just s couple of hours. Very impressed with the company’s structure.
CPO
Hi Jared,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
Mana
This is a fraud company. Never trust this company and their employees. They will give wrong information to attract customer and charge lots of fees without providing service. ” NEW CUSOTMER, PLEASE CHECK THE REVIEWS BEFORE CHOOSING YOUR MERCHANT COMPANY” They charged over $800 without any service and again charge cancellation fee of $35 saying you guys sign the contract so need to pay cancellation pay as wells as monthly fee of same month. It was my biggest biggest biggest mistake I ever made in my life while choosing merchant company.
Wen
Completely agree. They are doing business with cheating
From The Editor
This Post Might Help: Best All-Purpose Merchant Accounts
Linda Nicastro
STAY AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!!!
If only I could leave negative stars. Worst company ever. Charges left, right, center… Keep your money and find another merchant service…. Trust me, they stole my money even after I dumped them. Calling better business bureau next….
Sanjay Behuria
I subscribed to Leaders merchant services and this is what happened.
1. They shipped the Clover Mini without a scanner.
2. The salesperson reckons the iPad camera is the scanner and external scanner is not required, the Clover support thinks otherwise.
3. They promise to send me a scanner at no shipping cost as it is their error and inform that only their scanner will be compatible, any other will not work.
4. They do not ship the scanner for 7 days. When checked they need two days to investigate why the scanner was not sent.
5. I buy the scanner from Amazon and take my chance. It works.
6. The sales manager calls me to ask what will it take me to return the scanner and buy from them if they match the price.
7. The name on my account is fictitious. They do not do any due diligence or ask for any ID like EIN to verify. Should be reported to IRS for negligence.
8. They quote me one rate while buying and charge me another rate.
9. Their website cannot match company name with EIN, despite repeated attempts.
10. A call to their number is a musical chair merry-go-round as you get transferred from company to company, without knowing who is who?
Any idea how I can complain about them to the Treasury or IRS for their non-compliance with KYC rules and regulations?
Shelly Thompson
Leaders Merchant is a fraud company. Do not do business with them. They sold me a package with 3 tiers of credit card processing fees but you never get charged anything but the highest fees. Then hidden fees and huge cancelation fees. I tried to get it fixed since January. I haven’t used them for processing since March 1 but they are still charging my bank account in May. They won’t let you talk to a manager or file a complaint. You can’t get through the front door to talk to anyone who will do anything to fix it. I paid for stop payment at my bank and now my brand new company is in collections for a service I can’t get cancelled. Do not use them.
Rahmanakhlakur
Poor customer service
Unknown
This company was absolutely horrible from the very start. Not only did the rep that signed us up never respond to us after he signed us up, but everything thing they said was a lie. Millions of hidden fees, lousy customer service. Do not trust this company
Aleena Muhammad
BAD BUSINESS, BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. This Company has many, many hidden fees and will SCAM you BEWARE. If you already Ordered go ahead and pay the cancellation fee and take it as a lost yet learning lesson.
Rusty Pegar
This is absolutely the most DISHONEST cc company that exists today. Do NOT allow them access to your bank accounts. To date they habe charged me over $500 to process $350 worth of charges. The sales rep was a lying sack of excrement, who signed ALL my “contracts”. This company is owned by Wells Fargo, and it’s obvious they are up to their old tricks!! Stay away!!/
Karen Makange
Oh my goodness!! I was scammed. And not one person will respond to me. They drafted my account for $39.95 twice. The first time. For what? I don’t know. The second time $170.23 twice. For what?? I don’t know. I am livid right now. Can someone tell me what to do? Why did they do this. They have ruined my bank account. And I have never ever ever used them. I was just trying to use something different than square. I asked them was there any fees. He said no. Now I have overdrawn fees. My business is not a store. We are seasonal. Oh my goodness I am livid.
Edward Hanly
This place is so bad, i thought no one was worse at holding your money than square. Well i have been corrected. Leaders Merchant Services is straight GARBAGE!!!!, Well i was promised if i left square that my funds would never be held as long as underwriting approved my account, which they did. I was also promised 24 hour funding only to be told a lie on my very 1st transaction which they told me had a 48 hour hold. And then some moron named Milton emails me an alert email telling me my $2337 was being held for review and he did this at 5pm on friday which time they closed. Awful awful awful company. Do yourself a favor… use the bank you have your account with. Yes you pay a little more. Like the old saying goes. “You get what you pay for”. Amen
Tom
I would give them a zero if that were an option. This company’s sales person is possibly the most dishonest individual I have ever spoken to in retaining services of any kind. Their salesperson told me over the telephone how their fees are low by industry standards, and that they have no long-term contract, so I could leave at any time without charge. After the sales pitch, they send you a very short agreement over the Internet for your online signature. In the small print, they reference a “Guide” that you will be receiving once you’ve signed up. AFTER you have engaged them, you receive a 64 page “Guide” chock full of fees which were never discussed by their salesperson, including a $350 fee if you discontinue their services. So far, their “low” fees have averaged approximately 6% of my total receipts. I wouldn’t wish this company on anyone.
Marshall boyd
The worst company every, equipment would not work and they refuse to fix it. So I cancel and they charge me 350. Repoff.
Stat away
Tim
Hustler Robber !!! I closed my account two years ago，They automatically take $80 each month form my bank account, I called them several times ，Or can’t change them and they always transfer money from bank account automatically， I ask my bank branch To reopen a new bank account, I thought this would be over, but after two months, I received a letter from a debt collection company，I wrote this review after I paid the debt collection company’s money.I hope everyone will not be deceived
Kevin Andrews
Run! In my opinion, this company is highly unethical, and would be better named MISleaders Merchant Services.
I closed my account with them two months ago, and closed out the associated gateway, so they can’t possibly even process a charge for me, and yet, they took $164 from my bank account today for various junk fees and an annual “account fee.” They claim they never received my account closure form. When I asked them how to make SURE that they get it this time, all I got was a bunch of mumbling about 7 business days and “will be submitted for review”.
Do a Google search for reviews on this company. There are few places where they have 5 stars (hmmmm, no WAY!!) but if you’ll look further, you’ll find that most places that offer unbiased reviews rank them very badly and are filled with angry words from people who feel victimized and misled by this outfit
You have been warned!!!!
Eddie Owen
I took Leaders about May of 17. I have in my possession the email that was sent to me by my so called “account executive” with my concerns addressed, one of which was “no cancellation fees”. It remains to be seen if that will be a lie as I cancelled it on line 12/27/17. I have yet to this day been able to understand why Leaders statement would show a certain amount funded to my bank but it never was what the bank statement showed. I informed the “account executive” from the beginning that some months I would have zero card sales, other months might be 500 to 1,j000 depending on sales. He quoted me a very nominal fee if I had zero sales which was a lie. For example, in Dec, I had zero card sales yet I get a statement from them showing various fees totaling $46.94, and I was “disabled from the Iaccess because of no sales, and I would have to call them to re-activate it ! I couldn’t even download my statement. In my opinion, these bozos are scam artists from the beginning. I would give them a minus 100 stars !
Laurie
I signed up for Leaders and started using them in Sept 2017. After 1 1/2 dos of processing the swiper that connected to my phone would work only part of the time. And, to process it takes a couple more clicks unlike Square which is seamless. I joined because they sold me on the lower fees. But when you add the other fees of Authorize.net and others, my costs were very close to Square BUT the equipment wasn’t good, was more clicks, and bulkier. For the pennies I was supposed to be saving, it was a bad business decision, especially for a small business that is struggling in our start up phase. The cancellation process seemed quite easy and friendly until I noticed on my bank statement that they had taken $350 out of my account for early termination. I called them several times to reverse this and they refused, even though the swiping equipment was spotty at best. They said I should have called the tech support, which I do not have time for when Square worked perfect even time.
My advise, DO NOT do business with Leaders! They are unforgiving and customer satisfaction is not important.
Trina Cherry
They are a scam company. They do not give you the true details of their services until after you purchase the equipment. I asked in full detail about buy-back or reselling of the equipment if my business did not pan out. They assured me that there were options for either. I just received the equipment after trying to cancel the order, which I wanted to do after discovering the misinformation about the program features. They kept stating they could not verify my company or that I even had an account. after an hour of transferring me to one person after another I was able to speak to someone who told me all sales are final and I’m basically screwed. First week of being a small business (healing and help center) and I have wasted $400 on a large Fancy calculator
Rena Abramoff
Never did a bad review before. As a business owner usually I understand that mistakes can happen. But this experience is beyond my worth expectation. From day 1 people was telling me one thing and doing another. Looks like nobody really listens. And not much people who are really knows what they do. This company magically got rated as #1. Per my experience they are not even #100.
Roman Karp
Impossible to cancel without fee even after 5 years of service
Rob Ballard
I was cheated by my credit card processor Leaders Merchant Services. When I dug a bit deeper I discovered their bank sponsor was Wells Fargo Bank. It’s a perfect relationship. There are hundreds of complaints on Leaders ripping people off and they are aligned with one of the most corrupt banks on the planet. So the new Wells Fargo Bank is all about we don’t need to steal any longer. We will just have our (ISOs) Independent Sales Organization Leaders Merchant Services do our stealing for us. Hey Wells Fargo, if you know they are stealing from businesses and do nothing while making huge profits for yourself, you are guilty too.
Marie Friedman
Horrible, horrible, horrible! They were keep stealing money from my account. I had to call my bank and block any transactions coming from Leaders. I asked Leaders for refund and received only small portion of it. Please use another merchant services. Pay higher fees, but at least you know they will be honest.
Robby
This company is a complete ripoff. They told us over the phone there would only be transaction fees, yet we were charged between 150-200 per month for additional fees. They said these additional fees were for reward card transactions which was never disclosed to us. Then they said we had a 3 year contract which was never disclosed and tried charging a 350 closing fee to us when we barely used the account. Don’t ever use this company.
Jeff mohr
This company needs to closed at all costs! They are predators and practitioners of mass thievery . I was led to believe by a sales man named Nick Lowe that I would have all fees waved if I purchased the swiper for 30 dollars… I agreed . As of now I have had to close my bank account to keep them from pilfering every thing I had. They were pulling random amounts out of my account no warning no rhyme or reason. I never used the card swiper and they pulled almost 228. In 3 months. Then my bank found weird withdrawals of small and large amounts and said it looked fraudulent and we closed that account . Since then I have been billed another $201.25 that is now in collection’s. I am disputing it ! Avoid this company like they were radio active! Where is the better business bureau when you need them.
Rick
I found Leaders Merchant Services online while comparing them with other companies offering mobile based terminals for a music event that I was planning for my company. I initially liked them because they had the lowest per swipe rates and boasted no annual fee or monthly fee to use their service.
I bought a terminal outright to avoid leasing fees as well. When I spoke with the salesperson, I reiterated with him several times that there would be no additional fees and he confirmed that since I purchased the terminal outright, there would be no monthly fees. I signed the agreement he sent and went about my way.
A month later I get hit with a monthly fee which I dispute with my bank. Two months later I am charged an annual fee and a monthly fee. When I called to complain they claimed that the fees were accounted for in the plan that I signed up for in the fine print.
There is a statement that claims that “Additional fees may be charged” based on a 64 page guide that they send you. The salesperson flat out lied to me about additional fees in his pitch and even when I called him on it repeatedly he reassured me that there would never be a monthly or annual fee. But sure enough in the fine print of the agreement, it points you to the guide which states that there are indeed fees.
This company will flat out lie to you about the fees over the phone and then claim that you have to pay them because you signed their agreement, and then will charge you an outrageous amount of money to cancel the service that you explicitly were told you were not signing up for. Horrible company. Do not do business with them.
FPG
DO NOT TRUST this company. They lie about the fees and you get hosed. If I want to cancel, there is a $350 charge. AVOID!!!
heidi lemmon
I may have set up an account with leaders over a year ago, or not. It was never activated and was never used, ever. I did apply for a quote and was told $15 monthly fee. I never activated this account. However Leaders has been charging me between 79.95 up to $230.94 a month for the last year!! Nothing has ever been processed, not ever, not 1 thing. Not 1 bill/ invoice was ever sent to me by mail or by email. The extra excess fees are because the application was never completed. Be very careful before you touch this company. I am in the process of trying to get back well over $1500 in fees. I assumed it was a credit card payment – it showed up on my bank statements as that – not a merchant account.
Frank Bennett
Leader was contacted via phone and guaranteed a one time processing on a credit card. They immediately started debiting my account averaging $90.00 monthly for no services. There was never a written agreement and when contacted, they said I had to produce legal documentation. One of the most unethical companies I have ever seen. If you are in need of a credit card processor, even for a part time use, stay away from this company.
Celeste
I work at as the cashier at a juicery and I pressured by boss to upgrade our terminals. We contacted Leaders Merchant Services and they hooked us up. My boss saves money and I have a much easier time ringing up our customers now.
CPO
Hi Celeste,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
Cynthia Killion
I can’t believe this company is still in business and that no one has sued them. I had an awful experience with them. Salesperson lied. $350 cancellation fee never discussed etc. I am on the email list to receive a copy of the reviews/complaints and believe me the list is long.
Mike Bellon
They hijacked my deposit claiming that since I was new with them my account is being reviewed. I provided all transaction paperwork that they requested and still have not have not had money deposited into my account. I have been in business for over 20 years….big mistake switching to leaders. Thank God I kept my old processing account active
Sheila Russon
If I could rate Leaders Merchant in the negative I would. Leaders Merchants corporate office is I Payment Inc PO Box 3429 Oaks, CA 91359. These companies go together so don’t get tricked. My sales rep Josh Couglin completely lied to me about my contract. He was extremely pushy to get things going. He called me to sign up for merchant services on Nov 9, 2016. I told him I needed to make sure that my booking software I used on my website would accept them as my merchant. Josh told me I would be receiving a call before anything was finalized but I needed to sign three papers to get it going. Next thing I know I get a welcome letter on Nov 10 saying my account was set up. I never received any phone call. Josh also said it was a month to month contract with no cancellation fees. . I told Josh I had to make sure everything was going to work together before finalizing anything. Besides again I was told there was no cancellation fee and it was a month to month contract.
The next day I found out I could not use a third party merchant with my booking service. I called the number Josh gave me on Nov 11, 2016. They were closed over the weekend and would open again on Nov 14, 2016. We are now talking one day but now I had to wait the weekend. I called first thing Monday morning explaining their merchant services would not work with my program. They emailed me a cancellation form to sign and send back. I signed the form and sent it back. The form did not process through their system until Nov 21, 2016.
Next thing I know I get a charge for a cancellation fee of $350.00. I had not even received anything or hooked anything up. This was so wrong. I called the company to ask for them to return my money and they denied it. I searched for the contract saying something about the cancellation fee. Guess what, it was sent to me three days after I signed those three pages on Nov 10, 2016. They get you by not giving you the info until after. I trusted my sales rep and he went over details verbally with me. Still to this day Josh has not answered one email of mine. He told me a whole different story then what was in the big packet I received after the fact.
When I called the Leaders Merchants and spoke with a supervisor he told me I signed the contract and that is all that matters. He did not care if the sales rep lied to me. He did not care that I had not received the packet until after the fact. He did not care that the email I got said this was not a final approval and someone would be calling me. He only cared about the three papers. This company has no human decency. Leaders Merchants and their corporate office I Payment Inc denied my refund.
I HAVE NEVER FILLED OUT A REVIEW IN MY LIFE!!! I know reviews can really hurt a company so I don’t participate. I feel this was so wrong I cannot just sit back and say nothing. I WOULD NOT USE LEADERS MERCHANT or I Payment Inc FOR ANYTHING! IF I CAN SAVE ONE PERSON FROM BEING RIPPED OFF THIS IS WORTH WRITING. If I had looked at the companies reviews, I would have never even talked to them. No wonder Josh wanted to do everything right then. They have terrible reviews. I hope this helps anyone who is considering this company.
Mietek
I am really regretting setting up the account with Leaders for my small non-profit organization.
It started all good where their sales rep was promising me some good rates and the account without any fees back in Feb 2016. Then a month later I have noticed a fee of $2, which I have complained about. During the complaint their manager waved my $2 fee and told me not to worry.
He also mentioned $350 early termination fee that was attached to my contract ,which was never disclosed to me during my phone conversation with original salesman, but apparently it was hidden in the small print. After a few months of interactivity I was charged “Compliance Fee” of $40 plus $2 fee that was back again.
I filed the compliance form, but they still wanted to charge me the compliance fee, so I have put stop payment for those fees ($20 fee from my bank).In total I have paid 3 times $42 in “compliance fees”. Then about a month ago they have closed my account and slapped me with a fee of $350. When I have complained about this ,they said they have done nothing wrong. Overall I have been ripped off with almost $500 and they havnen’t provided any services for me , as I ended up of never using their services.
Please stay away from them as far as possible. I wondering why state of CA still gives them license of credit card processor. – very bad experience.
Joyce
These people are crooks. Bad customer service. They lie to your face. Do your research first. Go through your bank for merchant services. Use them if you want you will regret it later! Just read all of their negative reviews.
kate
I opened an account with this company on 9/28/16 and after reading all the negative reviews closed it on 9/30/13. Yet I was charged a $45 gateway set up fee for anywhere commerce. Leaders states that I signed a form for “ACH Authorization” and sent me a copy. I printed all the forms I THOUGHT I had signed and this “ACH Authorization” was not in them.
I have dealt with Sekure and Cayan and they never charged me any such fee.
Dealing with these merchant companies is scary!
david booth
My small business was growing, processed a payment of $14000, they declined to approve the transaction, but still charged me a incoming charge and a outgoing charge, TOTAL CROOKS, no one apology, just pass the buck pass the buck, no help, wait on approval, we will review, will raise my glass when these guys are no longer!!!
Bryan Polinski
We used these crooks last year for our retail shop. Ran a special that brought people in the door and they HELD OUR MONEY FOR 30 DAYS! because they thought there was suspicious activity on the account. This was detrimental to our business at the time as the sale wiped out our inventory and we didn’t have enough money in the business account to cover any significant new orders of product.
After this happened their customer service was even worse about the subject. They directed us back to the contract and that they we signed the paper that allows them to do that and it was standard practice. No resolve to the issue until they released the funds after almost a month and they ensured there were no chargebacks.
We are a retail store with swiped transactions! How could an influx in sales seem suspicious…
Anyways… We are not great fans LEADERS, and I hope that others read this before making a decision.
Brandon Price
Used for a Christmas tree retail business which only operates for 6 weeks during the year. Leaders Merchant Services was withdrawing $90 per month to keep the account open, even with no transactions. Was extremely difficult to get the service stopped.
Lindsay Lockhart
Not sure about these other reviews but I had and continue to have an overall good experience. Easy way to integrate mobile pay.
CPO
Hi Lindsay,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
Leonard Habel
I’ve worked with them in the past and had no problems. The machine they gave me was pretty new and it was exactly what I needed. No company is perfect but Leaders will definitely do the job.
CPO
Hi Leonard,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
Leonard Habel
Red Star Productions
Encinitas, CA 92024
Cindy Judkins
I just signed up for a mobile credit card account and it was one of the best experiences I have encountered. My sales rep is Jake, [REDACTED – contact information] and he has been a total straight shooter with me. There are no hidden fees, I will make no monthly payment and will only be charged a per transaction fee of .18 and .15% on a debit card transaction and 1.55% on a credit transaction. How can I go wrong with that? I will have to pay a one time fee of $20 for the reader that attaches to my iphone or ipad. He went over the entire application with me, so no surprises and there is NO early termination fee. So we will see how things go when I receive my card reader and actually start using it.
CPO
Hi Cindy,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
Cindy Judkins
Judco Creations, Bastrop, TX
Frank Schmidt
Very deceitful company. Don’t waste your time even listening to them. Tolled me I would pay $7.50 a month, then started taking $40-50 a month out of my checking account. Called them, they said it was the credit cards who charged this. What a lie. Then they withdrew $350.00 from my checking without without authorization. Had to go to my bank and fill out paperwork to get my money back. Don’t use this co. J
—
Are you with Leaders Merchant Services? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Sean
All the reviews are correct. This merchant service is horrible! I signed a contract with them that clearly states they can’t charge an early termination fee or regulatory fees. The still did anyway. Customer service is horrible and even the manager gives you an attitude. Stay away!
—
Are you with Leaders Merchant Services? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Lowrey
I have the same complaints as all. The service and web site lie to you. One is required to ‘read-the-fine-print’. Once I decided this was a hoax I cancelled. Cost me a few hundred but all was returned. This business sucks!!
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
K Collins
Terrible company. Overcharges, hidden fees, representatives lie to get you signed up. Stay away.
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Patricia Darin
The Sales rep’s for Leaders lie to sign you up. They tell you it’s “NO CONTRACT” you can go month to month. Then they falsify a contract with a “electronic” signature and never send it to you or tell you about it until you want to CANCEL the account. Then they tell you if you cancel, you own them $350 for release the “3” year contact you signed.
It took 6 phone calls just to see a “CONTRACT” I never signed or saw or did ever appear in my email. The company sub contracts everything out, so to get any answers on anything is impossible. Every invoice had charges that were different from the month before. They deactivate your account saying it’s inactivity. Too bad if you ran a charge card before you saw that notice… your money is now tied up until you sort it out.
TOO MANY HIDDEN FEE’S, RULES, AND CONTRACTS. Leader’s Merchant Services is nothing but a “Bait and Switch”.
Leader’s, the SMALL BUSINESS people of this world DO read the small print on contracts if they are ever presented to them. Especially if it involves giving you access to their BANK ACCOUNTS. They are giving Wells Fargo a bad name!
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Lizbeth Falsetti
I will NEVER recommend this company to anyone… better yet… I will go to every single website and make sure people know the major scam they have going on. I will definitely report them to every organization. I will dedicate an entire day to raise awareness of the terrible company they are. They have the WORST customer service and the amount of hidden fees they have is ridiculous. This is absolutely the WORST company ever.
—
Are you with Leaders Merchant Services? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Michael Beem
They are crooks stay away!!! Robbed me and still owe me hundreds of dollars.. Their software malfuctioned they say?? They couldn’t make it work and robbed me. Then robbed me again.. I’ll make it to Camerillo to meet with them in person… I’m going to steal as much office supplies as I can carry lol…
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Yezenia Flores
This is the WORSE merchant services I have encountered in the past 4 years they keep taking money out of my account that does not belong to them. BEWARE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY WILL TAKE YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE. I HAVE BEEN ON HOLD FOR A SUPERVISOR FOR OVER 30 MINUTES. DEREK ACTS ALL HELPFUL BUT DOES NOTHING. I DONT KNOW HOW THIS MAN IS A SUPERVISOR. I ASKED TO SPEAK WITH HIS SUPERVISOR AND NOTHING I CANNOT GET A HOLD OF SOMEONE ELSE THAT CAN HANDLE THIS. I WANT MY MONEY BACK. THIS MERCHANT IS A SCAM.
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Liz
Leaders is a dishonest company that definitely pulls a bait and switch on you. This company lies during the sales “job” and their customer “service” (and I use that term VERY Loosely) are so cool when you call exasperated at the exhorbitant and forever climbing fees, that you KNOW they deal with this every minute of every day!!! So I say, bring it on Leaders, just try to collect that fraudulent $350 “termination” fee, you thieves! I closed my bank account. Let’s go to collections! I can’t wait to comment about you on my credit report. I thought there were laws governing these companies about proper disclosure. But I guess it doesn’t matter what they SAY… BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!!!!
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
Chaffee County Search and Rescue - North
Our experience to date has been that the sales department does not represent their products honestly (appear to be a bait and switch situation), the fees they charge are excessive and not what quoted and their customer service is horrible. We have processed a total of approximately $400 dollars in transactions and have been charged over $200 in charges and they are saying it will cost $350 to cancel the contract. We are an all volunteer non profit organization and knew that we would only use card services 3 or 4 months out of the year. When comparing companies we specifically asked if there were monthly service charges or minimums required and were told that the only charge was the percentage for each charge. After receiving our statements and seeing charges their Customer Service department was contacted. After being transferred to two different representatives, I was told that we needed to pay the monthly charge and that there was a cancellation fee if the account was closed. This fee was not disclosed when talking to the sales representative. When I asked to speak with a supervisor or manager to escalate the issue, I was informed that they were all in a meeting but someone would call me back. A return call was never received. A second contact attempt was made and again no supervisor or manager was available but I was assured that I would recieve a call back. No call back, a third attempt was made and we were transferred to what we were told is the “only person that can help with this type of issue”. After repeating the circumstances, I was told that I would get a call back. Again I didn’t receive a call back and had to start the process with a new set of representatives. To date the problem is not resolved to our satisfaction.
Sylvia
I had a horrible experience too. Registered 2 businesses because I needed to keep the funds separate, and that was back when the fee to cancel was $250. It cost me $500 to get out of that mess. Awful. What is REALLY bad is that it has happened to non profits. What a blow. When you are trying to help people/pets/vets etc and you get hit with high fees and huge cancellation fees it is devastating.
PLEASE, if you are looking at a merchant company, DON’T use LEADERS. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had.
—
Are you with Leaders? Learn how to resolve this complaint.
karen collins
I advise anyone considering Leaders Merchant Services to stay away! After 3 years of service, with no chargebacks or any issues, THEY sent me a letter saying they were cancelling my account in 30 days. No explanation. Then they ACHed my account for a $250 early termination fee! I’ve been attempting to get it reversed for a week, calling every other day. Problem is that, once you become a client of Leaders Merchant Services, all Customer Service numbers you have go to their PROCESSOR, not them. And they have no authority to do anything unless they get permission from Leaders. So their hands are tied while they wait for their requests for reversed fees. This page shows them with a D customer rating — I would give them an F.
Seasun Passmore
WORST COMPANY!! They deserve an “F” not a “D”. I signed up with them over the phone with an agent who didn’t disclose any information about the hidden fees. Within in a month I was charged $130 for opening my account with them. I called to cancel and it took them 3 months to send me the cancellation paperwork (I called numerous times). I was charged $75/month for not being PCI Compliant while waiting. When I did cancel my account I was charged an additional $250 for Early Termination. If you cancel anytime within 3 years you fall under this. I spent a total of $605 and never even used the damn thing.
jesus
LEADERS ITS THE WORST MERCHANT COMPANY,
The worst company I’ve worked, the customer service is lousy I canceled my account without notice and held me over $ 1000 for 3 months,
are anti professional not recommended.
They treat you as if you were to ask them a favor
NOT RECOMENDED , BAD EXPERIENCE, CUSTOMER SERVICE WORST AND SARCASM….
Nitu R.
We have been very happy with Leaders Merchant Services. Our rep. is always courteous and responds to our questions in a timely manner. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them.
Phillip CPO
In order to authenticate your testimonial, please reply to this comment with your business name and location.
Ken
got a call on how I could save money compared to the cc processor I had. After a few invoices and extra fees I found out that was not the case. Also found out we had signed into another 3 year contract which I had told the agent we didn’t want. now the fees are any where from 1/4 to 1/2 of our monthly cc income. they want 250.00 to opt out early stay away from these guys very expensive.
Daniel G
DO NOT USE LEADERS! They are a scam, have enormous fees, and the customer service could be the worst out there—even worse than COMCAST.
I am a board member of a very small nonprofit organization operating on a military installation. I did a google search for credit card processing on iPhone and found Leaders to process our donations and fees. I filled out a form to find out more about it. After talking to Jeff, my salesman, over and over and over, we finally committed. This was after I asked him about the fees several times; we were very uneasy to commit to a contract when the fees were not clear. Jeff assured me that fees would be around $12-$15 per month plus a percentage every transaction.
I took that information to the board of directors of our nonprofit organization. After a lengthy discussion about the fees and how high they are at $15/mo (again — we are small), we finally agreed to sign up. After our first month, we were charged the ~$15 I was expecting PLUS $25 in “Min Discount” I didn’t understand. I called and they said NO REFUNDS. I explained that these charges are not what I discussed with Jeff. Then another month went by and again these unexplained costs. We decided to cancel since we can’t afford these high, unexplained fees. Then we were charged a $350 cancellation fee! This is a MASSIVE hit to our annual budget. I distinctly remember Jeff telling me there would be no other fees and no cancellation fee. These fees have cost us the ability to give back to the military community in which we serve.
Marcal Souto
Sending a complaint to our State Attorney Generals office. We were lied to about everything. .We were asked to try and process a $1 transition, when we did we were later charged $41 to do this. Also $350 cancelation fee ( we were told there was no fee to cancel) $50 for not returning the device( we were told it will process chip cards and tape, It doesn’t. We asked for a return stamped envelope still waiting.Soo we had the device that didn’t work on specific chip cards that we needed it to work on, for one week and sent a $1 charge through as requested. All this nothingness for only $441 dollars.
What a scam. I was lucky in finding one customer serrvice agent to was very sympathetic ( don’t want to mention her name because she probably be fired) out of the fourI spoke to.
Toby
VERY MISLEADING COMPANY! READ THE FINE PRINT! VERY OVERPRICED & HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! We are a small business & when we started out we signed up this company due to good online reviews. We very quickly found that even on our slowest months they were charging us over $600!! We were told twice when signing up that there was no contract but when we tried to switch to a different company they told us we were under contract for 3 YEARS! The new company saved us $400 a month but these guys keep charging us $45 every month despite the fact that we have cancelled their service. We sent back our equipment & a cancellation form twice but these guys claim they never get it so they can keep charging us. After multiple calls & emails WE ARE STILL GETTING CHARGED!! When you call they just take a message & promise to call back but you never get a call back. This is without a doubt the worst company I have ever had to deal with & customer service means nothing to them apparently! If I ran my business the way they run theirs I would have been under years ago. DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE!!!!
Lori J
I trust Leaders Merchant Services simply because the entire time I was just throwing away money from a lot of rip off companies, they had pulled me up and offered lesser fees. Compared to other merchant services, Leaders has great and working terminals. The only thing I called them up was for a fee I did not remember being disclosed to me. Fortunately, the rep was able to explain it pretty much clearly so I didn’t bail out. But so far, this one’s for real!
Cynthia
Lori J…wow didn’t remember a fee being disclosed, that is because it Never was disclosed…wait until you need to cancel your account and they hit you with a $300 cancellation fee that was also….NEVER DISCLOSED.
Bobby
I am very happy with leaders merchant services. took a little extra time because they asked for additional documentation but other than that I haven;t had any surprises.
Cynthia
Cannot leave enough BAD comments for this company. Leaders was MISLEADING to say the least. First of the customer service representative offered to walk me through the set up process online. He did NOT at anytime explain that there was a $350 cancellation fee. I was told this was a month to month service. When I cancelled my account I received an email informing me of the upcoming cancellation fee. I called customer service and put a stop payment on the account. WHILE Leaders was in the process of reviewing they went ahead and charged the cancellation fee under a different name than all of the other charges had been processed, thus avoiding the stop payment.
After much complaining they agreed to refund 1/2 of the cancellation.
There charges were originally touted. ALONG with a $175 fee several months after starting up. I was notified of this “governmental” charge in miniscule writing on one of my statements.
I tell everyone that I know that is considering a credit card processing company to STEER CLEAR of LEADERS.
Cynthia Killion
patty robbins
cynthia, i went to my bank and i changed my account number so the thieves couldnt take any more money from me after they took a annual fee that i was told by jake downes there wouldnt be, they continue to send me email and phone calls and have blocked them from being able to email me or call me any more
Lowrey
This has got to be he worse credit card processing business I have been associated with in my life. Not only was I charged a fee to set up the account I was charged $350.00 to cancel the account that has been in use for less than 2 months, a lot of that time was used by Leaders to process my close of account. I have used my cell phone to accept credit cards for several years and have never paid for the service outside of the interest I pay on each card. I believe Leaders is a SCAM and I will report this to the BBB.
Arnold Berry
Leaders has been working fine for me. Had some minor hiccups when it comes to fees but could really be solved over the phone. Overall, it has stand with my business for almost 2 years now.
Cherie
I filled out an application with Leaders but it got hung up in their underwriting. So I told them to stop working on it I was going to go elsewhere. I sent them this in writing. They got it through underwriting and are now wanting me to sign a document to close the account. I said what account? All I did was submit an application … I never signed a contract with them and I informed them prior to them approving via underwriting that I didn’t want to go forward with them.
Do not use this company. They are trying to make me sign a document to close the account that they never should have started. I don’t trust them and I won’t be signing anything else from them.
It will really piss me off if I have to change my bank account info because of these crooks. I’m going to take all the emails I sent them to the bank tomorrow and ask if they will be able to stop any charges by them.
Lise Schiffer
This company uses duplicitous practices to do business. When I attempted to cancel my account, after discovering the hidden and undisclosed charges they impose, I was told I had a 3 year contract! I would NEVER have signed a 3 year contract and I asked them to produce it for me. They did not. They told me I had to pay $350 per year to cancel. Only after threatening them with a law suit did they finally cancel my account. PLEASE do not do business with this awful company.
patty robbins
I signed on with leaders per a trusting phone conversation with Jake Downs, I explained to him I was a small mom and pop and I told him what I did for business. I did not want any fees at all and I didn’t want a monthly service charge. he told me any fees he would waive. the first time I try to process a transaction it wont go through, I call leaders and I get laci nordman on the phone and she tells me to try a transaction. it don’t work, she tells me to try it again and this time I get a confirmation. the next day I get a settlement report as well, I look at my bank account and both transactions actually did go through. I attempt to void one and that don’t work so I call. they tell me to credit one of the transactions. I do just that. about a week later I look at my bank account and there is this charge on there from them. I have no clue what its for, I call and im informed that its a annual fee as well as misc charges for each transaction as well as their percentage of the transactions and im told very rudely to look at my statement which I never received. I was told by jake downs that he was submitting a email to have the fees reversed. I haven’t seen that happen. I have sent several emails and I have contacted them with no avail. I called and asked for jakes supervisor and im told that is either monica Zamora or Courtney Meyers and they are in a meeting and one of them will call you within an hour. that never happened. I finally chat them today and I was told someone would contact me. I get a call from Courtney and all she wants to do Is argue with me and I was told that they have reviewed my phone conversation with jake and they tell me the conversation is the exact of what actually happened. so today I spent the afternoon closing my bank account, the moral of my story is, don’t trust someone based on a phone conversation where some jerk talks you into trusting him based on a phone conversation. and DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING WITH OUT READING IT.
Joe Bateman
This company is our credit card processor. We were notified several days ago that they had put a hold on releasing our funds because of a risk issue. We have made several sales to the same customer within a month which were paid for by credit card. The processor has determined that they are at risk if the card holder disputes the amounts. They requested copies of the actual invoices, which were provided. We provided them with personal contact information for the card holder. The processing company contacted the card holder and he verified that they were legitimate charges well within his credit limit. The processor still refuses to release our funds. Additionally, the processor will not provide us with any time line for releasing our funds. Those funds are critical to our daily operation. The customer has the merchandise and we now need to pay our suppliers. The processor’s actions are crippling our business.
Tim Dods
the only way out is to go to your bank and show them the bad revues, then get your banker to cancel your account and open another one. this will stop “leaders” from continuing to take money without authorisation.
LARRY OLIVER
Leaders, requires a rating lower than minus 10. First of all they operate under three names. When I joined I was told that there was no cancellation fee. What I was not told was that even though I was approved and setup with Authorized.net, the actual company I used for card charge services, was that I had link to a certain hyperlink through Leaders and verify data I had already supplied or there was a $ 40.00 per month penalty on top of a $ 50.00 dollar monthly fee, even if I did not run one card.. Between a lie and failure to explain a penalty obligation no way should they be ranked as the number ! provider of Credit Card Providers. Today they tell me I have to pay a $ 250.00 fee to cancel the contract. I will devote hours over the next weeks finding all the review sites the will allow me to review them. I have never written a review that was negative until this experience. Their charges have offset almost all my credit card income. Please read all the negative reviews on Yelp. I have never seen as many negative ratings as there are for this so called business. I want a COMPLETE RELEASE and a settlement that waives the closing fee. Larry Oliver
CPO
What are the other business names that Leaders is using?
Cameron Johnson
AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COST!!! These people will lie and mislead you to get your business. I signed up with them because they offered what I thought was great rates only to find that it was all smoke and mirrors. They have charged me as much as 5.8% on transactions and then added various fees that, when all said and done, added up to be a total of 14% of my credit card transactions. Currently they are holding over $5000 worth of transactions which they are saying are under “review” because unknowing to me, they set my single purchase limit at $200 and refused to raise it even after we completed all necessary paperwork to raise it.
patty robbins
I had to go to my bank and close my bank accounts, thank god I did it in time as they sent me a statement for 40.00 for misc fees. they are bastards and I plan on filing complaints with who ever will accept them
Sherry
10/9/13 DO NOT OPEN n account with Leaders. They lie about fees. Service, Charges and more. I unfortunately believed Jake Downes. I was told they had a product library similar to Square. Fees sounded fine. Went forward for 2 weeks. The first bill was outrageous. A credit card charge of 14.41 and fees of 4.01. Customer service gal was a total bitch!! Decided to cancel. ARLENE said basically tough as I used the service so the 60.00 they charged my account for shipping the terminal (thats right) was lost. They sent me a new mobile swiper as one didn’t work. Supposed to be free and I was charged. They said they would pay for return shipping. OOPS another lie! I was told I would receive a partial credit for the high charges and nothing! ARLENE stated that because I used the service its tough. I would never of signed up if I had known they had no product inventory in the first place. I was asked if I had this in writing. They were all recorded calls but of course they can’t listen to those and that particular conversation wasn’t an email. All in all. They lie, steal your money. Will not refund you and there is nothing you can do about it. BEWARE!!!!!
John Weber
Total rip off! They promise you one thing on the phone and then rip you off with the hidden fees in fine print for the monthly charges. Then, after 1 month when I didn’t even use them yet, I talked to an agent to cancel and he promised me to wave the $350 cancelation fee if I signed the cancelation form. After I did, I was charged the $350. Leaders said that “someone above him didn’t approve the waiver”. He should have told me that someone else was going to make the decision. My bank was smart enough to do a charge back with my statement on the $350, that it was an unauthorized charge, but Leaders Merchant Services still sent the $40.90 first months charge to a collection agency. (Originally promised me only a $10/month maximum fee if I didn’t use the card.) Bait and Switch!!!!
P L
John, your experience with Leaders mirrors my experience. Complete lies from Leaders. I took in $2500 in revenue and paid Leaders $760 in fees. I’m now using Square and not a problem one. .
ken
This company is a rip off. Did not disclose all the fees and charges they withdraw directly from my checking account, charged me over $400 in just a few months when I was not using the service. Then after many attempts to work out something reasonable, they charged me $350 just to close the account. Of course they deducted that from my checking account as well. DO NOT SIGN UP with Leaders!!! Many other better options.
Rick
This company has crooked practices.
They lie, misrepresent, withhold information, etc.
I have never paid a pci compliance fee untill now.
They do not email you reminders to do do your pci compliance
like my previous merchant service.
After 60 -90 days they will take $129 and bill you $40 per month
if you do not fill out the pci compliance form which they do not
inform you when and where to go untill it is to late.
I was told that it is on the statement. Thw statement does not tell you where to go
to comply. This company is about steeling your money anyway they can get it
and keep legal so they cannot be touched
Mike LaVigne
We had a problem with the $250.00 fee from another merchant. We went to Leaders because they told us they were the leaders in their field and that is how they got their name. So we took down the date our contract
expired for future reference. After around 1 year, our accountant called us and asked us what was going on
with our charges. She told us we were being charged a lot of money for the amount coming in. We looked into our account and agreed. We decided to try the square. However, we had 7 months before our contract
expired. So we kept Leaders and got the square too. When we had to key in an amount we used leaders and
for just a swipe we used the square. We noticed the difference in the cash flow right away.
We were happy to see the increase of money because our fees at Leaders came down dramatically. We
were learning the square but it was not easy to learn because there was no help! We called Leaders
to remind them we were cancelling and telling them we had confirmation that they did receive our request to
not re-sign. We also told them there were charges on our bill for August anyway. They old us these were the
last charges we would receive and their would be not charges in September. However, we got a $250.00
charge on August 19th. We called and they told us to fax in everything again and she would fax it to the
appropriate department. Once received, we would have a refrdund in 1-2 days. It is now September 3, 2013
and we have not received our refund. We called today and they connected us to the wrong department
twice and their telephone numbers seemed to have changed. I can not belive these people are allowed to
stay in business. Aren’t they regulated?
Nick
Wish I had read these reviews instead of the glowing crapfest on other so-called merchant services review sites. Lies, omission and misinformation are just the start. Their quoted fees are for the best of all possible circumstances. Get the “wrong” card and your fee could be upwards of 6% by the time they jack up the rate and add a host of extra fees and charges. Never once was I told of a minimum monthly fee, even after telling the sales rep that I had a low volume and often had months with no cards processed. He also “neglected” to mention the THREE YEAR CONTRACT or the hefty CANCELLATION FEE to buy your way out of their extortion ring. Used their service to process TWO transactions the first month. After seeing how much they charged (over 6% on one transaction alone), and then getting socked with another $37 for NOT having any transactions the following month, I cancelled my account and had to pay yet more, a hefty $350, to buy my way out of this scam. After Leaders, Square looks real good – never had a problem with them and always know how much it’s going to cost in advance. STAY AWAY! STAY VERY, VERY FAR AWAY!
Lara
Stay away from this company! They will get you bankrupt in three month. Horrible customer service. Many many hidden fees, they will hold your funds forever. They will close your account when they want and then reopen. Then they will charge you for all of this. i lost thousands of dollars and we are now in the process of suing this company because we have to file a bankruptcy.
STAY AWAY FROM LEADERS.
Lynell Comer
The absolute worst Merchant company I have experienced, in 10 plus years of using these services! Watch out for their so called low fees….they will charge you MANY extra fees and charges.
BEWARE of the PCI Compliance test….I Got huge Debits out of my bank account even before ever using their system! Then their compliance test won’t let you in to take it. Once taking the test, the system won’t advance to completion. No help on the weekends either…online or by phone! ALL THE WHILE YOU STRUGLE TO COMPLY….THEY STEEL MORE MONEY OUT OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT! Leaders HAS TAKEN OVER TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FROM ME SO FAR!!!
Walt
Stay Away. I was charged over $80.00 a month in fees.
They told me there was a $40 month fee for PCI. All I had to do is fill out a form and they would not charge me.
Did they tell me it of course not. I was told that all I would have to pay is a low monthly fee of 10.00
They LIE to get any business than you are stuck in a year contract and to break it they ask alot.
STAY AWAY.
YOU BEEN WARNED.
Rex Ross
The sale rep stated the per swipe and transaction fee’s. Stating there are no additional or hidden cost. I then get invoiced for $32.95 per mont for service and Regulatory fee. I said they misrepremsited the cost and they replied that they would charge me $350.00 to cancel and that I had a three year contract. Total new news to me.
A total MISREPRESENTATION and a RIP OFF. I am going to tell averyone I come in contact with about this.
RBMotorsprots
worst company ever, total money grabbers, feesfor everything, no support ,350 dollar cancellation fee.
Ron Watson
This the worst experience and deception I have ever had.
1. They did not tell me about all the monthly charges that amount
to $37.50 a month before using the card.
.2. I was told it was a Two Year contract. Now I find out it is a Three Year contract.
3. Was not informed about the $129.00 a year to be “compliant” . Was told if I was not
“complaint” the charge would be $40.00 a month.
Deb
FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD………..do not use this company. there are hidden fees……they get into your account and take unauthorized fees. I was never told of these fees…….I put a stop payment on my account and they used another number to get into my account when they couldn’t get it with the original. I am not in the process of closing my account………
FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD
dennis abernathy
After 1 month with company, i have to cancel my contract. I was informed about a charge per swipe and a % fee for each transaction. My question next was “are there any other hidden fees”. I was told this was my only fees. My first statement showed 5.89% was charged per transaction. And all the hidden fees showed up, which i was informed that they did not exist. Upon asking to cancel I was told that a $350.00 cancellation fee was in my contract. Again, I was told I could cancel at any time without a service charge. This company was not up front on service fees and charges or vital information when ask. I would give them a “F’ for salesmanship of there product.
Ali Elouassini
same as what others before me said. total scam. knowingly untold hidden fees from sales representatives. charged $ 104 and never even used the service. they said it’s the yearly fee of $89 plus a monthly $15 dollars and i was told specifically by sales rep that there are no hidden fees whatsoever besides the interest charged on the sales and the monthly fee of $15. on top of that they wouldnt even accept the cancellation over the phone they said it has to be written and faxed. now that i did that to avoid any more illegal withdrawals from my account, they said we received it but it will take 30 days to actually close the account , and there is no guarrantee that there wont be any additional fees charged between now and the actual closure of the account :) funny company . funny monkey business.how can a company like this with such malpractices even exist , let alone get a B+ from BBB . i lost all respect and trust in BBB frankly.
David Rosenfeld
Do not use this service Sales rep explained to me that my account was to be charged a percentage of the ticket and a processing fee .. no monthly fees to be on my account .
To date Monthly fees are close to 800.00 and I cannot reach customer rep on the one occasion when I was able to reach customer service after multiple multiple attempts …they agreed to cancel my account and sure enough this month another 110.00 billed directly out of my bank account . Once they have your routing number and account number you are almost powerless to stop them from reaching into your account.
pete lardy
I was not informed upon the sales call about the $129/yr PCI fee billed once yearly in March. I was informed about the $7.95/ month charge for service but to ad in an extra $10 (for PCI prorated) a month makes a difference.
Also, the fact that I’m on a three year contract never came up in the sales calls and that the termination fee is $350. I understand that all of these numbers are in the contract that I signed but wow, they could easily be disclosed by the salesman “Jake”.
Jerry C
Leaders Merchant CC services= BAD!!
Bad service, all about the instant sale! Watch your back.
Had the account rep “Chris Lopez” mentioned no cancellation fees, lowest swipe fees, etc.
Not even close. HIS swipe never worked when he PROMISED it would on an Andriod, it didn’t. Called him 2x, never returned calls. Left messages, never returned messages….AGAIN, all about the SALE!!
tried cancelling, VERY difficult….BUT…I will. Scum!
Flor S.
Got a small bakery at South Coast Plaza and leaders has been my partner for 26 months now. No major headaches whatsoever except for some customer reps that I had spoken to sometimes.
Phillip CPO
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to verify your testimonial. Thanks!
Asif
Hi Everyone
Please stay away from these THIEVES and ROBERS. I was told that there is no contract or early termination fee and rates are best in the industry. I ended up signing with them but they couldn’t process my first transaction and held my money for a month+ and at the end I had to refund that money back to my customer because these BEST in the industry couldn’t do what they promised. I signed up with “SQUARE UP” to process the transaction its been great and very smooth with SQUARE and I am very happy. and two months later these thieves have charged me $350 early termination fee and it suppose to be contract free. These are BIG RIP OFFS, please STAY AWAAAAAAY.
Paul Wilcoxson
Our small company has used this credit card processing company for over two years. Since we signed up, facts have been misrepresented. Fees charged that were not mentioned in the beginning. More and more fees have been added. Our small bank account has been drained dry. We can’t get out of the contract without paying $250, which we can’t afford.
It has been a total headache for us from the beginning. We have fought with people over and over.
I urge others to stay away and not get involved.
Bryan Kilmer
Never had any problems using leaders as my credit card processing company. When I first switched to them, the customer rep explained the services I will be getting out of my subscription. I read the terms and it was agreeable and worth a shot so I tried it. Customer reps aren’t the best in the world but the chances of landing a rep who doesn’t know what they’re doing is lesser compared to other companies out there like my router phone provider. No major hassles experienced so far unlike these other people are experiencing. I am hoping that these negative things are only sporadic though and isn’t a known issue.
Phillip CPO
Hi Bryan,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location in order to verify your testimonial. Thanks!
Quang Le
I have couple transactions on beginning of Feb-2013 and it’s been 2 weeks but i still not see the money of my transaction transfer to my account, so i decide to call them but none of them know what the answer for my money so they keep transfer me to another department and they keep asking me all the information all over again and again till they hear my question they will put me on hold, then there a guy name William pick up the line and said they are reviewing my account so right now just send him “whatever i have”, he said, to him, so i ask what do you mean by “whatever” he said “whatever you could fax to me, like receipts”, i’m a personal small business seller, all of my transaction was by phone swiper so probably i cannot have receipt to fax to him but i tell him i could provide a picture of my transaction that i access on the website that they provide to me. They cannot access to their system to see transaction on my account, i think. After all, he just give me his email to send pictures but he just said [email protected] without spelling or anything as my request, and when i’m trying to send email, it’s not a vaild email. This is such a ridiculous customer service ever. They not like that when i applied to used, but after i have problem, nobody care!
b
Complete liars and thieves!!!! Told me I would pay 1.9% plus $25 a month for gateway and statement fees. My effective rate came in at 10%….. Complete robbery and liars!!! Never a mention of ticket size so my large ticket charges were held for 3 months. I had to deal with the risk department because we are a new company and after they tell me they will finally release the funds a month ago I had to call back today because still no posting. The lady tells me it was an oversight.
Crystal Lemmons
I rushed into an agreement with Leaders Merchant Services in October, 2012. I was looking for a transaction-based fee system that had no minimum fees, etc. I am a board member of a small non-profit children’s museum and we were having a fund-raising activity the weekend that I called them. The salesperson I spoke with assured me that there were no monthly fees and very competitive pricing on transaction fees. Since then they have charge us over $394 for four months, $307 in FLAT FEES and $87 in actual transaction charges. We have only processed $1048 in transactions with them, so their rates are definitely not competitive even without the outrageous
Greg Bradley
So far, hadn’t had any major problems regarding its services. Except of course for customer service who at times does not really fully grasp the problem at hand and will just proceed to selling you something. All in all, I’ve been satisfied with their service.
Phillip CPO
Hi Greg,
In order to verify your testimonial, please reply with your business name and location. Thanks!
Zach
This company will lie to you on rates, percentages and other fees. You will ultimatley have to cancel, and they will make you jump through hoops to do so. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!
Dan
The worst company I have ever had to deal
with in my 31 years of business, The customer
Sevice is horrible, The sales reps. Mislead you.
I was told it would be 0.49 per transaction, they
Charged me over 5% on 4800.00 When I asked to
Have it refunded 3 days later they charge me another 5.plus %
I payed 577.00 on a 4800.00 charge. I will be getting
Intouch with the BBB and the Feds.
I would not recommend this Company. Go to
Your local bank don’t waste your time and money
With these folks.
Greg Wood
I specifically asked the REP that I talked to if there were ANY OTHER FEES, other than the $8 monthly access fee and the per charge transaction fee and he told me there were NO OTHER FEES….HE LIED! They have charged me over $215 worth of fees, and I have NEVER gotten the reader to work even once! SCAM!!!!!!!!!
Michael
I also posted on 8/30/2012 below.
Leaders tried to charge me a second fraudulent cancellation fee today even though I never cancelled them once (they cancelled me due to a fraudulent charge-back claim, which I won). This is a blatant attempt at intimidation at the end of the year as they try to book more revenue.
Please do not do business with them. The charges from them and their pyramid of associated “partners” that you never agree to will continue against your accounts long after you cease doing business with them. I had to file a claim with my bank to stop processing the charge.
M Burns
Leaders has been very reliable for my business. I have a small business I run with my cousins and so far Leaders has been the best business upgrade we ever made. I had to call customer service from time to time but just to confirm certain things with them. I believe that the best credit card company will provide you all the services you need at a reasonable price. This company is not only after their profit but their customer’s satisfaction as well. Happy Holidays everyone!
Phillip CPO
Hello,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location to verify this testimonial.
Jeff Slinkard
Run don’t walk away from this company. They are the biggest Bait and Switch Rip Off company around. Here is how the system works:
They offer you an incredible deal, but you have to respond ASAP, in our case completey free service, no annual charges and no monthly charges, but you have to sign a 3 year agreement.
A few months later you get hit with the first of many monthly or anual charges. But they do offer you a way out, simply pay them $250 to get out of your free deal.
RUN, RUN, RUN way from these people.
Kim Riddle
I JUST got done setting up my account with Lenders, after reading this i am calling my rep (Chris) back to get some disclosures in writing just to be on the safe side. My experience so far has been OUTSTANDING! I will warn merchants, please please please educate yourself before opening an account so you KNOW what questions to ask. I feel a lot of these people complaining didn’t know what to expect and probably signed up for a LOT more than they truly needed (hence all the fees).
I took the time to explain to my rep what my business is, how much I expect to run per transaction and per month, HOW i expect to run transactions (face to face of via the web) and some other small items. He allowed me to set up my account (no up front cost) for a total of $7,95 per month + (.35% + $0.18) per transaction. It is written in my agreement that there is NO early termination fee (ETF) and no additional charges. He is also overnight shipping my card swiper free of charge due to the urgency to begin. I would say that’s a great deal! He also educated me on what disclosures to put on my transaction receipts (All Sales Final, 30 Day Money Back Guarantee) so i am not at risk of loosing any potential disputes.
I only registered for VISA and MasterCard, face to face transactions using the swiper (that is what MY fees entailed), however he did let me know there are A LOT of additional add on options and services that DO get quite expensive. So if you accidentally registered for more than you need, of course you will see ridiculous fees! My suggestion, call customer service and get registered with an account executive to assist you. Don’t try doing it by yourself.
Kim Riddle
I take back ALL of the above comments i made a few months ago (i never followed up, but SHOULD have). After my great conversation with my rep (basically him selling me on everything i WANTED to hear) i could never speak with him again. He TOLD me he overnight-ed my card swiper (that never happened) and he told me to call him back at a certain time to confirm everything was set up properly and we were good to go, he never answered the phone or returned a call again… Other staff members claimed he “went home sick” early on in the day, then at closing time another rep told me he had JUST left for the day? Talk about a bait and switch!
This was all actually a blessing to have turned out this way – i was later educated by another service provider that Leaders is commonly referred to as “Mis-Leasders” due to all the BS they throw at you. The rates i was quoted are actually only given for certain types of cards (which are NOT commonly used) and IF i was to run something other than that specific card i would get CRAZY penalties! Turns out, i would have gotten these penalties on almost every transaction run – when you add that all up it makes the Square look like a GOD SEND.
Long story short – i would NEVER refer anyone to use Leaders! I would recommend Flagship (look them up) they actually do what they say and don’t mislead….
Cathi Richardson
I opened this account I was guaranteed a monthly fee of $10.00 plus 2.7% on any charges and that would be it. I was told several times there were NO OTHER ADDITIONAL CHARGES. However, since I opened this account on July 5 I have had a total of $307.55 of charges taken from my checking account and have only processed a total of $214.00.
When I called to close this account the first time in August after having discovered that apparent fraud was taking place, I was told that the account would be closed from further service fees but would have to remain open for 30 days due to the fact that there could be charge backs. Yet, 30 days later this company has managed to not only take money from my account yet again. When I called to inquire what was going on and why I was charged these fees on an account I was told was closed I was told that there was no way they could close an account without written notice. How convenient that was considering the next month, 3 days prior to that 30 days from date of written notice, they managed to take another $164.90 claiming that was some yearly membership fee and that it would be reimbursed because the account had been closed! Now, 60 days after having closed the account this company is still stealing money from my account for another $65.90 and I have yet to see anything reimbursed as promised. All after being guaranteed that there were no additional fees outside of the $10.00/mth plus 2.7% on any charges.
My bank has advised me to file a local police report for fraud and file complaints with the Attorney General’s Office within my state and California. All of which will be done today. This is pure fraud in its finest form. Apparently there are several other complaint of the exact same; I’m sure this will get the attention of the Attorney Generals in these states as this practice seems to be widespread.
Sylvia Holtman
Finally got it closed. Wow. While attempting to get my account canceled (BTW, it will take you at least a month after you call to have it closed, meanwhile they charge you more monthly fees) I called back at least 3 times trying to find out when they were going to charge my early cancellation fees so I could plan for the massive amount of $500 since I had 2 accounts. They were polite but the information on when it would close and the fees withdrawn was not correct and it basically put my business account in limbo.
I had started trying to get it closed in early August. It was finally closed in October and the final fees were taken at the end of the month. It was a nightmare. Many fees that were not clearly disclosed when I signed up, expensive early cancellation fees, expensive PCI fees and monthly fees added after I signed up. For my little business it was an expensive mistake. I hope others fare better. I would not recommend this company. Please take the negative reviews seriously if you don’t have extra money to spend.
Chris
I had a great experience working with leaders as our primary merchant company. Never really had a problem working with them. Doesn’t have the slightest idea why some people have bad experiences working with Leaders. Just make sure folks that you ask everything before signing up and make sure to not subscribe to other add ons which companies normally do. Just stick to what you truly need and there shouldn’t be a problem. Have a great day everyone!
Phillip CPO
Hi Chris,
The link you provided with your name goes to an unavailable website. Can you reply to this comment with the name and location of your business in order to verify your testimonial?
J. Hopkins
My wife sarah and I started our small bakery business at orange county. We couldn’t cater the expanding needs for our business hence we looked for a suitable partner that would carry and deliver the services we needed in terms of credit card processing. Sarah did a little research on the internet and she found out about this. So we discussed whether it would be the best solution and since it’s comparatively low price is quite attractive, we tried it out last March and so far everything is doing well. We’re definitely not experiencing any problem at all and for us, Leaders MS has lived its name as one of the top, perhaps the number one, cc processing companies that one can see out there.
Phillip CPO
Hi J. Hopkins,
The link you provided with your name goes to an unavailable website. Can you reply to this comment with the name and location of your business in order to verify your testimonial?
Marvin Adams
I am probably a newcomer for leaders since I just joined the band since Feb of this year. I am not going to sugarcoat anything but I just wanna say that I am indeed satisfied with what I am getting for the money I paid them for. It’s kinda hard to look for other cc processing companies whose going to be there really for you. Trust me, I’ve tried a couple cc processing companies and they were a nightmare. Anyway. the rankings can show that Leaders is still number one choice of over a 100K clients. Just check it out for yourself. Cheers everyone!
Phillip CPO
Hi Marvin,
In order to verify this testimonial, please reply with your business name and location.
Elias Gomez
This has been one of the frustrating experiences with a merchant processor, the agent mislead me with the fee’s and he also said i can cancel at any time if they weren’t the right fit for our business, after paying all kind of excessive fees including a $150.00 PCI compliant fee (with other processors $50) i decided to cancel, surprise surprise, they charged me $250.00 early cancellation fee, when i spoke with a manager she was sarcastic backing up her agent that sing me up, saying that i can cancel at any time with a FEE, but that wasn’t what the agent and i discussed during the enrollment. To summarized, BAD company, be careful and ask for cancellation fees and all kind of fees they don’t disclosed. I sign up with another processor that gave me no contract and the fees are about 40% less expensive.
anuar
LEADERS took from my checking account with out AUTHORIZATION $267.00 six months ago and never returned.
we never use the service because from the beginning we have problems with them.
leaders is abusive,liar and thieves…
I would not recomment this company to anyone
Barry Kratzer
I just had the unpleasant experience of dealing with Leaders. The agent told me all about the low 0.49% rate for debit cards, and the 1.79% for credit cards. Well, according to their website, these rates apply to swiped (0.49%) and manually entered information (1.79%) These are nice rates compared to Intuit’s GoPayment’s 2.6%. However, he then said that there is a $0.27 per transaction fee. Surprise, surprise!
Well, it gets better than that. After going through all the signup BS, and trying to get my card swiper sent to me, when I finally got logged in (that is another fiasco) I saw on their agreement a monthly charge of $10.00. They call it a Gateway fee. This is when I told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine!! Now I had to get a form requesting the closing of my account, fill it out, and fax it back to them. A person would think I was trying to break into Fort Knox, with all the rigamaroll I had to go through!! Also, after talking to the agent I received an e-mail from Verifone PAYware, of whom I have never heard, wanting me to sign up with them.Well, it turns out that PAYware is part of Leaders, but ther was no such indication whatsoever in the e-mail! I thought it was a scam company. My advice to anyone would be to avoid this company at all costs!They are very devious, their customer service is all messed up…dropped phone calls, etc., you name it.
Kirsten Holmes
I am deeply getting concerned about the negative comments for Leaders Merchant Services. But their pricing is so tempting I had given it a try and to be honest, I did not have any regrets of some sorts nor did I experience these alerting concerns by other people. I certainly am not getting alarmed whatsoever since they are actually doing great for me and still able to deliver the services I paid for. I hope all these negative concerns will be addressed with properly and timely so it would not tarnish your company’s name.
Phillip CPO
Hi Kirsten,
Can you reply to this comment with your business name and location including contact information? We would like to verify this testimonial.
Kevin Marshall
I have been using Leaders Merchant Services for as my credit card processor for just over a year. I was using a different merchant account provider but Leaders merchant services was able to reduce the cost of my processing by over 1.4% and my transaction cost dropped as well. I have had a few customer service calls for billing and equipment (they got me a mobile credit card processing machine for events). Each time Leaders Merchant Services has always been helpful. If you processing credit cards I would suggest to look into this company as they have saved me a bunch in processing fees.
Pamela Scott
As a marketing professional, all I can say is that this company is able to efficiently deliver its services at least for my business. I have been privately employed as an accountant for roughly 12 years. Everything was good back then until I settled down and had 2 kids of my own. :) I felt that with all the bills coming in and just enough income to cover family expenses and a little savings, I am unsure if I will be able to still survive the harsh realities that I need to find another source of decent money to still enjoy all the things I wanna do. I started a small coffee shop business way back early 2000 and it actually flanked. It’s kinda ironic that I was major in calculation of profit, earning, and all those stuffs yet failed to deliver all these learning on my own business. I studied and studies, feasibility studies here and there, and I manage to survive my boutique. As early as 2006, I already have two outlets. With the dramatic changes brought about by the internet lately, I started to go online for visibility. This was the same time that Leaders came in. My merchant account is well protected and I can guarantee you that. Although at times, it takes longer than usual for my tech concerns to be resolved, it seldom happens and it’s tolerable. As much as I am growing concerned of extra charges being disclosed by people, I haven’t encountered it though. With thousands of people currently subscribe to Leaders, there will still be holes and some left unsatisfied. I am hoping this should be addressed as Leaders has built a very credible impression at least for me. Cheers and Regards!
Phillip CPO
Hi Pamela,
Due to several recent attempts we’ve had from different providers trying to post bogus positive reviews about themselves, can you please reply to this comment with you business’ contact information in order to verify that its a legitimate review?
Tim Dods
I signed up for Leaders Merchant Services a little over 2 months ago, for the advertised .49% rate on debit. I was sent a verifone card reader, and have used it on only debit cards. None of these have been billed as swiped though and all of them were. None of them qualify for the low rate and additional fees and chages made the average for each month approximately 8% of gross card sales, one card in particular, with all charges togther, I was charged 13% of the sale, 26 times the advertised rate. I would like to take cards but these rates, fees, and charges are prohibitive.
Elizabeth Rago
Stay away from this company. They give you the bums rush, promise you everything and
deliver nothing, in particular, customer service. Transferred from one department to another, and
no straight answer. According to them it takes them up to 30 days to close your account, which
I immediately did. They do however, not have a problem withdrawing funds, fees, immediately.
I was charged 45.00 for shipment of credit card processing machine, which did not ship, since
I cancelled and told them in no uncertain terms to not send out. Well try and get your 45.00
back, fat chance. As they say maybe when hell freezes over.
asher barkin
Leaders has been a terrible experience for me. If you want to be ripped off then Leaders Merchant Services is the way to go. They just charged me 350 cancellation fee. the first monthe they charged me 15.00 next month apx 35.00 and it kept rising. Leader Merchant services is an arm of wells fargo. They are to big to fail (immunity) I would advise anyone to steer very clear of these guys.
asher
Id like to add that I charged only one cent ($0.01) to my terminal while I had merchant service through Leaders
Michael
I used Leaders for my credit card processing for a side business, and it was a horrible experience. There is a lot they rush through so you don’t know, and their agreement is intentionally confusing. I had fees in excess of 10% for some transactions, and their monthly fee is not the only monthly fee you pay. So when they say $10/month, it’s actually closer to $30 plus the percentages. I had one false chargeback, which I won, and they cancelled my account and held over $900 that was supposed to be deposited. And even though they cancelled my account, they took another $350 as a cancellation fee and sent my business account into overdraft (because they already took the $900 they owed me). My business lost money on a monthly basis because of their hidden charges. Their business model is short term – get a customer with false advertising, charge high fees for months, use an expensive cancellation clause, and then either cancel them or let them cancel and collect another $350. They seem to get away with it though.
Erwin Raff
I have been with leaders for 9 months and so far did not have any problems with their services and customer support so this kind of reviews really worry me. I trust leaders for my business and I never had any problems with that. I did not know about the cancellation fee charges but I’m not thinking of not finishing my contract before it even expires but its also good to be aware. My business is doing great with leaders and I just want to share that. They are not so bad good rates than the previous ones I had.
Phillip CPO
Hi Erwin,
Due to several recent attempts we’ve had from providers trying to post bogus positive reviews about themselves, can you please reply to this comment with you business’ contact information in order to verify that its a legitimate review?
Grader Payne
I have been with leaders for a year now and so far I have never had any problems with my account. I admit I had to call customer service several times to ask about the charges on my account and they have been very helpful with explaining to me the charges and fees. I don’t know if I got lucky with my the choices of customer service representatives I talked to but I sure did not have any troubles addressing my concern to them and getting it fixed. Leaders has been a reliable company for my business so far and I intend to extend my 3year contract in the future. Maybe they had a change in their system? I was getting a good service and I did not experience what the others had experienced with the company and hope it stays that way. Leaders is doing a great job helping me with my business needs.
Phillip CPO
Hi Grader,
Due to several recent attempts we’ve had from providers trying to post bogus positive reviews about themselves, can you please reply to this comment with you business’ contact information in order to verify that its a legitimate review?
Forbe Cooke
I have been with leaders 2 years now. I wont deny I did experience having to call customer service because of unknown charges on my account but they always fix it. I have experienced working on a company like this before and its really the system that’s causing the charges but their customer service is always there to assist and help correct those charges. I called them and they help me lower down my bill by getting rid of the unknown charges. I know sometimes it gets so inconvenient to have to call but they wont notice the system errors unless you bring it up to them. So far, that’s my only complains about leaders and my business is doing good with them so I dont plan in changing merchant service provider anytime soon.
Phillip CPO
Hi Forbe, Can you reply to this comment with your business contact information to verify that this is a legitimate review from an actual merchant?
Kim
User interface for iphone app worked as expected, and the sign-up process was efficient and easy. However, when I called to cancel service, the information provided by the sales person did not match the terms of cancellation. Two months after cancellation, I still am receiving charges for which it is not clear why… and their were additional charges that were not explained to me at the outset, even when I specifically asked for a list of all charges I could expect. The encounter with customer service was not helpful, as there is no “escalation” point for complaints.
Burner Blue
I originally chose leaders because its the best credit card processing company based on the internet. And so far I have proven it to be right. I have been using leaders for about 2 years now with just minor problems. Yes, I admit there has been some issues with the billing but they fixed it every time I file a dispute which is great. Never got to ask bout their ETF though cause I’m not planning to end my service before my contract ends I was actually thinking of extending. This type of reviews worry me as a consumer but so far based on my personal experience Leaders has been very accommodating.
Phillip CPO
Can you reply to this comment with your business contact information to verify that this is a legitimate review from an actual merchant?
Michael Petrushansky, CPA, PC
This company is a RIP-OFF many hidden fees, non-responsive customer service, charge of 1.95 just to inquire/complain about hidden fees when calling customer service. Use any other service but this one for credit card processing.
Rita
Leaders Merchant Servies is a BIG SCAM. They promise all this stuff to you upfront. Don’t explain the contract. Get you reeled in and then won’t process your money. They told us we couldn’t process more than a $3000.00 transaction per day. No more than $10,000.00 per month and cannot process the same customer more than once a month! They did NOT explain this to us when we signed up our company. DO NOT USE THEM! The people are rude and do not help you get your money by processing the credit card charge.
Sylvia Holtman
I too have had major issues with this company. They are hard to get ahold of, charge way more than I was lead to believe it would cost me and unfortunately, I didn’t read the fine fine print and there is a fee to cancel the contract. (I”ve had other merchant accounts and never even knew that they did that sort of thing…Guess I learned the hard way on that one.)
This last time they charged me almost $22 for a $240 credit card charge because they marked it as non qualified. I was amazed!! I think it was a Wells Fargo credit card too!! Wow.
I have 2 merchant accounts with them because they couldn’t do it in one for some odd reason so I have 2 cancellation fees to pay after my 1 year of $250 ($500 total) and then 2 PCI compliance fees of $129.00 each year and now they are charging me a new fee of $4.95 for each account for some federal fee that’s new. THEN I get charged if I DON’T use it of $7.95 per month for each account. I am just going to pay a STUDID TAX of their cancellation fees and continue to let everyone I know to never never never sign up for their merchant accounts.
It will be cheaper for me to pay the STUPID TAX to them to cancel the contracts than to continue to pay their huge fees. I will not be able to stay in business if I continue to use this company since I don’t run a huge amount of CCards! BEWARE!
Lana
I am on the phone with Leaders at this moment. I have been on hold for 20 minutes now. I am waiting for a supervisor to discuss a refund of unauthorized debits from my checking account. ( How they respond will determine whether I submit this form or not.) I faxed in a “Close Merchant Account Request Form” on 03/09/2012. Since then I have resent the form about 4 times. Since 04/03/2012 they have debited a total of $397.60 from my checking account. I am waiting now to see if I will be getting that amount refunded to my checking account. This is by far the worst company you could possibly choose for credit card services. There has been repeated overcharges and the customer service is horrible. I can’t even begin to express my discuss with this company! At the moment they are refusing to refund the charges because I cannot prove that I sent the fax on 03/09/2012. I was not aware that I would be screwed so I didn’t save the confirmation. Trust me…if you are considering this company…RUN…RUN and never look back! But if by some chance you do decide not to heed the numerous warnings you can find on the internet regarding Leaders Merchant Services, KEEP EVERY BIT OF INFORMATION YOU GET…ASK FOR CONFIRMATION NUMBERS…GET NAMES…AND KNOW A VERY GOOD ATTORNEY!! By the way…now on hold for 39 minutes and 20 seconds! And counting…..
I am actually emailing them and telling them to take me off hold! The last email resulted in getting disconnected!! CAlled back. The very nice lady who answered was appalled at the amount of time I
was on hold! Let’s just see how it works out this time!
Got disconnected again!! Calling back again!!!
Finally spoke with a very nice young man named Jason. He is doing what he can…being that I will get about $50 to $100 of the almost $400 charged to me since I closed the account. Not happy at all but what can I do…I’m just a consumer that paid for them to SERVE me!
Emil
Total waste of time, had 1 charge back and they closed my account keeping $2,000
John Reynolds
This company is a criminal organization! They give you a written contract with all the rates listed and then when you get the monthly statement the rates are doubled. When you call customer service it takes forever to reach someone and then basically don’t even bother to offer an explanation! Then I cancel, of course, and they continue to steal money from my account for totally bogus “fees ” for 6 months. Dealing with this criminal organization, I will not call it a “company”, was an absolute nightmare. The owners should be prosecuted for fraud and put in jail!
David
Total scam – promised no cancelation fee – no hidden fees- blah blah blah – I was charged $34 on only $441 taken in. Misc service fee- $5 Misc reg fee$4.95 – charged for 13 transactions when there was only 5 – Worst was they are the same company I left for hidden fees – IPayment – Leaders gets thier mail to the EXACT same adress – but every employee says Oh we share some business. WOW what an illegal scam they got going. RUN thay are htreating a $300 cancelation after one month and oh so many other hidden “I think I can steal from you” charges. When prompted by a service rep why I was leaving she suddenly could better my rate- “i should be paying this much” Then why was it set up this way – “She didn’t know. RUN FROM THESE FRAUDULENT scam artists
Steve W McLellan
Total agree with this. A total rip off. Took out over $1,000.00 in penalty fees in 1 month out of my account. So many hidden fees they dont tell you about. RUN.