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Founded in 2016, Merchant Fee Removal is a merchant account provider that specializes in cash discount pricing. The company claims to reduce its merchants’ fees to nearly zero by enabling them to offer a discount to customers who pay with cash. This has the effect of ensuring that customers who pay via card subsidize the cost of payment processing for the merchant. Cash discount pricing is distinct from zero-fee pricing in that it does not apply surcharges, but it is intended to have roughly the same effect. The company also advertises its use of Clover POS systems.
Before we dive in, here’s a short summary of what we’ll cover:
Merchant Fee Removal is headquartered at 7901 Cameron Road, Austin, Texas 78754, and does not list its acquiring bank. Michael Richardson is the managing partner of Merchant Fee Removal.
Item | Result |
---|---|
Total Online Complaints | <10 |
Live Customer Support | No |
Most Common Complaint | N/A |
Recent Lawsuits | No |
We are currently unable to locate few Merchant Fee Removal reviews that accuse the company of being a ripoff or a scam. The only reviews we can find of the company, in fact, are two recent reviews in the comment section below. While these two reviews are concerning, it is still a very low number for a company that has been in business this long. We will continue to monitor the situation and update our score if necessary. If you have a Merchant Fee Removal review to make yourself, please do so in the comments below.
We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Merchant Fee Removal. Dissatisfied clients who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.
The Merchant Fee Removal website provides only a customer support form and chat. We will award Merchant Fee Removal an “A” rating in this category, but the company’s current customer support options do not qualify it as a top-rated customer service processor.
Item | Result |
---|---|
BBB Reports | 2 |
Merchant Fee Removal has a no rating with the Better Business Bureau and is not BBB accredited. The company has received 2 complaints in the last 3 years. The 2 complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the client.
Given the company’s clear complaint record, we agree with the BBB’s rating at this time. Business owners should note, however, that there are good reasons to be skeptical of the BBB’s rating system.
Item | Result | >
---|---|
Cancellation Penalties | Variable |
Monthly & Annual Fees | Variable |
Processing Rates | 1.00% - 4.99% |
Equipment Leasing | Variable |
There is no publicly available information about the standard Merchant Fee Removal rates or contract at this time. It is likely that the company simply adds a blanket surcharge of around 4% to all transactions processed at a merchant’s store. This charge is then waived for any customers who pay with cash since Merchant Fee Removal will not process that payment. This has the effect of completely subsidizing a client’s payment processing fees. The primary drawback of this pricing model is that customers may not appreciate the additional charge of up to 4% just for the convenience of paying with a credit card.
The total absence of complaints about the company’s contract terms merits an “A” in this category, but it should be noted that we are assigning this grade without any verified knowledge of specific pricing. It is difficult to assess at this time whether Merchant Fee Removal’s contract terms are competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts.
We also encourage readers to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.
Item | Result |
---|---|
Uses Independent Resellers | Yes |
Telemarketing | Possible |
Misleading Marketing | No |
Discloses All Important Terms | No |
Merchant Fee Removal appears to rely on a combination of independently contracted sales agents and in-house staff to market its services. There is no evidence at this time indicating that the company engages in deceptive sales tactics, and we are unable to locate any Merchant Fee Removal reviews that report unethical behavior by the company’s sales staff toward clients. There is, however, a recent comment posted under this review from someone claiming to be an independent sales agent for the company. The commenter claims that Michael Richardson did not provide any support to the agent and refused to legally release them from their contract. This is concerning if true, and we will be keeping an eye out for any further such reviews.
This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.
The Merchant Fee Removal website currently displays a calculator that claims to help businesses enter their current fees and calculate their savings through Merchant Fee Removal. In actuality, this calculator simply claims to save merchants 3.9% of whatever number they enter. Since cash discount pricing does eliminate the bulk of a client’s costs, this calculator is not technically deceptive. However, businesses shouldn’t rely on it as an accurate measure of their real potential savings.
Merchant Fee Removal does not appear to engage in any deceptive advertising strategies in its official materials. If you suspect that Merchant Fee Removal is charging you undisclosed fees, we recommend seeking a third-party statement audit to eliminate hidden charges.
According to all available information, Merchant Fee Removal rates as a dependable credit card processing provider. There is not a lot of specific information available about the company’s sales tactics or contract terms at this time, but its clean complaint record is a very positive sign. Even when dealing with companies that rate highly by our standards, we urge readers to thoroughly examine the terms of any contract they are given and to compare its pricing to top-rated merchant account providers.
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Lance Campbell
Michael Richardson claims to be a Christian, but his lack of integrity says otherwise. I was recruited as an independent agent for his company. Once I find his paperwork, communication seems to ceased. In that I would never get training when requested or no response entirely. Only to assist me if there was a potential client to sale. I’ve asked multiple times for me to be released from our contractor agreement that takes both parties to agree, and he refused to send me a termination agreement letter.
Himanshu Gogna
Horrible company to work with. Michael is a fraud. He will tell you everything you want to sign up for service. He will never deliver per expectations. If you tell him to cancel service he will pickup equipment and keep charging you for service. If same thing happened to you then please contact me and we can take legal action together.