Merchant Services Reviews

Payscape Review: Fees, Comparisons, Complaints & Lawsuits

Updated:
Maintained Since: June 28, 2011
▼ 70 User Reviews
Overall Score
3
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Would you recommend them?

Note: As of 2022, the Payscape website now redirects to that of acquirer Payroc. It appears their merger is complete and that the Payscape brand is now phased out. As such, we will no longer be updating this profile and would redirect readers to our Payroc profile.

A First American Payment Systems Reseller

Payscape, formerly known as PayScape Advisors, is a merchant account provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2015, Payscape acquired an e-commerce platform called Vendevor for an undisclosed sum. The company is a reseller of First American Payment Systems contracts. According to a company representative, Payscape was founded in 2004.

Acquisition by Payroc

On October 25, 2019, Payroc announced its acquisition of Payscape. Payroc also purchased NXGEN International and BluePay Canada as part of its acquisition of Payscape. According to a press release, the companies will consolidate into a singular entity in the coming months. For the time being, each will seemingly operate independently.

Payscape Payment Gateway

Payscape offers a payment gateway to merchants where it accepts and supports online and recurring payments in over 100 countries and territories, including Europe, the UK, Canada, and Australia. This has a focus for developers, as Payscape offers developers a variety of toolkits, APIs, code, testing, and support. Their gateway also features recurring billing for subscriptions, SaaS, & other repeatable types of billing. It also has a secure vault with SSL and offers iSpyFraud to actively screen for suspicious activity.

Payscape Location and Ownership

Payscape is a registered ISO/MSP of Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati, Ohio, and is headquartered at 1438 W Peachtree St NE #220, Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Adam Bloomston and Jeremy Wing serve as the company’s co-CEOs.

Payscape Review Table of Contents

  • Costs & Contract: Payscape appears to offer a three-year contract through First American Payment Systems with a $495 early termination fee.
  • Complaints & Service: Payscape has received more than 40 public complaints.
  • BBB Rating: Payscape currently has a “B” rating and has received 6 complaints and 0 reviews in the last 3 years. The company was formerly accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2013 but is no longer accredited.
  • Sales & Marketing: It is unclear whether Payscape hires independently contracted sales agents, but the company has received a low-to-moderate number of complaints about its sales practices.

Payscape Customer Reviews

Here's What Their Clients Say

Customer Reviews Summary
Total Online Complaints 40+
Live Customer Support Yes
Most Common Complaint Hidden Fees

Low-to-Moderate Complaint Total

We were able to locate more than 40 negative Payscape reviews on this website and other consumer protection websites. Some of these complaints seem to have been posted by competitors; these have been disregarded for the purposes of our review. Common themes among legitimate complainants include nondisclosure of contract terms, difficulty reaching a representative, hidden fees, and difficulty canceling service. Approximately one-third of these reviews received a response or rebuttal from a company representative, and in a handful of these cases, merchants returned to explain that they were satisfied with the company’s reaction. Although this is an encouraging sign, it is our belief that a proactive and available customer service team will address these complaints effectively before they are taken public. In addition, it appears as though many of these complaints were filed in the last 12-24 months.

Payscape Lawsuits and Fines

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Payscape. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

Payscape Customer Service Options

Payscape offers phone and email support as well as an online knowledge base for merchants. These options are the bare minimum we expect of top-rated payment processors for great customer service, but they do not appear to do a good job of resolving Payscape complaints in-house. The consistency of the company’s complaints inclines us to assign Payscape a “B” in this category.

Payscape Online Ratings

Here's How They Rate Online

Online Ratings Summary
Product & Service Complaints 2
Billing & Collection Complaints 3
Advertising & Sales Complaints 1
Guarantee & Warranty Complaints 0
Delivery Complaints 0

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

Under 10 Complaints

Formerly accredited since 2013, but no longer accredited, the Better Business Bureau gives PayScape a “B” rating based on 6 complaints filed within the last 36 months. This is a drastic drop from the 16 complaints at the time of a previous review, and considering the company has suddenly lost its accreditation and has a lower score, it appears that the BBB may have merged multiple profiles for the company, resulting in major changes to its totals and score. Of the 6 current complaints, 2 are regarding problems with products or services, 3 with billing and collection disputes, and 1 with advertising or sales issues. 2 of these 6 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. All 4 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.

What Merchants Say

Payscape is currently showing 0 negative reviews to its profile, but at the time of a previous update, it had received 6 negative informal reviews. The most recent review described deceptive sales practices and poor customer service:

Terrible experience with this company for 2 years. Suprise fees totaling hundreds of dollars that were not approved by us. Their sales rep did not outline fees during sign up process. Contract we signed had $0 for PCI fees and no mention of $495 cancellation fee. After complaining about fees, the company pulled out a terms & conditions page which was not attached to the original contract that was signed. Miscellaneous $6, $7, $10 charges each month that we did not authorize. We were told they were “unavoidable and due to policy changes”. Accounts that were supposed to be closed never got closed and additional charges were posted. This happened several times. While the company did finally refund charges (not all of them, but some), it required speaking to multiple people mutlitple times with multiple follow ups. Overall, an absolutely terrible experience. Cannot recommend anyone work with this company.

Businesses can avoid situations like this by researching the top merchant account providers for customer service.

A “B” Performance

Given these figures, we agree with the BBB’s rating of a “B.”

Payscape Fees, Rates & Costs

A Closer Look at The Contract

Rates & Fees Summary
Flat Rate 2.9% + $0.29
Keyed-in Rate 1.00% - 4.99%
Virtual Terminal Rate 1.00% - 4.99% + $0.10 - $0.15
Professional Plan Fee $79 Per Month
Premium Plan Fee $99 Per Month
Payment Gateway Fee Up to $19.99 Per Month
Early Termination Fee Up to $595
PCI Compliance Fee $124.75 Per Year
Equipment Lease Cost $99 Per Month (48 Month Term) or $178 Per Month (36 Month Term)
Equipment Lease Terms 36 - 48 Month (locked)

Three-Year Contract

According to a company representative, the standard Payscape contract is a three-year agreement that will renew for a one-year term unless canceled after the final 90 days but before the final 30 days of the initial term. The contract also includes a cancellation fee of $495 ($595 total if the merchant signs up for Secur-Chex check conversion) and an annual PCI compliance fee of $124.75. Both of these fees are higher than those offered by budget-friendly merchant accounts, and many business owners report receiving less competitive transaction rates than they were initially promised.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

Payscape has 3 separate plans for virtual terminal services that can facilitate online and mobile payments. The Standard plan costs $11.95 per device per month, $0.10 per transaction, and $65 for hardware purchased through iProcess. It includes unlimited users, custom tipping, real-time reporting, and a merchant dashboard. The Professional plan costs $12.95 per device per month, $0.12 per transaction, and $85 for hardware purchased through 1stPayMobile. It includes everything in the Standard plan plus recurring billing, multi-merchant views, text receipts, and an optional receipt printer. The Premium plan costs $19.99 per device per month, $0.00 per transaction, and a $75 setup fee. It includes everything in the Professional plan plus inventory management, EMV processing, Bluetooth compatibility, offline mode, customer card on file, analytics, and custom discounts. The transaction rates quoted by Payscape are probably not inclusive, as additional fees will be charged by each backend payment processor.

Payscape POS Pricing

Payscape offers three purchase plans (“Professional,” “All-In-One,” and “Premium”) and two lease agreements for its point-of-sale solution. The Professional plan starts at $79 per month, while the All-In-One and Premium plans start at $99 per month. The first leasing option costs $99 per month for 48 months, while the second leasing option costs $178 per month for 36 months. Both lease agreements include flat-rate processing of 2.9% plus $0.29 per transaction, an iPad, stand, printer, card reader, and cash drawer. We recommend purchasing rather than leasing whenever possible, as long-term lease agreements rarely favor merchants.

Other Payscape Fees

Many complainants also report surprise upon being notified of Payscape’s high cancellation fee, which indicates that it isn’t typically mentioned at the point of signing. A company representative also stated that merchants may choose between an annual fee or monthly minimum fees depending on a merchant’s size. Merchants are advised to read their contracts carefully and to keep in mind that many contract terms are often negotiable.

We also encourage merchants to check out our list of the providers of the best merchant accounts.

Payscape Employee Reviews & Sales Tacitcs

Should You Work For Them?

Jobs & Marketing Summary
Employs Independent Resellers No
Advertises Deceptive Rates No
Discloses All Important Terms No

Outside Sales Team

Payscape appears to primarily utilize telemarketing, email campaigns, and outside account managers to market its services. As of this update, it is unclear whether Payscape employs independent sales agents, but the company does appear to have outside sales teams at numerous offices across the country. Generally speaking, W2-employed sales teams receive higher compensation and more training than independently contracted agents, resulting in fewer merchant complaints.

This compares favorably to our list of best credit card processors.

Payscape Mobile Payment Quotes

Payscape’s mobile payments page lists three pricing plans: “Standard,” “Professional,” and “Premium.” All three plans quote transaction fees of either $0.00 or $0.12. These costs only represent Payscape’s add-on transaction fees and do not include the per-transaction fees that will be charged by the mobile payment processors that offer Payscape’s services. Merchants should therefore assume that their cost to process an individual transaction is much higher than what is shown on the Payscape website.

Some Sales Complaints

In the case of Payscape, the company’s sales team appears to receive more complaints than is typical of processors that utilize in-house staff. Multiple complainants cite nondisclosure of contract terms, misrepresentation of rates, and agent unavailability (sometimes due to the agent no longer being employed with Payscape without the merchant’s knowledge). These complaints have been filed less frequently in recent months, but the few that continue to trickle in still mention disclosure issues. If you suspect that you have been misled by a Payscape agent, you can double-check your monthly bill with a third-party statement audit.

Our Payscape Review Summary

Our Final Thoughts

An Average Option for Most Businesses

According to our rating system, Payscape rates as an average merchant account provider. The company has received a fairly consistent pattern of reviews complaining about undesirable and undisclosed contract terms, but Payscape’s responses to these complaints and its improvement in its BBB rating have raised its overall score. Merchants are encouraged to compare Payscape’s pricing to that offered by top-rated overall processors in order to obtain the best deal.

Testimonials & Complaints

How Did Payscape Treat You?

70 User Reviews

  • Todd

    DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!

    I had used this company for years and and completed my 36 month contract. Then when I needed to cancel they told me my contract just renewed and I have to pay them $495. I spoke with the manager and asked if I could pay for the month I used instead of this crazy high fee. They could have cared less. Horrible customer service. After years and years of paying them they have no heart. No care for small business. Come to find out they have been billing me additional $45 per month because I wasn’t PCI compliant. But I was never told I needed to be PCI compliant with them and they said it was my fault. I guess it is. I made a horrible decision when I went to use this company. Trust me…DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

  • Jonathan Koslen

    New Image Photography

    DO NOT USE THEM!!!!!
    Seems I have had double accounts since 2012 and it’s now 2022 all with same business name and bank account! When I tried to cancel they didn’t “receive my letter in writing in February and had to write another. Finally got them to stop charging in October. While doing my taxes I noticed double billing!!!!!! As far as I can tell they owe me at least 10k!

  • James Williams

    Avoid this company. We signed up for a free trial, found the features clunky, and the fees to be among the highest in the industry. So we canceled before the trial ended both with an email to their sales team and a call to their onboarding department. Months later our accountant found unauthorized charges from some company called CAMPERREG LLC. We traced that back to Payscape. After a month of trying to get anyone on the phone who could help us, we finally got the account canceled (we’ll see). But they claimed it was their policy to only credit back 4 months. They provided no service and were unauthorized to charge us. We’ll be fighting this with our bank and Visa. Just stay away. There are far more reputable companies out there. Note, their sales agent work aggressively through referral networks like BNI. Our experience is the sales agents promise the world, but have little understanding of the product or merchant services field.

  • Harvey Fisher

    I signed up to Payscape shortly before my 15 trial period ended with billing Orchard. I learned that this app and merchant service provider would not work for my small business. I signed the electronic application for the Payscape merchant provider. I marked it complete and submitted the application. I received a copy of my application along with the terms and conditions for which I was not made aware of during the electronic application process. Usually there is a link in the application process that listed the multipage terms and agreement I received after I signed it. I tried to terminate the account but I would have to pay the $495 early termination fee which I was not made away of until after the fact. I am stuck in this contract for 3 years due to this deceptive advertising and application process. If I had know this before I started the application, I would not have signed up for 3 years. This is so deceptive and I want to warn other businesses about this practice. It is unfair.

    This post will help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

    -Phillip

  • Suasn Clancy

    Nicole Manning has always gone above and beyond in going out of her way to make sure that we were and are PCI compliant. She treats us like we matter and truly means it. We are not just a number and never will be with Nicole as our rep… Thank you Nicole for being the best of the best!

  • Teddy Russell

    Congratulations on such an amazing product and team. Payscape has been a welcome addition to our process and Nicole Manning has been an integral part of that success. She has made herself available after hours and assisted with key issues with prompt and knowledgeable solutions. I’m sure you have continued success with people like Nicole on your team. Keep it up!

  • Lisa Mitnick

    I would like to give Nicole Manning a great review. For the last 5 years Nicole has always been available to help when I needed her and she takes the time to make sure we are always up and running.

  • Lisa Herring

    Nicole Manning is awesome and has always been helpful when we needed anything at all. She monitors our account and has helped us save money. She helps us stay compliant and set up our machine for our seasonal sales. Thanks Nicole!

  • Cynthia S Hester

    We have been using Payscapes Advisors for a number of years now and wouldn’t want to use any other card processing service because of the immediate response and service we have received from our account representative, Nicole Manning. We are a small operation in a big city but when it comes to any issues or concerns we might have regarding our Payscapes account, we feel we are always treated as though our account is just as important as any big company she might be working with. We have and will continue to recommend Nicole to other friends and family business owners.
    Cindy Hester

  • Linda Carroll

    Nicole Manning has been our rep since 2014. She has always been very prompt and efficient to any and all of our concerns and questions. She normally takes care of issues before we are even notified. I am proud to send this review.

  • John Murchie

    Payscape has been a great company to work with. Our sales rep Nichole Manning is great and her customer service exceeds expectations. She’s always available to answer questions when needed and helps solve problems quickly. Overall I value her as a great addition to our team!

  • Seya de Lastic

    Nicole Manning has been a tremendous help in saving our company money and keeping us PCI compliant.
    She notified us back in April that we were being billed a NON PCI monthly fee.She immediately went to work helping us become compliant and saving us the cost of the fee.
    Very recently, I received an email regarding a required quarterly scan by PCI Data Security Standard. I emailed Nicole and she handled it for me the same day. She has saved me time and our company money, and I am very appreciative.

  • William Roberts

    I am writing to commend Nicole Manning for her outstanding customer service. Whenever my business has an issue, she is quick to reply to our needs. Also, she is very good at problem solving and has very good interpersonal skills.

  • Brian Jackson

    Nicole Manning at Payscape has always been very helpful when it comes to my card processing needs. She is always available to answer any questions I have and even comes by just to check in every once and a while. I have never had a bad experience with Nicole in the 2 years that I have been with Payscape. I cant say that this is true for all of their employees but if you want the personal touch ask for Nicole Manning!

  • Leonardo Curvelo

    Payscape has contributed to the development and growth of the company through its simple and convenient way to receive payment while being PCI compliance and protecting customers information.

    Thank you for the amazing support and service!

  • Jason parrish

    I selected payscape and Kayla came out and looked over our fees, then she found where she could save the buisness money. I had her change us over and she HAS BEEN GREAT ! She answers questions within 19 minutes and is ALWAYS very professional and does really good work.
    I highly recommend anyone try them
    Eric @ parrishauto

  • Bill ledger

    BUYER BEWARE!!!
    We used payscape for several years. Defiantly was a bad experience. We canceled all companies . After years of business they charge extreme fees to cancel even after using them for more than 5 years. THEIR SHADY CONTRACT IS DESIGNED TO NEVER LET YOU OUT UNLESS YOU PAY THEM EXORBITANTLY!! You have about a 30 day window once a year to cancel or be penalized. Not sinner or later. This is my first negative review on anyone but wanted to warn all paossiblr about the shady tactics of the horrible company!!!
    ~Bill

    From The Editor
    This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

  • Joe

    Terrible. First of all it is a 2 year contract, so if you’re just starting out it is not worth it. You get charged monthly regardless of if you use the service or not, unlike just about every other cc possessing service out there. It automatically renews your service if you don’t hand write them a letter telling them you want to cancel 30-90 days prior to cancellation. Which means of you don’t use the service for a year and a half, like myself, and couldn’t afford to pay the $500 cancellation fee you let it ride. Thinking I could tell the guy over the phone I didn’t want to auto renew and that would be that. Not true, I got roped into another year. These guys are crooks, find something else

    From The Editor
    This Post Might Help: Cancelling a Merchant Account Without Paying a Fee

  • Bill Latzko

    PLEASE PLEASE do not make the mistake I did of getting deceived, duped, conned, and lied to. My local bank set up the meetings with Mario de la Garza , payscape rep who HID the fact that if you cancel you are assessed $500-$600 penalty, whether it be with the credit card processor , website etc .The penalty was never discussed with me OR with the bank manager who was privy to the meetings. When I signed the paperwork, I trusted him as I asked whether there was anything in the document I should know but we did not go over. He told us “No”.
    I showed up unannounced to his office and met with his supervisor
    Josh Setina who said he would look into it and get back–never got back and now I’m in collection with some co. in Texas. Josh is just as irresponsible as Mario–never answers or returns my calls either!!
    FIND SOMEONE ELSE–NOT WORTH DOING BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE WHO HIDE EVERYTHING FROM YOU AND ARE NOT TRUSTWORTHY!

  • Susan Weir

    This company is a predatory company that engages in dishonest contracts and fees. Please read the fine print. We have used this company for 3+ years. We had a three year contract and they “auto-renewed” the contract without hearing from us. So when we tried to cancel the service, we had to choose either the monthly fee for the rest of the contract or a $495 charge. The Retention Department even said – you have to decide your best option. In other words, you are taken advantage of either way – just choose the lesser amount. Warning – do not use this company.

  • Jessica Kendall

    Terrible experience with this company. Never once utilized their services. They have been charging me for two years $$$ for services I’ve never rendered. After requesting to end the account several times in the past they make you jump through hoops to do so.

  • Mahjabeen Younus

    I’m in a small Business I never ever had a like this bad experience they rush me to start with them business then when ever I have problem never response they agent not experience to do business I told him I do not want to contract he said no contract when ever u want disconnect but he rush to signature my papers now they r charging me early leaving charges $500 ….. And saying we send to credit companies u credit will be bad now ……please do not trust them very bad not honest company ow full ….

  • John Mcdonald

    Read all of the fine print. I signed up with Payscape 6 mo. ago It keep sending late due to my clients after they payed. I was told I would have to pay $495 to cancel my account. Apparently I will be paying monthly fees for the years for something I don’t even use.

  • Rusty O'Pry

    I do not recommend this company. When signing up there is a ton of paperwork and you may not realize it but the will sign you up for a 3 year contract. As soon as I signed up my salesperson quit the company. I switched bank accounts and within a few days my ACH for $29.95 didn’t process and I was contacted by collections and told I now owe a $200 collections fee, a $30 bank return fee and a $495 Termination fee. I received all of this without even being notified that they didn’t receive my payment. It would have been nice for someone to contact me first before immediately submitting it to collections.

  • Joe Freedman

    Our controller signed up with Payscape after being told we would save money. Not only are we being charged more than with our previous vendor but they are not returning any calls and the sales rep, Alan Quinelle is no where to be found. Went online and was told a rep is unavailable. Horrible customer service. DO NOT USE.

  • Stephanie Ward

    Read all of the fine print. I signed up with Payscape 2 years ago and have wasted so much time and energy on trying to implement it into my business that I tried to cancel. I was told I would have to pay over $400 to cancel my account. Apparently I will be paying monthly fees for the remaining year for something I don’t even use.

  • Haywood Pulliam

    I can confirm the claim that canceling is very difficult. When I spoke to someone in their cancellation department I was told that I only had a one month window once every three years that I could act within to close my account. Upon closing, I would be charged a $495 cancellation fee. This is despite being an online vendor with no payment processing equipment provided to us. We never actually used the service but were forced to register when our online invoicing provider got bought out by them. I can not believe a company is able to get away with this. I will be filing with the BBB.

  • Sreenu

    My name is Sreenu Pamidi. Payscape is the worst credit card processor I have been around. Recently I took their service and they hided all the fees and all the charges. In the first month of processing $9000 they charged me more than $600 worth of fees and I am
    Still fighting to get back my fees that is not mentioned in the contract. In the second month we processed $14000 and they charged me more than $800 worth of fees. By the way 80% of the processing is debit card. This company is just ripoff and please never ever sign up with this company. Please never sign any contract. Customer service is worst. The guy I am working with is just very slow and keeps saying he will get my money back and all that. It has been more than a month I cancelled this service and I still didn’t have my refund on he fees he said he will get refund for. Please never again signup with this company.

  • Chuck Willis

    Sincere thanks goes out to the Payscape team. I have been a customer since early 2011. That is quite a lot of time with any merchant services company. I get at least 2 to 3 calls per day from companies wanting me to change my merchant services and always tell them no, so thanks Payscape for finally forcing me to do so. When my terminal no longer worked suddenly one morning this week I called to get support in getting it running again. I was told that the certification on the machine had expired. I was told that they had contacted me regarding replacement between October and February but I never heard from them and was totally caught off guard by my machine suddenly not working. Cost to replace the machine I had replaced only a year and a half ago was $475. I could get the machine by the following Tuesday but was dead in the water until then. The bank right around the corner has been after my business for years, so I pulled a years worth of statements and took them around the corner. I will be up and running Tuesday with a $275 machine that does what I need and a savings of $69 per month in fees. Thanks so much Payscape for being greedy jerks and forcing me to do what I should have done years ago. I am sure you won’t miss my business, and I know I won’t miss paying that extra $69 per month to a company that has crappy service and does not value my 5 year business relationship. BTW I will be sure to let all my professional associates know how appreciative I am too. Good luck from your former client. See ya!

  • Keith Jenkins

    Payscape is the most costly mistake I’ve done for my business. I was getting 2.25% a swipe with my processor for Shopkeep. Had a Payscape Account Manager come into my store and tell me they would get me 7 points charge instead of 25 points that I was paying. Sounded too good to be true but I fell for it. January 2016 was split evenly in days between Payscape and Shopkeep. Shopkeep processed about $300 more than Payscape and still charged me $30 LESS in fees that Payscape did.

    I contacted the Account Manager and they told me they were confused and sent it up. Heard nothing back from then until I contacted them informing that I was going back to Shopkeep at the end of February. THEN is when they had a copy/paste answer of why I was charged the way I was and THEN I was informed of the 3 years contract I agreed to but never was shown. I had to ask for a copy of the contract since I was never given a copy of it in the first place. Had to spend $495 cancellation fee to close with them and it explicitly said “… so as stated in the letter, you will receive one final billing…” and that letter stated $495.

    The month of February was through Payscape and they charged me around $60 more then Shopkeep would have for the same amount. I ended processing February 28th, 2016 with them which should have been settled February 29th (leap year) but NO it was settled March 1st. So I come to see a minimum monthly fee charged to my account for March processing. When contacted again the person said “a valid charge.” I’ve now put a claim through my bank and a stop payment for any further charged from Payscape because I feel like they will be charging me again for some random thing. So in total it was a $627.83 costly mistake.

    PLEASE before you sign with this company DO YOUR RESEARCH ON THEM! There’s many complaints of being charged constantly on the BBB.
    Thank you.

  • john

    I’ve been with Payscape for 4 years and when I changed to another processor I got a $496 fee for “early termination.” I called and asked how many years you have to be with them before you no longer get early termination charges and they said I am automatically renewed every February.
    The have come up with a wonderful way to rip off the small business person.

  • Lori G Ashley

    I was informed on July 21, 2015 that Vendevor was being taken over by PayScape and I needed to fill out the PayScape application. On Sept. 03, 2015 I was informed via email I needed to update my info to continue to use Vendevor. I had initially been approved on the Application to go with PayScape. However, when I received the email telling me to go to PayScape and create my login info, I couldn’t. When I called, I was told I would remain with Vendevor and be grandfathered in with the plan and rate I was already with Vendevor on. Low and behold, I got a shocking 125.75 fee! Not the $9.00 a month plan on Vendevor! I initially thought there was frad on my account until my bank informed me it was PayScape. They claim I agreed to all of this. However, I am not on any PayScape site. I am on Vendevor and never signed to agree to leave my $9.00 a month plus percentage fees. Even using their reasoning, it has NOT been 90 days since they took over Vendevor! PayScape is crooked as I have seen NOWHERE in anything I signed about a early 3yr cancelation fee either. I was told during the Vendevor grandfather in conversation tha I was denied PayScape, even though they initially approved me. So, these people are HIGHY deceptive, crooked and I don’t advise anyone to go with thiis unethical scamming company!

  • Lara Sadowski

    I am absolutely livid with this company! I canceled my service in October, not knowing there was a $495.00 cancellation fee. My sales representative did NOT let me know about these fees before I signed the contract; otherwise, I would have never signed on with them. I understand now that the fees were in the contract, but I never knew about them. I also never knew that I was getting into a three year contract. Regardless if this information is stated in a contract,, this information needs to be verbally stated to new clients from the outset. There is such a thing as fairness and good will, and this company does not know the meaning of either.

    I just spoke with Payscape’s local customer service representative, and she would not refund any fees to me – except the $5.00 taken out of my account this month. I realize I canceled two months ago, but I have been stewing about this since then, not knowing if I still had any recourse. Their retention department would not help me in October, but I was hoping that the local office would still consider rectifying my situation now. I am a member of our local county Chamber of Commerce where I met my Payscape representative, and I just assumed (wrongly) that this was a decent company. Unfortunately, I’ve learned differently.

    I hope this information helps someone else. I will be lodging a formal complaint with the BBB today.

  • Alan Ferguson

    I own a small business in Birmingham and have been using Payscape Advisors since 2009. I was contacted by a friend whom I trusted about a new company for which he was working. A well respected banker friend of ours suggested that we talk. I agreed to hear his presentation and signed an agreement which had appealing interest rates. I have noticed that there are now many fees and a PCI compliance fee that make the costs out of line when added to the increase in their credit card fees.. I started shopping around and found their rates were much more than some competitors. I talked with the company representative about terminating the agreement and was informed that I had automatically been renewed and it would cost $495 to cease the service. I was not informed of this renewal and was not told of any narrow window of opportunity to stop using their service. Customer service is nonexistent in this company as it took several hours to reach an employee who could stay close enough to his/her phone to answer it. I had been assured that if there were any problems with this company, my friend would straighten them out. This sounds like the old story of “you should lhave been more careful”, but sometimes things evolve into scams and I think this is a perfect example of a lack of ethics in the business world. My friend no longer works for this company and I can guess why. I have talked to several representatives of this company and they reinforce my opinions as they are well versed in their answers because they have heard this story before. I know right from wrong and pursue issues doggedly. You have not heard the last from me. Bad press does not generate repeat business. Dr Alan Lee Ferguson

  • Brandie

    When I signed up with Payscape, I did so because my representative was my previous rep from another company. He went on and on about how much better Payscape was and how much lower their rates were. He told us, “If for ANY reason you are not satisfied with Payscape you can cancel at any time as long as you contact me and I will get you out of our contract.” He told us that his former company had to let us out of our contract as long as we found a company that had lower rates. And that this would not be a problem. So we signed our contract and he told us he would send us a copy of our contract in the mail. (which he never did). He told us as long as we got PCI compliant via their website that we couldn’t be charged a PCI compliance fee. WRONG!!! We were charged each month for that fee. I have never received a monthly statement from them either. I have since notified the company about how I was mislead and they were of no help. To cancel I would be charged $495. So I contacted my agent and he conveniently doesn’t remember saying that he would get me out of my contract if I wasn’t satisfied for any reason. I then found another company with cheaper rates and he wouldn’t honor their price because he said “the PCI compliance fee doesn’t count”. So I’m stuck. Other companies rates could be lower and they don’t charge a PCI compliance fee but Payscape doesn’t consider the PCI compliance fee as part of their rates.

  • Valeta Pittman

    I switched from my credit card processing company to Payscape Advisors because the son of a good friend of the company called on my business to sell me on the benefits of using his new company. NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. The rates seemed attractive but after just a few months I knew I had made a mistake. Some of my transactions were charged a 3% processing fee even though all information they required was entered into the terminal. Payscape also called a customer of mine to verify that a sell was authentic because it was above my limit. The customer called me to say that they acted in a very unprofessional manner and she was hesitant to share information with them When I called the young man who opened up my account and he told me he no longer worked for the company. I understand I have a three year contract with Payscape. I no longer use them as my credit card processing company and have been paying the monthly fees. Today I got my statement with the $124.75 PCI Fee for an account that I never use. This is unethical to the extreme!!!!! I would never advise a business to use this service.

    • Valeta Pittman

      As a follow-up to my previous comment, I spoke with a customer service representative today to vent my frustration with having to pay monthly fees and the $124.75 PCI fee on an inactive account. I was told that to cancel the service there is a $495.00 termination fee. I was unaware of this fee as I never received a copy of the contract and I don’t remember the sales representative informing me of this. My contract expires in Dec. 2014 so now I have a choice of paying the termination fee or accumulating monthly service fees until then. I was informed that it would be cheaper to pay the termination fee and the $124.75 PCI is transferrable to a new account that I might recruit. Are you kidding me? I filled out an online survey with my current provider and the PCI fees have been waived. Please be aware that if you want to cancel your account, Payscape needs a closing letter 90 days prior to your contract expiration or your account will automatically be renewed. To the company’s credit, the customer service representative was very nice but I doubt she will remain in that position very long if she has to deal with many customer complaints such as mine. Thank you for the opportunity to vent my frustration with this situation. I hope I have other opportunities to do so.

  • Jackie Martin

    I am head of a small nonprofit in Atlanta. I actually went to PayScape to meet with one of their reps because he said the company was active in giving back to the community and may be able to use their network to help me raise some badly needed funds. I left having signed a contract for card processing services. I did not worry because they were telling me what a good deal I was getting. I already had services with PayPal on my website, but they assured me that their services were less expensive and more user friendly.

    I ended up not using the service very much, but the user fee continued to be taken from my account. A few months later I got a call from a representative from a third party company telling me that I owed them $495 because they had unsuccessfully been able to debit a Visa processing fee from my bank account. A processing fee I was unaware of. I received several more phone calls and many letters requesting payment. After I told the representative that I was not going to pay he said he was going to send a report to the credit bureau and hung up on me.

    A few days ago I had $114 debited from my bank account which caused NSF fees to be added to my account. I have requested a copy of my contract but have not yet received it.

    I went to this company hoping to get help and I now find myself and my organization several hundred dollars in the negative. I fully intend to take action, even if it means going to the local media.

  • Jackie Lightfoot

    I know a lot of time people only post when there is a problem. Payscape is a great company. They are very honest and up front with you. My fees were lowered considerable. I am so happy with this company. Please do not hesitate to talk to a rep to see if they can lower your rates. I am so glad I did. This is a top notch company with good values and honest people.

    • Brian the CPA

      The bit about the rep being up front about fees and other features must have only happened once. I just learned about the cancellation fee reading these reviews. Our rep also never mentioned the annual PCI fee or what it would be either. Also, the rep also assured us that he could make any transaction go through, not true. If fact, I feel like he lied to us, because when we needed his support he assured us a large transaction would be processed, when in fact it was never approved. I actually contacted underwriting personally, and the charge had never been approved, meanwhile the rep was telling us that underwriting had approved it.

  • Mary Thompson

    I can confirm the complaints are valid. I am in the proess of filing one with the BBB myself. As a new business we decided we needed a less expensive way to process credit card payments. We had Bank of America, but thought the fees were too high. When the payscape representative contacted us, he promised their fees would be much lower and our funds available to us within 24 – 48hours. This was however not the case in our situation, we were getting funded from 48hours to even 5 days later for American Express payments. We only received our Visa and MasterCard funds 48hours after transaction, all others trickled in much later. This was obviously not a good thing for a new business, a delay in receiving working capital. We decided to go back to BOA which was very good about funding us the next day. We were willing to pay the extra for that convenience. To be honest, we really did not save that much with payscape anyway.
    To cancel the account, Payscape charged us $595. We had no idea on signing, we would have to pay such a huge fine to leave. We are also stuck with the machine we leased from them as no other payment processing companies use these machines of theirs!

    • Ciara Ryan

      Hi Mary,
      Please contact me directly and I will personally take care of your concerns and issues. We at Payscape Advisors prides ourselves in the products and services that we offer.

      My number is 404-350-6565, ext. 125 and my email address is [email protected]. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that has been caused.

      Thank you
      Ciara Ryan
      Snr. Operations Manager

  • Daniel Moore

    I can confirm the claim that canceling is very difficult. When I spoke to someone in their cancellation department I was told that I only had a one month window once every three years that I could act within to close my account. Upon closing, I would be charged a $495 cancellation fee. This is despite being an online vendor with no payment processing equipment provided to us. We never actually used the service but were forced to register when our online invoicing provider got bought out by them.

    I am still at the beginning of this process and am praying that it can be resolved.

    • Ciara Ryan

      Hi Daniel,
      I would love to help you. Please contact me directly so I can take care of your account. Ciara – 404-350-6565 ext. 125.

      Since you are a BillingOrchard client you are not responsible for a cancellation fee.

      I look forward to hearing from you soon.

      Regards,
      Ciara

  • Shannon

    Be sure you get a copy of the Merchant Credit Card Processing Terms and Conditions. Your signature will indicate you have read a copy of it, but the sales person will conveniently forget to provide it to you unless you ask. It will include additional charges (for example, the $127 annual compliance fee) that is not on the application. You really need to read the fine print with this company.

    • Ciara Ryan

      Hi Shannon,

      If there is anything I can do to help you, please give me a call. I am the customer service manager with Payscape Advisors Please forward me your contact information and I can assist you with any questions or concerns you have.

      Please call me directly at 404-350-6565 ext. 125 or email at [email protected].

      Thank you
      Ciara

  • Rachael Lawrence

    Hi Kat,
    I would love to help you. I am the customer service department manager for Payscape Advisors. Please forward me your contact information and I’ll take care of everything immediately. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience.

    Payscape is a merchant processing company founded in 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service, a wide product offering, and competitive rates. Payscape manages over 7000+ clients and has over 150 sales reps across the country. Please go to our website to learn more at http://www.payscapeadivsors.com, or feel free to call me at 404-350-6565.

    I hope this info helps both Kat and cardpaymentoptions.com. Please contact me directly at [email protected] if I can be of further assistance.
    Thanks.
    Rachel

  • KAT

    I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT WITH PAYSCAPE FOR ONE MONTH TO NO AVAIL. THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF MY HAVING A TYPED FORM OF NO RENEWAL NOTICE BUT YET DO NOT ACCEPT MINE. I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO SPEAK WITH SUPERVISORS BUT ALWAYS AM TOLD THERE IS NO ONE ELSE AVAILABLE. THEY ARE IN NO WAY SOME ONE TO DO BUSINESS WITH.

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