- Sales & Marketing: TransTech Merchant Group hires independent sales agents and has received a moderate-to-high number of complaints about its sales practices.
- Costs & Contract: TransTech Merchant Group appears to offer a three-year contract with an early termination fee of $495.
- Complaints & Service: TransTech Merchant Group has received more than 140 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: TransTech Merchant Group currently has an "A-" rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 99 complaints in the last three years.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With TransTech Merchant Group
TransTech Merchant Group Review
We take our role in providing guidance and education regarding the card payment industry very seriously. At our own expense, we have vigorously defended our right to continue expose unethical and predatory practices in the industry, successfully defeating every attempt to silence us. However, fending off frivolous lawsuits is costly. To sustain these efforts, one of the ways we generate revenue is through affiliate partnerships with ethical providers. This means that some of our outgoing links connect business owners to trustworthy, low-cost payment processors, which is what most of our readers seek. We see this revenue channel as a win-win-win for everyone involved. Business owners find good processors, processors get good clients, and we are able to continue to provide a valuable service to the small business community. We also recommend and link to many services that do not compensate us. Our priority is to guide you to the best solutions for your needs, regardless of potential revenue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
All mentions of rate and fee costs are estimations based on publicly available information and client feedback. Actual costs may vary based on a variety of factors unique to your business.
TransTech Merchant Group
Rating
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
We are currently able to locate over 140 TransTech Merchant Group complaints on this and other consumer protection websites, many of which outright accuse the company of being nothing more than a scam or a ripoff. This is a high number of complaints for the company’s size and time in business, and these complaints are being filed both by dissatisfied business owners and by former agents/employees.
On the merchant side, many are reporting deception by agents during the account setup process, surprise over unexpected fees, and unauthorized debits from their bank accounts. There are several complaints specifically mentioning predatory equipment leases that include high monthly fees and five-year non-cancellable lease terms. A few merchants even reported paying $5,000-$6,000 in lease fees for equipment that would have cost $200-$300 to buy at retail. This reviewer was especially struck by the numerous unprofessional complaint rebuttals from TransTech Merchant Group. In several instances, TransTech’s rebuttals are rude, attack the merchant, accuse the merchant of ignorance, and carry an overall air of condescension.
As for the former agents and employees, there are many complaints of being misled by TransTech Merchant Group recruiters and management. A few agents detailed their experiences of being “lured in” with promises of high quality leads only to show up for most of their appointments completely unexpected. Several agents stated that they incurred costs in travel and supplies that were never recovered.
Industry Scores & User Ratings
| Product & Service Complaints | 28 |
|---|---|
| Billing & Collection Complaints | 14 |
| Advertising & Sales Complaints | 57 |
| 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.
As of this review, TransTech shares its Better Business Bureau profile with Certified Payment Processing, which has an “A-” rating based on 99 complaints filed in the last 36 months. This is down from 196 complaints the last time we reviewed TransTech’s BBB rating. Of the complaints, 28 are regarding problems with products and services, 57 with advertising or sales issues, and 14 with billing and collection disputes.
The BBB report states that TransTech has successfully resolved 28 of the complaints but that it did not make a good faith effort to resolve five complaints, resulting in its lowered rating. The remaining 66 outcomes either left the merchant dissatisfied or did not receive a final response from the merchant. It appears that TransTech’s reduced complaint total may simply be a result of the company transitioning away from the TransTech brand, so we have left the company’s CPO-adjusted rating at a “D.”
Processing Rates & Fees
As with most merchant account providers, the costs and fees of a TransTech merchant account will vary from one merchant to the next based upon the agent setting up the account and the merchant’s business type. Numerous reports from merchants state that their processing rates ended being much higher than original quotes and that several fees were never mentioned during the signup process. In addition, TransTech’s standard contract is stated to include a $125 annual PCI Compliance fee, a three-year service agreement with an automatically renewing clause, and a $400+ Early Termination Fee (ETF). These fees are deducted directly from a merchant’s checking account and there is only a small window of time to cancel service before the contract auto-renews. Some reports suggest that TransTech’s contract may also include a Liquidated Damages clause, so merchants are strongly encouraged to read it fully before signing.
Aside from fees for the merchant account itself, there are many reports from merchants suggesting they were set up with predatory equipment leases through Merimac Capital or Lease Finance Group. These merchants report being misled into long, non-cancellable leases that ultimately cost thousands of dollars for equipment that was worth only a few hundred dollars.
TransTech Merchant Group Competitors
Compare TransTech Merchant Group to competitors that earned top marks.
Bottom Line
TransTech Merchant Group rates as a substandard merchant account provider according to our standards. The company is receiving many troubling complaints regarding its sales tactics, contract policies, lease agreements and service quality. Certified Payment Processing shares responsibility for most of these problems since it appears that TransTech is essentially an alternate DBA of the company. TransTech can improve its rating by removing predatory fees and conditions from its merchant account agreement and lease contracts and eliminating complaints of deception from both employees and merchants.
