Overview
Golden Eagle Leasing is one of several business names used by the equipment lease provider Northern Leasing Systems, others of which include MBF Leasing, Lease Finance Group, and Lease Source-LSI, LLC. Golden Eagle Leasing was originally a subsidiary of Hypercom, but was sold for $30 million to Northern Leasing Systems in 2003. The company has since been wholly absorbed into the Northern Leasing brand, but it appears that some leases continue to be sold under the Golden Eagle name. Northern Leasing does not seem to maintain an independent website for Golden Eagle Leasing at this time.
Golden Eagle Leasing is not a merchant account provider; rather, it leases credit card processing equipment like terminals, printers, barcode scanners, and other point-of-sale technology. As with Northern Leasing and Lease Finance Group, Golden Eagle’s equipment leases are often packaged with the merchant accounts of payment processors, meaning that the company’s customers are usually unaware that they are signing up for service through multiple companies.
Along with Northern Leasing, MBF Leasing, Lease Finance Group, and LSI, Golden Eagle paid out a multimillion-dollar settlement to business owners in March 2013 as the result of a lawsuit filed by the New York State Attorney General. According to the lawsuit, Golden Eagle and its DBAs were responsible for deceiving merchants through the use of a shell company and then using that company to withdraw large sums from the merchants’ bank accounts long after their equipment leases had expired. Although the shell company was dissolved following the suit, Northern Leasing has continued to grow as a lease provider and may still be offering leases under the Golden Eagle name.
In April 2016, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Northern Leasing Systems, Lease Finance Group, and MBF Leasing “for their fraudulent and deceptive practices that trap small business owners across the country.” Golden Eagle was not named in this lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Northern Leasing Systems and its subsidiaries knowingly deceived thousands of business owners into buying overpriced equipment and then abused the judicial system by filing suit in New York to collect on overdue lease payments. The lawsuit seeks to vacate default judgments obtained by Northern Leasing against business owners, enjoin the company and its owners from further deceptive practices, obtain restitution for merchants, dissolve Northern Leasing, and force the company to notify all three major credit reporting agencies that the default judgments have been vacated. This marks the second action that the New York Attorney General has taken against Northern Leasing Systems. Merchants who have been harmed by Northern Leasing Systems are instructed to file complaints here or call 1-800-771-7755.
For a more complete analysis of the primary company behind this network of lease providers, please see our Northern Leasing Systems review.
Key Points
- Sales & Marketing: Golden Eagle allows independent sales agents to package its equipment leases with other merchant accounts and has received an extremely high number of merchant complaints about its sales practices.
- Costs & Contract: Golden Eagle offers 48-month, non-cancellable equipment leases that often cost many times the purchase price of the equipment.
- Complaints & Service: Golden Eagle has received more than 700 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: Golden Eagle has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau and has received 571 complaints in the last three years.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Golden Eagle
Top Rated Merchant Accounts of 2018
Response from Golden Eagle Leasing
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Golden Eagle Leasing Bottom Line
Although Golden Eagle Leasing is a lesser-used DBA of Northern Leasing, it appears to offer the same expensive, non-cancellable contract terms that its affiliated companies provide. We do not recommend that merchants sign any contract with Golden Eagle at this time, and we advise business owners to carefully read the terms of any lease before signing up for service. Please see our Northern Leasing Systems review for a full breakdown of this company’s contract terms.
About Phillip Parker
Phillip Parker is a former merchant services sales agent who believes the industry has been overrun by people who engage in fraud and deception in order to steal from hard working business owners. He created this website to help you avoid the bad players, save money on fees, and to get peace of mind with your merchant account. If you would like to help support his work, learn more about our cost reduction service. We can evaluate your statement, tell you exactly how much you're overpaying, and then help you dramatically reduce your fees with your current credit card processor. Looking to switch instead? See our list of the best merchant account providers.
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Eliminate hidden fees and mistakes without switching merchant accounts. Get a free statement audit today to see how much you are overpaying.
Avoid!!! After 2 years having received my equipment, I get charged a $150 restocking fee. Called and finally spoke to someone after 5 transfers and a 20 minutes wait who explained this. Wanted payment today. I said next month. Said I have to call back in October and hung up. Lower company with poor personnel
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Not sure why they keep calling me. asked them to stop. Have know idea how to make it stop. Calls saying they are with a lawyers office when asked which one they hang up.
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Eliminate hidden fees and mistakes without switching merchant accounts. Get a free statement audit today to see how much you are overpaying.
Never sign anything with this company – they do not return phone calls and make excuses for any issue you bring up to them. They are a scam
This company is terrible. They are taking money out of account that I have not given permission to do so.
they are not even providing service.
Eliminate hidden fees and mistakes without switching merchant accounts. Get a free statement audit today to see how much you are overpaying.
Golden leasing company work with merchant service and charge thousand of dollars for many years for equipment that cost less than five hundered dollars and they profit by not allowing you to cancel the lease which you never know you had with them as they tie up with merchant service and they do not disclose these policies. Please be careful and do not lease with them or else you will lose thousands of your hard earned dollar to these folks who are not in right kind of business.
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You are so right. They have harmed by business under false salesmanship. I need to get out of this and don’t know how to go about it. They are the lowest of the low.
Golden Eagle keeps sending me a notice that they can’t debit my account$57.41 for cc machine leasing. They want a voided check so they can debit me monthly. Thing is, they ARE NOT my cc leasing company. Glad I checked here for fraud alerts. They are CROOKS & need to be taken down!
Eliminate hidden fees and mistakes without switching merchant accounts. Get a free statement audit today to see how much you are overpaying.
I need help. I have been scammed out of 10 years of leasing payments to this company. I have not had their equipment for 10 years yet they continue to take money out of my account. The employees are rude and not helpful. I have cancelled this account several times, they will not cancel the account. I put a stop payment on the account
Have you found any solution? We have same issue
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Has anybody been able to get them off their backs? I can’t believe that I am still dealing with them after 18 years! The stupid card reader has been paid for 100 times over. We had a four year lease and they were still charging after 6 years. I called them and they made circular arguments intended to confuse and insisted we still owed monthly equipment payments. Eventually I blocked them with my bank. Five years later around 2010 or so, I get threatening letters demanding the equipment back and over three hundred bucks or Iwe would be reported and charged off. I sent a check and the equipment. Now every year I get threatening Final Demands. The last one arrived yesterday claiming a $975.70 balance on something I haven’t used in 10 years and is completely worthless. How do they get away with this after they were already beaten in court? What are my options? These bastards can continue to terrorize and ruin credit histories with impunity? Has anybody here found a way to fight them without having to hire a lawyer?
Its been a terrible process trying to get rid of this company, we have been with this company for 8 years so the minute we try to cancel everything has been nothing but bad experience with them. Every time we think that we had already done everything possible to get rid of them and cancel, a new withdraw has been take of from our account and if I call them back they always have a run around to excused the withdraws knowing that is already canceled. They still getting money out of the account always making new excuses for this scams. This company is horrible I will never even recommend this company to my worst enemy. This company is an scam and their employees are well trained no heart total cold hearted people.
My 48 month lease is over. I sent back the machine and pinpad. Theyre accusing me that I sent in the wrong pinpad. Am i the only one with this problem?
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