I have had Merchant Warehouse for approximately one year. A guy from this company called me out of the blue and continued to call me about 25 times before I finally decided to sign up for their services (with promises that it would be hassle-free and easy).
It took between 4 and 5 phone calls to get all set up and I didn’t even have a terminal (I was using a Blackberry device to accept credit cards).
The company isn’t available 24 hours so when you have a problem (other than credit card processing – they have a 24-hour service for this) you can’t call them until Monday and then through Friday (during business hours).
The service works fine…I processed a whopping two transactions (one to test the service and one actual transaction) during the entire year I was with the company. Every time I called to cancel (I run a seasonal art business and only sell at art shows – taking mainly cash) someone talked me into keeping a “seasonal account” because it would only cost me somewhere around $7 a month (which turned out to be 9.94 with fees) then I could re-instate my account when I needed it. I wanted to accept credit cards or be able to for the few I might actually accept throughout the year so I kept it.
charged my account several times in the first months of “seasonal account” holding. They were good about it, paying fees that accrued because of their mistakes in my bank account and fixing the problem but, I still had this problem.
The final straw was when I received a notice that my bank account was overdrafted over 100 dollars(a bank account I had only to connect with this credit card company – transferring only money to pay the monthly fees when needed). I called the bank because I didn’t know who would have caused a fee (the only money that is withdrawn is from Merchant Warehouse and I didn’t know about any money that should have been taken out – other than the monthly fee). The bank verified that it was indeed Bankcard – Merchant Warehouse. I tried to call Merchant Warehouse to fix the problem but they weren’t open (not within the normal business hours).
When I did get in touch with Merchant Warehouse they explained that they had to charge me that 99-dollar fee to get me compliant with some credit card processing switch. Really, as a customer-based business shouldn’t that company cover this fee? And, if there is a substantial fee shouldn’t they make a phone call and tell the business owner about it? Anyway, they first explained (after over 20 minutes of being on hold) that they would refund 40 dollars of the fee. I told them I wanted to cancel (I was sick of the problems) then they wanted to refund all 99 dollars. I asked that they refund the bank fee of $34 and the $99, but they wouldn’t. I asked to speak with a “manager”. I was sent to a “manager” and that person wouldn’t even listen to why I thought I deserved a refund (they continually cut me off until I asked if that was how they usually treat a customer). Yes, I was frustrated but as most of you might think, I was not yelling or unprofessional. That person asked if I wanted to talk with his “supervisor” so I said sure. That person wasn’t available but I was able to leave a message. This problem has yet to be resolved.
I guess the moral here is that you will be issued fees for everything. Those fees are probably worth it if you have a larger company that uses the service. If you have a small business that doesn’t use a lot of credit card services you might want to stay away.
Hopefully, my situation helps you to decide if you want to use Merchant Warehouse. I’m not telling you not to just telling you to think about it!
Hello, I am writing about the extremely poor customer service. Once the CC Rep gets you all set up the service goes downhill. I wish I had read the reviews prior to signing up. Plus the company that sold me the terminal convinced me this was one of only two processors because the software was “integrated”. This is not true. Also, the credit card swipe that came with my machine that was supposedly “integrated” was not compatible, so I had to buy another for $75. This one didn’t work so I had to buy a second one which did not solve the problem. The processor would give an error message that the transaction had been aborted by the server and would charge the customers twice sometimes 3 times over for their purchases. We learned to simply Key in transactions to keep this from happening however keyed transactions are charged at a higher rate than I was told by a rep would be refunded, and that never happened. I’ve called back at least 6 times since to find the money and the reps each promise to call me back and never do. Further, the wait times to speak with someone and get nowhere are upwards of 30 minutes. Today I called after 4 and waited 17 minutes. I hung up, called back, and hit the extension for the Sales line where Matt picked up immediately. He was rude and told me this was not the customer line, and even though he would transfer me it wouldn’t help the hold time. He didn’t even apologize. He transferred me and I waited for another 13 minutes before anyone answered. I cannot stand this company and will be switching very soon.
