Elavon review: Company engages in fraud 80

Elavon is a nightmare. I found this site trying to find a way out of the situation these guys put our small business in, as you can get no help from the company, if you do you are promised one thing and they never deliver. If you do business with this co. ou are putting your money and business in jeapordy.

Elevon started delaying our deposits then with held a deposit for no reason. Their delayed deposits for no reason caused our checks to bounce. Then Wachovia started charging NSF fees because of Elevon. We had three consecutively higher grossing sales months and they started questioning every transaction that we had swiped and had signatures for. Harassing us for being successful! We are changing processor and banks ASAP! Time to call the DA an the FBI.

I closed the doors to my business a year and a half ago. This company is still trying to get mine and my former clients information. Why? It must be "great customer service..." NOT.
Smells like rotting fish to me.

I have just got set up with a merchant account and found the Rep Andrew parker and his bodd Paul to be missleading
they told me I woul get the money in 2-3 and 7 days max but in fact once I took the payment it took 3 days to get from my terminal
to there system then they keep it seven day aftet that I won't see it for another 3 days plus theas are all working days so include 2 week ends
total to 18 days of my money sat in the bank and system,
They told me lies this is a company called CPS (card prcessing solutions in the UK)
Beware befor you sign up.

OK spacom2000 - you are talking about a completely different company. CPS is not Elavon.

In answer to merchants having deposits delayed, there is always a reason. When your account is set up you agree to process a certain amount each month based on your business type. If you suddenly have a higher amount processed, it looks suspicious. Elavon has a very active risk department who looks at this type of activity because often it's a sign of either a merchant having problems or running transactions that are not allowed by the card associations. Too many times in the past, Elavon has seen a merchant run large transactions on their own credit cards or those of friends to "loan" their business money. When the business fails or the merchant can't pay the bill on the credit card, chargebacks start coming in and Elavon eats the money if they don't have a reserve set up. Many processing companies require said reserve up front, we don't. But if you're doing something that looks like possible fraud or that could be dangerous to your business (such as factoring - running charges for another business) a reserve will be imposed. All you have to do is ask, and it will be explained to you.

Elavon is a disaster i could say. I like the rep when he came to our store, so i trusted him. Mistake number one. he was a total ###, ###, he said one thing next i found another. i asked for MC and Visa only, i got an Amex account, i said i dont' need it, i don't want to accept Amex, he said no it's part of the contract, i looked at the contract, guess what, it's written in his hand writing after the contract was signed. i asked him if his company deals with a 3rd party for accepting CCs, he said no, in fact they do, there are few different companies they deal with, including Tangerine Payment Solutions (the rep was from this company). Elavon's contract says qualified rate at 1.60% the bumped it to 1.65% less than a year into my contract, i said whatever 0.05% doesn't make a different. now i have recently found out, the partial rate and non-qualified rate of 2.49%, i am actually paying over 4.19%, which is ridiculous.
FraudStinks, Ealvon sucks cause they would not help or even try to pull up your account to see what's going on, everytime i call they transfer me from Canadian Elavon to US, and back to Canada. This goes on for a good 1 hr. and at the end they say ohh you gotta wait for a account analysis to call you back, which they never did. and there is the history of fraud my friend.

Totally agree... Tangarine, Elavon, LFG they all suck. Be warned and stay away. If you sign with them they've got you by the *&$%#. They up your rates after you've signed a contract; how is that fair?

STAY AWAY FROM ELAVON aka CROWN MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION, ETC! IT IS A SCAM! THEY LIE TO YOU AND TAKE YOUR MONEY!
We signed a contract initially and asked our sales rep from Hickory, NC (where Crown Merchants Association is located) to hold it as we were not sure if we wanted to sign up because of changes within our business structure, but we may be interested. He informed us no problem it was just for a credit check anyway.. LIE. He put our application through that day. But yet when I kept getting bank statements he lied and acted like he didn't know why we were getting them...3 times he said this, on 3 different occasions. 3 times he said he would look into it and fix it. 3 times I told him it needed to be cancelled we had not yet made a decision. He yelled at me and told me I was confused and said "well you had waited so long I figured you wanted to go ahead with it". He is a liar the company is a SCAM! He told his company I wanted to sign up, well if that was true then why did you check in on us for THREE months asking us if we were ready to put the contract through? He lied to us the whole time and did not respect our wishes on waiting until we were ready to make a decision. DO NOT WORK WITH THIS COMPANY! THEY ARE FRAUDULANT!

Biggest scam company working with Tangerine is co. ca;lled Merchant Cash Direct aka MCD aka Canadina Merchants Association aka CMA. They are run by a con man called Maurice verrelli who has been convicted by the FTC for 9 Million in telemarketing fraud. Now he has changed the name of his 2 scam cos. they are ased at 1801 McGill College Ave ste.900 in MOntreal, Quebec Canada. [protected] and other tel. numbers. They are a total scam they lie about everything. They lie about rates about contact that in non cancellable. They overcharge by misleading people. They are a total scam.

I saw your comment on a post where someone was complaining about Elavon. I have been a customer of NOVA/Elavon for over 11 years. I am not a competitor and you said if someone who was a merchant needed help to contact you.
I need help.
Elavon has taken $210.84 out of my account in error, an error they were happy to tell me they made, BUT my problem is that even though they admit this error and tell me they are going to issue credit - they tell me it could be 3 weeks, it could be 2 months, they really don't know when they are going to credit me. !?
They took this money with no warning causing my account to go into a negative balance and incurring more fees upon me, because of their error. They told me "to bad".
I have worked in the credit and debt collection industry for over 21 years, and have never encountered such terrible customer service and business practices. I know everyone makes mistakes and kudos to them for admitting their mistake, but what is the story with them just keeping my money for months and using it as they like, especially during a recession and at Christmas time?
Such poor customer service, terrible ethics and very, very bad treatment of loyal customers.
I am so disappointed in them and now they tell me they can't discuss this issue with their customers any longer and I must deal with their "general counsel" who has no name, but is at their same Knoxville TN address - of course no phone number.
So, if there is anything you can do or tell me how I can get my money back from them, that would be very helpful!

Hi Michelle Dunn!
I will do my best! Altough I must say I haven't heard of anything like this, and I have many merchants with Elavon.
I will need your MID # and business name.
If you don't feel like posting it, email it to guaranteedmerchant@gmail.com

Davi$dMerchant

I had a merchant account with Elavon also. Switched to another company for better rates with one month left on my contract and they charged me 4 months fee as "liquidated damages". I am sure this would not stand in any court but they take it right out of your account and it's not worth the time and aggravation to sue to get it back. Phone calls get you only low level employees (rude and officious). Good company to avoid.

US BANK owned ELAVON is the most unethical, immoral, unprofessional and fruadulent company in the market.

They continually withold money from your account (putting your money into their own 'Reserve Account') - without any prior or justifiable notice or reasoning.

In addition, they continually try to keep withdrawing your hard earned money from your own business bank account.

They continually decieve and lie to you - making things up and denying things that suit them as they go.

They basicly steal money paid to you by your own customers - and withold it for as long as they can in their own private reserve account.

I know this 100% because our Company has just been a victim of Elavon after being a loyal customer of theirs for over 7 years.

They withheld tens of thousands of dollars and withdrew thousands more from our bank account.

STAY AWAY FROM US BANK owned ELAVON

US Bank's Elavon company is responsible for many small businesses literally being forced to shut down, or lay people off addding to the already terrible unemployment situation, and/or not be able to pay their fixed business operating costs --- and all for Elavons and US Banks own personal greed.

Elavon withheld $2.5 million from Angies List - almost forcing them into bankruptcy. Dig a bit deeper on search engines and you will find a LOT more about Elavon disgraceful actions and business practices - where they have withheld money, foced companies to shut down, created unemployment - and they just keep on doing it.

Wasn't US Bank greeed one of the big contributors to the economic downfall we are all facing! - didn't they get billions in bail out money! --- and now they are literally stealing money from companies, creating more unemployment, and making the whole economic situation even worse!

If you want to stay in business Do NOT go anywhere near US Bank owned Elavon !

If you have been a Victim of US Banks Elavon company - contact your Senators, Congressman, and most importantly the MEDIA (it's easy to do widespread and very effective press releases through various online providers - just do a search for PR news and you will see many media distribution services)--- it is the BEST way to deal with these disgraceful, unscrupulous and immoral businesses - Plus, it is amazing how these companies react when you spread their name around the media circuit and how they suddenly change their attitude towards you and then want to try and resolve everything with you

You can also contact and file complaints with the FTC for Elavon and OCC for US Bank

Fraudstinks: there is only 1 possible reason your response is so knowledgeable about Elavon, and why you so desperately try to protect them and defend their immoral and dirty business practices and operations.

Fraudstinks: You work for them.

Lets just cut to the absolute truth --- Elavons actions are forcing many businesses to close or scale back which has and will continue to create even more unemployment, and, more problems for the already troubled economy.

Fraudstinks: You may find it funny - but the staff and employees who are now unemployed directly because of Elavons actions - they do NOT.

If Elavon paid closer attention and cared about at any of their clients - they would see that NOT all the businesses that they are withholding money from, and/or withdrawing money from their bank accounts -- have any past due balances, illegal practices, take physical signatures, or ship merchandise to Ghana!

Elavon is carrying out their dirty business practices across the board with complete disregard --- any company - and any reason they can get away with.

Every complaint I have seen (which seems to be running into thousands) ranging from small to large companies (including Angies List where Elavon withheld $$2.5 million and almost made them file bankruptcy) --- all the Elavon complaints are all extremely consistent and all have the same legitimate complaints over and over again.

Existing Elavon merchants --- watch out ! ... they could be withholding your money right now!.. and withdrawing money from your bank account right now! (they do it without notifying you)

Potential Elavon merchants --- think again !... do your research - you will quickly and easily find thousands of horror stories and experiences about Elavon

Find a different merchant bank that operates legimate and ethical business practices-- and that does Not withhold your hard earned money, or withdraw money from your bank account... and whose actions do not force businesses to shut down, and make their employees and staff unemployed.

I have worked in the POS industry for over 7 years and have dealt with Canadian and US Companies such as Elavon, Global Payments, Tangarine, Moneris, etc. What I would like to know is what provider is the best solution? They all have to obide by the same rules and regulations that Visa, MasterCard, and Interac have put in place and if there is anything done outside of those regulations and you strongly feel that way then make a formal complaint in writing to the appropriate channels.

I want to try to help as well and am no longer in the business for a reason and that is because there are companies/ISO's that ruin a lot for the rest of the fish out there.

1. Customer Service - I have yet to find an amazing CS department at any company in the POS market or outside the POS market. It is a struggle to keep a positive outlook when half of the calls they are taking are merchants that are swearing at them and calling them horrible names. I know this because I have also managed a help desk. The people on the other end of the line are going to do their best to help you if you are polite and professional. Remember you catch more bees with honey then you do vinegar. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that there are cs agents that you just want to scream at because of their incompetence. Is this their fault or the companies fault for hiring the wrong person or lack of training? Think about this the next time you call through to get support and maybe try to be a little patient and if the person on the phone doesn't seem like they can help then politely ask for a supervisor. I have done this many times and have been happy. Please understand that they are people just like you and if they don't treat you respectfully then ask for someone else.

2. With-holding funds - As mentioned above there seems to be a lot of that and a few people above did explain a few of the reasons why. This is something that all companies should be/are doing that are within the Visa/MasterCard/Interac industry. This mainly happens when card fraud happens. This means that someone has come into your store and has used a fraudulent card for their purchase. The processor that you are using, whether that is Global, Elavon, Moneris, etc is notified of all cards that are discovered to be fraudulent and then they with-hold those funds until the investigation is completed. In most cases this means that the merchant, your business, will lose out on that revenue. Unfortunetly, that is part of doing business for you, and for the Processor. This blog seems to focus only on Elavon but please believe me that this is standard for all processors. In some cases they may have deposited that amount into your account already so they would have to go back in to your account to withdrawl it. The second main reason why they with-hold funds is becuase of Risk. The risk could involve the number of chargebacks that are happening in your business, unusual transaction volumes for your business, to just the type of business that you have. There is a list out there somewhere that seperates specific industries as being high risk, for example, furniture companies. If your business is based on large purchases, down payments, etc then it is risky for the processor as the number of chargebacks increases. They can set up initially holds on your funds for 60 to over 180 days until you prove that you are a non-risk and then all of your funds will be deposited. Again, this is something that is part of business if you are using Debit/Credit. Whether you see it or not these rules are to protect you and your business. An example of this, I had to help a merchant that had an employee in on a fraud circle that swiped fraudulent cards for 5 nights in a row for purchases over $3000.00. Their average sale was about $500.00 but the store owner didn't realize these sales until all deposits where frozen. Essentially, the employee sold high end products to his friends within the circle. The owner of the store not only lost that revenue but also lost his right to have a POS terminal as his services were frozen and was 'black listed' from ever having Debit/Credit ability. A lot of responsibility is on the owner of the business so it is up to them to monitor irregularities like this, to monitor who they are hiring, keeping a log of their employee schedule, etc. If you have an opportunity to go to a Visa/MasterCard/Interac Conference that has seminars on Fraud I suggest that you go. Employee Fraud is very real and happens to many unsuspected business owners. Now in saying this, I have seen business owners be the ones involved in Fraud and become very irrate when the funds are not deposited.

I guess my point is, as business owners you do have to be as knowledgable as possible on the rules of using the services from Visa/MasterCard/Interac. The grass is not always greener and i have seen various blogs that sound identical to this one but target Monex, Moneris, Global Payments, and US companies as well.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I CAN SAY IS ALWAYS READ YOUR CONTRACTS. IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE THAT IT IS WRITTEN IN ASK IF THEY HAVE A CONTRACT IN YOUR LANGUAGE. IF THEY DON'T THEN HAVE IT TRANSLATED BY YOUR LAWYER, FAMILY MEMEBER, FRIEND, ANYONE WHO SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE IT IS WRITTEN IN.

Liqudated Damages is a very popular item that is being added into contracts across the country which could cost you thousands if you want to cancel. And trust me on this - if you want to cancel before your term is up you are responsible for those fees and they will send you to collections. Educate yourself as much as possible before signing up with a company. Don't always blame Elavon or other large processors as they have ISO's or Resellers that sell their product too that they cannot control pricing on. There was a comment above that mentioned Elavon flipped them back and forth between CS agents but they were with Tangarine. It sounds like Tangarine is the reseller so they actually dictate the pricing - not Elavon. I know that for a fact Elavon is one of the few Processors that do require written notification to merchants when fees are being increased so make sure that you read your statement messages (and yes I know that trying to read through a statement can be very difficult so demand to set up a meeting with your sales rep or CS agent to take an hour and go through it with you line by line - they cannot deny that from you and I have done this on many occasions).

Lastly, understand what you are paying for. A trick of the trade on Credit Card contracts is to show seperate rates; Example 1 - Qualified Rate (swiped regular transactions that are the least risk), Partial/Mid Qual (transaction that are a little risky for chargebacks), and Non Qual Rates (anything that is keyed in as it is a high risk transaction). The pricing may show like this:

Qual - 1.65%
Partial - +2.00%
Non - +2.50%

This means that the transaction will be charge at the very least 1.65%. If it is a Partial it will be charged an additional 2.00% for a total of 3.65% and if it is a Non it will be charged a total of 4.15%. Always look for the + signs in front of the discount rates. Again, know your business and know what type of transactions you are doing - each CC processor can give you a report of what types of transactions you are doing every month. It is called an 'Interchange Report'.

My biggest frustration while in the industry was the lack of knowledge business owners chose to have on their pos solution. There will always be sneaky sales reps and sneaky resellers no matter what business you are in - they can't beat you if you read the contract in full and know what you are signing. Don't trust what they say or hand write on the contract. If it is not an official contract then do not sign. You should always keep a copy of the contract on hand once you have signed it so that you can avoid things like items added after it was submitted by the rep that you didn't agree too. I cannot stress enough - KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING regardless of how long the contract is. Ask if your business is a high risk business, call the help desk before you sign the contract to ask them questions. Read your monthly statement and if you can only access them online then look at them every month - that is where fee increase notices will show up.

I hope that this helps and good luck - in my expeience Moneris and Elavon are the two most trustworthy companies out there but deal direct with them and not a reseller.

Sorry - I forgot to mention specifically that if you feel that you do have a legit claim send a letter direct to Interac if it is about a debit purchase or to Visa/MasterCard if it is about a credit card transaction. They take complaints very seriously and can black list resellers/processors if they are truly fraudulent or unethical. Make sure that you detail as much information as possible and include all parties involved such as names of people you spoke with, your sales rep, the name of the Company on your contracts (suprisingly a lot of merchants think they are dealing direct with Moneris, Elavon but in fact are dealing with a reseller), etc. Fight the bad seeds this way as they won't be black listed unless ruled by Visa/MasterCard/Interac. I think that there is also a list of ISO's/Resellers/MSPs on their sites sites somewhere of those black listed companies.

Reputation Management department? I don't know who sold you those cigarettes your smoking, but that ain't tobacco Steve. I don't get paid anything to post on complaint boards. Elavon has no idea I'm even here. So whatever. Just another thing to add to the list of stuff you have wrong. So just because I don't like people making up lies about companies and spreading half-truths I automatically work for a company? Well hell! I should be a millionaire by now cause I work for at least 15 different companies according to your figures. HA! Income tax time is gonna suck, that's for sure.

OK. So back to the Steve show. In case you haven't noticed, fraud is on the rise. And by fraud what I mean is REAL fraud. Fraud where Joe Cardholder gets a shiny new Chase card and hits the internet. He knocks out all this Christmas shopping in 4 hours time and everybody gets exactly that they wanted with him having enough stuff left over to sell and make a pretty penny off of. A few weeks later, once all the charges have posted and all his shiny new gifts have arrived (shipped to his best bud's house, of course.. you know, cause they are "gifts") he calls up Chase and asks why he never got his new card. They inform him the card was activated and used and now carries a balance of over $5, 000! Next thing you know, merchants everywhere are getting chargeback letters from their processors because Joe Customer said he didn't make these purchases. Guess who pays for those new presents now? The merchants. And of course, they'll blame their processor... it must be the processor's fault because they got approval codes for those sales, right? WRONG. I won't give the name of the company I work for but I will say this... I have my hands on no less than 100 chargeback cases every day. I frequently speak with banks, merchants and sometimes cardholders. One of the things I hear/read at least 10 times a day is "we did everything right, we shouldn't have to pay for this". But upon closer examination, there is almost ALWAYS something that wasn't checked or done correctly. Take the scenario with Joe Customer. Most merchants could listen to that story and never tell me what was done wrong in that situation that ultimately made the merchant lose the funds.

I have a merchant account with Tangarine who uses Elavon for processing. I am in the accounting field so our rates are supposed to be lower due to very few chargebacks in the industry. Suddenly I am being charged up to 4.2% from Elavon and am told that it is because of the type of cards that I am accepting. I was never told that I need to look at whether or not my client's cards are point cards and that these ones would have a higher rate charged for them. Apparently Elavon can raise the rates whenever they choose, and they choose to do so on a regular basis.

On top of that, Tangarine has put through several unathorized charges on my account for paper that I did not order from them, for compliance fees even though my machine will no longer be compliant within the next two years and I'll be stuck still paying for it despite that I won't be able to use it anymore - no one told me this when I signed up. And worst of all, SOMEONE FROM WITHIN TANGARINE has set up another bank account under the name TANGARINE CBP in which they are FRAUDULENTLY TAKING MONEY FROM TANGARINE'S CLIENTS AND DEPOSITING INTO THEIR BANK ACCOUNT. This I found out when I started disputing all of the charges that Tangarine was putting through my account and a Tangarine employee called to tell me that some of the charges were actually fraudulent. Now, in order to stop the charges I have to change bank accounts (because the bank won't stop them if the name is similar to Tangarine's legitmate name - Tangarine MSP) and drop Tangarine as my payment processor, risking that they will sue me for not fulfilling my end of the contract even though staying with them will mean risking even more and larger fraudulent charges on an ongoing basis. It has been 4 months so far that I have seen fraudulent charges go through my account, not being able to do anything about it.

In my opinion, both of these companies are fraudulent, and are not worth the risk - sign up with your bank, the stated rates may be higher but in the long run you'll pay less because they won't suddenly jump the fees up without prior notice.

"Trust me guys they would never do anything illegal, in fact they have a very honest and strict legal department. " When I had a problem with Elavon, I was told they did not have a legal department. I received a mailing from the "in house legal department" and when I could not read the signature, I called again to ask who sent the letter, I could not get anyone to tell me, not even my former rep. But I really do know who their legal department is headed up by DEWEY, CHEETHAM and HOWE!

I agree with Steve. M., FraudStinks is an employee of Elavon. I also found other complaints about Elavon in other web site always replied by someone saying Elavon is correct but also mentioned some details only Elavon's emplyoee would know. But it doesn't matter whatever those Elavon's employee says, look at the number and complaints from all over internet, it tells one thing, Elavon is a scam. The worst practice of Elavon is not only delaying cancellation and charging you fees, but using excuses to cancel your account and empty your bank account. It can happen even you have no chargeback history. I hope every victim can come together to launch campaign against Elavon worldwide and have lawsuit agaisnt them.

I can relate to some of your comments, however if you had read the contract that you sign you would know what to expect. The reason that they get away with every thing they do is because you agreed to it. Why do you think you have to sign here and initial here and sign here. Stop and take time to realize what your signing because if what they are doing is so bad then how are they still in business. Why would Visa and Master Card allow such a company to process their cards? Know what you are agreeing to before you point the finger. Not to mention have you seen their rating with the Better Business Bureau? Don't look to bad to me. Fact is there is no one to blame but yourself and if it is so bad then why take credit cards? Finally I would like to end with every one needs something to complain about. Some one has to be the bad guy. These rules are established by visa and MC. If you have a problem with them then boycott them and maybe our country will get out of debt. Ever think about that?

I am stuck in a similar vortex with this unscrupulous company. I made the grave mistake of transferring my merchant account to Elavon when Payment Tech was bought out by Bank of America. I wish I'd found this site before I made that decision.
I decided to sign up for an Executive membership with Costco to avoid fees with Elavon, did so, was clear about doing so, sent my Ex. Membership number in my application yet still received an application with the app. fee and monthly fees listed (which I am supposed to not be charged w/ an Ex. Membership). I contacted my rep. who instructed me to cross out those fees on the app which I did (thank God I have all this in writing).
I receive my first statement and lo and behold I'd been charged those fees (($29.95 total) which also concerns me I will be charged erroneous fees each month.
To this date I have heard from 4 different "customer service reps" within two days, each not knowing what the other has promised me, indicating I need to provide THEM with my bank statement indicating the fees were removed (uh they are in possession of my fees and it's on my statement FROM them, they know they were removed). My bank statement will not process for 2 more weeks. I was told by one person that could be bypassed and I'd have my refund in 72 hours, then that was reneged stating I needed to provide documentation . I copied and pasted the only thing I have which is a copy of my online banking statement, was promised the refund in 72 hours then that was taken back.
I've been told various stories from various reps. now stating it's "waiting approval" and can take 7-10 days. Imagine if this was a fee that wiped out my bank account.
This company has access to my funds and can take whatever they deem "necessary" (one of the terms used on this) even if it specifically DISREGARDED IN THE CONTRACT from my account at whim. Total insecurity with this service and now if I want out of it due to their numerous errors and transgressions, I will be charged an exorbitant fee.

DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. I never had one such issue with Payment Tech for the many years I was with them and truly regret changing services. Costco has been notified and are following up and a complaint has been filed with the Better Business Bureau.

Elavon in Atlanta has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau. When you google "Elavon better business bureau", this is the first entry that comes up:

http://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/business-services-general/elavon-in-atlanta-ga-27207475

I am sorry that you feel the need to post such stuff about Crown Merchants on the internet.

When I spoke to you I told you I would close the account and I did. I told you I would talk to the sales rep and I did. The fact of the matter is that
• I have on file a contract signed by you and you and your partner that includes the terms of the contract and the merchant agreement.
• A signed personal guarantee signed by you and your partner.
• A voided check that you provided in order to open a merchant account.
• You also gave a $50 check for a setup that the sales rep charged you.

Now not to question your business since but
Do you read what you sign?
Do you let anyone run your credit?
Do you pay them $50 for running your credit?
Do you provide your SS# to anyone?
Do you give out voided checks to anyone?

Once again I am sorry that you felt like you were taken advantage of. However I think it is a far stretch to call Crown Merchants a SCAM. The internet is a unguarded source for people to say what they want with no regulations. I would appreciate it if you would remove the post that you have about Crown Merchants and just chalk it up as a bad experience. Also if you would like to go over the paper work that you signed I would be happy to discuss this with you farther as I have copies of everything.

Typically this is the response I get from our customers.
“The Crown Merchants Staff is always helpful and has a great depth of knowledge on their products” Customer Since 03/06
“From the first day I called to get information about Crown Merchants I have received nothing but the in customer service.” Customer Since 05/06

I called my bank because I was interested in Merchant Cardservices for a coffee shop I am opening. This processing is very confusing, with many different levels and types of fees. My bank referred me to Elavon, and I trusted that my bank would provide an appropriate solution for my business. I was "lured" into this with a promise of a "free" terminal with a 36 month contract. I contracted on 3/8/2010 with Elavon and received their terminal on 3/15. I never even had my phone turned on until 3/25. After taking it out of the box(not even activating my account), I decided that paying 5% of my gross monthly income to this is just not viable right now, so called to cancel this contract and return the card reader.

Guess what. They want to charge me $295! Is there some sort of right of recision to which I am entitled? It has not been 15 days since I siged up. Does anyone know?

I signed a 4 year contract via Union Bank and several days later I received a letter from Elavon that I am in a equipment lease program. The sales guy who signed me up told me that the card reader (a little device to read a card into a PC or laptop) was a complementary. It costs $79 but if you look around you can buy with much less.

I didn't know there was a lease. There is no word, "lease" in the contract I signed, but the paperwork they sent me AFTER I got the account was a lease agreement.

Basically they want to charge me extra $3 per month as a insurance for this inexpensive "equipment." This insurance requirement was not on the original contract.

Anyway, I called Elavon and the account department was able to close my account after I told her the story. Then, after that, I found out that even though I close the account, I will still have to pay for the lease in the next four years.

I called back the person who closed the account and said I can't get out of the lease program. She said she would find out what is going on, but now right after that when I called her, the voice mail said she'll be out of office in the next several days.

The sales guy who works with Union Bank admitted that he was not aware of the insurance requirement and the leasing complications.

I guess I will be paying Elavon in the next four years for the services that I never use.

They said I can return the equipment (I have not even opened the box because I am upset that I was sucked into this lease program without knowing), but even if I return the box I will still have to be paying for the lease. Lease for $79 equipment for 4 years?

You know what? This is what sucks about the internet.

All you people making complaints on here have absolutely NO CREDIBILITY, however for the individual who finds such vague and "potentially" bogus complaints, the tendency to belive is very high.

I for one, happened to check with a highly credible and bonafide institution to see if what is being said here has any particular TRUTH.

According to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) Elavon has an A+ rating (this is the highest rating by the BBB).

Sure, there have been 145 complaints in the last 3 years (THREE YEARS), however they have all been addressed to the satisfaction of the BBB. So, what I am seeing here is nothing but a bunch of nonsense and more than likely, defamatory statements from either competitors or people who lie or are bitter and wish to blame someone for their own failures or that of the current state of the economy.

Elavon is saving business owners thousands of dollars in processing fees and offering a tax deductable alternative to what the big banks offer for POS processing systems.

Go to the BBB and see for yourself, looks like a good company to me...

After several years in business and perhaps 1000's, or TENS of thousands, even HUNDREDS of thousands of clients and only 145 disputes reported, either we have a bunch of lugans slandering or we have a respectable company offering a better alternative for POS services than is offerd by the big banks.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR FACTS and don't "always" believe what you read on this unmonotored and wide open forum, called, the Internet.

You should ask people around and people are not happy with Elavon.

I work for a company as well as owning a small business. My employer owns two restaurants. They used to use Elavon for both locations, but recently one of the restaurant switched to another merchant.

Elavon is known to sign up people with low rate, and after a year or so the rate and fee increases. My employer discontinued Elavon because the rate got so high that they paying 3% on American Express!

I am a street vendor so I talk about credit card processing with other vendors. Peoplea generally don't have good opinions about Elavon.

My first transaction didn't go thorough because Elavon put my account under "security watch." Fortunately I had another credit card machine with me so my sale was okay. My account was set up so the monthly maximum transaction I could process was $10! That is TEN DOLLARS PER MONTH. I had to call Elavon and asked to unlock the limitation.

I am very very stupid that I signed up with Elavon.

I too am a victim of Elavon's fraud.. They said that their records indicated that I used PC Software to initiate charge (sales) transactions and that I was not in compliance with their Security rules. They were pedaling a service called "Trustkeeper"...
Their records are wrong as I have always used WEB based gateways to process transactions (eg: Authorize Net, then VeriSign, now Paypal). I do not keep any records of card numbers, etc...
ELAVON and the rest of the Banking industry is above the law and what ever became of our "USURY" laws?
The [censor] have been robbing my checking account of so-called fines and fees that amount to Thousands of dollars... CRIME DOES PAY...
Now they ignore my FAX messages to Close My Merchant's Account...
Imagine that... -disgusted, helpless merchant

with all these complaints, does anyone out there have an alternative company that they would recommend?

Any company is better than Tangarine (now called Pivotal).
They lied to us that they were 24/7 technical support so we could sign with them. Of course after a month we find they lied. They had also increased my rates and no one can show me where on the contract it states they can change the rates. They also added false information to the contract. They even copy and pasted my signature and forged my initals on the lease agreement. Thank God I have a copy of the original document and the forged copy they sent me. It has been a nightmare trying to cancel with them without penalties. Spread the word. TANGARINE/PIVOTAL LIES AND TAMPERS WITH CONTRACTS.

Wholeheartedly agree with complaints. I am a physician using Elavon, and when we told them to close an account, they continued to charge us. Then, when we asked for a refund of $220+... they DEBITED that amount on top of what they already stole.

"Fraudstinks" is clearly working for Elavon, and seriously, in hope that guy gets hit by a bus. Seriously, just trip and fall down the stairs or something. The world is better off without sleazebag PARASITES like you who do nothing for society except TAX it.

I can tell the one who called REALITY_1 is also an Elavon employee. All people making complaints on the internet are merchants used Elavon service otherwise they would not know Elavon at all. These people are business people not wasting their time to make false accusations.

But I also tell you Elavon was rated "F" in BBB before April 2010, the rating A+ only appears after Elavon joint BBB paid program. But more important information shows if you see the detail about the rating. You can find almost 1/3 of the complaints are "administrative closed" which means Elavon failed to provide acceptable answers to the complaints. Many more complaints not even come to BBB since most people know BBB can do nothing to big corporations except getting their cash.

People, if you are victims of Elavon, please do more than just posting here, bring your stories and complaints to the medias, Facebook, FTC, state and federal attorney generals, Finance minister of Canada, Secretary of Finance US, Costco (if you get Elavon thru Costco), your Congressman or Members of Parliament, your trade unions, Chamber of Commerce as well as class action lawyers . We need to bring the issue to the legislature and law enforcement to stop Elavon and other credit card processors predatory practice.

I took it on good faith that Elavon (Via Costco) would be perfect for my business. It hasn't. I didn't have a single bad transaction yet I was dropped by Elavon, presumably because I wasn't generating enough sales. On several occasions large sums of money were removed from my bank account with out my advanced knowledge or permission. I can give details but in short it has been a terribly bad experience. I now have $1200 (thereabouts) of equipment that isn't transferable to another credit card processor. I checked on-line to discover, not to my surprise, a long string of similar complaints. I was with Moneris for 15 years without a single issue but I was drawn to Elavon by the promise of lower rates. Shame on Costco for supporting such an unethical business operation.