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Thank goodness I am not alone in this leasing nightmare, like so many of you I started a small business and was convinced by a very friendly bank repersentative at my local bank to go through them for merchant services. At the time I was going to go with an online service where I bought the equipment for a couple of hundred dollars and they needed a letter from my bank to verify that I was a lagitimate business. The bank repersentative (a very lovley lady) warned me against scams and convinced me to get my merchant srevices through them as thier service was very above board. The bank is local small and very wonderful and I trusted her.
The equipment arrived a day before my store opened and was brought over to me by the bank lady who assured me it was a great service and I signed in good faith. From the stickers on the machine and the paperwork that came along with the machine I was under the impression I was dealing with a company called verifone. After several months I deceide I could run my business from home and a web site rather than paying rent for a store and contacted verifone about terminating my lease. They were very helpful and explained there would be a $300 canelation charge and after a year that figure would be reduced to $200, so after speaking to the repersentivie for some time i decided to keep my agreement till a yer was up (yesterday).
When I called to cancel yesterday my converstation was very polite and everything was going well until I asked them where I shoule return the equipment, at that point the lady informed me that the equipment was leased through another company and I would need to contact them seporately.
When I called ladco they were very unfriendly, "Brian" informed me that I had signed a lease that I could not get out of and I was obligated to pay $48 a month for 3 years or could pay the lump sum of $1040. when I asked if he would reduce the amount if I sent back the equipment he said it was only worth $5.
I understand that I should have read the contract but this whole thing is a wolf in sheeps clothing, having a smiling baank rep you deal with and trust sell you such an abominable service is just not fair.
When I went to discuss matters with my bank yesterday the manager was shocked and appauled at the contract they had had me sign, this prctice needs to be outlawed and I would be very happy indeed to get together with any interested parties to make sure this cannot happen to any other buisness owner.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Want out of this Ladco Scam?
Lets start with some Ladco history.
Back in November 2009, Ladco Leasing was purchased from a man named Leon Ladd by Elavon Merchant Services. Elavon DOES own Ladco, even though 9 times out of 10, they will tell you different. (Also, both of these companies are owned directly by U.S. Bank, so any line of credit or open accounts with US Bank can and will be drafted.) Many employees in Ladco were actually trained by Elavon, but training was all based on "need to know". Most Elavon employees don't even know they work in the same building as Ladco employees. Each side of the fence is told to direct your complaint to the other, mostly because no one wants to hear complaints all day. Sales people are trained strictly to make a sale and move on. Typically you will deal with customer service after the first interaction with your sales person. The fact that most customers that sign up for these services are typically rushed through review and signing of the lease agreement does make the ability to imply that you didn't read what you signed readily available to Recovery and Customer Service.
NOW- What you dont know.
Since the merge in 2009, Ladco's Recovery Department has stopped reporting debts to the credit bureaus, as they claim that it was "a better business decision". Of course they stopped. The agreement that you signed holds about as much validity contractually as the toilet paper you use every day. The secret? STOP ANY DRAFT ATTEMPTS BY LADCO. (Usually your bank can stop any/all drafts from a specific company.) Even if this means closing your existing bank account and reopening a new one. In your lease agreement, it DOES state that Ladco may draft funds from any open bank account or line of credit associated with your Social Security Number. Ironically enough, the only way they can find "any open bank account or line of credit" is if it's a US Bank account. Ladco pushes for ACH payments each month. Contact your bank if you are set up on this system, and stop drafts from Ladco. In their collection attempts, they will threaten "legal action" or "further collection" against you if you refuse payment. Some will probably say "Your credit MAY be effected if you dont maintain your obligation". The key word there is MAY. Legally, they have to say "may", because if they threaten action but never pursue it, your attorney is going to make you a rich man. Speaking of attorney, there is no need for one. Again, save your money. There are no legal grounds in which they can claim action under, and will typically try to use your credit as leverage for negotiation for payment. You really think a company that has accumulated as much revenue as they have are going to take you to court over a $200 machine? Doubtful. They're too busy ripping off other unsuspecting businesses.
In short- stop putting your hard earned dollars in the hands of crooks and criminals. Don't let them play the fear card. Your credit and your money will be fine, as long as you do as i've instructed above. Furthermore- Learn to treat your employees well and subtle hints and tips such as these wont ever surface about your business. :) If you have any further questions about your specific case or agreement, feel free to contact me via message. I would love to help, and there is plenty more information i can provide if necessary. So good luck and God speed! I pray that the thousands of people effected by this scam recover strongly and learn a valuable lesson in the process.
How do I contact you Zeta155? steverose72@comcast.net
Same thing happened to me but I didn't not sign any contract with LADCO. Someone forged my signitures from Wholesale Merchant Services application. please email me.
I had the same problem but I never signed a leasing contract with LADCO. Wholesale Merchant Processing forged my signiture.
I also did not sign a lease nor receive copies of anything I 'supposedly' signed. Zeta155 I would love the rest of your info...how do I reach you?
We will start the class action suit. Now we are gathering more people.
Please be a part of us and contact me at [protected] or wacafehue@gmail.com.
You are not alone. Don't give up. Even if you pay them, they will call you in a year to ask more money and even if you pay again, they will send the case to the collection just to hurt your credit. This is what I have seen in people's post.
THE same thing happened to me my bank representive didnt even tell me that the contract was for four years..and my business wasnts that well so i called them to cancel and they told me that i have to pay $3000 and they sent me collection letters, did you guys when the lawsuit against them or what happened with youvguys isvthere any luck that i could get out of the contract without paying
I am one of the fools that opened my own business with my mother, and her name was on the contract so once I was in, my mothers name was also, so when Brian and Ladco sent letters to my mother saying they were going to give my bad credit, i panicked and have been paying them for 3 years at approx $98.00 per month and then a whopping $500.00 pay out! Only to keep my mothers credit rating in good standing! Now they want me to return their machine to the USA and I am in Canada, but no one is telling me what customs paperwork that I need, and they are telling me if they do not receive the machine within 15 days they will be charging me another $300.00. This seems like it will never end! Boy I am such a loser!
I too am going through this mess when i had to suddenly close down my business. They have been taking $20.00 a month out of my business account for several years. I reasoned that the deductions would stop when my business closed. no. So I closed my bank account. I received a very rude call from their company representative telling me I owed $115.00 now and my contract (?) would continue for two more years. They were not interested in me making the small monthly amounts I could afford on unemployment. I quit my communication with them by phone then the official letters from their company in Knoxville began threatening me if I did not pay a lump sum over a thousand dollars within 10 days of the ups delivered letter legal action would begin against me, as well as my credit would be compromised. I do hope LuisKim does proceed legal action and he can use me if need be.
Just stopped payments from our nonprofit to Ladco. My boss was deceived into signing the lease and I just discovered how much this little peice of equipment we weren't using us was costing every month. $70/month can send 12 more kids to camp each year! ugh, so I stopped payments and I'm taking your advice and ignoring the threats.
Thank you so much for having this information available. I too am a small business that has been stuck making $75 a month payments for their service that I am no longer using. Not only is this a rip off but their processing fees is almost 3 times higher than the company I am currently using. After months of having my US Bank Representative try and fight for me to no avail, I just contacted him and told him what I've found out and that maybe the bank should investigate a company that they are subjecting their customers too. Shame on Ladco and as well shame on US Bank for setting us all up! If the lawsuit is still available I would be interested in participating.
A and J Auto Repair