I spoke with andrew and erik ticket #'s: 2240372 and 2241039. Both dismissed my request to cancel the contract that has 11 months remaining. I explained to both that the leaders violated the original contract by falsely claiming that its gateway would allow me to link its payment processing to my ecommerce web store.
This gateway service did not exist, or did not work. I cancelled the contract on 07/18/18. Leaders took the position that contract could not be terminated. The initial leaders salesman would not take my calls. Customer service Who claims is not part of leaders) would allow us to use a virtual terminal service letting us to manually key in payments on their terminal for a low monthly payment of $14,95. In the meantime, we had to seek gateway services for our shopping cart elsewhere.
In reviewing the service charges on our end, we found that not only have the monthly charges have shot up exponentially to over $150/month. But we have been charged a distinct gateway fee of $5.95/month for the last 24 months. I emphasized to andrew that the gateway service was cancelled two years ago. He stated that the the contract would continue to its term of 3 years.
Our issue did not appear to matter to him. I suggested to him that we both cut our losses by him dropping our contract. At this time we are considering posting a permanent report on scamion.com, unless you immediately cancel your services and billing charges.
07/17/2020: leaders has charged us over $250 for cancellation of their services. They have not refunded the cpi ompliance charges and the the gateway fee totaling $196.00
Note on leaders website:
What is a virtual terminal? Is it the same as a gateway?
A virtual terminal is not the same as a gateway, although most gateway providers also include a virtual terminal with their service. A virtual terminal is a credit card processing terminal through a website or phone based application, which allows a merchant to key in transactions.
Where do I start? I called leaders to get a merchant account the selling pitch was good. They said no contract or early termination fee and rates at 1.2 percent. I sent them all the information about my companies. After a day they sent me the online processor gateway let me tell you something my phone on 2g is faster.
I could not even process one payment. I get on the phone with tech support they transferred me over 8 times finally after screaming at them they said they will have a supervisor contact me. Im still waiting next I get an email that I was not PCI compliant so there on the phone with them for over 2 hours and still no help or answers. I look at my acct the next day and 200 was taken out when asked why they couldn't give me a reason.
They lied to me, my account was approved on Nov 27,2019. received the wrong equipment on 12,05. Leaders Merchant charged me for the entire month of Nov which I had no service at all.
Then on Dec 20 they withheld all of my deposits till this day. Jan 01 ,2020. I wish we could file a class action lawauit against this company.
As you'll find all over the internet, Leaders merchant services is about as shady a company as you could ever imagine dealing with. You'll go to their website, fill in the fields for a free estimate for services and one of their sales people will call you back........every, single, day....until you answer or call them back. The conversation will of course be pleasant because they're about to lock you into something pretty sinister and this is where they get you:
You'll be told you're filling out an APPLICATION. Not a contract or an agreement to service, merely an application fee. This was explained to me as merely a formality to see if I qualify. They take various forms of information from you as is typical, name, birthdate, address, etc etc. You're then sent an email where you get a breakdown of the fees you'll be charged (which after seeing this I should've just told them I wasn't interested in $30 a month plus all the other additional nickel and diming they do to your account) and then you're told to acknowledge the bottom of the form so they can process it and give you additional pricing.
Because I assume that not every business or human being working within them are scum I agreed.
Well shortly after that I apparently have an account already setup and access to my portal would be available within the next 48 hours. I formally agreed to none of this and couldn't see any small print when sending back the application, but apparently I was now in a contract unbeknownst to me.
This obviously didn't sit right with me so within 12 hours of opening the account I immediately put through to cancel it. Even this process is deceptive. You're emailed a "Merchant Closure Form" in which you fill out the particulars of your account. I actually had to wait a day or two to eventually do this because I had cancelled so early that they didn't even have a merchant account number for me yet (which I believe is probably also done purposefully).
After I finally received it, I sent in this merchant closure form which NEVER once, anywhere on the form tells you you'll be assessed a $350 cancellation fee. I believe this is done so they don't have to deal with irate customers over the phone. Instead you'll wake up one morning, check your bank account and see that this sneaky company has stealthily taken out $350 from your balance. At that point you get irate.
I called them and they of course informed me that I did in fact sign a contract, not an application form, and that I was being assessed an early termination fee for cancelling. I told them that I never signed a contract and the only thing I was ever sent to actually sign digitally was an equipment form to pay for merchant card readers, etc. of which I never signed and sent back.
The woman over the phone said she was looking at my forms on her computer screen (Forms I never even received after signing up apparently so I have no idea what they even say) and that the fee is the penalty for cancelling. She told me that she could transfer me to some other random department but at this point I told her that Leaders can just talk to my bank instead.
I filled out a multiple page letter of fraud with my banking institution in which I used a debit card for the "application process" merely to open the account. (As an aside, from a business standpoint NEVER use a debit card like I did to ever establish service with anyone. Only use a business credit card, that was my mistake and one I won't be making again.)
My bank immediately refunded my account the $350 and I'm assuming Leaders were told they would NOT be receiving any further funds from this particular bank because they immediately tried taking money out of my actual business account next. However for this account I only keep the minimum in it to avoid fees at this time so again, a swing and a miss by Leaders. B
e that as it may, this company is just trying to get that money through very deceptive means by using the banking information I gave them for the merchant account itself. At this time I will also be contacting the attorney general and if they continue to make a collection after deceptively roping myself and many others into contracts when told they're application forms, nothing else, I will more than likely file a small claims suit with the city of Camarillo as well.
Do NOT do business with this company under any circumstances. Even their testimonials are apparently fake as mentioned in numerous REAL online reviews of the company. Evidently all the IP addresses come from India but the companies praising them are all in the United States.
I honestly don't understand how business like these are allowed to hold a license and take money from other businesses. I will not be making any more mistakes with them or anyone else in the future. Always do your due diligence on every entity you decide to do business with. There's thousands of companies out there just like this one.
I started a new business and decided to use Leanders Merchant Services for the equipment and credit card processing. I have only had one customer who has used a credit card. When reviewing my monthly charges, I was being billed $79.00 a month for service and additional $15.00 for "supplies".
I decided to cancel my account and called them. The customer service is horrible. I talked to 4 different people. Then they told me to fax a letter saying I wanted to cancel. I did and low and behold they didn't get the fax.
Another charge on my bank account. I called back and told them to credit me the most recent charge and they said they couldn't do that. I resent the fax to cancel and then a day later they pulled $350.00 out of my bank account for a cancellation fee! No one ever mentioned a cancellation fee, they did not even try to reduce my rate to keep me as a customer, they did not even try to offer me any type of refund. For a new business this is a lot of money to lose just to use credit cards.
Now I am going to my bank and will dispute the charges, and I am filing suit against the company. They are very unethical in the way they do business. They never discuss fees or charges etc. if you want to change or cancel your account. They are extremely "cold" on the phone and do not care about their customers. Please run far away from this company. Do not waste your time or money with them. They are not worth it.
This service is a f***ing joke. They lie & scam hard working business owners out their money! They keep transfer me to person to person. I never used their services or own any off their equipment. I went to the bank May 3rd, 2018 to deposit money into my account & I've notice $39.95 gone just like that. My bank refund it back. This is the worst part right here: I've closed my bank account & open a new one. They still stealing money from me. I've asked Leader's why are you taking money from me & what I was paying for? They didn't answer my question. A lady today from leader's said she was going to e-mail me the cancellation documents. 6 hours later No e-mail from them thieves. Please run fast away from this company. They lie, steal & give you a hard time.
I've called 5 days a week last month just to tell them I don't need their services. So why I am paying this company for & I've never got ANY services from them. Please do deep research before doing business with others. I'm furious. My son birthday is this Sunday. I can't even do anything fun for his own birthday. I hope these people get caught & get punished for helping themselves to people account without their knowledge. Luckily I am glad I keep an eye on my account.
I was lied to about what they charge, was told they would only take 2.5% of each customer transaction.
I never received a copy of the agreement letter till I asked for it when I noticed that Leaders and their affiliate Bankcard were taking money out of my account for hidden fees that I was unaware of.
I never saw some of these pages in the agreement that my electronic signiture in on nor did I ever agree to it. Nowhere is my signiature.
I never used their credit card machine and I never ever agreed to these fees. They have taken out $356.00 from my account for bs charges.
This company is a scam. Where is the class action lawsuit?
This company will snatch your funds so fast you wont have time to blink. I got one chargeback and they seized all my funds with no warning. They won't even send an email to notify you. the sales reps are huge liars. You will regret signing with these people. Shawn Grieves is a liar and his henchman Nester is a thief.
As a Merchant we were looking for a reputable business to support out payment processing activities. We found the company called leaders as one of the 10 best processing companies (I do not know who put their name on the list). Their sales agent confirmed a small charge per month of $40 if the charge limit is not reached, otherwise there will be no fees. At the first transaction, we discovered the bells & wistles. Fees here and there, you name it. For $10,000 customer credit card payment, there were $300 fees plus what Visa or M/C charge. In total we paid over $750 in fees, in other word it's 7.5%. Now the problem, getting back to Leaders to solve this issue or at least explain why these hidden charges, no one is available. Everyone transfers you to a different Dept, Nicole answers she does not know anything, Mo the sales agent who set up the account, is always in meeting. Customer service says go back to your agent and you stay int he circle.
Please be aware that payment processing companies alwayes play the game switch and bait, with always hidden fees. Shop around BEFORE signing any contract, as there are hundreds of agents soliciting their services on behalf of the main players First Data, Paymantech and others.
Leaders Merchant Services Reviews
On 07/10/2020:
I spoke with andrew and erik ticket #'s: 2240372 and 2241039. Both dismissed my request to cancel the contract that has 11 months remaining. I explained to both that the leaders violated the original contract by falsely claiming that its gateway would allow me to link its payment processing to my ecommerce web store.
This gateway service did not exist, or did not work. I cancelled the contract on 07/18/18. Leaders took the position that contract could not be terminated. The initial leaders salesman would not take my calls. Customer service Who claims is not part of leaders) would allow us to use a virtual terminal service letting us to manually key in payments on their terminal for a low monthly payment of $14,95. In the meantime, we had to seek gateway services for our shopping cart elsewhere.
In reviewing the service charges on our end, we found that not only have the monthly charges have shot up exponentially to over $150/month. But we have been charged a distinct gateway fee of $5.95/month for the last 24 months. I emphasized to andrew that the gateway service was cancelled two years ago. He stated that the the contract would continue to its term of 3 years.
Our issue did not appear to matter to him. I suggested to him that we both cut our losses by him dropping our contract. At this time we are considering posting a permanent report on scamion.com, unless you immediately cancel your services and billing charges.
07/17/2020: leaders has charged us over $250 for cancellation of their services. They have not refunded the cpi ompliance charges and the the gateway fee totaling $196.00
Note on leaders website:
What is a virtual terminal? Is it the same as a gateway?
A virtual terminal is not the same as a gateway, although most gateway providers also include a virtual terminal with their service. A virtual terminal is a credit card processing terminal through a website or phone based application, which allows a merchant to key in transactions.
Where do I start? I called leaders to get a merchant account the selling pitch was good. They said no contract or early termination fee and rates at 1.2 percent. I sent them all the information about my companies. After a day they sent me the online processor gateway let me tell you something my phone on 2g is faster.
I could not even process one payment. I get on the phone with tech support they transferred me over 8 times finally after screaming at them they said they will have a supervisor contact me. Im still waiting next I get an email that I was not PCI compliant so there on the phone with them for over 2 hours and still no help or answers. I look at my acct the next day and 200 was taken out when asked why they couldn't give me a reason.
They lied to me, my account was approved on Nov 27,2019. received the wrong equipment on 12,05. Leaders Merchant charged me for the entire month of Nov which I had no service at all.
Then on Dec 20 they withheld all of my deposits till this day. Jan 01 ,2020. I wish we could file a class action lawauit against this company.
As you'll find all over the internet, Leaders merchant services is about as shady a company as you could ever imagine dealing with. You'll go to their website, fill in the fields for a free estimate for services and one of their sales people will call you back........every, single, day....until you answer or call them back. The conversation will of course be pleasant because they're about to lock you into something pretty sinister and this is where they get you:
You'll be told you're filling out an APPLICATION. Not a contract or an agreement to service, merely an application fee. This was explained to me as merely a formality to see if I qualify. They take various forms of information from you as is typical, name, birthdate, address, etc etc. You're then sent an email where you get a breakdown of the fees you'll be charged (which after seeing this I should've just told them I wasn't interested in $30 a month plus all the other additional nickel and diming they do to your account) and then you're told to acknowledge the bottom of the form so they can process it and give you additional pricing.
Because I assume that not every business or human being working within them are scum I agreed.
Well shortly after that I apparently have an account already setup and access to my portal would be available within the next 48 hours. I formally agreed to none of this and couldn't see any small print when sending back the application, but apparently I was now in a contract unbeknownst to me.
This obviously didn't sit right with me so within 12 hours of opening the account I immediately put through to cancel it. Even this process is deceptive. You're emailed a "Merchant Closure Form" in which you fill out the particulars of your account. I actually had to wait a day or two to eventually do this because I had cancelled so early that they didn't even have a merchant account number for me yet (which I believe is probably also done purposefully).
After I finally received it, I sent in this merchant closure form which NEVER once, anywhere on the form tells you you'll be assessed a $350 cancellation fee. I believe this is done so they don't have to deal with irate customers over the phone. Instead you'll wake up one morning, check your bank account and see that this sneaky company has stealthily taken out $350 from your balance. At that point you get irate.
I called them and they of course informed me that I did in fact sign a contract, not an application form, and that I was being assessed an early termination fee for cancelling. I told them that I never signed a contract and the only thing I was ever sent to actually sign digitally was an equipment form to pay for merchant card readers, etc. of which I never signed and sent back.
The woman over the phone said she was looking at my forms on her computer screen (Forms I never even received after signing up apparently so I have no idea what they even say) and that the fee is the penalty for cancelling. She told me that she could transfer me to some other random department but at this point I told her that Leaders can just talk to my bank instead.
I filled out a multiple page letter of fraud with my banking institution in which I used a debit card for the "application process" merely to open the account. (As an aside, from a business standpoint NEVER use a debit card like I did to ever establish service with anyone. Only use a business credit card, that was my mistake and one I won't be making again.)
My bank immediately refunded my account the $350 and I'm assuming Leaders were told they would NOT be receiving any further funds from this particular bank because they immediately tried taking money out of my actual business account next. However for this account I only keep the minimum in it to avoid fees at this time so again, a swing and a miss by Leaders. B
e that as it may, this company is just trying to get that money through very deceptive means by using the banking information I gave them for the merchant account itself. At this time I will also be contacting the attorney general and if they continue to make a collection after deceptively roping myself and many others into contracts when told they're application forms, nothing else, I will more than likely file a small claims suit with the city of Camarillo as well.
Do NOT do business with this company under any circumstances. Even their testimonials are apparently fake as mentioned in numerous REAL online reviews of the company. Evidently all the IP addresses come from India but the companies praising them are all in the United States.
I honestly don't understand how business like these are allowed to hold a license and take money from other businesses. I will not be making any more mistakes with them or anyone else in the future. Always do your due diligence on every entity you decide to do business with. There's thousands of companies out there just like this one.
I started a new business and decided to use Leanders Merchant Services for the equipment and credit card processing. I have only had one customer who has used a credit card. When reviewing my monthly charges, I was being billed $79.00 a month for service and additional $15.00 for "supplies".
I decided to cancel my account and called them. The customer service is horrible. I talked to 4 different people. Then they told me to fax a letter saying I wanted to cancel. I did and low and behold they didn't get the fax.
Another charge on my bank account. I called back and told them to credit me the most recent charge and they said they couldn't do that. I resent the fax to cancel and then a day later they pulled $350.00 out of my bank account for a cancellation fee! No one ever mentioned a cancellation fee, they did not even try to reduce my rate to keep me as a customer, they did not even try to offer me any type of refund. For a new business this is a lot of money to lose just to use credit cards.
Now I am going to my bank and will dispute the charges, and I am filing suit against the company. They are very unethical in the way they do business. They never discuss fees or charges etc. if you want to change or cancel your account. They are extremely "cold" on the phone and do not care about their customers. Please run far away from this company. Do not waste your time or money with them. They are not worth it.
This service is a f***ing joke. They lie & scam hard working business owners out their money! They keep transfer me to person to person. I never used their services or own any off their equipment. I went to the bank May 3rd, 2018 to deposit money into my account & I've notice $39.95 gone just like that. My bank refund it back. This is the worst part right here: I've closed my bank account & open a new one. They still stealing money from me. I've asked Leader's why are you taking money from me & what I was paying for? They didn't answer my question. A lady today from leader's said she was going to e-mail me the cancellation documents. 6 hours later No e-mail from them thieves. Please run fast away from this company. They lie, steal & give you a hard time.
I've called 5 days a week last month just to tell them I don't need their services. So why I am paying this company for & I've never got ANY services from them. Please do deep research before doing business with others. I'm furious. My son birthday is this Sunday. I can't even do anything fun for his own birthday. I hope these people get caught & get punished for helping themselves to people account without their knowledge. Luckily I am glad I keep an eye on my account.
I was lied to about what they charge, was told they would only take 2.5% of each customer transaction.
I never received a copy of the agreement letter till I asked for it when I noticed that Leaders and their affiliate Bankcard were taking money out of my account for hidden fees that I was unaware of.
I never saw some of these pages in the agreement that my electronic signiture in on nor did I ever agree to it. Nowhere is my signiature.
I never used their credit card machine and I never ever agreed to these fees. They have taken out $356.00 from my account for bs charges.
This company is a scam. Where is the class action lawsuit?
This company will snatch your funds so fast you wont have time to blink. I got one chargeback and they seized all my funds with no warning. They won't even send an email to notify you. the sales reps are huge liars. You will regret signing with these people. Shawn Grieves is a liar and his henchman Nester is a thief.
As a Merchant we were looking for a reputable business to support out payment processing activities. We found the company called leaders as one of the 10 best processing companies (I do not know who put their name on the list). Their sales agent confirmed a small charge per month of $40 if the charge limit is not reached, otherwise there will be no fees. At the first transaction, we discovered the bells & wistles. Fees here and there, you name it. For $10,000 customer credit card payment, there were $300 fees plus what Visa or M/C charge. In total we paid over $750 in fees, in other word it's 7.5%. Now the problem, getting back to Leaders to solve this issue or at least explain why these hidden charges, no one is available. Everyone transfers you to a different Dept, Nicole answers she does not know anything, Mo the sales agent who set up the account, is always in meeting. Customer service says go back to your agent and you stay int he circle.
Please be aware that payment processing companies alwayes play the game switch and bait, with always hidden fees. Shop around BEFORE signing any contract, as there are hundreds of agents soliciting their services on behalf of the main players First Data, Paymantech and others.