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Consider filing a complaint with the local authorities (in the state where your credit card processor is located). Not being able to speak to someone at a financial institution smells of either impending bankruptcy or fraud.
I would also be looking for a new credit card processor ASAP.
Upon second reading, these comments stand out to me:
I received email from risk management of my card processing company asking about invoice, proof of delivery and customer inforamtion.
Than about hour later I received another email askinf for all the things requested in first email plus my business bank statements.
There's also a chance that you've been defrauded by a rogue employee in the company or by someone outside the company. You need to try some other phone numbers- either from their site or their domain name registration or their business registration.
Probably not much to worry about, bank account and routing numbers don't lie.
But somethings weird about the email stuff. Reputable places won't contact you initially for sensitive documents in that manner, but will do so by fax or mail only.
[edited by: MrHard at 5:15 pm (utc) on Aug. 31, 2009]
BTW person in charge of my case is really unprofessional. She doesn't know how to ask quastions. It like demands.
Do the emails have that "Nigerian" type language? You know, LOTS of bad Grammar and misplaced Capitalization? ;-)
Have you googled their contact phone numbers to make sure you are indeed working with the CC processing company? I would be concerned this is a scam and you are giving them way more information than they would need to process your charge.
BTW person in charge of my case is really unprofessional.
Remember- YOU are the customer of this company. THEY work for YOU. You are free to take your business elsewhere. Try to adopt this attitude and refuse to let them walk over you. Call the contact numbers on the web site (or from other sources) and demand to speak to someone who has the authority and ability to do something. Whenever you get a "roadblock" (someone unable/unwilling to help you), demand to talk to that person's supervisor. Take names and document dates/times of calls along the whole process. Take it all the way up to the company's president, if that's what it takes.
If you still don't get any satisfaction, then it's time to start filing complaints with 3rd parties. Treat the situation exactly like what it is- the company took your money and refuses to return it or give you a valid reason. File a report with the local police department (yours and theirs). Contact their local BBB (probably worthless, but the more paper trail you have, the better). File a report with the FTC. Etc. Companies may ignore squeaky wheel customers, but when they have to start spending time answering complaints filed with the police and other agencies, they can be more willing to make the problem go away.
And, as I already recommended, look for a different processor.
BTW, they do answer phone in general, but when I call extension of the person in charge of my case, there is no answer, only voice mail.
If you still don't get any satisfaction, then it's time to start filing complaints with 3rd parties
2 days? How long has it been? These things do take time. I would allow 2 weeks.
You remind me of customers who get nervous when an item does not ship out the next day, start making things difficult, and actually create more problems..
These things do take time. I would allow 2 weeks.
I'm sorry, but (No, strike that- I have no need to apologize) I have no tolerance for companies who hide things like that. Especially in these uncertain economic times. If they have a valid reason for holding onto the money, then they can explain what that reason is.
I've been burned too many times by playing nice. And there are countless other examples of bankrupt companies that got that way because they were too nice when it came to collections and demanding payment.
BTW thay have cancelation fee of $295 and they reserve the right to witheld some funds for p to 270 days in case of future chargebacks. This is when you decide to close your account.
You have to assume that if they do this to you once, they'll do it to you again. (As you and I have both pointed out, you're not the only one experiencing problems with them.)
If it were me, I'd eat the cancellation fee just to be done with them. I would also look into fighting the cancellation fee. But since it seems like they are not doing anything against their ToS, you probably don't have a case.
Very sorry to hear about this mess I have never had a charge held up like this. Jeeze all they have to do is make one phone call and the deal is done.
I am with LifeinAsia piss on them. I would call and demand action to be taken one way or another.
Hopefully none of these are factors in your case, and this will resolve in your favor soon.
There are a couple of lessons here most any reader can learn from:
1) If you are a merchant like Radeckd and your account is underwritten for a certain transaction size (most processors at application look for an "average" ticket, and a "high" ticket amount ... this latter is the one that stung Radeckd, and in fairness to Radeckd, this can happen to almost any firm. It's important to NOT allow transactions more than about 10%> what you state will be your max. ticket, or your processor very likely WILL freeze the transaction, as Innovative did here.
2) Lesson for us in the field who rep. merchant services -- it's important to keep our merchants educated on such points as this, so they don't have their transactions frozen as happened here.
Again, Radeckd, I wish you the very best.
At least, this is what I would do if I were in your situation. I hope this helps!
The thing is, what are you supposed to do when a customer comes along who is legit and they want to spend way more than the average ticket, one that will put you over your limit? Are you supposed to tell the customer, "Sorry, I can't accept your order because it's beyond my limit"? That's not a good solution. Maybe one way to deal with it is to accept the charge and then call the risk management department right away and let them know it is coming down the pipe and you want to make sure everything is jake. Anybody try that?
HRoth, you pose an important business question:"What's a merchant supposed to do when a customer comes wishing to charge way more than the merchant's max limit?"
You must explain to the customer that the proposed purchase is much larger than your business typically sees, so in this case you'll need to accept a wire transfer or a cashier's check from the purchaser's bank. That's tacky, I know, but it's the best, most immediate answer in the face of that business situation. I'm a sales guy, too. I know that 'moment' where the sale happens or doesn't happen. I "get it." Here's what else I know: Accept that big transaction, way above your max. limit, and you will end-up exactly in RADECKD's unfortunate position.
Here's what to do longer-term: If a merchant needs to raise their max. transaction limit, they should contact their processor and get underwritten for that larger maximum. U/W may request the last 6 month's business banking statements (so they can review avg. daily balance as well as amount of funds that a business has access to), or they may call for the last 8 quarters of financials. ( P&L, BAL, cashflow) The larger the firm or the larger the max ticket requested, the more the latter request is typical -- and expect also a request for the last 2 or 3 yrs' business tax returns.
U/W isn't being nosy or intrusive; they're doing their job. Two fast reasons why U/W needs this info ... 1) Is this business financially sound enough to take one to six "hits" at this higher Max. over the course of the next year, either because of dissatisfied customer returns or outright fraud, and still survive as a business? (When identities or card info is stolen, one fraud tactic is to quickly run large transaction amounts.) If U/W is comfortable with the business's financial depth, they'll approve the higher max. limit request.
Besides fraud, remember what's driving all this in the background -- the cardholder assurance program -- the right given us as cardholders to return product or obtain a credit-back of our money in the event we're dissatisfied with our purchase, up to a year after the purchase date. That's why sometimes U/W will call for establishing 'reserve' accounts -- so the processor can tap funds in the event of big-ticket (or multiple small-ticket) charge-backs.
What every merchant services underwriter learns on Day 1 of their job, is that merchants HATE reserve accounts! U/W's alternative is to verify the business's depth for handling one to six (?) large-ticket hits over the course of a year. There are some other technical considerations, but this response is running wayyy too long.
I submit another post that answers this question slightly differently.
High-Risk merchant services is a different world. In high-risk, merchant is asking, and the high-risk provider is agreeing, to shoulder the risk of higher than usual charge-backs or an occasional fraudulent transaction. H.R. merchants are those who would be declined by the more familiar US merchant services processors. H.R. merchants expect a more rigorous underwriting process at the outset, and they expect to pay a higher percentage of the total transaction. How much higher varies by the degree of potential risk.
If you're thinking H.R. is just po^n sites and adult bookstores, think again. Airlines, cruise lines, time shares, direct marketing companies (MLM's), casino's, lotteries, and gaming; and high-ticket merchants -- all are examples of high-risk merchant categories.
Still waiting for some updates from risk management. Thanks to everyone trying to help me.
Question: Are you w/ Innovative because of the QuickBooks integration?
[edited by: lorax at 5:32 pm (utc) on Sep. 2, 2009]
Thanks again to everyone here. Looks like sometimes you just need to be patient.
I am pleased this is resolving satisfactorily for you! An option to consider, if you like: Shop around. In my experience there are many processors who would have a more common-sense U/W approach. If they were looking at 6 months' statements with no charge-backs, it seems probable from what you have said, that they'd approve you for $50K, with room for growth.
