Double Helix Bucks Rate Increase Trend

High-risk businesses have a difficult time finding favorable terms for processing credit cards in the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging a war on the world, many high-risk businesses find themselves shelling out more each month for credit card processing services than they should pay. However, there is one company that has held firm in not raising prices.

Most Common Merchant Complaints

It is not just high-risk businesses that have complaints against credit card processing companies. Businesses operating across the entire spectrum have issued the four most common complaints.

Exorbitant Fees

Paying higher monthly bills for credit card processing services is one thing, but getting saddled with exorbitant fees is quite another thing that almost makes accepting credit cards cost-prohibitive. The industry standard for establishing early termination fees is nearly $400. However, online complaints filed by a wide variety of businesses have mentioned paying much higher fees for terminating credit card processing services.

Difficult to Cancel Services

Processors that impose early termination fees also make it difficult for businesses to cancel services. Some processors do not operate cancellation departments, which means customers get moved around to different departments. Make sure you cancel a merchant contract in writing to avoid having a processor continue to send your business monthly bills.

Deceptive Sales Representatives

A sales representative’s only goal is to make a sale. Some sales reps cross the line of ethical behavior by not revealing the total cost of a merchant contract and/or adding hidden fees that penalize businesses. Read the fine print or have an attorney read it before signing a merchant contract.

Lousy Customer Service

Independent sales reps have earned a reputation for providing subpar customer service. After they make a sale, an unethical sales rep moves on to sign up more businesses for merchant accounts. When you work with a credit card processing company like Double Helix, you can expect prompt, friendly, and knowledgeable customer service.

You will never reach an automated message that says, “Please leave your name and number.”

Case Study: Heartland Payment Systems

Founded in 1997, Heartland Payment Systems is the fifth largest credit card processor in the United States. The company processes more than $80 billion in credit card transactions each year, but that does not mean the company has developed a positive reputation among merchants. In fact, complaints against the company have soared since the parent company Global Payments purchased Heartland Payment Systems in 2015.

Unannounced Fee Increases

Since the beginning of 2020, a growing number of merchants have reported that Heartland has increased rates, as well as tacked on unannounced fees. Although the rate increase in February of 2020 affected only businesses that had an initial three-year contract end, the unannounced fees hit a large number of merchants.

One business owner explained one complaint filed against Heartland. “I told the sales agent I would try his company but I would not sign a 3-year contract. The agent said no problem. They told later me I signed a 3-year non-cancellable contract and I would be charged $295. I asked them to send me a copy of the contract and it was an obvious forgery.”

Heartland Faces Lawsuits

Shortly after Heartland became a part of Global Payments, the credit card processors faced a class action lawsuit that eventually ended up costing the company around $2.5 million. The lawsuit claimed Heartland promised to charge the same rate for processing American Express credit cards as the rate the company charged for processing Visa and MasterCard credit cards. Heartland added an “American Express Adjustment Fee” that violated the terms of its merchant contracts.

In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against former Heartland CEO Robert Carr alleging that Carr and his business partner conducted insider trading at the time Global Payments bought Heartland Payment Systems.

The Importance of Shopping Around for Merchant Account Rates

It is not just Heartland Payment Systems that has raised rates and added costly fees. Other credit card processor companies have implemented the same pricing models.

If your business is paying more for credit card processing services than it should pay, the time has come to shop around for the most affordable and customer-friendly merchant account. Every dollar you waste on a costly credit card processing company is a dollar you can invest in the growth of your business. Signing a processing contract that price gouges carries with it negative short and long-term financial consequences.

Figure out how much you can afford in your tight budget, and then contact the credit card processing specialists at Double Helix Processing. We specialize in helping high-risk merchants not only secure credit card processing accounts, but also securing the accounts at an affordable rate and with no hidden fees.