Transfirst Merchant Services
Complaint 24271 Details

In May I agreed to try Transfirst (from the Web) for my Merchant credit card services since they promised to save me money with their 2.2% rate. After 30 days I received my first statement and they charged 2.5% additional because my transactions were "unqualified". I called and they didn't have a good explanation and suggested different ways of processing my charges. I tried various ways , each time waiting a few days then calling them to find out the charges. Eventually it became apparent that there was no way to avoid the surcharge, and it was more expensive than my present supplier, so I said I wanted to end the contract. They said I couldn't because after the 30 day trial, it automatically became a 3 year contract. That was in the "Terms of Agreement" which I never saw. They never said anything about the 30 days or 3 years in all our discussions before I signed up. They said they would send a copy of the "Terms of Agreement". I insisted I wanted out and they agreed. Three days later I got a statement from my Bank with a $495 withdrawal from my account and $105 in overdraft charges. they said that was in the Terms of Agreement. That document is 6 pages of small print. At the end of the 4th page it says this is a 3 year contract (nothing about a trial period) and on the 5th page a $495 charge for ending the contract.


1. I was not informed as to the trial period
2. I never actually signed an agreement. they said that my email address was an "e-signature".
3. At the end of 30 days I was still trying to resolve the issue of the extra charges. Commonsense says that the trial should be extended while there are unresolved issues.