Merchant Services, Inc. Review 2023: Customer Complaints, Lawsuits, and Fees

Merchant Services, Inc. is a merchant account provider situated in Irvine, California, claiming to have been in operation since 1995. According to numerous sources, the firm is a DBA or subsidiary of National Payment Processing. It is one of several DBAs used by its owner and management team to do business. 

Please find out more about the service and what they offer in this Merchant Services Review. 

What Does Merchant Services Inc. Have to Offer?

Below is a table representing some of the basic facts associated with Merchant Services that will give you a better idea of what the company is based around.

Overall Summary of Merchant Service

Merchant Services Inc. Origin, Headquarters, and Owners

Merchant Services, Inc. is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, California, and National Payment Processing, Inc. is a registered ISO of Synovus Bank, Columbus, Georgia. 

Both companies are based in California. Merchant Services, Inc. is a California corporation with its headquarters at 9012 Research Drive, Suite 200, Irvine, CA 92618. Merchant Services, Inc. is led by Jason Moore, who is the company’s CEO.

Interesting News in History 

The class-action lawsuit filed against Merchant Services cited numerous instances of equipment leasing through Northern Leasing Systems and its various subsidiaries. However, there is no reason to believe that Merchant Services has stopped selling equipment leases through these service providers in the meantime. 

Over the length of the lease, the standard Northern Leasing Systems lease has a non-cancellable term of 48 months and costs much more to operate than the original purchase price of the equipment. When feasible, merchants should acquire equipment outright rather than leasing it.

Merchant Services Inc. Overall Services Offered

Merchant Services, Inc. processes all major debit and credit cards for various company types, including restaurants and hotels. POS solutions, wireless processing, check and EBT processing, virtual terminals, e-commerce solutions, merchant clubs, gift and loyalty programs, online reporting, recurring billing, debit card networks, and health savings accounts are some of the services they provide.

• E-Commerce Solutions 

Small companies who operate virtual retail shops or accept online payments might benefit from the services provided by Merchant Services, which provides payment gateways and shopping cart software. Authorize.net, which Visa owns, provides the gateway services for the company. 

CartManager provides shopping cart services, including calculating sales tax and delivery, the ability to show content in several languages, and a log-in option for returning customers.

• Point-of-Sales Payments 

In addition to stand-alone terminals, Merchant Services also provides contactless card readers that are compatible with major digital wallets and entirely virtual terminals for e-commerce firms. LMS is a First Data reseller that mainly sells Clover and First Data point of sale systems to its customers.

How Much Does Merchant Services Inc. Cost?

A three-year contract with a $495 early termination fee, $134 “data protection” fee, a $45 monthly minimum fee that can rise to as much as $75 per month, a $19.95 monthly PCI non-compliance fee, a $7.50 monthly statement fee, and other fees is the standard Merchant Services contract, according to merchant complaint records.

 Also mentioned in the complaints is that their per-transaction costs are more significant than the prices they were told before to sign up and a $48 “Clover Business Management” fee implemented without warning in the previous year.

Along with its storefront payment processing services, Merchant Services, Inc. devotes a part of its website to promote its virtual terminal and payment gateway, which are also available for purchase online. However, no-cost information is available for any of those services. 

For various e-commerce services, different rates and costs are often charged in addition to the base rate. These fees and rates include gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates.

Is Merchant Services Inc. Worth It?

• Some Concerning Complaints Found Online

Following the Better Business Bureau’s standards, Merchant Services, Inc. has an “A+” rating and has been recognized by the BBB since 2001. In the last 36 months, the firm has received six complaints. 

One complaint was filed because of a product or service issue, three were filed because of advertising or sales difficulties, and two were filed because of billing or collection concerns. 

The firm was unable to remedy any of the six issues to the merchant’s satisfaction. All six were resolved to the merchant’s disappointment, or no final answer was obtained in any of the cases.

• Poor Sales Practices 

There are no false pricing quotations or unrealistic assurances on the company’s website, which is a credit to the organization. However, the publicly accessible information about its employment practices and the available body of Merchant Services, Inc. complaints have resulted in a poor overall rating being assigned to the company at this time. 

If you believe that you have been charged fees not mentioned in your Merchant Services contract, we suggest that you have a third-party statement audit performed to identify and remove any hidden costs.

• Early Termination Fees, Lengthy Contract 

Small-business owners who want to work with Merchant Services, Inc. must sign a three-year agreement. That is a significant time commitment, particularly in light of the company’s opaque pricing and inadequate evaluations. 

Customers may cancel their subscriptions without incurring any fees for the first 30 days; after that cancellation fees vary from $250 to $350.

The Bottom Line

Merchant Services, Inc. is rated as a subpar merchant services provider as assessed in our Merchant Services Review and grading standards, according to our criteria. 

Over the previous five years, the firm has frequently received complaints, and it was the subject of a class-action lawsuit in which severe charges were made against the corporation. 

Even though Merchant Services, Inc. is similar in name to MSI Merchant Services Incorporated, a subsidiary of Harbortouch, the two firms do not seem to be affiliated. We recommend avoiding Merchant Services, Inc. and suggest that business owners will benefit from working with a credit card processor that is well-rated overall.