US Merchant Systems USMS

Why use such a disreputable and old fashioned company when there are so many options out there?
I signed on with a different company with lower fees and MUCH better customer support. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to escape USMS’ clutches.
When I phoned them to cancel, they told me that they would give me better rates instead. I thought I’d see what happened so I waited for them to contact me back. And they didn’t. They have refused to update my billing address or correct phone numbers, so even if they do call, they don’t have the correct information.
I’m in meetings throughout the day and prefer the time shifting and history tracking when using email to communicate. Plus, it’s 2012, so lots of people have email now. So when I contacted them using their website to indicate my intent to cancel and that I would like to cancel, they contacted me by phone. At the wrong number.
So I tried AGAIN to call them, and they kept towing the line of «we need a written letter by POSTAL MAIL». What? I’ve canceled merchant services many times before, and have used written letters by fax every time. When dealing with a company who habitually fails to return contact correctly, I’m uneasy about sending my request out via the postal mail.
Meanwhile, while they wait for my letter, they’ll have the opportunity to collect another month’s fees from me. Because, as they say, that’s what’s in my best interest.
Long story short, there are lots of options out there. Pick one from this century and with actual customer service.

That Robert Jones guy is amaaaaazing. Helped out with PCI compliance form — I didn’t have the time to deal with it and he stepped up and said he would take care of it for me! Really helps when you’re slammed with work like I am right now.
Thanks Robert!
–David Fenton

Your customer service was superior. The gentleman that helped was calm and clear in his communication and we got our business done. Thanks for your help!

Patient & positive personnel!
I called them yesterday to find out why a batch I had uploaded online hadn’t been processed yet. I spoke with CSR named Sergio. I had just begun to explain my problem to him and had given him my merchant ID number when my other line started ringing. I asked if I could put him on hold for just a minute and take the other call since I was the only one in the office that day and he said no problem. It turned out to be my bosses calling in from vacation in Panama to check on things. They wanted a complete run down of everything that had happened since they left. I was on the phone with them for 8 or 9 minutes at least. I felt so terrible about Sergio and was positive he’d hung up and I would have to start the process all over again, but guess what? When I finally switched back over, he was still on the line! I was stunned. How nice of him!
Turns out it wasn’t something they could fix on their end, it was the online company they contract with, but he made sure to call them, give me their direct phone number for future reference, and then stay on the line with me as the tech from the other company got my information and gave me a ticket number.
I am impressed, thank you USMS and Serigo!

BEWARE of working with them! The sales person that «sold» USMS to us promised us the skys and the clouds, told us he had been there for years and was never leaving. As soon as we saw that things were going wrong, and that they weren’t giving us what they promised, we asked to talk to the guy who had sold us, and guess what? HE WAS NO LONGER THERE!
So we decided to give them a chance, even though we weren’t going to get the rate we were promised, because we didn’t want to go through the hassle of going to another company at that point.
About one year in, we discovered they were charging us for a terminal that never existed! We called over 10 times, sent emails, NOTHING. It’s been three years, and we had it with them. I know it’s JUST a$ 26 per month, but that adds up! Last month I finally got an attendant to agree to refund us, and I thought we finally had it resolved, but this month we got a bill AGAIN, and when I called I got the most arrogant person ever! Terrible company. Can’t say we didn’t give them a chance!

We have used USMS for two years now and have received great customer service. I called today and they walked me through, question by question to help us become PCI compliant. The same person also helped me to remove the possibility of taking American Express cards — I was never placed on a long hold nor was I transferred for each separate concern. Their monthly statements are always on time and accurate as well.

I called them on Monday to get some help with a customer service issue. I was very happy at how quickly they answered the phone, and the speed and quality of their work. I was very satisfied with this company. I will be staying with them for a long time.

Had a couple of issues with my terminal and both times the CSR was helpful, polite and made sure the issue was resolved before I got off the phone… and to call back immediately if something went wrong again. Great service!

Great Company! They have been running our credit cards for years. Best Rates that I have found and I love the web gateway, makes running my clients cards simple and easy, over and over again.

Hello All, Today Israel From US Merchants called to offer me a plan to save me some money on a Credit Card Machine. Israel was vary knowledgeable about his product and how it compares to other similar card swiping machines out there used in the business world. If i wasn’t already a customer of there product, i would have defiantly signed up with him!
So, to the whole staff there at Us Merchants here in Fremont, You and your products are doing a real good job.
During my 6 years of using their Way Systems hand held machine with receipt printer i can never be more content with the service provided.
There have been times within the past 6 years when i needed help to undo a transaction or just forgot how to navigate their product.
I drove down to their shop and was ALWAYS greeted friendly by the receptionist who had the troubleshooter contact up front within minutes to resolve my issues.
In my every day life as a Limousine owner /​operator the devise that i use is mobile and gives the customer a printed receipt on the spot. It works really great at Airports when business customers need their receipt for their business expense.
I show my machine to all my customers who are impressed, So in-​return, Your Product makes me look good with.
Thanks Israel for the phone call today, Keep up the Good Work.
Tim Garcia /​Mr Tims Limo Company.

I have not had any problems with this company but I am changing for lowers fees, I have read several complaints in which I have not expierenced. I called this am and asked for a statement to be emailed to me and I got it right away. So no complaints from me just looking to lower my fees.

Horrible customer service. I notified the company that we were canceling our service with them and asked if they could please provide the date our contract would be ending. I was given a specific date that we would be «out of contract». When we did not cancel by the EXACT said date they automatically renewed our contract for another year. They failed to disclose this information even though they knew we were wishing to drop them. How convenient. I won’t go into specifics about their practices (that would make for a really long review) but I will say that I rarely write write bad reviews but feel it’s warranted in this situation. Warning to all: it’s all about the money with USMS. They do not care about the customer. In fact, Joseph H. (who wrote a review on 1÷10÷13) is the person who is «helping me». How funny that they are also writing good reviews for themselves. That should tell you something right there. Oh and I just found our contract and there is no mention of an auto renewal. They can be sure that we will fight the «early» termination charge.
Update: Ha! What a joke of a company response. The unethical company trying to justify it’s actions by placing the blame on the customer.
I see that Joseph H. (USMS employee) has removed his stellar review of the company. That obviously would break a few of Unilocal’s rules, wouldn’t it?
«We strive hard to keep our Unilocal rating moving in a positive direction». Please Carolyn G, show me where all these good reviews are because from what I am seeing the majority of customers who have written a review are just as unsatisfied as I am. Inflating your star review by having employees write reviews does not count.
Be wary my friends. Stay far away from this company unless you enjoy being ripped off.

My name is David Driskell and I represent Admiral Pool Tables Inc in Hayward, California. I had issues with my credit card processor on 5÷3÷2013. I had an issue with the machine trying to batch out over and over again, and a problem with the header on all receipts printed (company name was not being completely printed out). Well anyway, I had called their technicians to help me fix the issues. In the time it took to fix was well worth it. They are very helpful and explained to me in simple terms what they were doing to fix it. With my help at the keyboard they directed me on what they want me to do. So now my credit card processor is working perfectly and the header is now complete on all receipts. Thanks again for the job well done. I would recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a good credit card processing company.

Bottom line, when I tell a non-​salesperson that I wouldn’t and don’t plan to generate a lot of credit card transactions, and yet the non-​salesperson still tries very hard to convince me to meet with one of their representatives. I then confirm that I wouldn’t be charged a monthly fee and there would be no cancellation fee, then clearly there’s a scam in the works.
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I am basing this review solely on my experience with them «not selling anything», yet trying ever so persistently to get me to agree to a meeting with their representative, even after I informed them that my business does not regularly need to take credit card payments and that my monthly credit card revenue is typically less than $ 1000, and that I have no interest in trying to lower my rate.
The continued persistence by the person soliciting is an immediate flag that they would be able to make money regardless of how much money I process. I specifically asked if there is a monthly fee or a cancellation fee, and he point blank stated, no, there are no «ETFs» (early termination fees) and that their mobile processing solution is competitive with Square and Paypal so there are no monthly fees. The thing is, if they are competitive, and I already indicated I use Paypal, then the best they could do is reduce the processing fee rate slightly.
Regardless, I specifically stated I am not interested several times, and this «nonsaleperson» representative continued to push for me to meet with his representative and acted surprised and offended that I was not interested in learning about yet another payment processing option (I explained to him that I had already learned about and am familiar with mobile payment processing options.)
He indicated that they are an «A+» Better Business Bureau company.
So I looked them up and learned the following. They are indeed an A+ business as determined by BBB.
What are the BBB Factors that raised US Merchant Systems, LLC’s rating?
* Length of time business has been operating.
* Complaint volume filed with BBB for business of this size.
* Response to 51 complaint (s) filed against business.
* Resolution of complaint (s) filed against business.
* BBB has sufficient background information on this business.
How does BBB raise or lower a businesses ratings?
Element Range of points that can be earned or deducted (maximum to minimum)
1. Type of Business 0 to –41
2. Time in Business 8 to –10
3. Competency Licensing 0 or –41
4. Complaint Volume 20 to 2
5. Unanswered Complaints 20 to –21
6. Unresolved Complaints 10 to 1
7. Serious Complaints 15 to 0
8. Complaint Analysis 8 to –12
9. Complaint Resolution Delayed 0 or –5
10. Failure to Address Complaint Pattern 0 or –5
11. Government Action 0 to –30
12. Advertising Review 0 to –41
13. Background Information 5 or 0
14. Clear understanding of business 0 or –5
15. Mediation/​arbitration 0 to –41
16. Revocation 0 or –10
They indicate that Type of Business is generally a 0 if it’s a normal business otherwise its –41 (or some negative amount) if the business does illegal or sketchy activities (like drugs, prostitution, or some other obviously illegal activity). My guess that even a Pawn shop would be able to be accredited and not lose points (as long as they pay the BBB).
Time in business — they likely received the full 8 points, since they’ve been in business for 7 years and the BBB was able to verify this…
Competency licensing — unless the BBB has any evidence to the contrary that US Merchant Systems (USMS) is not fully licensed, then they likely have not lost any points in this category.
*** Complaint Volume *** — interesting that regardless of the complaint volume, the effect is from 20 to 2 (always positive) so even if the business had a huge number of complaints, they still don’t get dinged, the just don’t get as many offsetting points.
*** Unanswered complaints *** — interesting that as long as you respond to complaints, you probably get a positive score — so even if I run a shady business, if I respond to all my angry clients, I’ll be rated positively.
*** Unresolved complaints *** — so resolved doesn’t necessarily mean resolved to the client’s approval. The business only needs to make a «best effort» to resolve a client’s issue. And what is more interesting, that in the worst case, the business would just get 1 positive point, instead of 10. There are no negative points even if all complaints are not resolved.
* Serious complaints * — Again, why is it that the worst outcome for having serious complaints is a 0 and the best outcome is 15 points? This seems like a major BBB rating issue. A business could be doing horrible things to it clients, but all those serious complaints wouldn’t really ding its rating.
I could go on, but it turns out that others have already realized that the BBB is a scam…
So stay away from this «non-​selling» business!

We have only been with USMS for a month now and so far they have been great to work with. Responsive willing to work with us and the bank and
. Its gone smooth so far and we dont expect it to change

We were introduced to USMS a few years ago and were amazed at the Savings we had after using them for our Credit Card processing. We’ve had several competitors stop by and we show them our usms statement and their always amazed at the rates. No one has recommended for us to switch to their competitor co.
They also offer mobile processing equip., for those merchants that ‘take their’ merchandise on the road.
Customer service is prompt. Hotline is efficient.
Overall, we are a very satisfied merchant. 5 Star

We received a call from Zach with US Merchant Sys on the caller ID on 11÷21÷12 at approximately 1:30pm. We informed him that we were not interested, did not take any sales calls, would like to be removed from their call list, and do not want them to call back again.
Immediately after ending the call, he called back again stating that it was not a sales call and attempted to launch back into his sales pitch again. I told him that we do not accept harassing phone calls and would like to be removed from their call list. He informed me that they do not use a call list and just use
so they would be continuing to call us.
I called back to get their address to file this complaint. He asked me to hold on for a moment, placed me on hold, and left me there never returning to the call. We deal with these harassing phone calls from this company frequently and they often call back after we expressly request that they do not.
Based on the phone number that was used, 510−771−2188, I would assume that he is associated with their Fremont CA office.
Don’t do business with companies that make continual harassing phone calls even when people specifically ask them to stop calling or who lie about the fact that they are making a sales calls. You can’t trust a word that they say; they’re already lying to you, why would they start telling you the truth now? Also filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office. Hopefully they can do something about these people.

What a joke! I hope you never need their technical support department. I’ve called about not being able to log into their merchant website for two weeks. Each time they give me a different reason. The site is down, I need to reset your user id and password, I’ll check and call you back, you need to call another number to reset your account, etc.
I started double checking when I call now about the last thing the last guy told me. For example if they said the site was down last time I called I’ll ask the guy that just told me the reason it’s not working is because my password expired if the site was down recently he’ll say no the sites been working fine. When the next guy tells me that my account needs to be reset I’ll ask them if my password has expired.
They have zero idea what’s going on and you’ll most likely get zero help, and that’s if they bother to call you back.

I hate giving bad feedback just as much as I do with getting bad service. But when you consistently get bad service, something needs to be said.
First and foremost this company has been our credit card processor since we started our small business. You would think that being a member for so long (7 yrs) that they would help us to stay with their business. There are merchants like
that charge no monthly fees and have a flat processing fee once you buy the reader. Granted that we don’t charge very much with our account with them, does that mean that we should be provided with good service?
Every time I call the direct phone #: 510−771−2100
I get this rude ass receptionist that transfers me to the the waiting music that lasts 3 – 5 minutes. Really poor customer service and just awful lack of care for customer needs. My recommendation for small business is just use
. Its pretty useless to PAY for customer service if you don’t even get customer service to begin with.

It is outright amazing that this company still has any customers and that it is still (allowed to be) in business.
Did anybody ask for a rating lower than one star? As soon as Unilocal comes up with less than 1 star ratings, I will revise this review.
Did anybody say US Merchant Systems are highly rated by the BBB?
Really? This must be because nobody wants to file a complaint with the BBB. A complaint would most likely be a waste of time because I suspect that US Merchant Systems has its own, unbeatable, to customers invisible, set of rules that makes their actions look proper somewhere on some paper. But I might be wrong and thus I will loose some money, however, I surely will save the time even thinking more than necessary about this company. What a joke their good BBB rating must be though.
I cancelled my account at the beginning of August and I am STILL being charged in mid-​September. I spent probably 3 hours on the phone to cancel and to find out on 4 different occasions what all those additional deductions from my bank account were after I cancelled. Aside from processing and compliance fees for August for which they, as they say, billed me because I only cancelled at the beginning of August, they slashed on an unusually high fee, which after much research by a USMS employee turned out to be a cancellation fee (which hasn’t been mentioned to me before).
But wait there is more. Although another employee told me on Sept 12 that the fees I was calling in for for clarification, were the last fees I would ever be billed for, 2 days later, I see another deduction, this time again for compliance. I called again and another employee also told me that this would be the last I’d hear from them.
I hope it will be. To be sure, I asked my bank to not allow further withdrawals by USMS. What a terrible company this is. Employees seem incompetent. Customer service is a joke. Service rules are non-​transparent and full of unexplained withdrawing surprises for the customer, even months after cancellation. Just imagine, how prosperous a company can be if it charges a customer for close to 2 months after cancellation.
What about putting up a few regulations for such businesses, so that customers are a little bit better protected? Right now such companies seem to have a lot of rules they don;t have to share clearly with their customers.
I would NEVER EVER go back to this company, I wouldn’t even recommend them to the worst of my competitors. I am also wary of any other similar business. Fortunately, there are other ways to accept credit cards, and they are cheaper and more popular to both me and my customers. And, as old fashioned as it may sound, I also accept non-​credit card payments.
I hope this will be the last I will have to think about this A++ rated company.