Credit card processing sales representatives use numerous tactics to try and win over your business. Some of these tactics are transparent, while others are extremely deceptive.

The point of this blog is to go over a few tactics that we have recently been hearing about in the industry.

If you ever run into any sales reps using these tactics we highly recommend looking elsewhere and no longer dealing with them.

Credit Card Processing Deceptive Tactics

The first trend of deceptive tactics we have been seeing is the Merchant Services Sales Call.

What is happening is sales reps are acting as your current merchant service provider and claiming you recently agreed to a rate increase.

Of course, these reps are not actually from your current processing company and are just trying to get their hands on your processing statements.

There are a few different versions of this call which we will describe below. 

Version 1

This is a notification of fee increases on your merchant account. Our records indicate you may not have completed an annual rate review.

Please note you have the options of calling dedicated merchant account executives at our office number (555) 555-5555.

They can assist you with a review to counteract the increased costs. Reviews are by request only and we are not obligated to repeat this reminder.

Version 2

This message is an important notification regarding your merchant account. You may have recently noticed an increase in monthly service fees on your statement.

Without a response from you, the assumption will be made that you accept the increased costs.

Please note you do have the option of calling your merchant office at (555) 555-5555 to counteract the increase. Failure to respond will result in continuation of increased costs.

As you can see from the language of these calls and voicemails, they are designed to scared you into contacting your company. Of course, no one wants increased costs.

However, if you call the number back or the number they leave on the voicemail this will not actually go to your current vendor.

Note: they never bring up your current credit card processing company because they do not actually know who it is. Nor do they have any idea if your rates have recently increased. 

I called them back, what happens now?

If you end up calling them back (which a lot of people do) the sales rep will claim they are your processor.

The company will try to convince you to switch processors, but they are not going to be transparent about it.

What they typically do is tell you that new paperwork needs to be signed to reduce your pricing and ensure it does not continue to increase.

Rather than this form actually being a pricing addendum from your current vendor, it is an entirely new  merchant contract with numerous hidden costs.

A lot of times it will also have a lease added into the paperwork which is almost impossible to get out of without paying a heavy fee. 

Suggestions and What to Do 

Typically this company calling you and leaving voicemails will continue to do so multiple times. We highly suggest ignoring all these calls and not calling these numbers back.

It is also important to understand they will send you emails with similar language, texts and even snail mail.

These processors will try to scare you anyway they can in order to have you reach out.

Things we always suggest whenever talking with credit card processing companies is finding out the full name of their vendor.

A lot of times they will just say “merchant services” as their name in order to keep the scam going.

Definitely do not sign any paperwork without reading it carefully and confirming this is coming from your current processor. 

If you receive a voicemail like the ones above definitely do not call the number back.

If you are worried about a price increase, contact your processing company by calling the number on your statement. Explain to them the call you have received and ask if it was them.

What we can tell you, is almost never do these credit card processing companies actually call you if your rates are going to increase. They obviously do not want you to know when this happens.

Check Your Pricing

The reason these calls tend to be so successful for these scammers is the fact that majority of business owners do know they are overpaying and are aware their fees can increase significantly without much notice.

Since reviewing these statements can be so confusing, we suggest having an independent firm (not a processing company) look into the fees.

If you want to have one of our experts look for mistakes and hidden fees on your statement feel free to reach out here.

Final Thoughts

If you made it this far in our blog, we assume you have probably ran into this recently.

The key take way to note in all of this is that prior to signing anything triple check to ensure you are actually dealing with the correct company.

Here are Merchant Cost Consulting, it is our job to educate, inform, and assist our audience about the murky waters of the credit card processing industry and help our clients lower credit card merchant fees without making a change to their current processor, bank, equipment, or gateway provider. 

Don’t like reading long blog posts? Check out our 1 minute video explainer here!

Merchant Cost Consulting is made up of industry experts with over 25 years of knowledge and expertise.

When MCC becomes part of our clients team, there is no upfront costs or fixed monthly fee. MCC is a performance based consulting firm that is only compensated on the savings this is obtained for our clients.