In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.
After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.
I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.
Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.
If you believe in my mission and wish to contribute, please share my articles on your websites and social media. Thank you for visiting!
Sheila R Simmons
March 30, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
Unless CPO is able to investigate this fraudulent use of my bank account to my satisfaction, I will proceed with reporting your operation as felonious fraud.
Thank you,
Sheila R Simmons
1)Found 2 charges for $39.95 in Feb, and Mar, 2015 on my bank statement today. Called
877-284-9393, “NRG Support”, they claim I signed up for “computer service” for 5
computers. I don’t HAVE 5 computers! I told them I wanted a full refund of
BOTH charges and to get my information OFF their system. Claim the refund will
be processed in 4-6 business days and the account with them will be closed.
This company, “NRG” has committed fraud by using my account without
authorization. The Better Business Bureau has many complaints about “NRG”, and
it is not a BBB-Accredited business.
How can I report
this fraud officially?
2) Sheila, thank you for contacting The First National Bank in Sioux Falls. I show
that purchase is an ACH debit that was set up on your account. I actually found
another phone number attached to those payments if you could try and call them:
1-787-774-1555.
3)787-774-1555 is to a company called “Paytech” located in Puerto Rico. I know I have never knowingly done business or set up any accounts with a business in Puerto Rico.
Earl Sims
Want to complain about unauthorized charges made to my wife’s account. She never opened an account with this company and have been unable to contact anyone at the company for a refund and termination of the account.
Candido Alfonso
Hello Mr. Parker
We actually are a 10 year old company but for the first 8 years we concentrated in our main target market which is Puerto Rico and USVI. We have an in house salesforce, technicians, terminal installers and do encourage support requests come throu a ticket system so supervisors can more effectively monitor efficiency and responses. Our transactional platform is certified to TSYS, Global Payments, FDMS and Vantiv with the latter being our preferred partner. We are also a registered Payment Facilitator with Visa and Mastercard as well as a merchant afiliation partner with AMEX for Puerto Rico and USVI. In 2013 we launched http://www.paypocketmobile.com Our own mPOS solution.
You are right in the fact that our generic name sometmes complicate things. It has actually also had merchants confuse us with other companies like Paymentech (example) and write us up a not so good review instead of the other company. Regardless, we are a strong company with strong alliances and process for SMBs as well as several Fotrune 500 companies located in PR. We do offer processing for both domestic (USA) and LAC (Puerto Rico and USVI) processing with market/country correct transaction pricing. Rates are different in domestic vs LAC. Thank you for the review and for including us in your website.
Candido Alfonso
CEO