Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/20/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called and spoke to a sales rep, who was very friendly, and I told him that I wanted to close my account. I had attempted to put my account into a suspended mode because I wasnt doing any credit card business. After a discussion with the rep it was determined my best course of action was to close the account. I submitted the close account form on 2-28-2023 and received confirmation that the account was closed. Even after I closed the account I was still charged a monthly fee. I received an email that my account has been closed and to my surprise a few days later, March 8, 2023 I was charged an early termination fee of $395. I had been a customer with them for over five years. I was never told anything about an early termination fee prior to closing the account. I spoke to the service rep and he went to bat for me and told me that he had gotten a refund of the $395 approved. This was 3-10-2023. He told me that it would take up to 30 days. It has been over 40 days now since that time and I have not received a refund. I have traded several emails with him and can provide copies with names if necessary. *** been told repeatedly that I would receive my refund. I would not recommend anyone utilize this company in the future for credit card services. They misrepresent themselves and without warning will deduct money from your account. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Good morning, ironically I received my refund sometime overnight and would like to close this complaint. I would also like to withdraw permission to post the complaint publicly. Regards

  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Hello, Upon further review, I've confirmed the account is closed as of 02/2023 and the *** refund has been processed for $395. The merchant should see the refund today 4/21/2023.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/30/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called to close my account in December of 2022. The customer support sent me an email with a form to fill out and a link to a different email address than the customer support email. I emailed the 'close merchant account request form' to both the customer support email and the other email address which they had misspelled in their email with instructions to close an account. The customer support also didn't bother to forward the email with 'close merchant account request form' to where it needed to go either. Long story short, my account didn't get closed and they continued to bill me for the next 3 months even though I had no credit card transactions. The charges included PCI non compliance fee of $34.95 and monthly minumum discount fee of $30.00. I finally was able to get the account closed and after being a customer for over 5 years they charged me an early termination fee of $395.00. This early termination fee was never never disclosed to me by the sales rep or in the service agreement.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/31/2023

  Hello, We've reviewed the submitted compliant and noted that the merchant did submit the closure in on 1/4/2023 so they are owed the fees from Jan and Feb. No refund is owed for the December 2022 fees.

  We've also determined that the *** fee of $395 is not owed as our terms and conditions were updated in April 2022 and the merchant was notified via statement and continued utilzing the account until Jan 2023 which would be agreeance of the updated terms. I've attached the statement for reference.

  Please notify the merchant they will see the monthly fees from Jan and Feb within 30 days.

  Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/26/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My Business signed up with ********* in 2020. We cancelled them within the same month due to them providing false information about their system and they easily accepted our termination. Clearent and ********* are integrated and we were under the understanding that since we cancelled ********* they would cancel everything related to them and their system, including Clearent. We have NEVER used or even processed a single transaction through Clearent.But since then (Dec 2020), we have continued to receive monthly charges from Clearent of at least $79 (for the last 25+ months). Weve sent several emails, phone calls, left messages to Clearent asking to cancel. We have NOT once received a response back. Our emails keep getting ignored, when we call we get the run around saying Our accounting department is out of office right now, you can call back later Or Our accounting department is out of office right now, I can send a message. And we never hear anything back. We would like our account cancelled ASAP. We should not have to pay any type of termination fee since our contract with ********* was cancelled within your allowable termination terms. ********* failed on their part to properly notify your company of our ending relationship and cancellation. After that, we have made several attempts to reach out and been ignored. Honestly, we should receive a refund since Clearent has failed to knowledge that weve been reaching out and trying to cancel for SEVERAL months.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/17/2023

  Hello, We have reviewed the submitted compliant and submitted a closure request and a courtesy refund of two months which the merchant should see in the next 30 days. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/19/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/02/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We have done business with this company as a clearing house for over 10 years processing our company's credit cards. The reservation software company that we use has required us to use their credit card processing. We transferred all the info to the new company and requested Clearent to close our account thru ******* *********. We received what I thought was our last bank debit of $30.95 on 2/07/2023 for January 2023. So I thought everything was done. On 2/14/2023, our company account received a debit (with no email explanation from them) for the amount of $395.00 direct from Clearent.
  This is totally uncalled for. There is no reason for this amount to be charged. No services were performed to warrant that charge. All cards went through our reservation software and our company computer so no physical equipment was needed. I am asking for a full refund of $395.00 to be credited to our company's bank account.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/03/2023

  Good morning, 

  The $395 was the termination fee for leaving during after the auto-renewal took place in December 2022.

  Per the attached Feb 2022 statement fee, there was advice that the terms and conditions were changing and provided a link to the website to the updated information, which section 16 gives all termination information on. 

  Processing after that change took effect in 4/2022 was acceptance of the terms and conditions and therefore the $395 fee was valid. If you have any further questions, please reach out to your sales office. 

  Thank you, 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I used Clearent as my credit card processor for 7 years at my bar/restaurant. My pos system crashed and I had to obtain a new one, When I got my new POS I switched to a new Credit card processor that worked with my POS system. I notified Clearent on November 23rd to cancel my account. On december 2nd I was told I needed to contact a 3rd party to close the account. I did that the next day. On December 19th they took $395 dollars out of my account. I called Clearent at this time and I was told this was an early termination fee because I did not fulfill my annual contract. I asked what annual contract and was informed I had signed a contract 7 years ago and that it renewed annually without my knowledge. I asked for a 395$ refund and was told it wold be looked into. 2 weeks later I received an email stating I had not fulfilled my 3 year contract and had not given 45 days notice. None of this was explained when I asked to cancel my account. I would like to receive a 395$ refund but I am aware based on ****** reviews I have read that this will not happen and that this is common practice of theirs. Thank you for your time, I have emails I can forward if necessary.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2023

  Good morning, 

  There was a change of terms and agreements message sent with your February fee statement advising of a new agreement effective April 2022. 

  However as you were within 30 days of the auto-renewal period, this will be refunded to the bank account we have on file within 3-5 business days.

  Thank you, 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My business, ******* *********** ******** *** ******** *** ****** ******* *********** ******** *** ********** had a merchant agreement with Clearent LLC. My application indicated that there were no "early termination fees." After 4-1/2 years, I chose to terminate the agreement and was charged $395 "early termination fee," which was deducted from my checking account. I even signed a form which advised me that if it had been less than three years, i might have to pay an "early termination fee." The agreement auto-renews forever, so anytime you want to stop, you are subject to an "early termination fee," despite the fact you are told they have no such thing. The fee is obviously there when they want it to be, and nonexistent when they don't. It's term is subject to their whim. They have ignored my several emails and even a letter to the CEO of the company. I can provide documentation of all correspondence and contracts.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2023

  Good morning, 

  We apologize for the frustration, however we did have an update to the terms and conditions take place in April 2022 which merchants were made aware of on their February 2022 statement (attached). That did negate the original terms in the attached information provided to us. 

  In this case we are refunding the early termination fee due to the lack of this exact document in our system at the time of closure. 

  Please look for the refund in 3-5 business days in the bank account we have on file.

  Thank you, 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/25/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  MID#**************** signup date Feb 24th 2022
  i have sign merchant service with this company with sales rap name ** ***** **** ******** ********** he told me there is no contract and free terminal ones i sign up and the charge me $327 for terminal that ******** from ** supposed to refund to me but never did also he told me your total cost for processing is not more than 2% to 2.5% now i am paying around 4% processing fee so i ask to cancel my service and refund terminal fee instead of refund they charge another $395 for cancelation charge i am asking for $722 total refund for service they charge me for that promise by Mr. ** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2023

  Good aftrernoon,

  We apologize for the frustration and lack of follow-up by the sales agent. We have escalated this complaint to the independent sales office who handled the original application and is responsible for the costs associated. 

  We will follow up and if we don't hear anything within 72 business hours, we will make a determination on their behalf. 

  Thank you. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/28/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  no one contacted me about this it's been more then 72 hours passed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  **** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2023

  Good morning, 

  I can confirm that the sales agent advised us they did indeed reach out to the merchant and they are working on a refund of the equipment fees charged when the merchant began processing in Feb 2022. 

  Unfortunately, the text exchange with the sales office and the agreement to refund the fees did not involve Clearent directly and we have no agreement from the ISO or merchant showing we would be responsible for a full refund of equipment that is used and out of warranty. We don't refund equipment over 60 days old and per the attached signed agreement there is nothing mentioned or added to the agreement regarding a full refund of equipment upon cancellation of services, so we will not be refunding the equipment fee on behalf of the ISO. 

  Additionally, nothing on the contract suggest that the ETF mentioned in section 16 of the attached terms and conditions, would be waived if the original 36 month agreement was not met. 

  We suggest staying in touch with the sales agent the original text was with and imploring them to get a refund worked out however they can, but we cannot at this time honor an agreement made outside of our signed terms and conditions. 

  Thank you, 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  you are telling me to go to your rep and your rep told me there is no contract and free terminal and did not approved refund now i paid for all and stuck with both terminal and cancelation charge. 

  this is not a good business practice.

  i am putting bad review for your company that you guys do everything to get business and when someone leave you charge all kind of fee.

  i don't know your rep who came to me as you. and promise something he did not fulfill.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  **** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/11/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I canceled my service in October. They apparently needed a form signed by me before it became effective, and never told me or gave me the form. In addition, there was an early termination clause for $395 which they never told me about. They've been charging me $93.10 a month since I thought I had cancelled in October. They won't refund my money.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/12/2023

  Good morning, 

  We apologize for the frustration, however we do see that a closure form was sent to the customer to return to Clearent to initiate cancellation,  on 10/18/2022 and was not returned to us in subsequent emails sent back and forth the same day. Reading the reply the customer received with the form, it is misleading and looks like we were working on closing it, so we will be refunding the October, November and December billing. 

  Per the terms and conditions advised of on the February 2022 statement that went into effect on 4/2022, we cannot cancel an account without signed permission from the account owner. Additionally per section 16 of the terms and conditions, the contract auto-renews yearly. Therefore, the ETF is non-refundable. 

  We will submit a refund request totaling $270.67 which will be funded in an ACH to the bank account we currently have on file within 30 days. 

  thank you, 

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/20/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  After years of being overcharged we finally decided to cancel our credit card processing with Clearent. Only to be charged an outrageous $395 "early termination fee". We originally started with ******* ******** ************* in 2015 and Clearent took over that companies processing in 2018. When they took over they never informed us that we needed to keep using them for 5 YEARS to avoid being charged $395. They made up new things to charge you for every month on your bill and it was almost impossible to get them removed. They are all about maximizing their profit and charging you as high as 10% in fees every month for processing. Business owners need to be warned about this company and the outrageous fees.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/20/2022

  Good morning, 

  We appreciate the patronage and do aplogize for the frustration and confusion. 

  However, in Feb of 2021 and Feb of 2022 we did notify all customers of an impending change to their terms and conditions via their February statement, which would take place in April of 2021 and April of 2022. I have attached those two statements for viewing. 

  At that time, if the customer continued to process after the notice, it was assumed they agreed to the updates on those statements and therefore were eligible for the ETF if they canceled outside of their annual renewal. 

  At this time since the customer has been such a long-time and loyal business with us, we have reversed the ETF. Please allow 3-5 business days to see the funds. Please ensure you have not removed ACH permission for the refund, or we will not be able to resubmit.

  Thank you, 

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/17/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On April 25, 2022 I spoke to my Clearent Representative ******************* and informed him I wanted to cancel my account. He emailed me a form to fill out sign and return to him, which I did on that day, April 25, 2022. I was still being billed month after month for between $73 and $76. Each month I sent ***** emails with copies of the invoices I was receiving from Clearent . ***** NEVER responded to my emails. I called Clearent on Setpember **************************** that my account was never cancelled, it was still active. They sent me another form to sign and I sent that igned form back to them on September 27, 2022. After I was told that they finally cancelled my account I was again charged for $****** on October 7, 2022. Again contacted customer through via email. On October 12, 2022 I received a credit for $282.00 when the total owed to me is $475.84 as detailed below. Charges billed to my account.05/06/22 ***** 06/07/22 ***** 07/07/22 ***** 08/05/22 ***** 09/08/22 ***** 10/07/22 ****** I have tried and tried to deal with Clearent directly but they leave me no other choice but to file a complaint. This is apparently a pattern with them as detailed in other complaints filed against them. Any help you could give me is appreciated.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/18/2022

  Good morning, 

  The original rep who worked the refund did not pull all the data and the remaining refund will be keyed and funded to the *** on file within 5 business days.

  Thank you for your patience. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/19/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me AS LONG AS THEY REFUND ME THE PROPER AMOUNT DUE AS PROMISED.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************