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:04/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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 have a merchant account (POS) with ********************** since 2016, my monthly merchant service charge used to be $30, since Jan 2024, the charge has been changed to $60 without any notice. I called/texted the account representitive many times with no response, then I was trying to contact the Argus Merchant Service Feb, March and today April 09 2024, no one was helpful and treated me like a ball kick me to the corner. I need them keep the promise: $30 monthly merchant service fee and refund me $120 for the over charge the made from Jan to April 2024.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2024

  Hi to whom will concern ,

  We contact with the merchant, the case working processing.

  Thank you

  Customer service.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/30/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  NO ONE FROM ARGUS contacted me ever! I haven't heard from them yet!

  [Your Answer Here]

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2024

  Hi

  As the merchant  request the refund already processing to the bank account. Please leave ********************** personal cellphone number. We can not reach out merchant by her business phone number. Thanks for your help.

  Thank you

  Customer service

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/15/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   Dear Argus merchant service, PLEASE STOP ILLEGAL OVER CHARGE FOR THE MERCHANT AND RETURE THE MONEY THAT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU! Don't force the merchant the corner and escalate the situation! Thank You!

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2024

  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 am writing this complaint against Argus Merchant Services to bring attention to a prolonged and unresolved issue that has been ongoing for months. Despite our account closure in 2016, Argus Merchant Services has been consistently charging a monthly fee, amounting to more than $2500 based on the transactions I have been able to locate.The crux of the matter is that, unbeknownst to me, Argus Merchant Services apparently opened two accounts for my business. Although we successfully closed one account in 2016, the other account remains active, and fees have been automatically deducted from my bank account without authorization.My attempts to address and rectify this matter have been met with frustration and unfulfilled promises from Argus Merchant Services. Every time I contact them, I am told that the issue will be resolved within 2-3 days. However, this promise is never fulfilled, and there is a complete lack of updates. The consistent response of "2-3 days" has become a loop, leaving me without any resolution to this ongoing problem.It is unacceptable that Argus Merchant Services has taken such a significant amount of money from my account for a service that I am not supposed to have. The fact that they opened two accounts for my business, closed only one, and continued to charge fees for the undisclosed account is a clear violation of trust and business ethics.I have been patient and persistent in seeking a resolution for weeks, but the lack of responsiveness and concrete action from Argus Merchant Services is deeply troubling. I urge the Better Business Bureau to investigate this matter promptly and facilitate a resolution between myself and Argus Merchant Services.This ongoing issue has caused financial strain and unnecessary stress, and I believe it is imperative that Argus Merchant Services be held accountable for their actions. I appreciate the intervention and assistance of the Better Business Bureau in bringing a timely resolution to this matter.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2024

  Dear Merchant, 

  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the account issue. We appreciate your interest and the opportunity to address your concerns.

  We understand the importance of providing timely and accurate information, and we want to assure you that we take your inquiry seriously. After 2 weeks investigation, we have the following updates for you: 

  1)  We understand the upset merchant go through, that's why we make an exception for this merchant to override the cancellation process.  Account has closed at immediately attention once we received the notification from merchant, account was close on 2.29. 2024 after we received the request from merchant 2 weeks ago. You can see the entire screenshot 1 about this account's history. From 2018 to 2024, there is no any request regarding this merchant, means we have received no calls, no email, no any forms or request from merchant, including account cancellation request during all these years.  We are never trying to postpone the cancellation or giving hard time for merchant. 

  2) We provide our terminal for free, but if terminal not return after account close in 10 days, $495 plus tax and handing cost will be charge to merchant. Even until now, we have no evidence that the terminal has returned. 

  Here are the final result for this merchant: 

       a) Account status was closed on 2/29/2024, means no more charges at any circumstances. The latest charge on Mar 1st was the February statement fee. 

       b) We will drop the terminal charge $495 plus tax for merchant as a courtesy. 

  We look forward to resolving this matter to your satisfaction.

  Best regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/18/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

  There have been no calls or attempts to contact us regarding this matter from 2018 to 2024, as we were unaware of the fees being charged to our bank account. We had no knowledge of a secondary account being opened fraudulently by your company. We always believed we only had one account, which we thought had been closed properly. Instead, you have been collecting fees without our consent, and we only recently discovered the unauthorized charges on our bank statement. Fraudulently opening a second account and charging fees is unethical and unacceptable.
  
  Additionally, you claim that a terminal was not returned, resulting in a fee of $495 plus tax and handling. However, we were not billed for this as we had already returned the terminal to you. Instead, you have been consistently charging us annual and monthly fees that do not correspond to a terminal.
  
  Your response does not align with the fees we have been charged, and these charges are not related to a terminal. We seek a resolution in the form of a refund for the fraudulently collected fees from 2018 to 2024.

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/22/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

  Despite multiple attempts to reach out over the past three months, I have only now received a response. My email records indicate numerous instances where I sought a reply, often waiting weeks without any acknowledgment. This contradicts your claim of responding in a timely manner and upholding promises of prompt communication.
  
  It is evident that there is a discrepancy between your records and my documented attempts to contact your back office. I have emails that clearly show my efforts to engage with your team, which contradicts your assertion that no such attempts were made. This inconsistency raises serious concerns about the integrity of your business practices.
  
  I am requesting a refund for the months of unauthorized charges and fees that have been automatically deducted from my bank account. I have exercised considerable patience and given Argus the benefit of the doubt, but the lack of timely and adequate responses is unacceptable.
  
  If this matter is not resolved promptly and fairly, I will have no choice but to pursue further actions, including consulting with my lawyer and potentially bringing this issue before a judge.
  
  Please address this situation immediately and provide the refund for the unauthorized charges.

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/24/2024

  Dear Better Business Bureau: 

  Allow us responded this in a timely manner, 

  1) "Despite multiple attempts to reach out over the past three months, I have only now received a response. My email records indicate numerous instances where I sought a reply, often waiting weeks without any acknowledgment." We have responded every single time with date and prove, in case you don't know where to look at, please see attachment for response history. 

  2) "It is evident that there is a discrepancy between your records and my documented attempts to contact your back office."   We are so sorry about the customer ******************** experience if that's what you complaint about and we genuinely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and we are committed to using this situation to improve our customer ********************. If you take look at the attachments from our case, it's all the history prove and original application with your signature. Please do not forget in the last response, merchant trying to mislead the information about us intentionally open the 2nd account to "steal" the money, which we have already proved that first account and second account are completely two different people with 1 year time gap.  Agent went into the store and talked with the merchant walked out the store with merchant's signature and store pics(related to the first response, why we need picture because the KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER policy).

  3) "I am requesting a refund for the months of unauthorized charges and fees that have been automatically deducted from my bank account." Once again, ********************** signed the application with her own signature with fully understand the terms and conditions,  we are afraid there is nothing we can do at this moment. It's simply like you open up a services but choose not to use it, and years after you come back asking for refund. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.

  Sincerely,

  Argus Merchant Services

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

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/19/2022

  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.

  Argus Merchant Service started to charge me monthly from 2018 August till 2021 September for their merchant machine and service fee. I did not notice that until my banker told me that they charged me $3,258.45 in all. But I did not receive their POS/Merchant machine. Therefore, I was not able to use their service. After I first contacted them, they blocked my phone number. And then, I tried to use a different number to discuss the refund again, they asked me to contact their agent whose name is *************, and blocked me again. Their agent ************* is also the person I contact to open the account for their merchant service. After I contacted him, he only refunds about $633.10. Since this problem happened years ago, my bank said that were not able to dispute it.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/23/2022

  Thank you for reaching out with the stated concerns. Your merchant account was opend on July 2018, and since then we didn't receive any cancellation notices, including calls or emaills until September 2021. We also didn't receive our equipment which was sent on September 2018. The account was closed as soon as we got cancelation request, and as a gesture of good will we have offered 8 months of statment refunds $633.10. We also waive the equipment fee due to equipment lost for the merchant. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further questions or concerns.  
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  
  Argus Merchant Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  I received the response from Argus Merchant Service.

   

  But after reading the response from Argus Merchant, I felt they are rediculous. 

   

  First, they said "Your merchant account was opend on July 2018, and since then we didn't receive any cancellation notices, including calls or emaills until September 2021. "  But actually, I contacted their agent whoes name is ************* within 7 days when I did not reveive my merchant machine, he also verified about it and send me a new one. I attached the Wechat history and translated them below. The agent said it's okay, the bank will deal with it. He never mentioned that he's going to help me to cancel the machine which was lost. While reading their ****** review, I was not the only victim. They are using this way to make money from the clients, especially like the person like me who don't speak English. Additionally, since I did not receive their machine, I did not activate it, how do I cancel it. 

  Second, Argus Merchant Service replied that "Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further questions or concerns." but they already blocked my phone numbers, I don't have that much phone numbers to contact them.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  They repeatedly said they are charging my monthly fee no matter whether I received their machine or not. Argus Merchant service cheated me out of my money and labeled it as account maintenance. They negatively deal with my problem and refused the refund.

  As I mentioned before, I did not receive any merchant machine from Argus Merchant, but they kept charging me from 2018 to 2021 until my banker noticed it. What I need is a refund, and based on their record, they can easily find that there was no transaction on it since I did not receive their machine.

  Also, on 2/2/2023, Argus Merchant Service contacted my number **********, I described what happened so far. He understood and said that it was their sales manager *************************** fault since I never received their machine. Then, Argus Merchant Service promised they will help me to solve the problem and they will contact me again. However, two weeks later until 2/15/2023, nobody replied to me. Then, on 2/15/2023 I contacted the number that called me on 2/2/2023. However, they pass the buck, and transferred me from one department to another, when I asked to talk with their supervisor, they kept transferring me to the phone line and said they don't have their manager or boss's contact number. Finally, they threw me to the department of closing accounts. That person promised they will let ************* contact me and solve the problem as soon as possible on that day (2/15/2023). But the next day, I still had not received a call from *************. They did not reply to my complaint directly but just kept on saying they were charging me and used unreasonable explanations to reply to me.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Thank you for contacting us. As for the case, we have issued full refund to the customer on Feb 22. And the customer also confirmed the case is resolved satisfactorily. Please let us know if anything else need to be addressed. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/01/2022

  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.

  A female representative from Argus Merchant Services came to my restaurant (****************************) to convince me to switch my credit card processing system to theirs. I was informed by the representative that there was going to be no contract, no early termination fee, no monthly fee, etc. I agreed to do business with them but everything changed after the sales representative assigned to my account left the company. I was assigned a new sales representative to take over my account. The rates that I was being charged started to increase higher and higher. Whenever I tried calling the new sales representative, he was always busy, always rushed me to sum up my questions, or just didn't bother to pick up the phone. I notified him one month in advance that I would be closing my account and would no longer be doing business with his company. At that time, he told me that there was no early termination fee and I was free to cancel the account anytime. I even returned back the credit card processing machine that was given to us when using their services. But I recently have been receiving phone calls from a debt collector (*********) regarding debts from Argus Merchant Services. The debt collector sent me emails of documents with copies of statements with unpaid fees like an early termination fee, etc. There was no such information about these fees and unpaid dues when I decided to close my account with the company. I do not owe anything to the company or the debt collector.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2022

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  Thank you for the notification. There has been a mistake in the collection, and we removed the merchant from the list. It may take up to 30 business days for the debt collector to stop contacting you.
  
  Please contact ************************************* directly if still get calls or bills from the debt collector.

   

  Sincerely, 
  Argus Merchant Services

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/07/2022

  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.

  They keep charging me fee and I called to cancel the service., they said is ok but keep charging me. I cancelled my service since June, 2022

  Business Response

  Date: 12/08/2022

  We are trying our best to solve the merchants problem however; our customer care agent had tried many times to call the store manager but she seemed to refuse to communicate. Our agent only communicates with her two times. After that, she is always not in the store all the time. We have to have them return the terminal so that we can complete the account-closing procedure.

   

  We understand the merchants frustration and as a courtesy, we have submitted the ticket to close the account first (without receiving the terminal and account closing form). For the refund, we really need to communicate with the merchant to come out with the final number but right now we are having a hard time getting in touch with her. The employee in the store told us she is on vacation overseas.

   

  Please be advised what can we do now in this situation. We really dont want to past the due date.

   

  Thank you very much.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/15/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  This is ********************** in **. That company is keeping charging me fees from my bank account after I already closed my merchant account 3 years ago without any notice. I closed my merchant service account with them in 2019 but I recently figured out they charged me $250 on Sep 02, 2022. I'm so confused about that. And when I closed the account and I already returned the equipment back, they told they won't charge any fee from my bank account any more. This is not acceptable! This kind of things happened once in 2020. And I contacted them to return my money back. Now Again? Please return my money back and make sure never ever happen again.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2022

  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 and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/09/2022

  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.

  Last month August I called them to close my account, they told me that I have to return the terminal so they can close my account. And they never mentioned there will be any fee. But beginning this month September they charged me $750 cancellation fee without any notice. This is totally unacceptable. The sales person told me there is no any contract or any cancellation fee. *** never signed any contract with them. This company is too dishonest. I need my money back immediately.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/19/2022

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  
  We are sorry that merchant is not satisfied and decided to cancel our services.
  
  
  As was mentioned in the customers complaint, there is no contract for our processing service. When merchant started the service with us, we provided a terminal (Pax **** *** ********)for free, so that merchant can start processing without purchasing any hardware. Merchant is required to return the terminal in working condition when cancel the service.
  
  
  On Aug 17th we received the terminal returned by the merchant, (Tracking: ******************). The terminal was covered in grease and not in working condition. We tried to repair it, but it was damaged and could not be fixed. The $750 charge was for terminal replacement. We are more than happy to refund the charge if merchant could provide an unlocked Pax ************ thats in working condition, so we can reprogram and ship it to our other merchants.
  
  
  We sincerely wish the merchant could fine the best processor for them, and we appreciate the time being with us.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely, 
  
  
  Argus Merchant Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/21/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]we kept using this machine until we changed company. I called customer service and said it was cancellation fee. Now you have changed the reason. You just dont want to refund. As you said that we dont have any contact that you should give me my money back. Dont be such a rascal, this company sooo terrible. I NEED MY MONEY BACK.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

  * *****

  You dont need to be shameless anymore! 
  

  You stole my money from my account.

  let the court come to a conclusion and give me the justice.

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2022

  Dear Better Business Bureau,

  We are more than happy to issue the refund as soon as merchant provides an unlocked terminal for replacement. In addition to the models mentioned in the previous response, we would also accept ***********************************. Should the merchant choose to return to process with us, we would be happy to waive the terminal replacement as well.

   

  Sincerely, 

  Argus Merchant Services