Eliot Management Group Review

Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3 out of 5)

Last Updated: February 3rd, 2012.

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Overview:
Eliot Management Group (EMG) has been in business since 1999. They have offices all over the country, but are headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. EMG is a subsidiary of First American Payment Systems (FAPS), so chances are you've seen the FAPS name somewhere on your EMG contract.

The best info can be found throughout the rest of this review, but I'll give you a quick overview here...

• EMG has a large number of complaints filed against it. Although they are a big company, it seems that they have racked up quite a few more complaints than other companies of their size or larger.
• I'm not a fan of the EMG cancellation fee (see Cancellation Fee below).
• I'm not a fan of the terminal lease contracts that EMG pushes through it's sister company Merimac Capital (see Common Complaints below). Rarely does a terminal lease make sense for a small merchant.

Eliot Management Group gets a 3 out of 5 rating.

Date Established:
1999.

Location:
Multiple locations. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Domain Name(s):
www.e-mg.com

Parent/Partner Company:
Eliot Management Group is owned by First American Payment Systems.

Type:
ISO/MSP.

Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Fifth Third Bank.

Payment Processor(s):
First American Payment Systems.

Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.Net or FirstPay.Net 2.0.

Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.

Trust Symbols:
You can find the Eliot Management Group BBB profile here. They have a "C+" rating and 124 complaints as of this update.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:
There are quite a few negative reviews and complaints against EMG. You can find some here and here.

They also have a few Yelp profiles for their different office locations here, here and here.

Common Complaints:
Here are some common problems that you may want to look out for...

• Expensive terminal lease contracts through Merimac Capital: Looks like EMG likes to push terminal leases. A terminal lease usually carries a 4-year contract, which can be extremely expensive to get out of. These days you can buy a terminal outright for far cheaper. Leases only make sense for very large organizations that need multiple terminals and don't have the upfront capital to purchase them.
• PCI compliance fee: A few of EMG's merchants are having an issue with the annual PCI compliance fee of $124.74. Although PCI compliance is necessary for anyone that plans on accepting credit cards for their business, EMG is not required to charge their merchants any type of fee for that compliance. So, contrary to what you may have heard, processor's are not required to pass that charge on to you.
• Unauthorized debits after account closure: This is unfortunate because it causes the merchant to have to close down their bank account in order to stop any unauthorized debits. A huge hassle!
• High number of complaints from former sales reps: Whenever I see a high number of complaints from sales reps, it tells me that the company is running a "churn and burn" type operation. The goal being to get as many commission-only independent or in-house sales agents under the EMG banner, then letting them loose. The focus becomes quantity over quality. That's always a bad recipe for the merchant because usually these reps aren't educated enough and end up signing you into bum deals due to the lure of a fat paycheck.
• High cancellation fee: Here's what the Eliot Management Group says about their cancellation fee; "MERCHANT agrees to pay bank/processor early termination fees established by Bank, but in no event less than four hundred ninety five dollars ($495.00) for each MERCHANT location, plus any and all losses (including consequential damages and loss of profits, costs, expenses, and liabilities) incurred by Bank in connection with termination." So, bottom line is that you'll pay a MINIMUM of $495 to break your contract...most likely more than that.

Verifiable Testimonials/References:
No verifiable testimonials on the EMG website.

Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. McAfee, Security Metrics etc...). The security issue really depends on what kind of information the merchant account provider is collecting from you. If they require you to fill out a full digital application with sensitive info like SSN numbers, then they should definitely have some third-party security in place. Sometimes, and in the case of Eliot Management Group, the initial contact form only requires some basic info, then the real application is taken care of by fax or later on through a secure online app.

Customer Service:
I haven't dealt with EMG's customer service, so it's difficult for me to make an assessment here. They do offer 24/7 support though. That's always a plus.

If you've been a customer of Eliot Management Group, please let us know.

Contract Duration:
3-years (auto-renewing).

Cancellation Fee:
No less than $495.00 for each location including consequential damages and loss of profits, costs, expenses, and liabilities. In other words, the cancellation fee can be whatever they say it is, but DEFINITELY not less than $495.00. Also known as a liquidated damages contract.

Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by Eliot Management Group.

Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered by EMG.

Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Online/e-Commerce Payments, Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO), Wireless, Secur-Chex Check Processing, Gift & Loyalty, EBT.

Product/Service Specialty:
None.

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