Encore Payment Systems Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (2.5 out of 5)
Last Updated: June 9th, 2010.
Overview:
Encore Payment Systems (EPS) is an ISO/MSP based out of Addison, Texas, and has been in business since 2004. There are also two other DBA's that are part of the EPS family. They are Prodigy Payment Systems and Momentum Payment Systems. Personally, I can't understand why an ISO/MSP would need multiple DBA's if they're providing the exact same service across all of those DBA's, but maybe Encore Payment Systems can clear that up for us. Generally, a second DBA is used in order to offer a completely different product set, but not in this case.
The good information in this review will be found down in the "Negative Reviews" and "Common Complaints" sections, but I'll try and sum it all up here.
The most important thing that you should focus on when thinking about doing business with EPS is their terminal leasing program. If you're a retail merchant and you need a terminal, then you definitely need to be vigilant. EPS likes to push a 4-year terminal lease that is non-cancellable which can lock you into paying a ridiculous amount of money over the course of your contract...horrible! Not many ISOs and MSPs push the terminal leases anymore because they know that business owners are savvy to the fact that it's basically a rip off. Thus making me question whether or not I would want to do business with a company that still believes in them.
The second thing that you should know about EPS is that they have a pretty aggressive recruiting program for outside sales reps. Unless EPS is taking extreme measures to make sure that all reps are complying with company policy, they're going to have some problems. From my experience, the ISOs and MSPs that rely heavily on outside reps, also have a higher number of bad-apples within that pool of sales people. Don't get me wrong, there are probably a few great sales reps at EPS, but do you really want to roll the dice on it? I wouldn't.
I think a great way for EPS to offset some of this negative publicity would be for them to address the terminal lease issue, and additionally, put together a really good testimonials or "case-studies" section, but they're not doing either. And, before you tell me that EPS does in fact have a testimonials section, remember, I'm talking about testimonials that have the full-name of the merchant in addition to their business name. That way, we can call that merchant and verify.
You can find Encore Payment Systems on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Feel free to ask them about the terminal leases. 
They get a 2.5 out of 5 from Merchant Maverick.
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Date Established:
2004.
Location:
Addison, Texas.
Domain Name(s):
- www.encorepaymentsystems.com.
- www.encorepaymentsystems.net.
- www.momentumpayments.com.
- www.prodigypay.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Encore Payment Systems, Prodigy Payment Systems and Momentum Payment Systems are all part of the same corporate family.
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
HSBC Bank.
Payment Processor(s):
Unknown.
Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.Net.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
Take a look at the Encore Payment Systems BBB profile. They have a "C-" rating as of this review with about 70 complaints filed against them in the last 36 months.
Negative Reviews:
Most of the important reviews that I was able to find were on RipOffReport (ROR). There are also a few here on Complaints Board, MerchantCircle and Ecommerce Journal, and don't forget to run a search for EPS' sister companies Prodigy Payment Systems and Momentum Payment Systems.
A large majority of those complaints are from past sales reps of EPS, and should be read with scrutiny. Instead of taking all of them at face value, try and find patterns between them. Did you notice any similarities? I did. See the "Common Complaints" section below to find out what they are.
By the way, the most important complaints (the ones from past merchants) are these ones here (as of this update):
- Merchant Complaint #1
- Merchant Complaint #2
- Merchant Complaint #3
- Merchant Complaint #4
- Merchant Complaint #5
- Merchant Complaint #6
- Merchant Complaint #7
- Merchant Complaint #8
Common Complaints:
Here they are...
- Terminal leases: This was by far the biggest issue that I noticed with EPS. If you read through the RipOffReport complaints, you'll notice that both the former merchants and sales reps speak about the 4-year terminal lease contracts that EPS likes to push. Lease contracts made sense back when terminals were expensive, but these days you can buy a decent terminal for $400 or less. When you lease one, you're locked for 4-years at a rate that can be as high as $97/month. That's $4656 dollars that you are contractually bound to pay for the full term of the lease. Doesn't make sense to me, how about you?
- Deceptive marketing or sales practices: If you look at their BBB complaints, you'll notice that the bulk of them are in the "Sales Practice Issues" category. Now, cross-check that with the ROR complaints. There's definitely some overlap. Here's an example; a rep enters your store. They tell you that they can save you money on your merchant account. They tell you that they'll also throw in a terminal that will cost you X amount per month. They also tell you that you have 60-days to cancel without any repercussions. What they don't tell you is that there are actually two contracts. The merchant account itself (provided by EPS) is cancellable within 60-days, but the terminal that you're paying that X amount for, carries a 4-year non-cancellable agreement...you're stuck, and EPS makes a nice profit.
In conclusion...
EPS seems to recruit very aggressively for outside sales reps, so it's possible that many of these complaints are the result of a bad rep just trying to make a buck, but here's my question. When you offer the terminal lease as an incentive for those same sales reps, what do you think they're going to do with it? The terminal lease is a well-known, and in my opinion deceitful, tactic that generates a tremendous amount of profit for the ISO/MSP. It's guaranteed money for 4-years. So, we can sit here and blame rogue reps for all these complaints, but I'm wondering if it's the carrot that's dangling in front of their face that's causing them to go rogue in the first place. In my opinion EPS needs to get out of the terminal leasing game, and you need to avoid the terminal lease at all cost.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
They have a section dedicated to merchant testimonials, but none of them have the merchant's full-name and/or business name, so we can't verify that they're actual merchants.
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 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 Encore Payment Systems, the application 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:
Have you worked with Encore Payment Systems? Feel free to leave us your review. Don't forget to read the the user review and comment policy.
Contract Duration:
The rep that contacted me said their terms vary based on "what you're looking." After doing a little digging, I was able to find that Encore Payment Systems requires you to sign a 3-year merchant account agreement with them that you can cancel within a 60-day time frame.
Judging by the complaints, it also looks like EPS signs merchants into a 4-year (non-cancellable) terminal lease that varies in price, but can be anywhere from $27-$97+ per month.
I'll try and get a hold of a sample contract, but hopefully in the meantime, EPS can clear up their terms for us right here on MerchantMaverick.com.
Cancellation Fee:
If you don't cancel within the 60-day period, you will be charged a $250 cancellation (deconversion) fee.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus is offered by EPS.
Seasonal Downtime:
I was told that EPS will set you up with a seasonal account, so be sure to ask for it.
Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit), Internet/e-Commerce, Mail Order/Telephone Order, Check Conversion and Guarantee, Wireless, EBT, Gift & Loyalty Cards.
Product/Service Specialty:
None.
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January 15th, 2010 - 11:40
Your information regarding Prodigy/Encore Payments is so out of date or incorrect that it makes someone question the actual purpose of this site. It looks as though your review is based on your nonability to get the correct answers from the representative that you spoke with.
I have been employed by Prodigy for 3 years. We try to do a good job and attempt to make a difference is an industry that is known for smoke and mirrors.
If you (or anyone else) would like to receive actual answers about what we offer, how we offer it or how we conduct business, please feel free to contact me.
January 15th, 2010 - 12:21
Hi Louie,
I will admit the review is a bit harsh, and I am glad you made this comment. As you can see, my reviews are based on what I find online. Most merchants don’t even take the time to do half of the research that I do on an ISO, so I hope that nobody will have to question the purpose of this site. With that said, my goal is accuracy, so I’m always open to reviewing a review. If you can clear the air on some of my points, then I’ll be happy to update.
Thanks!
May 21st, 2010 - 14:01
First of all, thank you for the personal reply.
Most of the bad reviews about Encore and Prodigy Payment Systems that you will find on the internet are posted by former employees. Sure, someone might say that these people have “inside information”, but you have to take their comments with a grain of salt. It’s almost comical to read them all and see how all of them were innocent and naive and got out just as soon as they realized what was going on…….bottom line is that most of those sales reps (who write the bogus bad reviews) are the ones that we had to fire because they were the ones doing what they describe in their posts.
Take a look at the ROR. I won’t even waste my time talking about the owner and how he has law suits currently pending. Let’s just take a look at some of the names of the posters……go ahead, check ‘em out…..seems like a Mr. Mike Hunt provides alot of usefull information in numerous posts. I’m not going to be lewd and point out why his posts should’t be taken seriously.
The only actual merchant that I can find in there is a merchant from Hawaii, who is currently a happy merchant of ours. One of the problems with the ROR is that they won’t take off complaints or allow someone to post that a mutual beneficial solution was achieved.
Your review above makes it sound as though we are the only company that operates under different company names. I believe that your comments about this issue show a bias. I don’t believe that I should waste anyone’s time going through and listing all of the thousands of companies that have multiple names in this industry. There are legitimate reasons for it and if you don’t know what they are, just let me know. At that point, I will fully explain…..until then, I think we both know that it’s a non issue.
Yes we have 80+ complaints about us on the bbb. As of right now, there is a company with over 330 complaints, but they still have an A rating. Hummm, wonder why???
The rest of your comments are completely non-informative. I am completely surprised that you would even take the time to act like your review is completely unbiased……look back at what you wrote….even accusing us of fake testimonials??!!
Once again, I will say that if anyone wants to contact me directly for honest answers, please feel free to do so.
866-909-8910 X 1104
Please no sales calls, I am not soliciting business. I am wanting to clear the air regarding a company that I believe is trying to do the right things in this industry.
May 26th, 2010 - 23:00
Louie,
Just want to let you know that I’m not ignoring you. I just want to make sure I have enough time to sit down and address all of your issues. I’ll be in touch.
June 9th, 2010 - 01:13
Alright Louie,
I’m pretty sure I addressed some of your concerns about my review. I think it was a bit lazy on my part for not detailing everything, but I’m pretty sure I have it all now. Here are the things that I didn’t address in the review, that I’ll address here:
I agree that there are some fundamental flaws with the ROR, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s a good pool of data for prospect merchants to draw from. That’s all it is…data. It should be left up to the reader to interpret that data. I don’t expect everyone to read between the lines, so I do it for them. Remember, most merchants have absolutely no line of defense, and zero intel on an ISO when they’re getting slammed by the sales rep. Every little bit helps.
Feel free to elaborate on this one. I’m sure my readers would love to hear your side. My goal is to allow you a forum as well, not just the merchants.
It looks like there’s more than just one, not including the complaints for Prodigy and Momentum as well.
I’d love to hear your reasons as to why an ISO feels the need to have multiple DBA’s? Especially if you’re offering the exact same product on each one? Additionally, I don’t feel like the other thousands of companies in this industry that do have multiple DBA’s are justified in doing so, unless they are offering something completely different (i.e. merchant accounts vs. PCI compliance tokenization). It doesn’t make sense to me, and I think it just adds to the confusion that’s already rampant in this industry. As a merchant, I want simplicity.
Although I list the BBB rating in my reviews, I don’t weigh it heavily when assigning my own rating. I don’t care if an ISO has an A+++++, if they have 330 complaints, then they’re getting dinged in my book. Especially, if they’re a smaller ISO. I look at patterns not definite scores.
Elaborate. Maybe you can help me be more informative, thus making my reviews even more useful.
This one I do apologize for, but lets be clear about what I said exactly. Here is what I had said:
Not exactly a dead set accusation. Wouldn’t you agree?
I went ahead and bumped your score up by half a point, but overall, I still hold my position on Encore.
January 30th, 2010 - 09:03
We decided to sign up with Encore after the sales rep assuring us that their software would work with our present POS system. We gave him a check for $125 and after about 2 weeks, the sales rep, Crabtree, came back to us and advised us that their software isn’t compatible and we would have to go through all these extra steps to clear out our tickets on our POS system. He asked us if we wanted to continue or if we wanted to cancel and he would make sure that the $125 was refunded back to us. Since their system couldn’t do what they promised, we decided to cancel. It’s been over a month now, and we have just been getting the run around about getting our refund back. The rep gave us the number to his supervisor, [name removed] and now [name removed] is giving us the run around. I think that they think that if they drag this out long enough, then we’ll just go away. I hope that they realize that this is not the case. Don’t ever go with Encore. They were untruthful about their fees and will only give you the run around with their customer service.
July 12th, 2010 - 06:02
I found out the hard way why they choose to run with 2 names. They start an area and hire sales reps for both companies, the reps don’t know this. They make the first rep run an appointment and if the first rep doesn’t close the sales they make an appointment for the second company rep to go and close the sale.
To the customers it looks like 2 competing companies called on them.
In addition like many others try to lease a $200 credit card machine for $54.95 a month for 4 years. The unaware merchant is stuck with a non cancel-able $2,600 bill.
They offer good rates only because they have a list of ways to screw the merchant.
August 18th, 2010 - 07:22
WOW. That was a fairly rough review you gave to EPS, mostly because they lease equipment for 48 months?
News flash…. EVERYONE pushes equipment leases…. it pays the processor some very nice upfront revenue. First Data, Heartland, RBS…. all of them have 24-48 month terminal leases…..EVERYONE.
As someone who is trying to educate the public through offering reviews, one would think that you would be able to offer some of the positive aspects of leasing equipment. I’ll start you off….
* Warranty
Purchasing a $500 terminal outright vs. leasing one at $39/mo may seem like a no-brainer (obviously it appears that you will spend less in the long-run), but alas, credit card machines are like everything else and sooner or later something will go wrong. Stuff breaks, that is a fact of life. Good leases offer next-day replacement of equipment, no questions asked. In this case, the merchant is able to protect themselves from the financial risk of having to scramble and buy another terminal.
* Fees
Many lease packages offered by processors bundle several fees that the merchant would otherwise be responsible for if they owned their terminal. Statement fees @ 10/mo, Batch header fees @ 15/mo, Pin encryption @ 95, Semi annual PCI compliance fees @ 150/yr…. some even satisfy the monthly minimums for lower-volume or seasonal merchants. All of those fees, plus the cost of the terminal, are wrapped up into a $39-79/mo solution.
*Low start up costs – a new merchant just starting out is able to start processing card payments without the large upfront investment required to buy a terminal. With the proper negotiation, most processors will waive the down payment to earn the business of that merchant.
Think of your cell phone….. most people get a new one every year or two. Have you ever actually bought a BlackBerry for $500-600?? Of course not…. most people pay a reduced price of $0-50 for that phone, in exchange for signing a 2 year service contract with that carrier. The same principal applies here.
In the interest of keeping this fair and balanced, here is the one situation where leasing equipment never makes sense
*Never, ever, ever lease proprietary equipment.
There are some companies out there that tout a 1 year processing contract, but in the same breath sell a 48 month lease on a proprietary machine. STAY AWAY FROM THIS!! A proprietary machine will only work with that processor, so if your relationship with them sours, or they bump your rates at the end of your 1 year contract (which they most certainly will) you are on the hook for the full 48 months and no other processor can touch that terminal.
Smart merchants (and honest reps) will tell you, then ONLY way to get the lowest processing rates (and keep them) is to switch processors every 12-24 months. EVERYONE bumps rates after the initial contract period, that’s just the way it is.
Universal equipment + shop those rates every year or so = merchant wins.
August 22nd, 2010 - 01:03
JC,
Thanks for your comments. Believe it or not, I actually like it when my readers point out my mistakes and bring good debate to the table. It helps other readers get a clearer picture as well, so again, thank you.
Covering some of your points…
It’s not actually just because they offer the lease. I encourage you to do your own research on Encore aka Prodigy aka Momentum aka, etc… and if you come to the conclusion that I’m still being harsh, then we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
I agree with you that a lot of these guys push leases, but not “EVERYONE.” I’ve reviewed almost 100 ISOs, not all of them push a lease.
You’re right, I could definitely do a better job at this. I’ll make a better effort to learn more about leases and offer that info to my readers. In the meantime, check out my QA page. There’s a question regarding leases that was answered by one of my reviewee’s. It points out another reason why a lease would work.
I’ve actually seen ISOs that offer lifetime warranty’s at $79/yr (placement) and no contract. I think that’s a much better offer than $39/mo for 48-months.
Good point. I’ll look into this. Do you have any references that you can point me to? You have any examples of ISOs that mention this benefit? It would be good for my readers to see that.
In theory this sounds good, but the merchant could also just charge the terminal to a business credit card or something right? If they have the credit to get the merchant account or the lease, then they probably have the credit to get a credit card. It might be a low limit, but it’s still better than getting locked into a 48-month contract. I have a CapitalOne card for my business with a $500 limit at 9%. At $39/mo I could pay off a $500 terminal in 14 months. Like someone else mentioned on my blog, the whole “low startup costs” argument makes much more sense for larger merchants with multiple locations that need POS systems that are much more expensive than your average terminal. But, even then, a small business loan might prove to be a better investment. Anyway, I digress…
I agree! Thank you!
August 26th, 2010 - 06:45
I am thinking of taking a job with momentum adk Prodigy. After reading the reviews I am more confused than ever. Could someone please give me the low down on working for this company? I want to remain ethical yet successful. Is that possible working for this company?