| Featured Provider (No Cancellation Fee) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Merchant Warehouse |
Rated 4.5-Stars |
See Review | Visit Website |
Pivotal Payments Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (2.5 out of 5)
Last Updated: March 22nd, 2011.
Logo:
Overview:
Pivotal Payments' biggest problem seems to be with their terminal leases, because that's where most of their complaints are based.
As I mention below, if you're a strictly card-present merchant, then you might want to take note of the issues other business owners have had with Pivotal and their terminal leasing company Leasing Finance Group (LFG).
The Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are always a good thing, and I like the fact that they take time to respond to online complaints.
Take the terminal leasing issues, add to that the RipOffReport complaints, the negative comments down at the bottom of this review, and the inflated cancellation fee, and you have yourself a 2.5 out of 5.
You might want to take a look at my credit card processor comparison chart, to weigh your other options.
If You Need Help Choosing a Provider Click Here
Date Established:
2003.
Location:
Melville, New York (Headquarters) and Montreal, Quebec Canada.
Domain Name(s):
- www.pivotalpayments.com.
- www.isoagentprogram.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Pivotal Payments purchased Cardex Corporation in 2007, and changed its name to Pivotal Payments in mid 2008. They also purchased Tangerine Payment Solutions in late 2008.
They've partnered with Data Age (POS software), Comca Systems (POS for Dry Cleaners) and ClicNet (eCommerce) to broaden their services.
Pivotal Payments uses Leasing Finance Group (LFG) to handle their terminal leases.
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Merrick Bank.
Payment Processor(s):
First Data and TSYS.
Payment Gateway(s):
Their in-house Pivotal Payments Gateway (PPG) and Authorize.Net.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
The Pivotal Payments BBB profile has a "C+" rating as of this update with a total of 61 complaints in the last 36 months.
Negative Reviews:
You'll find some complaints on RipOffReport, and the complaints found on their BBB profile.
It looks like Pivotal Payments does make an effort to respond to most of those ROR complaints, so if you've been treated wrong, you'll have a good chance of getting their attention by speaking up...publicly 
Common Complaints:
The most common complaint you'll notice is actually with Pivotal's terminal leases and the third-party terminal leasing company Lease Finance Group (LFG) that handles those leases.
Apparently several merchants have had trouble with Pivotal's retail terminals, so that's definitely something you should consider when signing up. If most of your business revolves around card-present transactions, then you might want to go with a company that has a better track record in that regard.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
No testimonials listed on the Pivotal Payments site.
Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. Verisign, TrustE, McAfee etc...).
Customer Service:
I haven't had any experience with Pivotal Payments' customer service, so if you have, please let us know.
Contract Duration:
3-years with liquidated damages.
Cancellation Fee:
$500, but can be waived if no fraud committed.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Interchange-plus pricing is offered by Pivotal Payments.
Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered.
Product/Service Offering:
Credit/Debit, Gift/Loyalty, eCheck, Pre-paid Cards, Fleet Cards, POS Terminals, Cash Advance.
Product/Service Specialty:
None in particular.
Don't forget to leave your review and rating in the comment section below.
No trackbacks yet.
Sign Up Today!
As Seen In
November 13th, 2009 - 12:38
I have been with pivotal for a year and it’s been a complete disaster. They have issues with double charges, for example the transaction will fail, and on the receipt it says please try again, and as you do, the initial charge though not at your terminal has actually gone through. Last January we had customers calling for multiple charges once for 12 times. Lately it has been happening on debit, at least once a day for a month. Supervisors never return calls and the contract is so one sided that one cannot afford to cancel. Beware, go with another company, I wish I never left Dejardins.
November 13th, 2009 - 13:22
Dino,
Thanks for the comment. Ya, you can see in my review that they’ve had issues with their terminals. I’ll definitely take your experience with them into consideration for the next review update.
P.S. If you’d like to leave a rating, let me know. You should be able to edit a rating directly into your comment, but if you can’t, I’ll help you out.
Best of luck to you.
March 26th, 2010 - 16:41
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one having a hard time with pivotal. Since my comment my rates have gone up, when I call and ask for a manager, they state managers do not deal with that, and Im left with nothing.I don’t understand how a contract with certain rates and fees are stated and they can increase the fees or rates with no recourse from the merchant. I figure one more year and I’ll be able to afford the penalty and cancell on them. I’ll give them 0 stars, it a company that’s impossible to get answers from, thay dodge and weave like crooks.
October 8th, 2010 - 19:15
Our merchant account is on hold and thus its funding for the past two weeks. I have pleaded many times with Pivotal Payments to release my funds but I only spoke to a machine. The representatives never call back or at least explain what is causing the funds to be on hold in your bank account. Perhaps this is part of their training that is conducted in their company. Or simply their management is not reaching out deep within. My company holds the least disputes for the past three years but no matter how many times I contacted your company the result is always the same “ message to a machine”
their lack of communication and the hold on our funds are threatening to drive our company out of business, terminating the account with our distributors, bad reputation, bank fees and other business and personal losses.
November 26th, 2009 - 13:30
i tried to get a debit machine from this company
i had to call them repeatedly to find out anything as they never followed up.
the customer service reps where not very useful and sometimes very rude.
on average id be on hold 30-60 min before someone answered.
i was charged an application fee,
i was then denied for whatever reason, which they did not inform me.
when i said id find another company to do business with i was charged a $500 cancellation fee
managers where non-existent and messages left for them were never returned
i recommend you find another company in which to deal with.
November 26th, 2009 - 22:03
Thanks for the comment Kurtis! It’s always good to hear directly from a merchant who’s actually worked with this company. I’ll consider your review when updating.
February 16th, 2010 - 09:16
We are 1 1/2 years into our contract with Pivotal and believe me the moment it expires we are gone. As stated previously, it is too costly to opt out now. We have had issues with errors on the CE Please try again – but it actually takes the transaction twice. I called once to see if they would credit the customers account but said they couldn’t & we would have to do it by cash. We are a small town & know all our customers; I shutter to think the mess in the big cities. They also suggested we call when we think there is an error but the customer usually does not like to be held up by the 20 minute or so wait time.
I do not recommed them to anyone.
February 16th, 2010 - 10:43
Marjorie,
Thanks for the comment. Do you know which processor they set you up with? Most likely First Data or TSYS (Vital), and which payment gateway you were using? Usually Authorize.Net.
Thanks again!
September 15th, 2010 - 09:24
No, I know we process through Global Payments and lease the terminal through LFG. From what I’ve been reading, ending that contract will be scary as well. Wish we had never changed from Paymentec.
February 26th, 2010 - 09:19
I am in hell with pivotal at the moment. They are charging me fee that were never contracted. I call and when I get through to someone I was promised a refund for these inappropriate fees and that a manager will call back. The manager never calls back and I have to call many times again. I just got off the phone this morning with them to follow up and was told my requests were rejected!
What requests! I just want my overcharges back. I hate the lease company. Pivotal are using Global to process with me. They are charging hidden fees and I can’t seem to get them back either.
Stay away from this company! I left Elavon am am going to call and beg for their forgiveness.
February 28th, 2010 - 10:34
I have the same problem as Mad Mike. After two months they jacked up my rates by 60-80%. Customer service is a joke and when I asked for a manager, I was told there were none!They said someone would get back to me within 5-10 business days. No one has called. Do not do business with this company under any circumstances. They operate like telemarketing scammers.
June 5th, 2011 - 14:20
If any processing company raises rates within the contract timeframe without prior written notice, they violated the contract and it is now void. If they give you a hard time, tell them you’ll contact the Better Business Bureau for fraud since they legally cannot enforce a void contract.
I’ve successfully switched several Pivotal customers over since they OFTEN change the rates like this without notice.
July 26th, 2011 - 21:22
I need help on how to stop the contract with Pivotal and LFG. They saying I will pay over thousand dollars to stop the contract. Contract with Pivotal is a nightmare.
I signed 3 yrs contract, but now they saying 5yrs.
I need help on how to do.
March 1st, 2010 - 18:13
WE recently decided to stick with our existing processor. Here is the response we got from PP
————————
Mr. & Mrs (deleted),
I just wanted to take a second to thank you both for being an utter waste of my time. I didn’t know the knife making business was so lucrative it didn’t require cost management!
Keep on truckin’ buds!
[name removed]
Sales Executive
685 Cathcart, Suite 1000, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3B 1M7
Tel: [number removed] Fax: 1 866 328-9201
April 12th, 2010 - 22:17
Want to pay $94 a month for NO Service at all?
Then get involved with Pivotal payments. Why do they need a 3 year contract? Because [removed], ignorant CEO of Pivotal, knows very well as soon as you realize, what you got yourself into, you will want to run as fast as you can to get away from them. Lying to you by phone, but not backing it up via email, hidden charges, manipulative and misleading sales promotions. In an industry that is recognized as being pond scum, Pivotal is at the bottom. How would you like to pay $94 every month for 3 years? Just join up with [removed] and his gang of cut-throat, wheeler dealers. We do not process with them, yet they keep charging us $12 for a gateway they do not supply, $40 for a PCI scan that we do not need (we do NOT handle credit cards at all.), $10 for a PCI compliance fee, making it $50 a month for something we do not need. These liars might tell you that everyone needs to be PCI compliant, but they are exactly that. Liars. If you do not handle credit cards on your website, you do not need to be compliant. $7 for a statement fee that ONLY has their bogus charges, and finally a $25 minimum and these crooks just take this without asking because they have access to your account. So you need Credit card processor? Use Google and PayPal first as much as possible, because of all I have tried, they are the ONLY two that treat you with respect and have non-outrageous fees. Then for you own cards use anyone else before Choosing Pivotal Payment. The payments do not Pivot back and forth. They are all 1 way into Pivotal’s bank account. I will end on a positive note. Thanks GOD! we did not process with them. If you read that so called contract, it clearly would allow them to take the same amount of your money as if you continued to process with them for the entire 3-year period. In other words, sign here and own you!
Be very careful with this shysters. If you do try and get out, they will certainly nail you for exactly what you paying them now for the entire 3 years. Make more complaints, lots of them and add your complaint to you website. The more people you can convince to avoid these people, the more money they loose. Who know, maybe that will actually figure out what ethical business practices actually mean.
January 20th, 2012 - 15:19
I have had the same problems. When I wanted to terminate my contract after a year and a half of poor service and crappy terminals, I asked the customer service rep if I would be charged a cancellation fee and was told no. Then, after terminating my service a month earlier than my request, they helped themselves to over $3600 from my bank account. When I called to inquire, I was told that this is a liquidation fee, which I was not advised of, otherwise I would’ve just stuck it out for another year and a half! Of course they don’t tell you because they can still get paid for providing no service (which is pretty much what I had anyway)! Still I am glad to be rid of them. A hard lesson to learn. I will never return to this company as a payment provider and would never recommend them to anyone!!
April 19th, 2010 - 15:31
Good news for anyone still suffering through a contract with Pivotal Payments:
Finance minister Flaherty has given Visa, MasterCard and all the payment processors out there 120 days to implement some major changes to the way they deal with merchants.
Of most interest to those stuck with a half-assed payment processor like Pivotal Payments or Monex, are new rules which will allow merchants to cancel their contracts WITHOUT PENALTY as soon as a provider attempts to modify contract rates, institute new fees, or introduce new features.
Given that Pivotal Payments loves to increase rates and randomly introduce new ‘compliance’ fees throughout the year, merchants will have numerous opportunities to dump Pivotal and avoid their ridiculous 500$/terminal exit fee.
So basically, if you are a merchant who can’t take any more crap from Pivotal and are contemplating paying the termination fee to just to rid yourselves of them, you might consider holding off a few months. Once these new laws come into effect and Pivotal tries to screw you with yet another fee increase, you’ll have a ‘Get of Jail Free’ card at your disposal!
If you signed an equipment lease with LFG, I don’t think the new law will cover that so you might be stuck paying that though.
If you are still contemplating using Pivotal Payments for your business after reading all these negative comments, here are even more disgruntled customers:
http://www.theswitchboards.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30479
July 7th, 2010 - 10:25
Tangerine and Pivotal solutions are both not recommended by me, I have four of them at my four Subway restaurants. I am currently stuck with them after signing a 5 year contract. I was fooled by their attractive rates and their service is so poor that if you need to contact customer service via their phone line, it is almost impossible. I feel when someone picks up the phone. I have tried differnet times of the day to check if any particular time has more availability but got nowhere. Their hardware terminal Ingenico also has issues, their software is not stable at all. Their chip slot does not work, they have been trying to write a software update that would allow them to use this feature, that is available from other providers for many years now. I would never recommend them for any merchant processing solutions. I would rather pay a little higher processing fees and not worry about the downtime. I wish I stayed with previous solutions provider.
August 3rd, 2010 - 05:01
If they could get a zero rating they would get that. I too have problems with them. They are in clear violation of their contract. The charges are more than were signed with them. Also tagged on a hidden dialup fee of 3 cents per transaction on an IP (internet) machine. Stay away worst company ever. No support whatsoever just a run around.
They keep on telling you they have fixed the issues until next months statement which is the same.
November 17th, 2010 - 21:13
In March of 2007 I sunk my life savings into a retail storefront that was within an industry that I had spent many years. I was never so proud of my own accomplishments.
In June of 2008 I became victim of the telemarketing scam of lower payment processing on merchant debit and credit card processing. The company that I had been originally approached by was called CARDEX, now known as Pivotal Payments. I was promised lower rates than I was currently paying with my current processing company. For the next 2 years I would incur a barrage of hidden fees and mass increases on payment processing.
I have switched effective Aug 1st, 2010 from Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments too much more reasonable merchant payment provider. On August 1st, 2010 I notified my Bank Branch of the change and of the stop payment to Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments on my account. I cancelled my contract with Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments under the pretence of the Finance minister’s new “code of conduct” policy released on April 18th, 2010, and put into effect
August 16th, 2010.
On August 16th, 2010 I notified Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments that Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments no longer had authorization to debit my account. On Sept 7th, 2010 Cardex/Pivotal Payments/Global Payments withdrew over $3,300.00, from my Bank account that they were strictly informed that they were to have NO FURTHER ACCESS. My bank manager agreed and my bank manager reversed the withdrawal immediately.
Most if not all merchant Cedit Card processing firms accept a early termination fee of as low as $195.00, on average of $300.00 and as high as $500.00, not Pivotal Payments! I now take a barrage of daily harassing calls from Pivotal Payments Collections department.
My latest obstacle has now become the equipment leasing company that Pivotal Payments use called; LFG. I was sold a Hypercom T4210 on a recommendation made by CARDEX [name removed] The Unit was to work over the Internet via TCP/IP base. It worked maybe one year, and then became almost a strict dial up machine, as it could not hold a “net” connection. The silver numeric coating on the number buttons started flaking off in less than a year. The numeric pad that I keyed in amounts was also the pad that clients would use to key in their PIN. Nearly every time I would pass the machine to the client it would power down and re boot. I would physically have to go to the “other” side of the counter and instruct the client to NOT MOVE the machine and then process their payment. The unit finally powered down for the final time and upon rebooting it just showed an error code and appears to have had it’s memory wiped clean, and is no longer functional, and then would no longer even power up. Just a dead machine.
Every time I contacted Pivotal about the issues they said it is not their problem, but they could have a service technician there to look at it within a few days at a totally astronomical price.
Thus far I have made 25 payments of $34.99 equaling roughly a total of $875.00. LFG is requesting in excess of $1500.00 for the early termination of the NON-Cancelable lease on a terminal that usually sells new for approximately $400.00.
I have put a stop payment on LGF and have had the monies they have debited from my account reversed. LFG has contacted me and requested absurd amounts of money due to me canceling their NON-Cancelable lease. Even if I ship them back they’re broken down POS terminal the credit that LGF would be willing to give me is nominal.
They are threatening me with legal action that would result in them seizing my assets and ruining my credit check.
April 8th, 2011 - 12:29
welcome to the club and if you read carefully the contract ( which i sign without reading under the pressure of very clever salesman )you could not launch the class action against pivotal
November 20th, 2010 - 09:06
How is it that a company with so much negative feedback still manages a 3 out of 5 rating? I mean, look at the last entry here; the administrator has to ask those who submit to cool off because they are so angry in their feedback.
November 20th, 2010 - 11:32
Criston,
Ratings get updated periodically. Given the feedback we’ve seen about Pivotal, that rating will most likely come down.
December 21st, 2010 - 11:45
I have dealt with Pivotal payments for almost 1.5 years. In the time I dealt with them, they managed to get about 2 months of their invoicing correct and the rest they double billed and triple billed at times. I was with Moneris before and thought the service was expensive, but Pivotal just told me one price and then proceeded to withdraw about 4 times that amount every month in monthly service fees.
They are unwilling to fix their mistakes and I had to keep asking for my money back and every month they would make the same “mistakes” again.
I had to resort to closing down my accounts completely and abandon my long standing bank accounts.
I have actually found 2 other people who have had the same experience.
They have the sweetest, most attentive sales department… then it all ends as soon as your signature is on that contract.
January 8th, 2011 - 05:22
It should come as no surprise to anyone who deals with Pivotal Payments, but the Better Business Bureau of Hamilton, Ontario has finally revoked their accreditation. They currently have an F rating.
Downgrades from other BBBs across the nation should follow suit eventually.
January 12th, 2011 - 08:11
We are absolutely horrified to find this blog and the content within. From all of our 350+ employees, please accept our sincere apology for any frustration you’ve had dealing with Pivotal Payments. We are dedicated to the success of our clients and strive to provide the very best products, technology and support while being supported by dedicated, caring employees. We would like to learn more about your experience with Pivotal to help us get better and, most importantly, to resolve your issues. We kindly request that you take the time to email us at WECARE@PIVOTALPAYMENTS.COM with specifics. We will work hard to resolve all open issues to your satisfaction.
Damian Tanenbaum, Vice President, Operations, Pivotal Payments
January 18th, 2011 - 12:50
I have used Pivotal since 2007, and while I can recall an occassional problem, I have had a good experience with them, and every problem was resolved to my satisfaction.
Merchant card processing is a very small part of our business for sure, but when I need help I always get it promptly. I know from our business that sometimes a customer has a big problem and we don’t handle it well…the danger with these sorts of sites is that is all you see, the big problems, and all you see is the one side of the story.
I can and have recommended Pivotal to other businesses. I have asked my rep about the complaint blogs etc I have found, and I got a straight answer. I am sorry others have had a different experience, but I think that you can go anywhere and businesses will tell you horror stories about some supplier or another.
I have had a good experience with them.
January 19th, 2011 - 15:21
I can not say anything good about these companies both Pivotal Payments and Lease Finance Group. Neither company seems willing to work with us as far as solving the terrible on-going problems with our POS equipment.
Needless to say, lawyers are now involved. I do not recommend them under any circumstances.
January 25th, 2011 - 14:21
If you are so happy working at Pivotal, why did you not have the courage to sign your name? A bit of a credibility gap here, folks.
April 4th, 2011 - 12:22
We were approached by pivotal who claimed they would buy us out of our existing contract. We signed and ever since we have been receiving bills from both pivotal and our previous merchant service provider. WHEN i can get through to them, i get fobbed off and told to fax them the bills so they can reimburse us. Have i seen anything. Nope…. I have called 3 times in the last 2 weeks to no avail. Not stop Banking Ombudsman.
April 5th, 2011 - 15:22
I would like to let people know that I have both terminals and a e commerce account with Pivotal. We have used there services for over three years and have had really good success using them. Yes a phone call takes a bit of time to get through but I’ve never had any problem getting issues resolved. We used to use another vendor and were being charged double for our transactions. I’ll wait 10 minutes on a phone to save double any day. Not every company is perfect by any means but good feed back is deserved once and awhile.
April 8th, 2011 - 12:06
Brad i guess you have been lucky, we on the other hand nothing but trouble. three years ago by [edited: name removed] with promises after we sign, the trouble started, describe by other posts i do tot want to repeat them. now to tray to cancel the contract they threaten us that we would have to pay the damages of thousands of dollars.steye away from them.
May 9th, 2011 - 14:42
We have been dealing with Pivotal since Dec 2010. I have to make a call each month as the percentages they are charging are not what I signed up for. I did receive a reduction in percentages but am still waiting for them to take effect and still waiting for a credit. Getting tired of calling back each month.
May 10th, 2011 - 13:24
This is a letter we sent to the Canadian and American Pivotal’s office.
We are writing to you today with respect to the above-captioned matter and to pass on our disgust which rightly or wrongly in our opinion, are the unconscionable actions of Pivotal Payments and the laziness of same too comply with our duly executed agreement and honour our request for an account change.
Once again we are enclosing the duly executed documentation dated January 10, 2011 and February 24, 2011. As you can clearly see, we have complied with the specific request of Pivotal and faxed the documents to 1.866.873.9640.
Several telephone calls to Pivotal have been useless. Rightly or wrongly it is our opinion that, it would be far better to talk to a wall then to speak with Pivotal any further on this matter.
On May 10, 2011 at 1324 hours and 1450 hours I called Pivotals’ call centre. The first telephone conversation was with a person by the name of [edited: name removed] (sp?). During this conversation, apparently, Pivotal is not in possession of any faxed paperwork.
It is amazing how a company can lose a change of request of banking information as well as our banking account information twice. I certainly trust we will not have to make a formal written complaint with the Privacy Commissioner.
We were promised the stars the sky and the moon not to worry someone would return our telephone call.
On May 10, 2011 at 1450hours I called Pivotals’ call centre yet once again. This time I spoke with [edited: name removed] who informs me that the escalation team is not able to keep up with the amount of complaints flooding into Pivotal. That is not our problem.
Rightly or wrongly, it is our opinion, that Pivotal has no excuse for being lazy. It is not our fault that Pivotal is not capable of maintaining proper administrative procedures to ensure that facsimiles with banking information do not go missing. In essence, the unprofessional or even non-existent risk management of Pivotal is causing us an unfair and unwarranted administrative burden. All costs associated with this administrative burden shall be charged back to Pivotal.
You are instructed to contact our office by no later than the end of the business day of May 11, 2011. At that time you will inform our office that Pivotal has complied with our original request of January 2011 and made arrangements to have all deposits placed into our TD account.
Pivotal is further instructed to conduct an investigation as to the whereabouts of the two missing facsimiles to the Pivotal office which includes our missing banking information. You will assure us during that conversation you are in possession of same. In order to eliminate any opportunities for deceit, Pivotal will provide us with evidence supporting your elected representation of possession of our banking documents.
We trust that Pivotal will govern itself accordingly, however, in our current experience we highly doubt that Pivotal will comply with our promissory agreement. Notwithstanding, we have found the following websites which we will publish our complaints against Pivotal in our hopes to publicly embarrass and humiliate Pivotal into complying with our promissory agreement. Keeping in mind of course, that there are a great number of public websites to post complaints:
[edited: links removed]
I trust Pivotal Payments understands how disappointed and frustrated we are dealing with lazy people – whom we pay good money to conduct business with that should be fair and reasonable.
Do you really believe that it is fair and reasonable to take five months to process duly executed documentation?
Do you really believe that it is fair and reasonable to lose our banking information?
We will be preparing a letter to the Privacy Commissioner to investigate the loss of our banking information by Pivotal. Failure to comply with our request to be contacted by the end of the business day of May 11, 2011 shall result in our office forwarding this complaint to the office of the Privacy Commissioner forthwith.
May 23rd, 2011 - 16:33
Ok My company has had ALL the same problems as everyone above but I had no signed contract with them. I was in a bundled buy-out from POS, with whom I had a “no-term agreement”. Pivotal immediately began imposing fees and charges that made no sense. Their statements were virtually indecipherable. I could not get through to anyone on the phone. My new processor said they would pay the early termination fees up to $300.00. Pivotal called me when I ended our contract and said I would have to pay $500 but they also wanted “liquidated damages” if I didn’t reactivate the account. I refused to reactivate. Five months later they withdrew $3578.73 in “liquidated damages”. I was able to get the withdrawal reversed but only because I caught it in time. You have until the end of the next business day to have unauthorized withdrawals reversed with-out filing a dispute. Now I am sure Pivotal will be coming after me in a fury.
I have filed complaints with the BBB, My state Dept. of Justice and I am going after them through the US Dept of Justice as well. The potential charges here may be fee gouging, price gouging, violations of professional or applied ethics.
I am researching a potential class action suit that is in the works against Pivotal but I am leery of “Fight Pivotal Payments” for fear it may be a shill for Pivotal.
May 26th, 2011 - 11:06
If you are such an outstanding Employee that will help when we call why are you anonymous? I want to know your name so I can actually get some service…
May 26th, 2011 - 11:09
I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!!
If there was a zero rating, that’s what I would have chosen.
I started dealing with them in January through Axxces Payments and I was to purchase a terminal. They could not get the Terminal to work, so they sent me another one and it still did not work, it took them until April to finally refund my money for the purchase of the terminal, and all the minimum charges that they put through when I did not even have the terminals they had long been returned.
Then I signed up with Charge National, not knowing that they also process through Pivotal Payments. At this point I had 2 accounts opened with them because they hadn’t closed the first one, so when I started calling about my other Terminals not working they started double charging me for the 1st 2 terminals as well as the new terminal. When I called about this they would only put the money back in my account on the 20th of next Month. That is all they would ever say and were absolutely no help to me at all. When the Rogers Wireless net work that they promised me would be so fast so I upgraded to the wireless terminals it was SO SLOW and didn’t work 1/2 the time. I literally have called EVERYDAY for the past 3 weeks now and EVERYDAY I get told that a manager will call me back, or I leave a voicemail for a manager, and I keep getting promise after promise.
Only yesterday did I finally get the credit back for the mistaken money they took out for payments on the terminals I recieved in JANUARY (returned in february)!!! But still have not recieved money back for the terminals or minimum payments. I WANT TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER, someone that can ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. Everyone I speak to is not authorized to do anything and I actually feel bad about getting upset with these employees when it is the MANAGER that refuses to call me back! I’ve left several voicemails on his personal answering machine and STILL NO RETURNED CALLS…. and then they ask me if I’d be willing to try a different terminal to see if it works… HA that’s a JOKE!
Even the 2 transactions that actually went through on the last terminal they screwed up on the amount that they put into my account… it doesn’t even match! Business owners beware, your books WILL NOT BALANCE if you go with this company. A company that takes mistaken money out of my account, managers that refuse to call me back when there is a problem… I find a BIG problem with this. This is NO WAY TO RUN A COMPANY!!!
Everyone that asks me I will tell them.. word of mouth is huge for business and I will tell everyone that will listen.
Just FYI Business owners I have been dealing with Elavon now through Costco Wholesale; rates are quite decent and the service is not half bad when I have had to call but that’s only been twice in the last year.
July 14th, 2011 - 08:07
One suggestion to anyone wants to sign a contract with Pivotal payments : DONT DO IT!!!!
I signed up with them last december, up to today, lots of bad experiences!!! I originally signed up with only 3 pages of contract, and find out only 2 weeks ago that there is 30 PAGES more ONLINE!!!!! Plus, their system always conflict with videotron’s phone line, outages all the time!! For 6 month, 3 times my money has been hold (somewhere, and “it is not our system’s problem” they insist on that part), the last time that happened, i waited for A WEEK to get back my money!! I’ve been traited like an idiot every time I called, ” please check your banking account CLOSELY ( I’ve been checking my banking account twice a day for the past 4 years, so please dont tell me how to check my account!!!!), your money is been deposited into your banking account” they said that sentence every time. Calls after calls, the only thing that I got back is frustrations.
Anyway, I decided to cancel my contract with Pivotal payments, and I’ll refuse to pay for the cancellation fees since that was not what I signed up and what I been told. If they decide to put me with a collection agent, I will suit them for it!! I called Consumer Protection Office in Montreal, they said the contract is not clear, and I have the right to cancel it with no extra charges …. anyway, we will see how that goes, hopefully this will end soon~
Anyone wants to cancel with pivotal payments now? Please contact me and maybe we can figure out a way to do it together, or at least let them know that we are serious about OUR MONEY!!
[edited: email address removed]
Good luck to anyone is using them~~
vickie
August 16th, 2011 - 10:43
We’ve been with Pivotal since December/10 and have had nothing but grief. We are continually overcharged % and surcharges that are not on our contract. Money is taken from our account with no explanation. I’ve made numerous calls and can’t get any one with any authority to return my calls. Seems I have to follow the contract but they don’t. there is something wrong here, this is no way to treat a new customer. You can bet I’m spreading the word.
August 24th, 2011 - 08:38
I cannot believe this company can continue to do business. Pivotal Payments had a forged contract on file for myself. The signatures, dates, or print did not match mine anywhere on the agreement and still they stole $1500 from my account which they called liquidated damages after canceling with them. This term is nowhere in there forged contract even if I had signed it. One of there agents would call on my behalf claiming to be a representative from my company furthering their fraudulent actions. When I explained this to them they were still unwilling to help. They just tried to pass me off onto the next representative, and in two cases, was the same representative that I had spoken to already. Even after explaining to them that two parties have to enter into an agreement and you can bind someone to a contract they did not enter into, they still refused to correct the situation.
September 13th, 2011 - 13:09
First I find it laughable that any one merchant can hold accountable the payment processor for the agreed upon fees in the merchant processing agreement. Most payment processors today hire 1099 workers and any misrepresentation is usually done by the sales representative. First one should never lease a terminal as they are very inexpensive to buy and most leases have long term committments most of which are 4 years. Termination fees are written in any merchant processing agreement and yes they do vary from company to company however most are in the range of $300 to $500 dollars. Merchants should ask these type of questions especially if they have been in business for a number of years. Surely if the question is asked most are going to confirm there termination fee. It is unlikely that any sales person is going to tell a potential customer what the termination fee and for that matter how many other businesses tell you up front what their temination fees. Not many. It is the due diligence of the merchant to ask the right questions. Most payment processors will cover some of the bankcard assn mandates such as PCI Compliance as there are requirements that the payment processor and the merchant must comply with to ensure the fullest security standards are met. In addition there are annual interchange increases which take affect in the spring and early fall these increases are passed along to th merchant. While its true that some of hese fees can be inflated to payment processors likening. To avoid these fees then one should consider the benefits of Interchange Plus Pricing. This method of pricing discloses te exact cost for every interchange category which ensures that the actual increase or decrease of interchange is passed on to the merchant. I would have to say that in most cases it is the merchant who didn’t do their due diligence or it was a dishonest sales representative who did not provide honest answers. There are many inexperienced sales reps within the payment processing field and it is important for any merchant to understand the payment processing business especially when you consider that there are very few if any cash businesses left.
October 28th, 2011 - 03:44
As above…the sweetest sales person, who was completely unreachable once I was signed up. The sign-up bonus of $250? I sent in the form, twice, one by fax, one by the same email I had previously been communicating with the sales rep with – and I followed up by phone but it never came.
The terminal started quitting mid-process after ~ 2 months, every time it was a long (on hold) phone call to ensure my client’s payment went through and only once, and this is no way to run a clinic.
Eventually the terminal was replaced – the new terminal exhibited the same problemswithin a week.
After ~ 8 months of this, I cancelled my contract with Pivotal & Global succesfully, but LFG continued to withdraw lease charges for the non-functioning equipment. I sent the equipment back to LFG: they refused it and sent it back to me. I sent it to Pivotal, and it hasn’t come back.
I wrote LFG a registered termination letter for the former lease – since there is no equipment I am leasing, we don’t have a lease – with a deadline to respond or else I’ll imply tacit agreement. No response.
I took the letter with proof of delivery to my credit union, we put a stop on the monthly automatic withdrawals and recovered the most recently taken withdrawal.
Now LFG is screaming at me: long faxes and harrassing phonecalls to my clinic.
I am concerned they may try to take money out of my account again, or worse.
I am just running an independent dental hygiene clinic – most of the dental overhead but none of the lucrative dental procedures – and I am providing care for people who are unable to access dental care. I don’t want to go under because of a company with a history of ripping people off.
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do next?
Many thanks,
Liz-Ann
The Smile People, dental hygiene inc.
BC, Canada
January 26th, 2012 - 09:57
Hey Liz,
Close your account and open a new one. I know its a pain but that way they can’t take anymore money. LFG are in bed with pivotal to rip people off. Ignore the threats and letters. Pivotal tried doing that with me and eventually they just stopped calling.
Kevin
December 16th, 2011 - 14:38
Warning to all Pivotal customers, I’v been fighting with them for 2 months. Before you cancel your contract, CLOSE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT and open a new one.
Pivotal picked my account 5 months ago for a compliance fee with no warning so I called, they were so rude and told me they could do what ever they wanted. I was so mad I called a new company. My new company told me I had to cancel my Pivotal contract. The lady at Pivotal told me I had 2 months left on my contract so just let it run out and send them a letter to not auto renew, I did, then when my contract was over, Pivotal took 400.00 out of my account! After hours on hold and several days later and some advice from my attorney, I got my money back, I’m are heart patient and believe me they tested it.
My contract ended Nov 15, 2011 and last week and on 12/6/11 Pivotal picked my account for another 109.00 for another compliance fee, MY CONTRACT IS OVER. Its been over a week, several phone calls, more advice from my attorney (federal offense), lots more time on hold, still haven’t got my 109 bucks back.
December 19th, 2011 - 11:30
Pivotal, worse desicion that we ever made in our bistro. Not only, are credit card charges processed, in our case 4 and 5 times on the same charge, but since July (2011), at least one day each month, at the close of business, none of the tips are added to the bills, which means we have to phone the customer, sometimes weeks after, and ask if we can add the tip as it was not charged on that day . . when you have a 100 charge day, that adds up to $1,000.00′s of dollars. And Pivotal is on no help. I suggest that any other company would be better to go with then this one. And I can’t get out of the contract with them.
January 26th, 2012 - 09:53
Hey Robert,
Close your bank account and open a new one. That is the only way you can keep them from taking your money. I had to. They called and harrased me for a about a year to pay them the supposed liquidated damages I owed them for stopping with them early. I just ignored them and they haven’t phoned me in a few months. Hope this helps.
Kevin
December 19th, 2011 - 20:44
Found this blog and knew that most people here had much bad experience than I had with pivotal payments at this moment.
I signed contract with this company for a bout 1 year. It worked fine to me in the fist few months, then the unexpected fees deducted from my bank account. Pivotal payment just does not charge the fees according to the contract. Right now the unexpected fees that not under the contract is about $200 in the last few months, but who knows what other fees that they may charge in the future. When I called, they just asked me to check the terms and conditions on their website. They told me that they have the right to charge the extra fees any time when required.
Can not understand that they can do the things not according to the contract, instead asking to check their website terms and conditions. They can change the Terms and conditions on the website in any ways at any time. That means that company have the potential ability to deduct any amount money from your bank account.
Stay away from the company.
January 23rd, 2012 - 15:13
I agree with everything all of you are saying, I wish i had found this out sooner to save time, aggrivation and $$$$. what we need is a class action lawsuit to get our money back and expose them for what they really are. ANYONE ELSE IN?