Tribul Merchant Services Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (3.5 out of 5)
Last Updated: April 30th, 2010.
Overview:
It's still a little early to tell whether Tribul Merchant services is going to be an honest player in this game. They've only been in business since 2007, so I haven't been able to find much data on them. Their BBB profile looks like it's brand new, so I guess we'll have to review them based on some other criteria.
For starters, I was able to dig up a few press releases in regards to Tribul's push to strengthen their relationship with their independent sales agents, I'm not sure if it's working though. Judging by this thread at RipOffReport.com, it seems they have more in-fighting going on than Death Row records did back in their hayday. Keep in mind that the thread reflects an internal conflict between the owners of the company, and some ex-sales agents. I personally don't think that any company is going to be immune to this type of problem, so for the sake of this review, we're just going to address it, then disregard it.
In another press release, there is mention of Tribul's efforts at building a proprietary customer relationship management (CRM) system. What this tells me is that they're actively spending time and resources to build out their customer management infrastructure. It also tells me that customer retention is a goal of theirs, which bodes well for you and I.
Tribul gets a 3.5 out of 5 for now.
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Date Established:
2007.
Location:
New York, New York.
Domain Name(s):
www.tribulonline.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Their parent company is Outside Ventures LLC and they have a few other sister companies, once of which is Business Payment Systems (BPS).
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Their website mentions both Harris Bank and Bank of America as the acquirer.
Payment Processor(s):
Chase Paymentech.
Payment Gateway(s):
Authorize.net or USA ePay.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
Here is the Tribul Merchant Services BBB profile. They have an "F" rating (as of this review), and have had 1 complaint in the last 36 months.
Negative Reviews:
Check out RipOffReport.com. As of writing this post, they have 5 negatives and all are from ex-employees of the company.
Common Complaints:
The only thing in common with all of the above complaints are that they come from past sales agents.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
None listed. Come on guys, get with the program.
Security/Privacy:
No third-party security (i.e. McAfee, Verisign or Truste).
Customer Service:
I haven't dealt with these guys personally so user comments in this area would be great.
Contract Duration:
3-years.
Cancellation Fee:
$350 if you cancel before the 3-year term.
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Tribul does offer its merchants interchange-plus pricing, so be sure to ask for it.
Seasonal Downtime:
Tribul also offers seasonal downtime.
Product/Service Offering:
Credit Card Processing, Check Guarantee, Prepaid Services, Gift Card & Loyalty, ATM Sales & Leasing, ACH Program, e-Commerce & Web Hosting, Cash Advance.
Product/Service Specialty:
None
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February 3rd, 2010 - 14:01
I’m a small business owner who has used tribul for credit card processing. They recently have withdrawn $198 annual fee from my account and will not refund it. My contract has NO annual fees. I don’t know how to get it back. I agree. They are thieves
February 3rd, 2010 - 14:33
Really? What was the $198 for? Did they give you an explanation?
Btw, thanks for leaving your full name and company info. It’s always good for my readers to be able to see that the comments being left here are from actual business owners.
June 14th, 2010 - 10:00
I joined Tribul in 2008, the agent was BPS Worldwide. I negotiated no annual fee or monthly minimum other than the monthly $5 statement.
In January 2008 Tribul debited by account $99 for an annual fee. When I protested they made me put my request for a refund in writing. They returned the funds.
In January 2010 they debited my account $198, again for the annual fee. When I protested they promised they would return my money in two weeks but did not.
I contacted them repeatedly but either got voice mail or was transferred to Cynergy Data who said Tribul was an agent and they (Cynergy) were not responsible for the erroneous debit.
I considered legal action but I am not located in New York so it made filing a suit complicated. So I canceled the account and chalked it up to a $198 lesson in the need to do more research when handing over access to my bank account.
Hopefully my lesson will save someone else $198 if they are considering Tribul. Stay well away from these guys!
August 5th, 2010 - 12:33
THEY ARE CROOKS FOR SURE! Not only can you NEVER get a hold of someone who can help you, but they drew out the 198.00 out of my checking account which overdrew my account. My bank charged me 300.00 in OD charges which Tribul promised to refund first 10 days, then 30, 60, 90!! Haven’t seen the money. I just received an “addendum” to my contract that was backdated a month, telling me they were now going to charge me a 500.00 early termination fee! I had NO early termination fee or annual fee…there were another list of fees in which they were planning to add. I had to close my checking account so I could cancel with them..Horrible company..BEWARE!
March 31st, 2011 - 08:31
Your rating is wrong about Tribul. The newest thing these processors are doing is changing their names once they get enough complaints under a certain name. You need to follow the name changes on all of these companies. Do you really think that any of these companies changes their tactics because they simply change their names?
March 31st, 2011 - 11:08
Thanks Dan. Can you tell me why exactly you think my rating is wrong? Also, can you give us some examples of the alternate names?
May 12th, 2011 - 17:41
Our ordeal with Tribul began in late summer 2010. An agent, Yankee, contacted us and led us to believe he was calling from our current processing company with a new offer as the company was changing names. According to him, he could negotiate a better deal for us. Our contract with the other company was ending at the same time. A new machine would be sent. We never received any information from the agent or Tribul, no set up info, we didn’t even have the contract or contact information. By the end of SEPT, we began to billed by both companies. We called the number that Yankee had called us from and only got voice mail, which we repeatedly left. Called Tribul, they acted like they had never heard of him. Discussions with a supposed supervisor were fruitless. We repeatedly asked to have a copy of the contract mailed. We were told it was mailed as well as information on canceling, termination fees etc. We went ahead paying the monthly fee, still hoping this could all be sorted out. This month, May 2011, they attempted to take $500 from our account and told us we were being cancelled due to inactivity. It appears we are stuck with that fee as well as the aggravation of months of calling them to try and resolve it.
Our next step will be the BBB. As well as other online options. More details on our battle in a few days.
July 27th, 2011 - 12:30
Latest update: within a few days of my last post they sent the account to a collection agency. We paid the early termination fee to the agency as
Tribul would no longer deal with us. We are still being charged the$5 per month and will probably need to close that bank account to get it to stop.
October 11th, 2011 - 06:22
I wish I would have reviewed this site. The same has been happening to me, debits have been made for a service I never requested. I was in the process of gaining a POS System from a company that informed me that Tribul Merchant Svs. is whom I must switch with in order to use their equipment. I was sent several forms to sign, in which I naively signed and returned to the representive with the POS Company. I decided to cancel the POS System due to numerous issues with the installation, however Tribul Merchant Services was faithfully debiting fees from my personal checking account, and has continued. I have contacted [name removed], an Attorney with Tribul in assisting me in gaining my funds back, and canceling this account. I am hopeful that I can be assisted if not, I will be left with the decision to close out my account to avoid any further debits from my account. This has been a lesson for me.
January 4th, 2012 - 14:01
They are SCAMS SCAMS SCAMS. My contract stated no annual fees and they took $198, they are thieves, thieves, don’t do business with this company. They are a huge thief… I don’t even give them a one star. They need money they are taking out of business owners accounts and they won’t refund.
January 12th, 2012 - 15:17
It has been since october that i sent thier machine to them and i have not received a credit for the machine i have constantly call the company and they have just been giving me the run around i have cancelled the service with them but they still charged me the annual fee.