Lease Finance Group [LFG] review: credit card lease 85

This company is fraudulent, they should be shut down. They conned an employee to signing some documents telling her that our credit card machine is illegal. She signed the documents without authorization from me and they are charging us for a lease for a machine they did not provide.

I filed a complaint with my state attorney generals office and told them what LFG had done and been doing, LFG terminated my account when they were contacted...it amy work for you too !

This company ought to be banned - as I write, I am on the phone with EXPERIAN! Yesterday this company contacted me with regardins to upgrading my credit card machine - this I know is required - and the person who talked with me - MITCHELL - said he was going to send me 2 emails to complete . . . as of this morning 12/21, I have ben advised of a change in my credit report . . . I check and it has dropped by 9 points because a HARD INQUIRY was requested by LEASE FINANCE GROUP - [protected] // 233 N. MICHIGAN AVE, CHICAGO, IL. [protected] . . . I called them (LFG) and received a recorded message that they're open from 8:30AM EST . . . . I placed my call at 9:00AM.

This is an utter disgrace - fortunately I have a 'voice' in the media and I will be ver verbal about this on every radio talk show I do!

This organization ought to be closed down! I have leased a credit card processing machine from them for over 8-years. Now Bank of America is my merchant service and an upgrade of equipment is required - LEASE FINANCE GROUP LL want me to complete several documents to upgrade - S/S # etc. which I have yet to do and obviously as a result of this board, I will not . . . but here's a reall killer for you! I get a notification this morning that my Credit Report has 'changed' and on further investigation on my behalf, I see that my credit report have DROPPED 9 points because LEASE FINANCIAL GROUP LL - (supposedly) located at 233N Michigan Anv, Chicago, IL 60601 requested a HARD COPY of my current credit report . . . ! $41.00 is the monthly charge - I do not want to renew - they draw a credit report - I lose 9 points!

I would really like to know more about this because I believe they changed a 36 month lease to 60. They refuse to give me a reasonable settlement and want me to pay $2640.00 for equipment they have had back for the last 10 months. Help...

My elderly father signed a lease agreement for LFG also. He did not have my authorization to do this. As the owner of my business I am the only one authorized to sign anything for my business. My father does not work for me and just thought he was doing something I would have wanted him to do. I explained all of this in an effort to have the lease declared null and void. The only thing I got back were threats, many many phone calls and letters. They are now taking my father to court. I have called them and have been verbally abused and yelled at. They took money out of my account and I could not stop it even with the bank trying to help me out. My bank advised me to close out the account and open a new one which I did. Since they are taking my father to court I have no choice but to send in the balance of what THEY say is owed. If it were just me and I had signed it then I would fight this. Since it is my elderly father( 80 years old), though, I feel that in order to prevent him from having to get into a legal battle with these people and to prevent him from having his property attached by these thieves, that I have been pushed into a corner. Since he is very hard of hearing and misunderstands a lot of things people say to him anyway it would be a crazy situation in court, not to mention the stress it would put him under. When my father was served a summons to appear in court or pay the amount specified or his property would have a lien placed against it he was so upset and could not understand why THOSE people were trying to sue him. I just told him not to worry and that I would take care of it. I am sending in the amount today that they say is owed under protest in order to protect my father. This company is horrible and I am physically sick even as I type this in. The stress they have put me under is horrible and I don't wish it on anyone. It is hard enough to make ends meet in this economy with having scam artists sneaking in the back door of your business to get ANYONE to sign you up. I am all for signing up with a class action lawsuit against these people but would probably not even be eligible to do so since they do not even care what my name is anyway. BUT THEY DAMN SURE TOOK THE MONEY OUT OF MY ACCOUNT! ! ! !

I too have been taken and wrote once here before, I wished 1st Data who uses LFG would allow cancelation of contracts without the fees etc. LFG does not care whom they hurt and neither do the agents who sign us up for these contracts. We need a class action law suit against LFG and 1st Data and any other companies who get us sucked into these scams. The federal government is supposed to listen and help us. Can anyone get a politician to start an investigation into this maze of curruption and stop this? There's too many names here and this is just the people who see this web site, there may be thousands more...can Good Morning America or someone who can contact Diane Sawyer do a segment on this and get the ball rolling? Reverend Rene Mayeaux

can you please email me with how to get ahold of them. I too am in simillar situation, but have no contact info for them.

andrea@northernales.com

thank you

I co-signed for a friend of my daughters for him to get the credit card machine and service at $90.00 per month but unfortunately his business was doing bad so he sold it within a matter of months. He contacted the salesman who did the contract with him and was told that if he wanted out of his contract he would have to pay a $200.00 early termination fee, which he did, thinking that would be the end of it. Now, nine months after he cancelled I have been contacted by LFG's legal department telling me I owed them over $4500.00 because I still needed to fulfill the contract. This is so wrong ! I have been threatened with a lawsuit and court if I don't make a settlement, something I cannot afford at all. Please someone tell me what I can do ! They have already submitted a bad credit report on me but for only $2900.00 which they say has been written off leaving a balance. This really saddens me because I was just getting my credit back on course and now these idiots mess me up.

aluna62

Oh my.. After reading all of this I can only say one thing "me too!"
I Live in NJ and currently am still tied to the lease for 30$ month I think I have 1 year left. But I can't stand this because I'm not even in business anymore. Please contact me or start a facebook or twitter

Lumberground@gmail.com

It's NOT LFG, it's the credit card processing company.

The situation is that you are a merchant, probably doing just fine, with a purchased credit card machine with processing via your bank.

One day I got solicited by a card processing company promising low rates and other low cost options. The problem was that I had to lease a machine from them. They would not let me purchase, they specifically said that they made profit from the lease; but they said that if I leased, they would continually upgrade my machine and replace as security laws changed. I figured that even with the expensive lease, I would be saving a lot of money so I signed up.

The scam is that the processing company did not do what was promised. Their rates were higher than in the contract, certain other incentives were not honored, their billing was inaccurate, and service was awful. Basically a scam. But I was stuck with a non-cancelable lease with LFG.

So DO NOT COMBINE CREDIT CARD MACHINE LEASING with credit card processing. Two separate items.

I am currently with North American Bank Card and I can recommend them as a fair price, not rip-off, business. And I bought my credit card machine from them for $170 all programmed and it worked when I plugged it in.

However LFG is GUILTY of working with these scam outfits.

I recently had to settle with LFG compnay for the same fruad, and misrepresentation Lease they had me involved in. The compnay that signed me up was in Phoenix, AZ by the name of Prinicpal Payment Solution(aka Icon Payment Solutions). Same story like other about hiding the Non Canelabale Lease Document and getting a signature on that document while confirming we are able to cancel at anytime. The Processing company steps out when you cancel about we get stuck wiht LFG. Original date for my documents was October 2008, they withdrew money from my account and i realized I am in a lease with someone else besides Principal Payment Solution. LFG knows whats going on with this deals, but they forecfully keep harrasing you and get you on your credit rating. They send a noitce for me to appear in NY Court, and only leagal option I had I was told is to go fight them in NEW York. At the end they know it is costing us to FLY, Stay at hotel, food, and other costs to cover our shift at the business is too much and not worth going out to fight. They WIN out by settling or putting you in Default so they get what they want. They have thousands of cases like this. I used Leagal help but either had to go fight them in New York to have a chance to resolve this.

pleas join to my group in facebook: lease finance group scam/fraud.
we going to a public lawsuit pleas join to us and explain your situation
on the group page.

please join the group CLASS ACTION AGAINST LEASE FINANCE GROUP on FACEBOOK & spread the word !

We refused to sign the non-cancellation portion of the contract and were told we could return if we were not happy. After two days we were so dissatisfied that we cancelled the service and returned the machine. Now 10 years later they have deducted unauthorized from our checking account $4286.70. I would say this is FRAUD!

They are going back through their files. I returned the cc machine 13 YEARS ago.
As a new small business I got caught in their scam, I returned the cc machine, but LFG claimed that I still owed them. I called and tried to tell them that I had already returned the machine because it didn't work right, and that the payments to my bank weren't being proccessed on time, and they insisted that I keep paying for it anyways.I refused
to pay, and they harrassed me for years and put it on my credit report. I heard nothing for years, then last month they debited almost $600 from my acct. My bank said that because it was a corporate debit, it could only be returned within 24 hours, after which federal law says that I must dispute the matter with the corporation. The bank had no legal obligation to help.
After talking to one of LFG's "customer service" reps, I was informed that the statute of limitations for them to claim payment on their leases is 20 years, and that because they are based in NY, that is the law they follow no matter where you are based.
After 13 years, I no longer have the paperwork pertaining to the matter, and LFG's scam is successful.
I am printing all these complaints and a copy of the law suit aginst them in Chicago and taking them to my bank. I am also going to send them to the BBB and the Attorney General, all the small business associations, and the craft fair bulletins, as well as printing and distributing warning fliers to my fellow crafters.
I am also looking to see if a class action suit will be brought against the New York branch.
Please try to tell as many people as you can about LFG and their ilk, it can maybe hurt them and for sure help the unsuspecting.

hello,

i have also been scammed by LFG. I am making facebook page for a class action lawsuit against them. If you'd like to join, kindly send me your full name (as it appears on facebook) so i can invite you to join the group. this is the only way we can get everyone together and decide how to take action. i have proof that i was scammed !

my email address is buntyyy@gmail.com

I had a small beer bar and before I opened in 2001 a salesman showed up and convinced me that I needed not one but two terminals (15 ft apart). They never worked and I could never get any customer support. The phone number on the buisness card always went to voice mail. Frustrated I shipped everything back to the address on the box they arrived in. Then the calls started. Somewhat pushy at first, then it got just ugly with threats and promises of lawsuits. I delt with that daily for two years. I sold the buisness, filed and completed an escrow for the sale and moved on. Fast forward 7 years...I was checking my 79 year old Mothers checking account (I'm her durable power of attorney) and there was a $35 fee for a returned item fee. When I investigated it was for LFG trying to put thru a charge for $5044.99. I put a stop payment and hoped that was the end. The same charge was put thru again 4 days later. We went to her bank the next day and opened a new checking account, but had to leave the old one open until we could get her social security direct deposit switched. Well you guessed it they hit her for $250.00 and it overdrew the account (she had $235 in the account) So I'm on the phone with the bank (on hold)waiting to get this cleaned up again. How are these crooks getting away with robbing a littlt old lady? If there are any class actions going let me know where to sign

Mhintz

mhintz@aol.com

Stop paying them, close the account if you have to. If they take you to court, make sure you show up to court. They win the lawsuits when you don't show up. If they take you to court in a unreasonably far place for you, then file a motion for change of venue. It is your right to have the case heard in a court near you.

Check your statements that you received from them. Were they charging you sales tax? If so, counter sue them for breach of contract. It says in their contract that they can recoup any sales tax. However, in most states (Illinois for sure) there is no sales tax on a lease that either has no buyout at the end or has a buy out for fair market value. The lease clearly states that you can buy the terminal from them at fair market value at the end of the lease. Therefore, there is no sales tax! By charging you sales tax, they have breached their own contract.

Sorry to say we got taken in too. Very ellusive and deceptive marketing. We are paying $25.- a month. It keeps them shut up. But it's a lousy solution. Would appreciate hearing how to get rid of LFG forever.
Jay

My business shut down 8 years ago, only 3 months after opening. I paid off my lease sent back my machine and never heard another word...until last week. There was a $1400 ACH withdrawal on my bank account. Now, there is nothing on my credit from them (because this was rectified years ago) I have had the same bank account the last 8 years and they never tried to withdrawal a dime until recently. It is obviously fishy because if I infact still owed them money (which I don't), having my banking information you would think they would have went after it yearssssssssss ago and put something on my credit report. I haven't even gotten letters in the mail. No contact with this company at all in 8 years. I called my bank told them it was an unauthrorized transaction. They refunded my money. After reading about LFG online I closed my bank account. I tried calling LFG the day it happened, I was told I needed to speak with Wendy Civil [protected] Ext 6442). I called and left messages and didn't hear back, I was giving them the benefit of the doubt this was an error. After reversing their transaction I got a call from them today go figure. I proceeded to tell them I got my money back and didn't need her assistance. Boy was she ever mad. Try to get the funds back from your bank, no court in their right mind would take their suits seriously. 8 years and nothing on my credit, and even if it did end up there, dispute it and make them send proof of debt, THEY DONT HAVE IT! Good Luck LFG your going to need it, everyone is onto your SCAM!

Nine years ago I let myself be scammed by this group. Here is a warning. Eventually they will "write off" the lease, but they will only write off a portion of it. you will think it's finally over and just have to wait seven years to get it off your credit report. NO! They will reserve a portion of the amount they say you owe and continue to report every few years continuing to do damage to your credit. you will not be able to get any kind of a loan because of having a loan charge off on your credit report. I tried to have this removed from my report after seven years and they began reporting the portion they said I still owed. 9 years and they are still ruining my credit, even though I paid them a huge sum of money for two years and returned the equipment.

LFG just electronicly with drew 2000.00 dollars from my account for no reason, I tried to call them and all they do is send my from place to place putting me on hold and saying I don't know. The owners of this company needs to burn.

They are also taking me to court in Chicago. Go to court! Do NOT not show up for court! They rely on people not showing up for court. If you do not show up for court then a default judgment will go against you and they will now have a judgment against you and can start collections measure such as wage garnishments. If you go to court and make all court dates, then about 90% of the time it appears that they (LFG) walks away with no judgment for them. Unfortunately, about 98% of the people do not show up for court. Which results in them getting those judgments. Go to court! If you do end up in trial, let the judge know that there was fraud. Do as much homework as you can on contract law.

im a victom of lease finace group as weel and was wondering what to do i have no idea i was for sure mislead to think that this was a free terminal and would only have to pay if i used it, i was no were even close to knowing that it was a 4 year aggrement well i stopped paying and about 6months later and hondreds of calls later the calls are getting to the point of them saying that there taking me to court, i dont know what to do any advise?

Lady business...read the other posts, google me and call me...everytime i leave info the system administrator pulls it off...jason balloon creations urbana illinois

I too was taken by Lease Finance Group LLC, and when I tried to discuss the problems with there representative she hung up on me and refused to let me speak to one of her supervisors. I have not delt with this company in 2+ year and last month they have been trying to debit funds from my personal saving account. Need help with these people.

I've been trying to call them and cant get in touch with them. I actually paid off the machine over a period of 3 and a half years and I just want a letter stating that I paid the equipment off. I didnt know this was a scam even though the equipment didnt work and the small business I had closed about 2 and a half years ago. Nonetheless lease finance group still made me pay for it and threatened to jack up my credit report if I didnt pay. So now I see all these complaints about this company ripping people off and I'm realizing that I've been ripped off too. If anybody knows anything about a class action suit I can be contacted at intell292002@yahoo.com. I would appreciate any information and help in getting my money back.

I have been screwed by this comp. and am still being so.I leased in 2006 Feb with my daughter and i sharing the machine for both bussiness's later that year she sold her business to me and her younger sister I had increase in payment and they tried to charge me a whole new account I closed the business location and went to home business I am still paying payments for 3 more months and will not own a machine after paying $109.00 per month for 4 yrs. These people do not have any sense of fairness and only interested in hurting business for mom and pop and small business especially. I would like to see a class action suit filed but what can I do in the meantime?

my name and city are on the top posts. that means you guys can reach me if you choose to have my help. i guess you don't want it. :(

Help! These s.o.b.s still charging my account after a year of cancelling contract. I have made numerous calls to their service department with no reply, and they still charging my account every month. I dunno what to do, I don't want my credit to be ruined!

Went out of business 5 1/2 years ago. Canceled all accounts, now LFG on my credit report saying I owe $3500 and $2600 under a different company. Try to call for resolution and get the runaround. Every now and then I'll get someone who barely speaks English, but never able to get resolved.

LFG -CHICAGO IS SHUT DOWN...YES...Partially thanks to me...balloon creations Urbana illinois...Now lets shut down the new york office...

Dear ~the truth~,

The TRUTH here is that something CAN be done, and in fact IS being done ~ Check out the fact that Lease Finance Group is shut down at their Chicago Illinois offices already due to overwhelming allegations flooding the Illinois Attorney General's desk.

I percieve that you may not fully grasp the extent of LFG's dishonesty in their dealings with their fellow man, nor the actual number of small business owners swindled by LFG's shifty practices.

In fact, I should think that you would be most leery in admitting that your company uses this company as a means of financing, or has anything to do with them at all.

You see, it isn't just the shady 4 yr non-cancellable leases... it is also the over-withdrawals on bank accounts, sketchy bookkeeping, harrassing phone calls, &, let us not forget, knowingly working with shuyster's.

Quite frankly, I will NEVER AGAIN work with ANY company that uses LFG. And as you know, word of mouth advertizing can be both your best advocate, and your worst. Because while I might once or twice in a lifetime mention how much I LIKED working with some company or another... You can bet your pretty petunia's that I will NEVER cease to find an opportunity to let EVERYone I know hear about the wrongful doings of a company like LFG. Because you see, good manners really DO matter, and it's small business owners like ourselves on this board who have been swindled who still remember that fact... we still work face to face with our clients, and we know that when all the chips are down, good customer service & honest business dealings will always win out. And my friend, LFG has neither of those virtues.
~Red

WTOY:

Send Lease Finance Group a certified letter containing a copy of all the charges you can come up with for those 5 years. These are all 48 month loans and they should not be trying to collect still. They also should never have accepted a lease for $89/mo. State in the letter that they are to cease and disciss from sending you any information and to turn it over to collections. Once it hits collections send the collection company a certified letter stating you are requesting proof of debt. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) they are required by federal law to provide proof of the debt. Beings the contract was for 48 months and they overcharged you it will be impossible for them to verify the debt and they will be required to drop it and quit contacting you by law. Hope this helps

-The Truth

I also signed with a merchant the made me agree to terms with Lease Finance Group. The rep said that the machine was a lease to own and after 4 years of a monthly payment that I would own the machine. I paid $89/ month for 5 years and didn't even use the machine. I have since canccelled my services with the merchant and closed my bank account. Lease Finance Group is now sending me invoices stating that I owe them a monthly payment. They got more thant the it was worth. I hope they don't expect the machine back because I threw it out.

Alright guys lets shed some light on the reasons that this occurs and what you can do to stop it in the future. Myself I am the Merchant Relations Vice President of a processing company here in the United States. Since our own company uses LFG as a leasing company I am not going to reveal what business I work for myself. The problem here is partially LFG but chances are they aren't the ones who set the terms. The actual credit card processing company has sales agents contacting businesses all over the United States to earn new accounts. These sales reps are the ones themselves that are guilty and have created these fraudulent activites against you. What happens is the agent is offered 25-50% commission on any sale he obtains. However since the processors themselves do not offer leasing, or loans for the equipment you are left with only the option to buy the equipment outright. No one is going to pay [protected] dollars for a machine if they realize how much they are being charged. This is where LFG comes in. The sales representative gets you to agree to a monthly payment maybe 49.95 a month or more (maybe less if your lucky). They use LFG which happens to have a non-cancelable lease agreement to fund the amount. That way they get paid upfront and the debt is between you and LFG. LFG is not guilty in this problem in the least way other than their poor joke of a customer service department. LFG's agents do not make commission and would have no reason to rip you off. The sales agents make plenty of commission though and have a very good reason to rip you off. What you need to find is a honest locally owned credit card processor that actually wants your lifetime business and not just upfront money from a sale. There are very few of these in the United States. The company I work for is amazing to our customers and is owned by an actual human being, not a corporate world. We use LFG on a regular basis and while I agree that their service sucks, we have never had a consumer complain of the problems you've experienced with LFG. We have however had hundreds of clients move to our company from agents just like the ones that robbed you. In over 10 years of business we have also never lost an account to another processor or for any other reason excluding the few businesses that have unfortunately went under throughout the economy crunch. I don't know what type of rates and amounts the reps got you for but if the 1.15% range sounds good maybe you should think about our company. We prefer you buy equipment outright should you even have to. There are in fact compliance laws and some terminals MUST be replaced to be within guideline of the federal mandates. However this does not mean you have to buy equipment as chances are the ones you have are already up to date and compliant. We do not try and sell leases for more than 29.95 a month god forbid we have to even go that route. (however some businesses do not have the financing to buy outright and have little to no choice.) Unfortunately should you not pay LFG, the bad part is they do take their customers to court, and I have seen it before they win as they have a legally binding contract that is legitimate. However I strongly, STRONGLY believe the processor would have no chance in court and you'd probably also be awarded damages. :)

So to sum this up in short I am sorry but there is really nothing you can do other than the steps you are already taking. However don't report LFG as they aren't the ones setting these prices. Report the card processor (the agent who actually got you) to BBB and the other agencies. This is what needs to be done to stop these guys. No judge is going to rule on LFG when they are within their legal guidelines to accept these leases. However a judge would definitely rule on a company who is setting the prices 3 or 4 times higher than the product is worth. Next get yourself a real merchant account so this doesn't happen again. I probably sound like speals you may have heard but also have the grounds to prove our work. We have tons of referrals that can tell you themselves. I will let you read any and all fine print to understand what is really going on. Best of all after talking to our referrals you will know we are not a fly by night company and will be here for life. If you are interested contact me at service@customgamestop.com. This is not the address for our company as the last thing I would want is the rest of my industry finding out I ratted on the "system". LFG could drop our company and cause major damages. Therefore just e-mail me and I will contact you back from the office. If you aren't interested in my services that is completely fine, I hope this has helped to clarify who is truly at fault with the conflicts you have had to deal with. Let me know if you need any more advice.

I Also have been scammed by these con artists, in all the same ways...

What happened to rif & pretty & polished is almost word for word what happened with us ... I reccomend everyone here also go over to [redacted] & report it there as well. Might as well deal these scammers as much havoc as they so justly deserve.

~Redhed
redhed83402@msn.com

Same thing happened to us. We had our "agent" disappear on us. He even took the machine for "programing" and never returned it. Now we have a lease with no machine. (Which we never needed...) These people are crooks!

Ashley
parhamashley@comcast.net

These people are CROOKS! Got to stop them. Who wants to get a lawyer to represent all of us and charge all fees back to the s.o.b.s? Can we get a twitter going in order to locate as many people as possible who have been screwed by them?

Carolyn
[protected]