I got a call from Smart Card Merchant Service stating that we can save about 40% to 50% on credit card processing service and was forced to make appointment to meet with local sales rep.
They said there’s NO obligation to sign up and this is just simply to compare current rate and theirs.
Then the local sales rep., Michael Lee was assigned to our business and offered me great deal that no one would refuse.
He mentioned that in order for them to find out whether we are qualified for those great deals that he mentioned, the documents needed to be initialized and singed.
Then, he FORCED me to initial and sign on the documents that I never had chance to read and understand because he was HIDING all the IMPORTANT PART. When I hesitated to sign, he repeated assurance phrase of “this is just for QUOTE purpose, NO contract or agreement, DON’T WORRY, TRUST ME, I’m doing this full time and I have over 20 years of experience and I’m here to HELP business owners to save money. I NEVER LIE.” Then later on, we found out that documents were the actual non-cancelable agreement/contract of the lease for 48 months!
As for Free equipment part, I asked repeatedly if it is really free or not because most of the merchant service companies always have a choice to buying option or leasing option. He assured it’s FREE and it’s NOT lease.
Then WITHOUT any notification, I received a brown box from the courier and I signed it without paying any attention. It was the credit card swiping machine. I immediately contacted Michael Lee and left message that I received the machine WITHOUT any notice or any analysis/quote that I supposed to receive BEFORE any official agreement.
I NEVER thought signing "the simple brown package" from Northern Leasing was considered actual acceptance of the contract until I called Northern Leasing. Is this action legally acceptable?
I contacted Smart Card Merchant and Northern Leasing several times to solve the issue by myself somehow, but nothing solved until now. Both companies are just dodging the responsibility each other.
I still don't understand why they are still in business...
Leased a sign from signtronix and they had Northern handle the lease. The lease we finally got wasn't...
They are a scamming company. They broke they're end of the lease agreement as well. The sales person that set me up on this wouldn't even talk to me when I started having problems. I only had starter checks when I signed up with them but Greg insisted I send a counter check. when my real check came I faxed them my check. they said they weren't getting payment from me so all these fees accrued, but they were taking money out of my account and whenever customers used card to pay me they kept all that too. when I would call they would say they straightened it out, but they wouldn't finally tired of the run around I called again very upset because I had stopped payment and they came through in a different amount and it took it out of my bank account northern leasing representative said well I cant tell you what to do but if you close your bank account that will get their attention so I did. I sent their equipment back priority mail asap. they have been calling and sending bills and letters saying they are suing. I was supposed to get rebates from them after a year didn't get that. THEY ARE A FRAUD SCAMMING COMPANY STAY AWAY!!!
I own a restaurant in Brampton ON work over 50hrs to provide for my family. Few months ago, I regretfully...
This is a perfect storm of scam artist at work. Joseph Wilk, Northern leasing are teamed up again, but Joseph Wilk is not US Merchant Services anymore. They are now Power Payment Systems, and not On the BBB good list. WATCH OUT!!!
I got scammed, I can't belive this guy is not in jail. Where is the prosecutor's office when it comes to Joesph Wilk
Please contact me as I am getting a lawyer and defending myself and our company from this ###. [email protected] . written 9/16/2015
Everything this ### says is a lie. He is also backed up by the equipment financing company, in my case, Tiger Leasing in NYC, with his ### friend Steve Robbins, who then sells the receivable, inour case to another ### at Bryn Mawr Equipment leasing. Very sad what he does to people, demoralizing. By the way it seems so far our court system and the AG office is not much better or more like pretty useless. - David
Lew is a crook He told my I could cancel the lease with a one months notice. YA RIGHT I'm bound to a lease for four years I have
tried calling hI'm he has disconnected his phone If any one can help me find hI'm so I can file a suite THAT WOULD BE GREAT>
Northern Leasing Inc/ Lease Source Inc, took automatic withdraws from my account that would total over a thousand dollars. The amounts were taken sometimes twice in a day and sometimes daily. When I called and warned them that I would take legal action about the transactions I was not only yelled at but insulted. When I finally got out of the grips of this company they continued to take money from my account. I called again and was told that they just received the equipment, I was amazed because it had been shipped over a moth ago. One more way for them to squeeze more money out of my business. I am glad to be rid of this company and all their wrong doings!!!
Northern leasing Merchant Services Inc. In March of 2010 I was contacted by phone from a company called...
I checked my bank statement today and noticed a withdrawal of $125 from SKS Associates. I notified my bank and informed them that this withdrawal was unauthorized. They are disputing the charge. I Googled SKS Associates and come to find that they have something to do with Northern Leasing. This is the company I had leased my credit card processing machine from many years ago. I bought the machine in 2004 for $255.74 I cannot believe that SKS had the audacity to just take money out of my account without any notification whatsoever. I can see from this board that I am not the only one that's been hit by SKS.
This happened to me today. I got a debit from on my Wells Fargo Checking acct for -$95.52. I had equipment...
do not trust eric makris. he is a boldface liar. do no sign ANYTHING he gives you. he WILL steal your money...
I have read these post and it awful how they can cheat your money and drain you. If you think about it, is the equipment they leasing your REALLY worth a total of $2000, for a credit card machine. You can buy one for less than that amount "ANYWHERE." They don't care about what you do. All they can say is that you signed that contract. What contract? They won't send you one either. I see that they will still take money out no matter what. Did anyone try to take this to court? I would like to see them owe "US" money back of the loss of time and misrepresentation. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ANY AGENTS SAYING THAT IS FREE BECAUSE they are working on taking you for all you got!!
You should file a complaint with the California Attorney General Public Inquiry Unit:
Public Inquiry Unit/ Office of the Attorney General/ PO Box 944255/ Sacramento, CA 94244
ag.ca.gov/consumer/general.php
After I complained, i got a phone call and it was helpful. Law enforcement should know what is going on
PLEASE NOTE THAT UNDER THIS ACT THOSE WITHIN THESE AGENCIES ARE TO INVESTIGATE FINANCIAL CRIMES AND THIS IS A...
Seeking people to get involved in a worldwide boycott of Northern Leasing and Lease Financial Group which...
Northern Leasing Systems rip-off, dishonest, fraudulent business practices, harassments and deducts more money than the signed contract. Northern Leasing Systems finances equipment for $4, 000.00 that is worth about $400.00. The contract supposedly says that this lease can not be cancelled that is why they feel justified in charging 10 times what the equipment is worth. Sales representative filled out the application, showed me one page of a six page contract told me where to sign without giving me time to read the contract, he did not give me a copy said he would mail it to me if I was approved. They send the equipment a couple of days later and started to deduct money out of my account even though we were not scheduled to open for business until December 1, 2009.
I am having the exact same problem with Northern Leasing Systems. Please contact me asap. at [email protected] I am trying to get together with other victims of this scam so we can fight back together. Thank you.
I am having the same problem with Northern Leasing Systems. They are also trying to put a judgement on my ss#. are they crazy!!! why can't these people be stopped??? I have wrote letters to the newspapers around our area. and there are afew others here in Texas that they have scammed. What can we do??????????
I have been a victim of Northern Leasing too. I am a small company based out of Westland, Michigan. I was a new business owner and had already owned my own terminal. This guy came in and said I can get you great rates, blah blah. The next thing I knew I was signed up for a new machine for 3 years at $47.12 a month. When I realized my account was being debited I called NL and they said that there wasn't anything they could do because I signed the contract. So, I paid for 3 years. When it was at the end of the contract I noticed they were still taking money out. I called and spoke to Sam and she said that I didn't own the machine yet that I still owed another $227 buy out fee. She was very rude and I had asked to speak with a supervisor and I was told no one was available that they would contact me. I didn't hear from anyone, I tried once again and no success. I put a stop payment on my account. I hadn't heard from anyone in almost three years. Just the other day I received a letter from my bank informing me that my account was overdrawn because NL had debited $1900 out of my account. I immediately called NL and asked them why and he said because I still owed the buy out fee and they charged me $47 late charge for 33 months!!! I have done nothing but cry. I feel like I've just been violated and there is nothing I can do. One more thing to add salt to the wound. When I told this Jason Mahoney (from their legal department) that when the 2nd dispute happened as I was speaking with this Sam I let him know about how rude she was to me and that I wanted to speak with her supervisor, he said to me, "Ma'am before you go any further, I personally know Sam from customer service and I know that she is a very nice lady!"
This is the kind of people that we have to deal with.
I begged him to just take the $180 (minus $47 after the contract was supposed to be done) buy out fee and a late charge and please give me my money back or else I will be forced to close my business. His response was, "Ma'am you should have thought about that before you put a stop payment on your account!"
If anyone is reading this that can help me or give me some advice please contact me at [email protected]
Thank you and good luck to everyone involved. The only thing we have on our side now is God and Karma
Tracey L.
Westland, Michigan
I am another of the many small business victims of Northern Leasing. Two woman auto repair garage. The twist for us was that they got in the door posing as an auditor from our current processing company. He claimed they were cleaning house in an effort to lower fees and provide updated equipment. Got me to sign two contracts, never provided a copy of either. Lied about every single element. We found out about the scam when we received our first bank statement. That is when we learned we had switched companies! We closed our bank account. Filed formal complaints with the California Attorney General's Office and Federal Trade Commission. Now we are at the harassment stage, wondering how big their teeth will grow.
Nancy R.
Berkeley, California
i am leasing a atm machine from this company my payment started out at 159 per month after 2yrs it went up to 171per month when i called them about it they were very rude.they are not business friendly after the get there contract signed.my contract ends in may of this year.i will be calling them in the next couple of weeks to try and buy there atm machine at the price thats on my contract but after readind several complaints on this web page i am not sure what to expect.
My business is now in a battle with Northern Leasing...a former employee who took over the "office work" at our retail wine store got us into the contract by having my husband sign the Datalink and Northern Leasing papers without explaining what he was signing...at the time he was gravely ill - not knowing what he was signing. I have written them twice - including Dr. letters, explanation of his diminished mental capacity and that he signed the contract because he trusted the employee...she was duped...he was duped...now they want $3000. I need to file with BBB and probably sue if the matter isn't resolved. Vultures...
Anyone who would like to join forces with me against this company can contact me at [email protected]
Salesman place my name on a credit card machine lease and then forged my signature. I had no involvement with...
This is the worst company I have ever, unfortunately, had to deal with. They lie, refuse phone calls and hide...
If a default judgment has been issued against you by the New York Civil Court in favor of Northern Leasing they cannot post it as a judgment against your Credit Report until it is entered as judgment with the New York Civil Court for an additional fee of $15.00
(You can check by going to http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivilLocal/LCMain to see if they obtained a default judgment against you and then calling to see if they have a record of judgment; I doubt it since they only have TWO from 2004 listed; TWO. )
In 2004 they were granted 2900 default judgments from the new York Civil Court; at $15 an entry for judgment of record that is over $43, 000 dollars. No way is Northern Leasing going to spend that kind of money. They cannot report to the Credit Reporting Agencies it is a judgment UNTIL they enter it as a judgment of record.
The Credit Reporting Agencies have to verify with the New York Civil Court that it is a judgment of record; to not do so is a violation of the Fair Reporting Act and New York Law.
DON'T bother with Northern Leasing unless you want to have the default judgment removed; write to the CRA's and just have it removed from your credit. Don't tell Northern Leasing; they will figure it out eventually but they will not know WHO got it removed. If you tell them they can file the $15 against you and then you are stuck.
They don't have any power in this area unless they are willing to spend a lot of money.
Just have them removed from your Credit and go on with your life.
________________________________________________________________
Greetings:
My name is Hate Northern and my SS# is [protected]
I am sending this dispute Certified Mail to make sure you receive it.
There is no judgment of record # 12345 from the New York City Civil Court for this date of 07/2004 for the amount $1234 from Northern Leasing, Inc.
If this entry is verified, please send me the name and address of the provider or furnisher providing this data, and the manner in which it was provided in order that I may pursue additional legal remedies.
Very truly yours,
Hate Northern
After reading through other people's complaints regarding Northern Leasing, has anyone looked into suing this company. Our nightmare started after our credit card machine lease was up and the machine was sent back to our third party AMG, with whom set us up with Norhern leasing. We closed our business and paid what was owed to Northern Leasing and then continued to receive a bill from the company. I called regarding the bill and was told that a 30 day written notification was required at the end of the lease or we would continue being charged. I contacted the third party AMG and told them that this was ridiculous, we are not in business anymore, returned the machine to them and would not pay another cent. The representative from AMG said to send them a copy of our lease and they would handle the rest. We received a numerous amount of harassing phone calls and my husband finally intervened and much to my dismay, paid Northern Leasing another $30.99 and was promised that this would be our final payment. That was last April, well almost a year later I am still receiving bills from the company which I throw in the trash everytime I receive one. The harassing phone calls have begun again. I have told their "legal department, " that I have requested not to be called, if they call again I will record the call and send it to my lawyer. They are claiming that they did not receive their machine back until June of 2007. I told the a**hole they can take that up with AMG, the third party that initially set us up with this horrible company, the machine was returned to them long before this! Blah, blah, blah the man went on! To make matters worse, AMG is no longer in business! If anyone would like to file a law suit, we must have some rights as small business owners.
I co- signed for family and now these people are suing me for the balance of the contract 2 years + attorney fees. They took out double payments from account and lied and said they didn't, lied about being able to cancel contract, lied about refunding money they stole. They called my job daily until i said not to for i would be fired they still call all the time. I am getting a lawyer because they cannot continue to get away with this. I do not know what attorney in their right mind who would represent these criminals!
Northern Leasing Systems Inc. (NLSI) has also infected the UK.
Here they go by the name of, Forrester UK Holdings LLC. But this is just a fig leaf that enables them to trade in Britain and a useful screen that conceals their true identity from the people they target.
NLSI began their operations here after buying out the UK leasing interests of Phoenix-based Hypercom Corp, in June, 2006.
NLSI acquired as part of the deal the confidential personal and banking data of Lloyds TSB bank customers from across the UK.
Lloyds sold people their ‘Hypercom EMEA’ leasing contracts before June 2006 so they could take money off customers using the bank’s ‘Cardnet’ system.
The bank, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, continues to promote leasing facilities via its website and telesales that are leading to yet more small businesses’ personal and banking data being handed to NLSI.
Allegations are now emerging from companies across the country citing harassment from NLSI in pursuit of money the victims say is not owed.
As in the United States, problems begin when terminal lessees attempt to cancel their contracts with NLSI.
There follows the most appalling campaign of harassing and abusive telephone calls, day and night, from NLSI’s building, on West 31st Street, New York.
Faxes and letters follow by the dozen, demanding spurious sums and threatening all kinds of court action, penalties and ruin. All correspondence sent in response to NLSI by the victims is ignored.
NLSI then commissions UK-based debt collectors to pressure people into parting with the supposedly owed money. Allegations of harassment, bullying and misrepresentation against the UK debt collectors are now also rife.
Up until now the UK authorities have refused to act over what on the face of it is clearly extortion.
However, a class action in the New York courts looks set to break the dam. Attorney Krishnan Chittur, successfully argued that NSLI’s senior named managers acting in the US were guilty of systematic fraud and deception and that this activity was the ‘mainstay’ of their business.
These allegations, already underway in the New York Court of Appeal in 2004, were upheld in the Supreme Court in New York, in 2008.
Thanks to Mr. Chittur, when NLSI bought their UK leasing interests, allegations of their alleged criminal misconduct were already a matter of court record and in the public domain.
It therefore seems impossible that Lloyds TSB were unaware of the jeopardy in which their customers were being placed when NLSI acquired their leases and their confidential data.
We have certain proof that the bank knew in 2007 what was going on. And it is the case that Lloyds TSB continues to promote NLSI’s services.
It is also a fact that Lloyds Banking Group refuses point blank to warn any of its customers that their data has fallen, and continues to fall, into the hands of alleged US fraudsters.
Seemingly unrelated to any of this, the UK utility, ‘British Gas Trading Limited’, was last year found guilty on Appeal to the British High Court of Justice, of harassment against its customer, Ms. Lisa Maria Angela Ferguson.
British Gas claimed they had done nothing wrong since it was an automated device that kept sending threatening letters to Ms. Ferguson in pursuit of money she did not owe.
The judges rules otherwise.
The case set a precedent that has made NLSI’s (Forrester UK Holdings LLC) position utterly untenable. Its UK debt collectors have become equally vulnerable.
The coincidence of Mr. Chittur’s excellent work compounds NLSI’s woes by identifying them for what they allegedly are: crooks on a massive scale.
Authorities in the UK charged with upholding The Data Protection Act, who have hitherto chosen to ignore NLSI’s activities, could not continue to do so if sufficient numbers of NLSI’s victims lodged complaints.
And those charged with upholding The Protection From Harassment Act must now per force take heed of the findings in the case of Ms. Ferguson.
Lloyds Banking Group’s CEO should hang his head in shame and pray the general public does not become aware of his part in this. Indeed, an action against the bank has not been ruled out.
All those in the US suffering at the hands of NLSI should seek attachment to Mr. Chittur’s class action.
Any in the US or UK who wish an end to NLSI’s harassment and preying on small businesses should send their comments and support to [email protected] where journalists are working on resolving this issue once and for all.
NB:
(Chittur & Associates, P.C.) 286 Madison Avenue Suite 1100
New York, New York 10017. Tel: (212) 370-0447.
e-mail: "Krishnan Chittur, Esq" <[email protected]>