"I don't do Contracts"

Just last week I had a discussion with a small business owner about Merchant Services contracts.

She mentioned to me that she doesn't sign long term contracts anymore. We talked about that for a while and I cautioned her on that strategy.

The legal definition of contract is as follows: An agreement between two or more parties which creates obligations to do or not do the specific things that are the subject of that agreement.

So when you have no contract your processor no longer has obligations to do or not so specific things; like raise your rates or add bogus fees.

When I explained this to her she just happened to show me her copy of the contract she signed where the sales rep crossed off the term length and wrote in "no contract."

I found this interesting, but what I also found interesting were the rates that were written on the agreement:

Qualified transactions - 1.59%
Mid Qual - 1.95%
Non Qual - 1.95%

This suprised me because I had just reviewed her current statement that showed she was currently being billed:
Qualified - 1.89%
Mid Qual - 2.69%
Non Qual - 4.12%

The date on the "contract" was less than 12 months old.

Remember, when 99.9985% of the providers are resellers it is unlikely you will know as much as you think you know. Chances are whatever you agree to may sound like it will work out for you, but it won't. In fact, it will most likely turn into a big mistake.

Find someone who knows what is going on and is willing to help.

You can always contact me. My site will soon be updated with an "Ask Mike" section for you to easily access me for help.

It's time you had someone on your side!
www.MichaelJStone.com
Michael.Stone@e-hps.com
Fax: 866-477-0387