Here is a copy of the letter i sent to Wells Fargo CEO thru planet feedback.
Please read it and tell me how i can Begin to Protect Myself, And if i can Ever Have a Merchant Account Again....
Thank you very much in Advance...
Here is the letter:
To Whom it May Concern:
On Jan. 27 2011 We received a call from a D.L (The Sales Rep) in your Merchant Services Department. She Informed Us that Several Transactions done through our terminal was actually Fraud. We had received the Payment Gateway, Authroize.net, through Wells Fargo (the reseller) because we have an online store as well and needed payment processing. A few phone calls are traded, Since we wanted to work out a payment plan to pay back all $67,000. A few days pass and D.L informs us that We have to pay back the whole amount in 6 months, no negotiation.
This is where I NEED your Help in Solving this issue because that amount in that time frame is unreasonable to us, as a business, with the details I'm about to inform you of:
A week prior to that phone call from Merchant Services we had been in Contact with a Canadian Customer/Contractor. He told us that him, and his network of contractors, were going to be renovating some Condos there and they were going to be buying multiple large orders of mini splits (air conditioners). They place their orders for 10 mini splits and a few Diesel Generators. Everything goes through fine and those products got delivered.
They then place orders in the following days/week for 50 mini splits. Our distributor in Canada told us that before he would ship the units that we should get a copy of their driver licenses and credit cards they used on the purchase. So we had the "Customer" fax over a copy of his drivers license and Credit Cards they made for the purchases. The order goes through and before we are able to ship those items we get the call from D.L informing us that this fraud has been going on ever since the first order of the 10 mini splits and Diesel Generators.
During the few days of Phone Call exchanges She informs us that The copies of the Credit Cards I got from the "Customer" and sent to her are COMPLETELY fake, in that, even the actual credit card number on the card is fake and she called the issuing banks to make sure of this. She also informed us that she tried to run the card herself and it was giving a "declined" message. D.L then proceeds to tell me that Authorize.net's Address Verification System (a type of anit-fraud system, according to Authorize.net) doesn't "recognize" International purchases.
So in another words, Even though the address and name and credit card information was entered, because Authorize.net doesnt "recognize" international purchases it will still go through and show up under their AVS as "Matched (Y)". So nothing has to match, not even the correct Credit Card Number in order for Authorize.net to "accept" it. Yet and still these people's money still got debited from their account by using a completely false card number and $40,000+ Is put in Our Account Next Day, No questions asked from Merchant Services.
D.L then told us that We have 6 months to pay back $67,000. We told her that will not only put us out of business but on the streets as well, we were told to "go get a loan". We Said to her that this isn't possible to get because we tried months earlier to get a business Loan.
I back this whole Business with my Personal Credit. I buy products with my own money/credit. Now not only are we getting shammed by potentially having to pay back $67,000 in 6 months but now my Credit could be Potentially ruined and not be able to make ANY type of Money to survive.
We rely on Wells Fargo and Authorize.net to take the best Measures Possible to stop fraud for not only Wells Fargo but for the Merchants as well, especially if we came to you guys Asking for your Services. Authorize.net doesnt recognize international purchases? Then how are they a successful gateway and why were we NOT informed of this from someone during signup? This is an important Piece of Information that ANYONE at the start should know. Where is the customer loyalty? We do a lot of business and have used Wachovia/Wells Fargo for years both personal accounts and business accounts and when a hiccup happens for both companies this is how we get treated? Potentially living on the street from trying to run a legit business?
We are willing and have scenarios worked out to pay back the Full Amount even though $22,000 is lost in product that was already delivered and we shouldn't have to pay for the loss twice.
But we NEED our gateway back up and running. We need To be Taken off of the Match List (the list that blacklists merchants) and we need to make sure that our fees are not going to go up once the Terminal is back up and running.
Again we are willing to pay back ALL of it, but what we need from you is a little bit of understanding,some compromise and the ability to Accept Payments once again.
D.L might think $67,000 is easy to come by because she works for Wells Fargo. With a New business and something that a lot of people rely on to make a living it is unreasonable to put up that kind of money in that amount of time and still have a roof over our head.
Thank you for Your Time. I look forward to your response.
