Summit Merchant Solutions and El Chaar

Wally El Chaar is a case study in why one should not take salespeople up on “free trial” offers, even if they are in the market for the item. Take heed of his story and remember to always research a company thoroughly before making an expensive purchase or signing a long-term contract.

El Chaar had a salesman from Summit Merchant Solutions drop by his business premises in February and offered him a free 30-day trial of the company’s credit card processing system. El Chaar runs two businesses in Allentown, an auto shop and a notary company, and he knew credit card payments would be helpful for his customers, but he was wary of high processing fees.

El Chaar was frustrated and disappointed by the entire experience, from start to finish. The salesperson was unable to even properly hook up the machine due to the office having only one telephone jack. The salesperson offered to come back with a splitter to set everything up, but failed to return. El Chaar then contacted the head office of Summit Merchant Solutions, but they said they had no record of his account. After a dispute over the actual end date of the free trial, El Chaar was able to get the company to agree to take back the equipment, but only after they withdrew over $400 from his bank account to cover the cost of the equipment just in case it went missing on route. When they received the equipment back, they did not refund the full amount withdrawn.

It turns out that Summit Merchant Solutions, who also carry on business under the name First American Payment Systems, has had several complaints to the Better Business Bureau including ones for unapproved charges and misrepresenting sales terms. The company has only a D+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.