Fire Pond Pottery Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Over two years ago we wanted to accept credit cards so we signed up for a merchant account with Chase Paymentech through the Potters Council. Like many potters, we do almost all of our sales in November and December each year, so an account with a $3.50 monthly fee was perfect. The Chase Paymentech rep at the time wasn't the most responsive, so it took a while to get all of the information we needed to set up the account. The discount fees have gone up at least once each year. American Express keeps switching our account to a monthly fee plan instead of the discount fee plan, so we have to call them periodically to refund the fee and switch us back (they always do this without any problems and their customer support is fantastic, unlike the experiences we've had calling Chase Paymentech). Despite the occasional hassle, we told ourselves it was still worth it in order to offer credit card processing. Today we received a letter from Chase Paymentech they will be adding a Monthly Minimum Fee of $25 starting in February. I'll call them tomorrow to ask if they'll waive the fee. If they don't, that eliminates one of the nice membership benefits of the Potters Council. It might be time to shop around for a new credit card processing company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Carolyn has just resolved this issue with Chase Paymentech Credit Card Services. They will NOT be charging the $25 monthly fee for Potters Council members. Carolyn will be sending out an email message to Potters Council members who use this service via email later this week. She has worked hard to keep this benefit for the Potters Council Members. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Pond Pottery Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 That's great! It seems like Chase Paymentech forgets about their relationship with the Potters Council every now and then. It's nice we don't have to find a new service. Thanks for following up so quickly. Jessica and Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaurieK Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hooray for Carolyn!!!!!!! I am so happy to read this! I have had a merchant account with CP through Potters Council for a couple of years now and have noticed an increase in credit card sales over the past two years. My last big show before the holidays I had 60% of my sales by people using plastic. No checks, and only 30% cash. That astounded me. So yesterday when I got the CP letter I was quite sad about having to give up the ability to accept credit cards from customers. I do about 5 craft shows per year on average and many months go by with no credit card sales whatsoever. Even the shows with credit card sales my processing fees never get anywhere near $25 per month. So I have definitely been one of the craftspeople that the program was aimed at. And I have very much appreciated it!! Thank you again for preserving this member benefit for us!!! Sincerely, Laurie in California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mplafleur Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Over two years ago we wanted to accept credit cards so we signed up for a merchant account with Chase Paymentech through the Potters Council. Like many potters, we do almost all of our sales in November and December each year, so an account with a $3.50 monthly fee was perfect. The Chase Paymentech rep at the time wasn't the most responsive, so it took a while to get all of the information we needed to set up the account. The discount fees have gone up at least once each year. American Express keeps switching our account to a monthly fee plan instead of the discount fee plan, so we have to call them periodically to refund the fee and switch us back (they always do this without any problems and their customer support is fantastic, unlike the experiences we've had calling Chase Paymentech). Despite the occasional hassle, we told ourselves it was still worth it in order to offer credit card processing. Today we received a letter from Chase Paymentech they will be adding a Monthly Minimum Fee of $25 starting in February. I'll call them tomorrow to ask if they'll waive the fee. If they don't, that eliminates one of the nice membership benefits of the Potters Council. It might be time to shop around for a new credit card processing company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mplafleur Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have been very happy with paymentech. After the new $25/month fee I called. Everyone I spoke to was sympathetic and very polite, but the $25 is new company policy and there was nothing they could do. I canceled....Now I need a new credit card company...any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have been very happy with paymentech. After the new $25/month fee I called. Everyone I spoke to was sympathetic and very polite, but the $25 is new company policy and there was nothing they could do. I canceled....Now I need a new credit card company...any ideas? mplafleur, If you read Marcia's earlier post, Carolyn Dorr was able to reverse the problem with Chase Paymentech. Looks like you can go back if you want! Mea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayimpressions Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have been very happy with paymentech. After the new $25/month fee I called. Everyone I spoke to was sympathetic and very polite, but the $25 is new company policy and there was nothing they could do. I canceled....Now I need a new credit card company...any ideas? mplafleur, If you read Marcia's earlier post, Carolyn Dorr was able to reverse the problem with Chase Paymentech. Looks like you can go back if you want! Mea I called today Chase PT today, the 27th and spoke to Ann, who transferred me to several people who did not know about the waiving of the fee, I was told everyone would be paying it. The person who could answer definitively, the administrator of the groups, was away until Monday the 31st. They promised a call back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Dorr Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Please call the following at Chase Paymentech: Jennifer Estrada at: 214.849.3308 Jennifer is our account manager and is the best person to contact to sign-up, if you have questions about your account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaurieK Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Please call the following at Chase Paymentech: Jennifer Estrada at: 214.849.3308 Jennifer is our account manager and is the best person to contact to sign-up, if you have questions about your account. I just received my February statement from Chase Paymentech today and the $25 fee is on it. I called them and was told that it is indeed a new fee and will be assessed every month. I then called and left a message with Jennifer Estrada to confirm whether this is true for us. If it is, of course I will drop them immediately. I will post when I hear back from her. What has everyone else done? People keep asking me about this great PC benefit and I need to tell them if it is $3.50 per month or the new $28.50 per month. If the latter it's not such a deal anymore. Laurie in California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 If you read the rest of the posts you will see that the problem has been fixed since January. The lower rate is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Dorr Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Laurie in Cali, Good Morning! I have a call into Chase Paymentech. Once I hear back from them I will post here. If you private message me with your email I will contact you directly with the news as well. Disappointed that they did not follow through with their promises. I will work swiftly to resolve this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Pond Pottery Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 I just received my February statement from Chase Paymentech today and the $25 fee is on it. I called them and was told that it is indeed a new fee and will be assessed every month. I then called and left a message with Jennifer Estrada to confirm whether this is true for us. If it is, of course I will drop them immediately. I will post when I hear back from her. What has everyone else done? People keep asking me about this great PC benefit and I need to tell them if it is $3.50 per month or the new $28.50 per month. If the latter it's not such a deal anymore. Laurie in California We just got our February statement, too. It only shows the $3.50 fee, so it looks like they took care of this for some of us. We didn't have any activity in February, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Dorr Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Larry, Thanks for letting me know... that is helpful. When I talk with them I will let them know that I did receive a note from a member who account was not charged... Can you private email me your full name and business name so I can refer to your account? You can private email here or send to cdorr@ceramics.org. Thanks so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaurieK Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Larry, Thanks for letting me know... that is helpful. When I talk with them I will let them know that I did receive a note from a member who account was not charged... Can you private email me your full name and business name so I can refer to your account? You can private email here or send to cdorr@ceramics.org. Thanks so much Hi Carolyn and Everyone, I called Jennifer Estrada who had me call Cord Wilson, who actually administers our account. He explained to me that due to record-keeping issues on their part (apparently different salespeople over the past few years have recorded whether we were Potters Council or not differently at different times) that they had not been able to correct all of the Potters Council member accounts and that these were still showing up on some members' statements as being charged the minimum account fee. I guess most people were sent the correct monthly fees for February but a few, like me, slipped through the cracks and were charged $28.50 for February. Mr. Wilson assured me that my account has now been corrected and i will be refunded the $25.00 fee. If this happens to anyone else, they need to phone Cord Wilson directly at Chase Paymentech. His phone number is 214-849-3510. They are on Central Time, so you need to try to catch him during regular business hours. Thanks, Laurie in California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Dorr Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Laurie, I just arrived at work, and had the message in my inbox from Jennifer... So thanks for posting this last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaurieK Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Laurie, I just arrived at work, and had the message in my inbox from Jennifer... So thanks for posting this last night. Hi Carolyn, I just wanted to report that my bank account was credited with the $25 fee refund yesterday. Thank you for taking care of this wonderful membership benefit for us! Laurie in California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Dorr Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Your welcome Laurie... It is an important benefit... Have a great day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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