in April 2008, my business partner and myself went through Citizen's National Bank, the bank that our business account was in, to get a credit card terminal through Nova (Elavon) for our small new business. We were told by the representative that we could not purchase the terminal, but only lease it with the option to purchase it after a year. The lease was for 2 years and at the end of the lease we could keep it and pay nothing more. Upon receiving all paperwork, I took the paper work to our attorney to look it over. We signed a 2 year lease @ $47.73 a month. Also we signed an agreement with Nova, saying that we would pay $43.79 per month for any transaction during any month and no payment for any month we did not have a transaction. Near the end of the first year of the lease I opt to purchase the terminal and called to do so. I learned that this lease was for 3 years. I did not sign a three year lease.
In May 2009, my partner and I closed the business, so I could be in business by myself. I therefore changed the name of the business and opened a new account. I called the both Elavon ( Nova changed their name to Elavon) and Ladco and had the paperwork changed to the new name and new account. Ladco took 2 months rent on terminal in May and then in August took 2 more. By then this was 6 months that they took out of this account, eventhough, they had deducted June and July.
I did not use the ternimal again after September, Elavon continued to take $10.00 from my dwindling business account. Ladco continued to take their money out. (In August I bought a manual credit card terminal from a different company that Elavon used. It is still in the box it came in.)
Now in March, 2010, I closed my business checking because I no longer had a business. I was forced out of business by the economy. In April, I kept getting these emails from LADCO, saying I need to pay for the terminal. I called thenumebr and ask if I could just return the machine and not pay the lease. That was good and fine. They even sent me a return shipping label. Then on April 28, I get a call from this company telling me that my lease was for 4 years and I need to pay it. I also was told that I would only get $150.00 credit off my lease, but I still owed $1470.00 on the lease. This would be 9.3 times the cost of the terminal that the manufacture sells for $269.00. I already paid over 2 years plus the 2 months they took illegally from my account in May 2009 and then in August 2009 causing an overdraft in each instance. Now they still want to charge me more? I am trying to force them to send me billing statements and or a collection letter. They said that they nor Elavon sends out statements, but that is a lie.
Now this gets better. I asked the man how he got my personal home phone number, which I had not given out. He told me they hired a private detective. The very next day, April 29, this private detective called my home and proceeded to talk to my minor son to obtain information on my former business partner. This is against Ladco's privacy policies. They hired a person to represent them to find information on me and my former business partner and talked to a minor, which is against the law in all the United States. I intend to sue over this incident alone.
I would like to join a class action suit against Ladco and Elavon if any is going on. I am sending letters out this week to make formal complaints.
I will turn over any information that I have including the terminal and return letter that was sent to me to return the terminal.