on 3/26/18 to correct a misspelling of Scott Talbott's name.Comprehensive Merchant Services for Simple or Complex Needs The legislation has already won approval in the Vermont Senate and is now awaiting action from the House. “We didn’t find … that anyone was saving any money on the processing,” Soucy says. Soucy says the evidence does not bear that out. The Electronic Transaction Association says in some cases, merchants are paying high monthly leases for equipment, in exchange for lower processing fees on transactions. Soucy, however, says the stories his committee heard from small business owners convinced him the state needs stricter regulations. Dave Soucy, a Republican who co-sponsored the point-of-sale legislation, says he generally that “we don’t need the government to be entering into business transactions.”
“When the government gets involved with setting the terms of a private contract, bad things happen,” Talbott says. Scott Talbott is with the Electronic Transactions Association in Washington, D.C., a trade group that represents more than 500 companies involved in the credit card services industry, including First Data, which did not return a media inquiry. Not everyone is a fan of the legislation.
"When the government gets involved with setting the terms of a private contract, bad things happen." - Scott Talbott, Electronic Transactions Association Clark says that provision would give business owners a chance to see the first month’s bill, before deciding whether they want to proceed. The legislation would also let business owners cancel those agreements within 45 days of signing the contract. “The worst most egregious example I’ve seen is a piece of equipment that when I Googled it, it looked like it was in that range, $300-$500, and the consumer would have paid $6,200 over the course of four years,” Clark says.Īnd a consumer protection bill introduced earlier this year would impose new limits on how much merchants could be forced to pay over the term of their lease. Clark says the lease arrangements for the credit card terminals, which generally run for four years, are in some cases “unconscionable.” The Attorney General’s Office office has fielded nearly 50 complaints related to credit card processing and equipment leases in recent years. "The worst most egregious example I've seen is a piece of equipment that when I Googled it, it looked like it was in that range, $300-$500, and the consumer would have paid $6,200 over the course of four years." - Charity Clark, Assistant Attorney GeneralĪssistant Attorney General Charity Clark, who specializes in consumer protection cases, says these point-of-sale equipment leases “are the topic of the most common complaints our office receives from business consumers.” It was a decision she quickly came to regret.
“At first I said, ‘No,’ because I’d had lots of customer service problems with them anyway, but they wore me down, I said, ‘Okay,’” Youngman says So when she got a cold call last year from the company that does her credit card processing, promising her a better deal on equipment and fees, Youngman decided to give it a try. “I worked in a bank for 22 years and I never carried cash.” “Most people don’t carry cash anymore, myself included,” Youngman says. Lee says customers usually pay with a debit or credit card: Youngman’s cozy shop in downtown Montpelier is a knitter’s paradise, stocked with enough skeins to match just about any color palette. Lee Youngman, who owns and operates a knitting-supply store, is one of the small business owners whose story has prompted legislative action. At the same time processing credit card transactions generally requires upfront investments in the necessary equipment.Īccording to the Attorney General’s Office, some of the companies that lease that equipment aren't treating small business owners fairly, and some lawmakers say it’s time to intervene. Vermont lawmakers are considering new regulations on the credit card processing industry after a spate of complaints to the Attorney General’s Office.įor most small businesses in Vermont, being "cash only" is no longer practical.
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