| Frequently Asked Questions.? |
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| Q: Is it true that my credit card
company has the right to take all of my money out of my business checking
account at any time without notifying me.? |
| A: Yes, Unfortunately the credit card companies have
unlimited resources. They were able to lobby congress to pass laws
that allow them to do things like this. We believe the ability to
lawfully empty your bank account and hold your money for a minimum
of six months, without any court action at all, is unconstitutional.
When we get enough resources we plan to fight congress to have this
ability taken away from the credit card companies. |
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| Q: Is it true that my credit card
company has the right to choose not to deposit sales my company
charges to my customers' credit card.? |
| A: Yes, At any point your credit card company could
choose to stop depositing funds into your account for any sales you
have charged to any of your customers credit cards and hold the
money for a minimum of six months without notifying you. The credit
card companies will also refuse to return the money to your
customer. We believe that if the credit card companies are going to
maintain the right to hold funds from a business, that in this event,
the credit card companies should be required to give the money back
to the customer. The American Merchant Union intends to fight
congress on this issue as well, once we have enough support from
American businesses. |
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| Q: Who makes these policies as well as
the laws that allow the credit card companies so much power over my
company.? |
| A: The credit card companies themselves write these
policies and then lobby congress to get it converted into law. We
believe that there is a strong need for a voice in congress that
speaks strictly for the average American business and we intend on
being that voice. |
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| Q: Is it true that my customer can call
their credit card company and request their money be returned to
them, even a year after the purchase and they just get their money
back.? |
| A: Yes, It is true that your customers can get their
money back even a year after their purchase and yes the money is
then taken out of your bank account. The American Merchant Union
believes this is simply not right. We believe in protecting the
American consumer, however, we believe this is going way beyond that.
The American Merchant Union believes that the single leading cause
of the collapse of small American businesses is due to the
unconstitutional laws and policies of the credit card companies.? |
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| Q: Are the credit card companies
required to tell people about the fact they have the power to do
these things.? |
| A: No, the credit card companies are not required to
explain any of this. However, you might find some language of this in
the more then 300 page (extremely fine) print contract you signed when your
company began accepting credit cards. That is why over 99% of the
companies in America are not aware of the power that the credit card
companies hold over their business. |
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| Q: Is it true that my customers can
receive a full refund for a product, service, or piece of equipment,
they purchased from me a year ago or more without even returning it
and the money will be taken out of my business account.? |
| A: Yes, it is true that your customers can simply pick up
the phone even a year after they purchased something from you and
get there money back without returning it and yes, the money is taken
out of your business checking account. Oh, and remember this item
the customer purchased from you could be of any value $10,000. -
$20,000. or more and you are out the money and the item. We have
investigated this extensively and found that some credit card
companies will even give you false information saying this can only
be done within three months, 6 months or even 9 months from the date
of purchase and some will even say the item has to be returned. The
Truth: your customer can do this a year later and no, your customer
is not required to return the item, goods, merchandise or service.
The American Merchant Union believes this policy is simply not right
and we intend on lobbying congress to fight this policy when we get
enough support. |
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| Q: Can I file a lawsuit against my
customer for not returning the product they received a refund for.? |
| A: Yes, however this can be very costly as every company
has to be represented by a attorney and consumers can defend
themselves without hiring an attorney. Then even if you do manage
to get a judgment. Collecting the money from the customer can be even
more challenging. Remember all the customer had to do was pick up
the phone. |
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| Q: How do I refund my customer in the
event the credit card companies froze my account.? |
| A: This is a very good question because due to the heavy
handed policies of the credit card companies there is no good
answer. Most all contracts state that you agree to only refund a
customer by issuing a credit to their credit card. Well, if they
froze your account then you are unable to. Even if you call them,
they will refuse to credit the customer. Now here is where it gets
real tricky. Lets say you decide to just write the customer a check, even though your customer received a refund from you by check,
they can still call their credit card company and get their money
back a second time through them. (Does This Happen?) Absolutely! Just
recently a member was in this exact situation. They chose to send
the customer a refund check and one month after the customer cashed
the refund check they called their credit card company and received
a second refund from them as well. Okay, let's just decide to never
send a refund check in this situation. Well that does not work out
very well either. Because you then have to advise your customer to
call their credit card company and when they do it looks derogatory
against you as a business. Not only that, let's say you have been
waiting five months for the credit card company to release your
money they have had on hold, as soon as your customer calls their
credit card company, the credit card company that has been holding
your money for five months gets to start the clock all over again
and your company has to start waiting all over again. Oh, by the way,
the company or member we mentioned earlier, that was put in this
situation and sent their customer a check only to have the money
come out of their account a second time. You should know the company had done
nothing to cause the credit card company to take action and freeze
their funds. They had received absolutely no complaints and
absolutely no charge backs. None. This means that if a credit card
company needs money all they have to do is freeze yours. They do not
even need a reason.
Help
us do something about this.! |
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| Q: Is it true that my company could be
charged a large fee just to respond regarding one of our customer
requesting their money back from their credit card company.? |
| A: Yes, this is a relatively new policy that the credit
card industry is adopting. The American Merchant Union believes that
the credit card industry is simply out of control and is the single
leading cause of the collapse of the American economy. How does a
small business stand a chance with these policies, especially if that
business is attacked by the credit card companies.? |
