Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/14/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We get calls from SBGA weekly. Ive asked every person who has called from the company to stop calling us, and we still continue to receive these calls. I keep having to step away from clients to tell these people to stop bothering us. We would like to stop being harassed with phone calls.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2025

  We have reviewed the posters concern and have added the number provided to our internal Do Not Call list. We thank the poster for bring this to our attention and wish them well with their business.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/06/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I filed a complaint against SBGA after they failed to remove my other business (The Viv Bioactive) from their scam phone call list after MANY requests to do so. Today, they called a different business I won that completely unassociated with that complaint THREE times (11:05am, 11:36am, and 12:46pm). When told that they absolutely must take both business's contact information off their call lists, they responded that filing the complaint with BBB gave them the right to reach out. This is complete ********. This company is absolutely horrible. They have to stop contacting both of my businesses. It is appalling that so many complaints on BBB center around their straight up harassment of businesses and lies about being affiliated with Clover. There has to be a way to shut them down, not just file complaints with BBB, which obviously doesn't deter them from continuing their bad business practices.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/06/2025

  This is NOT a duplicate complaint! This is a new complaint regarding brand new harassment of a totally different company. SBGA has not responded to the complaint against them for continued communication with The Viv Bioactive after numerous requests to be removed their calling list. Now they have decided to start calling over and over and over again to a DIFFERENT company that I also own. This is a brand new complaint against them for harassment of a totally different company. You closing the complaint is unfounded. It should be reopened and SBGA should have to respond that complaint. BOTH complaints are valid and are for separate companies.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/07/2025

  The business they have decided to start calling that is totally separate from The Viv Bioactive and located in a city 2.5 hours away is 41 ************* The phone number is ************. The only connection is that I own both businesses. They have never been given permission to call 41 ************, let alone call it over and over and over.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/08/2025

  Thanks for forwarding this to our attention.
  
  This is a duplicate posting to #********.  
  
  When we received posting #********, it was regarding a Do Not Call list request.    The call back number provided by the poster on posting #******** was a cell phone number; it is not the number associated with her business.   We simply did not know what business phone number she actually wanted blocked.
  
  We wanted to satisfy the posters request to have the business phone number blocked.   We had a senior manager call the number she provided to 1) offer our apologies since she was frustrated, and 2) ask for the business numbers she wanted blocked.  
  
  This follow-up posting is criticizing us for calling her to ask for the business phone number that she did not provide.
  
  We could not honor her do not call request unless we secured the business phone number; we called the only number the poster provided; we should not receive a second complaint posting for doing the steps to actually resolve the concern in the first posting.
  
  These two postings should be treated as one in the same.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

  I 100% disagree with this "response". SBGA was never given permission to call the BUSINESS number for 41 ************, let alone call it multiple times over and over that morning. Seriously? A quick ****** of the phone number and business name they called over and over and over again would clearly show that it is not a cell number. That is a business phone number and is answered as a business. It is not a personal phone number. SBGA absolutely should receive multiple complaints. They could have also googled the phone number for The Viv Bioactive, the name of the business clearly identified in the first complaint, to obtain that phone number and do a search of their records that way. They never once apologized when they were calling 41 ************* They insisted over and over that they were given the phone number and that they had the right to call. It is clear from the NUMEROUS complaints across BBB, Yelp, Glass Door, Indeed, Reddit and other websites that calling businesses repetitively AND after they have requested to be taken off their calling list is simply their MO. They decided to take that same posture with their calls to 41 ************ and it will not be tolerated. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/10/2025

   
  Complaint: 22774673
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I 100% disagree with this "response". SBGA was never given permission to call the BUSINESS number for 41 ************, let alone call it multiple times over and over that morning. Seriously? A quick ****** of the phone number and business name they called over and over and over again would clearly show that it is not a cell number. That is a business phone number and is answered as a business. It is not a personal phone number. SBGA absolutely should receive multiple complaints. They could have also googled the phone number for The Viv Bioactive, the name of the business clearly identified in the first complaint, to obtain that phone number and do a search of their records that way. They never once apologized when they were calling 41 ************* They insisted over and over that they were given the phone number and that they had the right to call. It is clear from the NUMEROUS complaints across BBB, Yelp, Glass Door, Indeed, Reddit and other websites that calling businesses repetitively AND after they have requested to be taken off their calling list is simply their MO. They decided to take that same posture with their calls to 41 ************ and it will not be tolerated. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2025

  We follow the BBBs outlined resolution process which is to contact the party with the concern and resolve the matter.   It is what we took steps to do in this matter, in under 24 hours after receiving the posting.
  
  If a poster lodges a concern, the following steps occur:
  
  1) We contact the party to let them know that their concern came to our attention and we are working to resolve it
  
  2) We hear out their concern along with any background information
  
  *In cases where there is merit to the concern, or it reflects a basic and resolvable disagreement or misunderstanding, we offer an apology for the issue and work with the caller to resolve the matter
  
  *In cases where we do not find a problem (e.g. a reported error on a bill that turns out to be a legitimate cost) we outline our findings with the customer to educate them on the matter
  
  In the case of this posting, we called the phone number provided to the BBB by the poster to initiate our resolution process. 
  
  The timing of those calls - to the posters provided callback number the day immediately following the day the posting reached us simply reflect that resolution process that weve outlined here.
  
  The original posting did not contain the business name nor the business phone number that was being requested for a block.  This created some concern that some but not all numbers would be blocked.   This was the primary reason for contacting the poster.   In the absence of cooperation there, we instead conducted a stand-alone assessment, identified the likely business name and a phone number from public data, and have placed that located number on our do not call list.   We believe this will effectively address the request not to call the number in the future.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Small Business Growth Alliance has called MANY times. They say they are with Clover and that they are trying to help us lower our fees. We have all asked them multiple times to stop calling. We spoke with them on December 18, 2024 and told them if they ever called again we would report them every place that we could. Today, January 2, 2025, they called again. ***** gave a call back number of ************ and repeated the complete BS sales pitch that she is with Clover and can help us lower our fees.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/08/2025

  Thanks for forwarding for our review.
  
  At the core of this posting is a Do Not Call request.  
  
  There was impartial information on the posting which initially hampered our ability to research.   The phone number provided was impartial (listing only 6, not 7 digits) and did not correspond to any business in that state that we had contacted.
  
  Through further research using the email domain, we were able to extrapolate the likely business phone number.  We believe, from our internal research, that we have added the business phone number linked to this posting to our Do Not Call list.   We also called the poster directly, in an effort to confirm that we had blocked the proper number (and to determine if there were other public facing numbers with that business that should also be blocked) but were not able to get assistance.
  
  We do work with the *** devices used by the company, and we are positioned with the ability to reduce the pricing that the business is currently paying.   We can see, from the length of calls, that they were short and had not yet advanced into a pricing discussion where we could do a deep dive into the cost reductions referenced at the start of the call the business expressed disinterest in considering our services/pricing within the first minute before we were able to reach any sort of detailed pricing presentation.
  
  At this point, we believe from our research that we have identified the number in question and we have placed that number on our Do Not Call list.   This should meet the needs of the request.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

  SBGA clearly doesnt know what impartial means. Did they mean partial? If so, the opening paragraph to their response is nearly unintelligible. There are not partial phone numbers provided in the complaint. The only phone number provided in the complaint is the phone number THEY CALLED FROM. The only other phone number attached to the complaint is a daytime phone number for a totally different company that they then used and called over and over and over. They obviously had the whole number for that so theres zero basis for their impartial(or rather partial) information response.
  
  We have contacted Clover and they deny that SBGA works with them. They are a COMPETITOR to Clover. They try to steal Clovers clients. I wouldnt be surprised if there will be more complaints resulting from Clovers knowledge that SBGA is claiming to be associated with them in any way.
  
  If SBGA has the ability to see how short the MANY phone calls with The Viv Bioactive were, this is further proof that they were told multiple times that they were not to call us anymore and refused to comply with those requests. My call with them on December 18th was VERY VERY clear that they were not to contact The Viv Bioactive ever again. They called again on January 2nd,resulting in this complaint.
  
  We will be monitoring both The Viv Bioactives and 41 Realty Groups phone number closely to ensure there is no further contact from SBGA. Hopefully it is abundantly clear at this point that they harassed the wrong companies. I feel badly for the companies that they are still harassing and lying to.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/10/2025

  We don't want to change our rebuttal. In fact, this make it even worse from our standpoint. This means that they did an online search to find the remaining digit, knew full well that that was a business number they were calling, knew that that business was no where in their system, and then STILL proceeded to call it THREE times. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/13/2025

   
  Complaint: 22759423
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  SBGA clearly doesnt know what impartial means. Did they mean partial? If so, the opening paragraph to their response is nearly unintelligible. There are not partial phone numbers provided in the complaint. The only phone number provided in the complaint is the phone number THEY CALLED FROM. The only other phone number attached to the complaint is a daytime phone number for a totally different company that they then used and called over and over and over. They obviously had the whole number for that so theres zero basis for their impartial (or rather partial) information response.
  
  We have contacted Clover and they deny that SBGA works with them. They are a COMPETITOR to Clover. They try to steal Clovers clients. I wouldnt be surprised if there will be more complaints resulting from Clovers knowledge that SBGA is claiming to be associated with them in any way.
  
  If SBGA has the ability to see how short the MANY phone calls with The Viv Bioactive were, this is further proof that they were told multiple times that they were not to call us anymore and refused to comply with those requests. My call with them on December 18th was VERY VERY clear that they were not to contact The Viv Bioactive ever again. They called again on January 2nd, resulting in this complaint.
  
  We will be monitoring both The Viv Bioactives and 41 Realty Groups phone number closely to ensure there is no further contact from SBGA. Hopefully it is abundantly clear at this point that they harassed the wrong companies. I feel badly for the companies that they are still harassing and lying to.

  From the CONSUMER:

  Sent 1/10/2025 5:21:37 PM

  We don't want to change our rebuttal. In fact, this make it even worse from our standpoint. This means that they did an online search to find the remaining digit, knew full well that that was a business number they were calling, knew that that business was no where in their system, and then STILL proceeded to call it THREE times. 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2025

  We returned a copy of this individuals correspondence sent to us by BBB back to BBB to show them that the number we called was the one that was provided by this poster.
  
  As noted, our calls to this number were part of our mitigation efforts.   If/when we receive a concern, we have a senior member of management call the poster to 1) give them confidence that we are acting on their request, 2) collect any needed information (phone number, etc.)and 3) provide our apologies for any inconvenience caused.   Our calls placed to that number were only by an executive attempting to reach the poster, and were not any form of sales activity.
  
  The POS system under discussion is the name of both a company, as well as the Companys hardware/software program.   The statement here is inaccurate - we are authorized to sell and distribute the hardware/software bundle in the marketplace.  
  
  There is no function here of stealing clients we secure most clients by offering them lower pricing than they are currently paying.  The pricing programs we offer are usually less expensive than our competitors and drive a net cost reduction for entities switching to us they are real,appropriate, and what we activate with new customers.   They make a ********************** decision to switch to us to save money.   We often generate annualized cost reductions in the thousands, and can at times drive cost offsets in the 40-50% net expense range for a business.   Businesses respond well, and will switch, for cost savings.  
  
  As noted earlier, we have updated our do not call system with the business numbers associated with this poster which we were able to secure from our independent research.    This should meet the posters initial request.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My business continues to be inundated with telemarketing sales calls from Small Business Growth Alliance despite our phone number being on the Federal Do Not Call Registry. When I tell them we are on the do not call list and to please remove us from their call list, they always defend calling by saying that they do not work from a list, so therefore they cannot remove our number. SBGA calls are both disruptive to my business and abusive. They are also violating federal law/regulation.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/17/2025

  We contact businesses that are actively listed in online Yellow Pages directories to request a business meeting to present our products and services.
  
  We have added the number provided by this customer to our internal Do Not Call list.   This will address the request from the business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/12/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  SBGA calls several times a week. Every day almost and sometimes multiple times a day. They outright lie about their partnership with clover. They are a third party reseller and they claim to be working directly with them. They want me to pay more to them to switch to them when I am directly with Clover. I ask everytime to stop calling me that I am not interested. They continue to call and outright lie about who they are. There is no software update from Clover. I spoke directly with my Clover *** and they confirmed this.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/26/2024

  Thank you for forwarding this concern to our attention.
  
  Some of the sales techniques are described are partially accurate, but they are not done with the intent that is suggested.  We are an authorized distributor of Clover we are experts at setting up integrated Clover hardware and supporting software and we openly talk about that.   In cases where a business is using a Clover this often instills confidence in them that they are working with a firm that has a deep understanding of the system and how to properly integrate various software services.   
  
  As part of our sales process, we do explain new pricing structures available to them that can offset/pass-through costs at a micro level to consumers purchasing products from their business and we encourage prospective customers to switch over to the pricing plans and software that we use.  That does require the updating of software and sometimes hardware to support that type of technology.   That is all accurate and we openly share that information.  
  
  We have updated our records and have added this business to our do not call list.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/15/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was pressured by this company into signing a contract/lease. I was told charges would be lower, and my previous merchant accounts would be paid off, I would no longer have multiple charges from different merchants, however they lied and my merchant account is still charging me. They tell me my contract is non-cancellable. I am so frustrated and angry with this company for lying and digging me in a deeper hole.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/22/2024

  This unfortunately is a post mistakenly assigned it pertains to the actions taken by this posters former service providers not by our company.

  We contacted the poster, discussed her concerns, and learned that her post was driven by misleading statements from her prior service provider in attempt to retain her account.  We were able to demonstrate to her that their claims were false. 
  

  When we first contacted the poster in June of 2024 to offer our services at a lower cost - which we successfully provided we discovered that she had multiple open accounts with her former providers.
  During our assessment, we noted that she had a processing account with her current provider, a non-cancelable lease with a third party, and a second dormant processing account from a previous provider (where she was still paying monthly dormancy fees), and that account was also coupled with another lease from another third party, for equipment she was no longer using.
  

  We worked with the poster to untangle this complicated situation. We successfully closed both non-cancelable leases by paying nearly $7,000.00 on her behalf.  With respect to the open/dormant older processing accounts the governing contracts require the account holder to reach out to their provider directly to request the account closure (we are not permitted to do it on her behalf).  We provided her with all the information she needed to contact both her current and her previous providers to request account closure.
  

  She then contacted both processing providers in June of 2024 to request account closures. Her previous provider promptly closed her account, but to her surprise, her current provider failed to do so and continued to bill her monthly. When she contacted them again to inquire why they were still charging her, they misled her implying that her leases were still open, while attempting to convince her to return to their services.  We have the cancelled checks that we issued to the leasing company they were not telling her the truth.
  

  This confusion unfortunately led her to write this post, driven by the misinformation they had provided.
  

  In reality, we had already closed her previous non-cancellable leases, as committed, by paying nearly $7,000.00 on her behalf, and assisted her with the information she needed to contact her processing providers to request the closure of the accounts. The poster has since confirmed and committed to contact her current provider that failed to close her processing account to demand account closure.  
  

  In summary this post is misplaced, and is focused on the actions of her prior vendors.  Those providers were clearly attempting to make it difficult for her to close her accounts and pay her early termination fee. We, in contrast, assisted her in resolving those outstanding issues and provided her with the customer service she was entitled to.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/22/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  Thank you for all of your help and confirmation 
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On five separate occasions my business was contacted by SBGA, these all were after I acknowledged to them to NEVER contact my business again. SBGA is using false claims and deceptive practices while telling me and my employees they represent Clover and my Credit processing bank (************* card) and they wanted to update my account with new fees. This is a fraudulent use of marketing by misrepresentation and I have also filed a consumer protection complaint with the ******************************** as of 8/21/24. If SBGA contacts my business again I will file a lawsuit against them and seek monetary damages.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2024

  Thank you for forwarding this concern to our attention.
  
  We do contact businesses to ask for the opportunity for a business appointment, and do have third party teams provide us with appointments and leads.   We have taken steps to have this business placed on a list of prospective clients that we do not call.
  
  Some of the sales techniques are described are partially accurate, but they are not done with the intent that is suggested.  We are an authorized distributor of Clover we are experts at setting up integrated Clover hardware and supporting software and we openly talk about that.   In cases where a business is using a Clover this often instills confidence in them that they are working with a firm that has a deep understanding of the system and how to properly integrate various software services.   As part of our sales process, we do explain new pricing structures available to them that can offset/pass-through costs at a micro level to consumers purchasing products from their business and we encourage prospective customers to switch over to the pricing plans and software that we use.  That does require the updating of software and sometimes hardware to support that type of technology.   That is all accurate and we openly share that information.   We at times can also see that they are using hardware that we know will connect with and work with that software in instances where we know the hardware is in place, we inform them of the speed with which we can activate the service.   There is nothing inappropriate about this process, nor are we sharing inaccurate information.   We also have no access what so ever to information about the banks that businesses use that is confidential information that we would not be able to discover and by extension theres no accuracy to a statement that we state that we are working with a bankbecause we would have no idea who that bank would be.
  
  Returning to the do not call request, we have updated our records and have added this business to our do not call list.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/22/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a call from a salesman Names *****. During our call he convinced me he was saving me a bunch of money if I switched to his company. I was told the cancellation fee would be $490 if I decided to cancel. After signing all of the paper work I noticed a charge for $1100 from a bank. I called the bank and they said that was a leasing fee for the next 48 months. I did not know I was doing business with another bank. I was lied to and scammed into this deal. I was told the equipment was free as long as I used there services. SBGA also falsified documents to Mastercard stating they were saving me money which was a false statement. I was charged 4% of my total sales in June and paid over $2000 for one month to the bank. I would like credit for the $2000 I paid to the bank since I was scammed into the deal, I would also like my contract ended with no additional fees including restocking fee. SBGA is scamming businesses all over and this need to stop.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  Unfortunately, the statements listed in this posting are false and are refuted both by eSignature documents and voice audio recordings.
  
  In fact this customers former service provider who originally lost the account to us returned to offer a lower price package and further provided this individual with talking points in an effort to assist him with exiting contracts without any closeout obligations.
  
  We present our product pricing proposals to all customers outlining the cost that the ********************** would pay if they were using us in written format prior to activating any relationship.   This is done through an eSignature tool all of the documents are provided upfront, the customer has the ability to review them, they clearly state all of the pricing elements in large font and if the customer accepts our proposal, then they execute the agreements.
  
  Several weeks later, before we install and activate the customer, we conduct a recorded ***************** call where we again recap the key price points in the contract, as well as key contract terms, confirm on the recording that the customer both understands the obligations and wants to approve activation and we then activate the relationship.
  
  This customer was not told that the equipment is free. This customer was told that the equipment was included as part of the packaged pricing that was presented to him.   Your net price to use our service is $867.87, inclusive of equipment.   Equipment is included as part of our package is a normal and routine combination offered to customers.
  
  After you forwarded this post to our attention, we contacted the customer and offered to provide him with his contracts and to listen to the audio recordings we created during our ***************** discussions in an effort to remind him, with audio proof, that we clearly and openly reviewed all of the pricing components of the package as well as the length of contracts and terms and conditions.   He refused to review them with us because they would prove, in his own words, that his claims here are intentionally false and misleading.  
  
  His former provider re-approached him and offered to undercut our pricing to win back his business.   He has a right to consider an offer like that, and he can further move to that offer so long as he closes out his contracts with his current provider.   But instead,at the coaching of his former provider, he forwards false claims refuted by audio recordings of his own voice in an effort to create pressure to be released from contractual obligations and duck responsibility for the equipment which he has used to operate his business and which has since diminished in value.
  
  We find no wrongdoing in this situation.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/25/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  For nearly two years, this company has contacted me ruthlessly... at least 50 times. Each time it is a different person though each has a similar pitch. I have requested to be placed on their internal Do-Not-Call list on three separate occasions with three separate people. What they explicitly share and tell you is half-true bordering on fraudulently false. I am not saying this as one of the hundreds who have signed these agreements and came to regret it, I am saying this as a business that chose not to do business with them because I find their business terms, their treatment of customers, their contract structures, and even their name to be wholly unfair and misleading. They call claiming to be calling FROM FISERV on a mission to help its customers pay less in fees; lie. On more than 5 occasions an employee/contractor has claimed to be calling me FROM FISERV, including yesterday and the day prior. They say you will get a number of apps free with them but they fail to explain the service level included is already included, free for everyone (Integrations, HomeBase). They claim their service comes with new equipment and they fail to mention it doesn't, they have just created a blanket financing agreement for it and you are on the hook for equipment you don't own. You don't even get to look at the agreement until the sales process is complete and the close of the sale process is assumed. And I never even agreed to the sale, this is just what the start of the business relationship looks like. I am going to be sending longer format questions and concerns to the State of Delaware, Secretary of State in ******, and Attorney Generals for those States in addition to ************. Your sales teams do not reflect a healthy culture. You operate by fraudulent inducement. You prey on people who will be too embarrassed to pursue and lack the funds to afford justice. Read GlassDoor, check Reddit, read BBB.. bad operators. Call your State AG.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/27/2024

  Thank you for forwarding this concern to our attention.
  

  There are two segments in this submission a request around do not call status, and commentary around business practices.
  We also strongly question what the true identity of the poster is the contact information provided does not, after a thorough search, link back to any business that we can find in national search databases.  That would precede any research on our part to determine whether or not we had contacted this individual.   That is very unusual.  
  

  We are generally opposed to answering anonymous posts especially where theres no evidence that links the post to an actual business because more times than not it turns out to be a competitor attempting to use BBBs complaint system to create bad optics for a party (us) that they are competing against in the marketplace.   We would encourage BBB to look further into that.   
  

  This individual, by his own admission, confirms that he has never been a customer.   Most of this references information you would only have as a customer which further raises concerns for us.
  

  Those very reasonable concerns aside, there are a number of statements in the post that are false and not supported by fact, that we will briefly touch on.   They simply are not our business practices.
  

  We work with Fiserv and use the Clover line of products we are very open about that there is no risk or wrongdoing in that.  We are on a mission to reduce the expense paid by our customers and we routinely reduce total amount paid by 50% or more.   We broker and distribute the services of some of the nations largest providers the contracts (and relevant terms) are the same as those used by tens of millions of other businesses not written by us, but by the referenced national/global provider firms.   We absolutely have access to, and provide to our customers,software applications where our contracts permit us to provide them at no additional charge whereas our competitors are required to bill higher standard market fees.   The equipment we provide is new, contrary to the posters claim (note he also claimed to have never been a customer, so itd difficult to understand how hes never received equipment yet can offer up a statement like this).    We do use finance agreements for equipment but we include that cost in the same equations I referenced above where we generate north of 50% net cost reductions.   Many firms ourselves included prefer to lease vs. own hardware for purposes of financial benefit and the frequency of upgrades.
  

  In terms of customer complaints they occur we strive to never have a disagreement but there are times when we are dealing with a real customer where we may not see eye to eye on an event or issue.   Suffice to say our objective is to secure and retain customers and within all normal parameters of being reasonable, we move heaven and earth to meet any reasonable client need.   Our customer comment ratios and overall scores exceed those of many of the best known and most trusted national brands a reflection of the work we put into supporting our customers.  

  Our customer survey data, from real and true,non-anonymous customers trends at a 4.7 out of 5 star score.   This is derived from thousands upon thousands of surveys which follow each and every service and sales interaction with our clients.
  

  While the phone number provided does not match up against any business in the national search we conducted we will none-the-less place the number provided on our Do Not Call list.   If this poster has additional legitimate business numbers, and he provides them to you, please feel free to forward and we will place those on our DNC List as well.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/21/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear madam or **** This is a ***** Fargo merchant services company called SBGA. In August 2023, they offered what sounded like a very nice deal designed by the compassion to support small businesses to save money. We were told that we had 2 days to try the product and see if we like it, except that when we said that we did not want to do anything, we were told that we signed 4 years, none - cancellable, lease/ agreement. This company charges its customers to lease a clover device for 4 years totaling $12,000 by the end of the term or $8k for the mini clover. In reality that same device costs roughly $1500. We owned a new clover device and I asked to reset it to integrate with their merchant or to buy outright the suggested device. I was told that it is not possible! In fact, it is totally possible for clover to reset any of their devices and integrate it with any merchant. BUT, if SBGA did that, they would not be able to charge its customers about $10,000 more than what it costs. it's where they make their money. They basically charge customer 4% credit card fee through the **********************. They mask it under: "cash savings program". It is integrated into their merchant software, which they deduct at the end of each day. SBGA, AKA, ***** Fargo, makes it look as though the business is getting a deal. In reality the bank is the one that collects from both ends using the business platform to collect that money. The biz ends up paying more in taxes on because the 4% that the bank took gets added to the bottom-line. We realized that we were trapped into this company scheme. within only 2 months they increased the clover fee on one location. Now a year later, they again increased the clover fees in both locations. Since March, they began to charge additional $39 and change (supposedly for PCI penalty fee for not doing some survey). Ironically, it was them who helped us become PCI compliant. Now they say it's due to not doing a survey. SBGA constantly breaches our agreement.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/08/2024

  Thank you for forwarding this to our attention.
  
  There are a number of claims listed which are not based in fact and in most cases are offset by documentation that directly disproves the stated claim.
  
  After receiving this notice, we attempted to contact this individual more than several times to review her concerns but she did not accept nor return any of the calls.   In the absence of additional information, we conducted our assessment against her statements here and our documentation.
  
  We work with business owners to review their current operating expense and to develop programs that reduce those costs.  Many of our programs allow our customers to break up their electronic payments fees at the transaction level and, if a customer uses a rewards card (or other card generating cost) at their business, to pass the processing fees through to that customer.
  
  This individual chose to use one of those programs and continued to use it for nearly a year.    When we price our programs equipment, financing, and electronic payment fees we present an all-in program cost and the merchant business owner decides whether the total program cost (and associated benefits) are the right fit for their company.   In this case inclusive of hardware and financing costs we enabled this customer to reduce her costs by approximately 43% on a monthly basis.   We have reviewed her bills for the period she was doing billing with us and have confirmed that we delivered that level of net operating expense reduction.
  
  The claim that we have a try it out for a few days program is not accurate.   At the time that we activate the hardware and train the customer, we conduct a quality control audio recording with the customer.   On the call, we record a confirmation of understanding,by the customer, of her pricing; the term of her contract; confirm her understanding that the contracts are non-cancellable.   On our recorded call with this customer, we covered each of those points; she confirmed her understanding of each point; and she authorized us to activate the system.   There was no trail period discussed.  
  
  Her use of the system itself undercuts this false claim.   Even if we had said try it for a few days (we did not) she then used it to run all sales for her business for nearly a year.   Again to make a clear statement we do not offer trial periods.   But even if one had been offered using a system for nearly a year would have been well outside of the try it for a few daysprogram she claims she was on.
  
  She also claims that she had an existing set of Clover hardware the implication being that she could reuse that system with us.   This is not accurate, and is not permitted.   Clover devices, for a variety of breach prevention reasons, do not allow the devices to be passed around across other companies and repurposed.   The devices are generally tied directly to one company and cannot be repurposed by another company.
  
  She does reference the increase of a Clover SaaS fee and this is accurate.   Clover the manufacturer increased their SaaS plan fee to all users nationwide it was a universally applied change to all customers (permitted by the terms of Clovers usage contracts) - not just our users.   We would not have elected to change the SaaS price if it were left to us but Clover implemented the change directly with domestic users.
  
  The customer makes some requests for assistance some of which we can accommodate but for her to activate them, she will need to take a call and work with our customer service team.   She indicates that she fell out of PCI compliance and this does come with a non-compliance fee.   We can assist her with becoming compliant and eliminating those costs and are happy to assist her.   We cannot change Clovers SaaS changes but we may be able to secure a one-time credit from Clover for her.   Her final request to not be subject to cost changes is something we are sensitive to but which, because it is forward-looking, and is permitted under her contract, is not something we can guarantee.  She has elected to take credit cards ***** MasterCard, and other brands, have the right to change their fees (with notice) under her contract.  They are separate and distinct firms from us and her contract (and all electronic payments contracts) permit those companies to periodically change and pass-through their costs to end-users.  
  
  We remain willing to assist her with the two points where we think we can provide some assistance but those actions do require her to return calls and work with our customer service team to implement the technical specs on her end that would be required to secure those benefits.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 21883205
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I did not chose to continue to use your program, I am forced and manipulated to use it since you manipulated me into a 4 year contract. That contract which is now as it appears to be changing as you pleased, without my consent. That is not considered a contract. A contract does not change. I asked to cancel it within a day after and was denied also a month after and a month after that and denied each time unless I pay 12k on the big register and 8k on the mini device. I received a message from a gentleman name *******. I will call him back and update you on the details. Thank you.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  As the poster stated, we reached out to assist and left a message.  We have not received a call back yet.  The customer makes some requests for assistance some of which we can accommodate but for her to activate them, she will need to take a call and work with our customer service team.   She indicates that she fell out of PCI compliance and this does come with a non-compliance fee.   We can assist her with becoming compliant and eliminating those costs and are happy to assist her.   We cannot change Clovers SaaS changes but we may be able to secure a one-time credit from Clover for her.   Her final request to not be subject to cost changes is something we are sensitive to but which, because it is forward-looking, and is permitted under her contract, is not something we can guarantee.   She has elected to take credit cards ***** MasterCard, and other brands, have the right to change their fees (with notice) under her contract.   They are separate and distinct firms from us and her contract (and all electronic payments contracts) permit those companies to periodically change and pass-through their costs to end-users.  
  We remain willing to assist her with the two points where we think we can provide some assistance but those actions do require her to return calls and work with our customer service team to implement the technical specs on her end that would be required to secure those benefits. ******* has not received any calls; however, we will reach out again.