Hello,

I have been processing with my processor for more than 6 months and made more than 65k with them, but then when i have raised my sales really big, they have closed my account, claiming, that they have recieved several complaints from people, that i am selling some illegal stuff. Well it was a shock for me and i was like WTF ! And i was like about to ask you people, so now i can go call the billing and make a report concerning some merchant, that he is selling some illegal stuff and they without any check can close me down ? I am ok with any check and available to provide any documents, logs and stuff about my sales. BUT their RISK department havent contacted me after i have sent them 2 e-mails !

However they have claimed, that the money remaining in my account will be sent to me within 90 days ! I have contacted them a few times via telephone and they were like " sure in 90 days we will return the money dont worry" ... It is 94 days now and i have contacted them once again to verify if they are sending the money and what was the surprise ! First they said yes sure sir we are sending money this week, but then said that they have to hold my founds for another 30 days due to some refunds in November !

My question is as follows :

Are there any VISA/ MC regulations about the funds holding ? Am i beeing screwed atm ?

This is a very popular processor and it is not a scam, i dont want to post it's name here, since maybe it is because of me not understanding some things and i dont want to crash this companies reputation.

Thank you in advance,
muji.

90 days is a short time. They usually hold the funds for about 180 days because chargebacks can sometimes occur within those time frames.

They want to make sure that if a chargeback happens on your account, they will have the money. It is a lot easier to get the money from them (since they have it) rather than get it back from you. (I am not saying you are trying to do something underhanded, it's just that they are basing everything on previous history of merchants.) It is their money before it is yours.

Ok, but is it a normal to close the account just basing your suspension on ABUSE e-mail or call ? Means i can destroy any company which is processing with them just inviting all my friends and calling them claiming, that this website sells some products from the Prohibited Product List ?

Well depending on what those several complaints were - most of the time the processor will take a look at it. 3PP are a bit more stringent on a few things because you are using their merchant account to accept credit cards and they have to maintain that merchant account for their business.

If they were to lose their merchant account, their business would end. They might locate another processor to support them, but I doubt they would ever recuperate fully.

65k sales for 6 months - it is not bad amount to move to a dedicated merchant account. Also, their Risk Department can be just on holidays.
I'm sure they must have live phone number. Try to call.

Normal practice is to hold for 180 days. If there are no addtional refunds or chargebacks within the first 90-120 days, then they may return a portion early. If they are still accessing your business checking account to debit for chargebacks and refunds, then your chances of getting the full amount back early are better. If they cannot access your business account (settlement by wire), they will tend to hold onto the reserve for the full 180 days because they are debiting it for chargebacks and refunds.