I had a merchant account, that was closed awhile back. A significant amount of funds weren't released, and I was told they will hold the funds for 180 days in case of chargebacks. I understand that's normal, so ok.

180 days go by with no chargebacks, no complaints or anything, and the money hasn't been released to my bank account. I assume it's automatic from the way the process was described when my account was closed. Anyways, I give it a couple more days in case it's being processed.

After 184 days of my account being closed, I contact the merchant provider and ask why my funds haven't been released yet. He checks my account out, and says he will forward it to his supervisor to see if they will release it.

Now, I'm mad because there is some question about wether or not they will release my funds? I waited 180 days, no chargebacks, nothing negative. Not to mention I've received the run around when speaking with this company before. So he says, give me your number and we'll contact you as soon as we release the funds and they will show up within 24-48 hours. I'm thinking...don't call me back, just release my funds. Sounds like the start of a run around.

It's been 5 business days, still no call, still no funds. I've called and asked about it, and it's still being reviewed.

How long do these things typically take? Is there a chance they won't release my funds?

Keep on their butt until they release your money but be very polite and professional about it. Check over your Terms Of Service and make sure you are following the proper procedure. If everything checks out...

When they are a week late you should send a claim letter(a claim letter is the start of a small claims court case, but you can send a claims letter without any obligation to actually bring them to court). Make sure you send it via e-mail and certified mail. State in the e-mail version that they will be recieving an identical copy in the mail shortly.

Sometimes they just need a little encouragement.

What state do you reside in? Let me know if you need any assistance.

Who is the merchant provider? Maybe we can look up some info and try to help explain?

online-data???...

probaly csi

atomium - do you mean - e-online data? That might explain some things.

gcorpz - any merchant provider can hold funds - so you cant assume. He didnt explain why the account was closed It can be for a number of reasons:

- He was processing more than what he was approved for
- The volume was suspiciously high

9/10 times If he voluntarily cancelled after waiting 3 days for his funds to clear, they wouldnt have had anything to hold - so you have to think about it...
- Customers may have complained.

Yes, e-onlinedata. It was closed because I was processing more than I expected. Was a start-up, I made a guess at what I'd be processing, and it exceeded that. I had no customer complaints.

The amount to be released is in excess of $10000, I'm not sure small claims will take that.

My account should've been reviewed by the 19th. I called back on the 22nd to find out the supervisor is backed up, and it will for sure be reviewed by the 23rd. Still received no call, so I called back this morning and now my account hasn't been forwared for review at all, and nothing about me requesting them to be released was on file. So, here we go again... they are supposedly being forwarded to the supervisor AGAIN, and the funds should be deposited within 3-4 days.

I can already see, calling back in 5 days to find out my account wasn't sent for review. There should be no question at all about releasing my funds, I waited the required 180 days, and had no complaints.

Ok. Finally received the funds, however it's missing approximately 18%?

I'm glad to finally have the funds, but it's not all there. The 18% missing is based off the total before fees, I don't remember what rate I had with them, but I know it wasn't an 18% discount rate. I didn't get any chargebacks, at least I wasn't notified of any. So I'm not sure why it would be short that much.

Before I call them up and see what's going on, what are some reasons for that much money to be missing? Is it a common thing for them to keep money hoping you won't notice? Any help please? Thanks