COMMENT AND OPINION | Letters Letters
KBB retailers too high risk for a merchant account?
I RECENTLY received a telephone call from Worldpay, our merchant card provider for all of the 13 years we have been in business. The call was to inform me that a business review had taken place at Worldpay and they consider KBB companies like ourselves “high risk” and therefore they were giving us two months’ notice to close our account and fi nd another provider. Worldpay stated their reason for this was that we take large deposits and then it can be several months before the product and services provided are complete, therefore leaving them (Worldpay) at risk of charge-backs should we close down between taking the deposit and receiving the balance. They said they would put this in writing, which they have not done. We then had had quite a few phone calls and e-mails from our phone/broadband provider XLN, asking us to take up their merchant service. We obviously contacted them back to apply for their service, only to be told several days later that our application has been refused due to us being “a high risk because of the nature of our business”. Since then, we contacted our business bank, the Co-op, which uses a company called First Data. The representative visited our studio and he was very impressed with the set-up. We went through the application and he was confi dent it would not be a problem as he said we had never had a charge- back and had an excellent payment history with Worldpay. He also stated he would come back
with the new card terminal for a training session. When I didn’t hear back from him, I called
Worldpay said large deposits put them at risk of charge-backs
him and he said that due to our being in a high- risk industry, they were unable to provide a card payment service and, due to the application process, we would not be able to apply for another one for six months. We contacted the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), of which we are paid-up members, and they said the only thing we can do is appeal to Worldpay to reconsider, as there is nothing the FSB can do for us. Worldpay said it would not reconsider there stance. This has left us in a very diffi cult
position, as our business runs on between projects of three to eight weeks and people want to pay by credit and debit cards for various reasons, including security and collecting points. Have any other KBB retailers been
kbbreview.com for news, views, blogs, jobs, features and subscriptions Editorial Editor
Rebecca Nottingham 020 8515 2073
Advertising
Commercial director
Julie Williams 32
Sales and marketing manager Tara McTigue
Account manager Lizzie
Keshishian
Account manager
Alan Rogers
Account manager Henesh Chotai
Deputy editor Vicki Evans 020 8515 2045
Sub-editor Chris
Frankland 020 8515 2025
Commercial editor
Matt Baker 020 8515 2051
Art editor Erica Warden 020 8515 2145
Managing director Patrick Taylor
Managing editor Andrew Davies
Digital designer strategist Matt Balmer
Production manager Katie Powell
For marketing
communications across different brands and media platforms contact: Commercial director Julie Williams 020 8515 2150
For print and online advertising contact: Sales and marketing manager Tara McTigue 020 8515 2071
Subscriptions
To subscribe to kbbreview or change your subscription details Email:
kbbreview@escosubs.co.uk Tel: 01371 851894 Web:
kbbreview.com/subscribe
Kbbreview is a controlled circulation publication mailed free to registered readers who meet our terms and conditions. Otherwise, subscription rates are £98.40 per annum plus £24 post & packing (single copy £1 + £2p&p). Overseas subscriptions are £169 plus £48 post & packing.
Taylist Media takes your privacy very seriously and will not share data you provide us with any third parties. For our full and updated privacy notice please see
taylistmedia.com/privacy.
1st January - 31st December 2018 - Average net. Circulation 15,114. Total net circulation for audit issue dated December 2018 – 15,393 – 100% individually requested by registered readers.
ABC certifi cation kbbreview · January 2020
experiencing the same issues and, if so, how have they gotten around the situation? Also, Worldpay are a massive company and I am sure they deal with some of the larger multiple KBB businesses who would also have a lengthy time period between deposit and completion. Some, I know, take full payment up front
before they order, which leaves the merchant company fully exposed for the whole project amount rather than just a deposit. Are we the only industry then that is high-risk? What about travel companies, given the recent events where airlines and travel companies have gone bust leaving the credit card companies paying back many millions of pounds? Then there are other non-KBB high-street companies going bust,
surely exposure there too?
Russell Buckley, managing director, Stuart Henry Kitchens, Birkenhead
there will be a fi nancial
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80