Friday, August 4, 2017
EVO Payments' global headquarters is in Atlanta, with North American headquarters in Melville, N.Y. The company is reported to be the largest privately held payment processor and acquirer for merchants, ISOs, financial institutions, government organizations and multinational corporations throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. EVO processes $50 billion in transactions annually and actively services over 500,000 merchant customer businesses, according to its website.
Plaintiffs in both class actions allege that EVO, a privately owned payment processor, has misstated its merchant billing policies and has been overcharging merchants. They additionally claim that EVO's payment processing fees and rates are disproportionately higher than those represented on the company's merchant application. It is only after merchants begin to process with EVO that they discover they are paying significantly more than the published rates for credit card processing services. These overcharges are difficult to understand because they are hidden in the merchant statements, the plaintiffs alleged in court documents.
"What we are pursuing is a variety of improper fees," stated Adam Webb Esq., Managing Partner of Webb, Klase & Lemond LLC. "EVO appears to have an automated and systematic program, which makes this an ideal class action." Webb additionally noted that some merchant acquirers advertise straightforward pricing schemes but "sneak in new fees and mark-ups."
Additional fees are often imposed in a deceptive fashion, making it difficult for merchants to notice them, Webb further claimed. New charges and increases are frequently disguised as mandatory fees imposed by regulators or card networks, but these improper fees are assessed for the sole purpose of raising additional revenue and profiting at the merchant's expense, he added.
Court documents cite a separate criminal action, Case No. 17-CRIM-248 (S.D.N.Y.), in which EVO agents and affiliates were indicted on mail and wire fraud charges; they also imposed fees on customers that exceeded published rates in merchant agreements, according to court filings. "These purported fraudsters worked for entities that were majority-owned by EVO," court documents stated. "EVO is described as the 'Parent Company' in the indictment. For years, EVO and the indicted individuals worked closely together and signed up over 12,000 merchants."
Plaintiffs' legal counsel claims that EVO profited through dishonest pricing practices and has "jacked up the fees of other customers in the same manner." The lawsuits cite what they claim to be bogus "IRS Reporting" and "PCI" fees as examples of how the company imposes higher fees than those disclosed on the merchant contract. Plaintiffs are seeking refunds for all ancillary fees paid to EVO that exceed the rate schedules set forth in their merchant applications.
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