Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has received numerous complaints from merchants across the country who are reporting calls from telemarketers claiming to represent some or all processors, government agencies and/or merchant associations.
Merchants informed RCC that these telemarketers often request a faxed copy of their most recent processor statement using some of the following reasons:
• Offering to run an analysis to determine if you received their preferred credit card rates as a result of POS security upgrades.
• Calling from the Canadian Government and referring to new legislation around chip cards to check that rate reductions are being passed down to you for debit and credit services.
• Claiming a mandate to oversee all processors and verifying that credit/debit fee savings have been passed on to you.
• Advising that as of a certain date a government mandated rate reduction should have been passed on to you and requesting a copy of your statement for verification.
RCC has reached out to the credit card companies, processors/acquirers and the Competition Bureau to look into this matter further.
How to Protect Your Retail Business 1. Don't send confidential financial information to a company you do not know and trust
2. Record details of any suspicious telemarketing calls asking for your monthly processor statements (specifically who they claim to represent, what they are offering, their company name and contact information)
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3. Report all details to Retail Council of Canada at
rrussell@retailcouncil.org.
If You Believe You Have Been a Victim of Misrepresentation
1. File a formal complaint with the Competition Bureau on line via this link:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/PJSH-6X9KQY
2. Report to RCC that you have filed a complaint with the Bureau by e-mailing
rrussell@retailcouncil.org.