PSW won't release my reserves!!
 

I used PSW Billing from the end of December 2002 to roughly the end of March, 2003.

I then began using them only as a backup. I had maybe..10-12 signups over the last 6 months with them (all of those memberships have ended or have been chargebacked/credited).

I only offer 1 & 3 month memberships, so my initial signups even with a 3 month membership came ended around the end of June.

I have not gotten a single penny from my reserves which should have been released starting with the end of June. I wrote PSW Billing and asked what is going on. This is their answer:

"Your account was closed because of excessive chargebacks. Furthermore, including relevant chargeback fees, your account currently has a negative balance of approximately ($45.00).

Your reserves are withheld exactly against circumstances such as these. Given that your account was closed due to chargebacks, that your account currently has a negative balance, and that further chargebacks will undoubtedly continue to surface for at least the next 6 months, withholding taken against your account will not be released until there is absolute certainty that no further chargebacks will accrue."

What would YOU do if you were in my spot in regards to the reserves?

Too weird! I entered the exact same post a few mins ago, and submitted it, and it came back with TWO subject headers but NO body text!

Bend over your fucked.

I think the above pretty much expains everything?

I want to add that the "chargebacks" PSW billing is so concerrned about (because I owe them a whopping $45!) is because of the last 10 signups from using them as a backup, TWO were chargebacked.

NONE of the previous signups when PSW Billing was a primary had more than 1 or 2 chargebacks TOTAL!

I honestly think PSW is trying to royally screw me out of my money by posting misleading information & innuendos.

I would ask them for an itemised list of everything - sales, chargebacks, and reserves still outstanding. You want an exact figure, not "approximately $45.00"

Their definition of excessive chargebacks is a little whacked, given your very low volume.

I do plan to do that. I'm going to ask my attorney about how to word my response in the best manner possible.

Again it's incredible that there was NOTHING said to me about chargebacks when they were the primary processor, but TWO chargebacks out of 10 signups over the last 3 months or so when I used them as one of my backups has them taking this action.

Guess this should be a warning to all any anybody planning on using PSW Billing as their processor!

Thanks for the heads up. I was going to try them out, but there has been negative stuff about them posted too much. I e-mailed with them several times to set up billing, they gave me a bad impression. Nice people, seem bush league to me, though.

Well I never used PSW and my opinion does not matter here but I don't see the problem here.

- 10 billings 2 chargebacks means 20% chargeback rate. this is 2000% over the allowed rate so your account was rightfully closed by them because you get on their red flag list due to the new regulations forced by VISA and MC.

- They state that your account is at $ - 45 so they freeze your reserves untill they can be sure no cb will happen any longer.


Ask them in 6 month and if the release it you are fine if not than you can piss at them rightfully.

Except I didn't even use Visa through PSW when they were my backup. Only MC. And in the 7 plus months I used them as my backup processor, I have have had 5-6 total CBs! And well over 300 signups. They are going after 2 lousy chargebacks that happened in June (I stopped using PSW althogether at the end of June) to deny me ANY of my reserves.

And come on..you're $45 in the hole to them on TWO chargebacks and that looks like it's going to bankrupt them?

What is in their terms or contract you agreed to as far as how long they hold reserves after you terminate billing with them? I think it's pretty standard for most billing companies to hold a reverve for a while after they cease billing for you. After all that is what the reserve is for to cover any charge backs that may come up even after termination of billing services.

I think the point is more that the 6 month window has passed, and reserves should be released weekly now.

FWIW, I am not happy with PSW, but they are releasing my reserves like clockwork.

I'd like to add that as much as I've bad mouthed probilling.com due to their heavy duty scrubbing, they have released my reserves with no problem what so ever!

At one point I did have some chargebacks hit at the same time that put me at a -$54 with probilling. All they did was stopped paying me for ONE week, and my negative balance was paid off and they resumed paying out my reserve. They didn't panic over $54.00!

I'm more than happy to send PSW $45.00 if that will help them get through this financial crisis they're having! Plus the amount they've kept to date in my reserve pays off the $45.00 100 times over or more.

Why should I wait until January 2004 to see my reserves that they would have then held on to for over ONE YEAR?

They are very bush league in the way they treat their webmasters. And there's no doubt in my mind at all that there's some sort of "gotcha" in holding onto my money because I dropped using them altogether.

The standard 6 months that pretty much everyone else uses.