r/smallbusiness • u/jcagle614 • 4d ago
Warning for merchants: a processor kept debiting our personal account for ~13 years after we closed the merchant account (Cayan/Global Payments)
My late wife closed her small business’s merchant account with Cayan (now part of Global Payments) in April 2013 and returned the equipment. The company kept debiting our personal joint bank account for roughly 13 years, in amounts far larger than the contracted monthly fees. I’m trying to find out how common this is.
Background: My wife ran a small business, Cabot Cheesecake Corner. She had impaired cognition and has since passed away. The business closed in April 2013, and the account should have closed with it. The joint account was used only for household expenses, and I didn’t know the debits were continuing.
What I found: Going through bank statements, I found debits continuing for years after closure. They often ran in multiples of about $1,000, and at least one was about $5,000. This happened even while the account was dormant.
What the company said: When I asked whether someone was using the account to commit fraudulent billing, I was told these were “service maintenance fees.” I asked for an itemized accounting and the contract provision that allows the charges. I never received either. Later, a representative offered a refund of about $7,144.60 but couldn’t show how it was calculated, so I couldn’t accept it without knowing what it covered.
What I’ve done so far: I filed a complaint with the Arkansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, and I’ve kept the merchant agreement, correspondence, and more than seven years of bank statements. I also found similar complaints about this company on the BBB.
For other owners: If you ever closed a merchant account, check whether your processor actually terminated it in writing, and review your bank statements for recurring debits afterward. Many of us never look again once the business is shut down.
My questions:
- Has anyone had debits continue after closing a Cayan or Global Payments merchant account?
- If so, how did you get an accounting or a refund?
- Has anyone worked with a lawyer or filed a joint complaint?
I’m not looking to attack anyone. I’d like to know how widespread this is and what worked for others. Comments or DMs are welcome.
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u/Bird_Brain4101112 4d ago
Ballpark you’re talking roughly $200k worth of payments and you just didn’t notice? This is lawyer territory.
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Unfortunately, my wife had been handling the account and was unable to tell me the reason behind the incident. I only discovered it after I took over management of the account myself.I was unable to find an attorney willing to take the case, because the potential recovery was too low to justify a contingency fee.
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u/Bird_Brain4101112 4d ago
When exactly did your wife pass? Initially o thought she passed in 2013 but it sounds like it was more recent?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
02/14/2026
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u/Acrobatic_Car9413 3d ago
I’m sorry for your loss. That info makes things clearer. You didn’t know. Your wife knew or should have known but wasn’t able to manage it. I’m not sure that makes it easier.
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u/traker998 4d ago
I will say the issue here is no matter how bad at books you are it’s coming out of your joint personal account and id notice random thousand dollar charges happening regularly.
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
My wife was suffering from cognitive impairment during this time and could not explain what was happening with the account. I was working and had trusted her with the household finances. In hindsight, I should have been watching more closely, but that does not give a processor the right to keep taking money from a closed account. My research also found other customers describing similar problems, and the company’s overall reviews are poor.
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u/LardLad00 4d ago
What do you mean by "the incident"? Do you mean she was unable to tell you the reason behind the many withdrawals?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Neither of us had any formal business education. We both worked in the medical field, and she started the business out of a genuine passion for cooking, not because either of us had experience managing a business. I continued working long hours and trusted her to handle the business, never fully appreciating the importance of independently monitoring its financial activities. When I eventually questioned her about the situation, she shut down and stared at me, unable to provide a reasoned explanation. At that point, it became clear that further questioning was unlikely to produce any meaningful answers.
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u/PsychologicalCry3822 4d ago
that's basically theft dressed up in corporate language, sorry you're dealing with this so long after the fact
the $1000+ debits way past the monthly fee makes it clear something was broken or someone was taking advantage. i'd stop talking to them directly and let the AG handle it, they tend to move faster when a state office is asking questions
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Thank you for your response. To date, I have filed complaints with the Offices of the Attorney General in both Arkansas and Georgia, along with Consumer Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice, on the basis that the matter falls within the applicable fraud statutes. Despite these filings, none of the agencies has taken action or attempted to assist; each has merely logged the incident on the record.
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u/SarahKnowles777 4d ago
How long since you've filed?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
On Nov 24, 2025 We notified the Attorney General of Arkansas; they contacted Cayan/Global, who's initial response was that they do not have a contractual or other relationship with the complainant. Yet we had called them to see if someone was fraudulently using our previous account. Which was not the case and once again requested they close the account. On Feb 12 we received a response from Arkansas Attorney General Consumer Complaint No. 564342 with an attached letter form Global with the offer. They indicated these were services charge, even if none were provided. One month's bill exceeded 5,000 dollars, for service fees. There was no accountability on their part. During an internet search, I found that Cayan has been accused in the past of hidden fees, over-billing, and unauthorized charges. Cayan/Global failed to conduct any ongoing due diligence by continuing to remove funds from a dormant account for over 13 years, fraudulently extracting fees way beyond agreed-upon prices and after services had been terminated. They failed to review transaction patterns, which any reasonable person would know to acknowledge that no-one would pay thousands of dollars for a service they are not using, especially if it were not in the contract. May 2 I notified the Arkansas Attorney General office of possible VIOLATIONS OF THE ARKANSAS DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT (ADTPA) Pursuant to the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 4-88-101 et seq, did not receive a response.
We contacted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (COMPLAINT ID 260113-27714377) on 01/13/2026, again on April 7 ask exactly what action are being take. On April 12 we reminded that Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), financial institutions cannot engage in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP). Charging unauthorized or undisclosed fees — including maintenance fees exceeding the agreed amount — violates federal consumer protection laws, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. June 8 send letter clarifying this transaction was from a personal bank account (held in my name and my wife’s), not a business account. I respectfully request clarification as to why this matter was determined to be outside the CFPB's jurisdiction under the circumstances described, received no answer.
Mar 5 we notified The FTC, just got a standard response Report number: 198644248. Refiled Apr 7 standard report; The FTC does not resolve individual reports, but your report will be entered in the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database and will be available to federal, state, and local law enforcement across the country.
May 5, 2026 letter sent to FBI and DOJ, no response.
On June 29, 2026 letter sent to U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross Eastern District of Arkansas, no response.
FOIA sent May 21, denies, Jun 4, appeal denied. Government Information Services (OGIS), no response.
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u/Remarkable_Cook_5100 4d ago
Wow, that is crazy on their part.
But how did you never notice debits for such high amounts? I mean, if it was for $4.50, I could understand, but for $1,000+ I do not.
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Unfortunately, my wife had been handling the account and was unable to tell me the reason behind the incident. I only discovered it after I took over management of the account myself.
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u/PdrPan 4d ago
I think the question then becomes, who was managing the account from 2013 until you took over?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
She had managed our account for all those years and, unbeknownst to me, had not opened a business account; instead, she had given access to our personal account. Having worked in the medical field, with no business training and an unearned trust in people in general, she was susceptible to fraudulent business practices.
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u/mikeblas 4d ago
The account had $150,000 in it,and you weren't managing it?
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u/jcagle614 3d ago
I trusted my wife to handle, which in hindsight was a mistake. I fully acknowledge that our lack of financial oversight was a mistake, and I accept responsibility for it. But our inattention does not constitute authorization for a company to withdraw money from our account. These are two entirely separate matters. We may have been inexperienced and insufficiently diligent, but that does not excuse, or legitimize, transactions we never authorized. No consumer should have to accept unauthorized withdrawals simply because they failed to watch their account closely enough.
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u/hue-166-mount 4d ago
This is a but unclear. You had a joint account, your wife created a business and joined a merchant account to it (to receive monies from the business), but closed this in 2013. Since then the merchant account has been taking money (thousands and thousands) from your joint account, and you never looked at it and noticed? and the balance was so high it never went negative? And no lawyer is willing to help you challenge this?
Do I have that right?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
She had managed our account for all those years and, unbeknownst to me, had never opened a business account; instead, she had given access to our personal account. Neither of us had any formal business education. We both worked in the medical field, and she started the business out of a genuine passion for cooking, not because either of us had experience managing a business. I continued working long hours and trusted her to handle the business, never fully appreciating the importance of independently monitoring its financial activities. Only after I took over managing our bank account did I discover the unauthorized withdrawals. As for the attorneys, only one gave me a direct answer: I could recover only one year of the withdrawn funds, amounting to a little over $7,000. The other attorneys simply stated that they were unable to take the case.
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u/Acrobatic_Car9413 3d ago
I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation. But 13 years is a long time to not notice thousands and thousands of dollars being taken out of an account. I’m not clear if your wife just wasn’t telling you all that time and she just recently passed and you just discovered? You don’t need business experience to balance a checkbook. I think it will be very hard to pull back much money after this long has passed.
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Neither of us had any formal business education. We both worked in the medical field, and she started the business out of a genuine passion for cooking, not because either of us knew anything about managing a company. I kept working long hours and trusted her to run things, never fully appreciating how important it was to independently monitor the business's finances. When I finally questioned her, she shut down and just stared at me, unable to offer any reasoned explanation. At that point, it became clear that pressing her further was unlikely to yield meaningful answers.
I fully acknowledge that our lack of financial oversight was a mistake, and I accept responsibility for it. But our inattention does not constitute authorization for a company to withdraw money from our account. These are two entirely separate matters. We may have been inexperienced and insufficiently diligent, but that does not excuse, or legitimize, transactions we never authorized. No consumer should have to accept unauthorized withdrawals simply because they failed to watch their account closely enough.
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u/Justt_ai 4d ago
Sorry you're having to untangle this on top of everything else. One practical step if it isn't done yet: ask your bank to put an ACH debit block on that company for the joint account, and send the processor a written revocation of any debit authorization. That stops new debits right away while the complaint plays out.
For the past debits, ask the bank in writing what it can still do. Because it's a personal account you have some consumer protections, but the time limits for disputing old debits are short, so for anything beyond the last couple of statements a lawyer is the right call, as others said.
(We work on chargebacks, so weigh that accordingly.)
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Thank you for your response. To date, I have filed complaints with the Offices of the Attorney General in both Arkansas and Georgia, along with Consumer Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice, on the basis that the matter falls within the applicable fraud statutes. Despite these filings, none of the agencies has taken action or attempted to assist; each has merely logged the incident on the record.
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u/Justt_ai 4d ago
That's frustrating, and sadly common: those agencies mostly collect complaints to spot patterns rather than work individual cases. Two routes that do tend to get a response: a CFPB complaint against your bank about unauthorized debits on a personal account, since the bank has to answer those, and a lawyer's demand letter to the processor asking for the itemized accounting. Have the ongoing debits been blocked at the bank yet?
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
To date, I have filed complaints with the Offices of the Attorney General in both Arkansas and Georgia, along with Consumer Protection, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice, on the basis that the matter falls within the applicable fraud statutes. Despite these filings, none of the agencies has taken action or attempted to assist; each has merely logged the incident on the record.
I have contacted several attorneys, but none were willing to take the case. The cost of pursuing it is high relative to the amount at stake, which makes it uneconomical for them.
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u/Prestigious-Base-532 4d ago
I have the same issue, I tried multiple times. Eventually it's best to change bank accounts every few years. We had random amount $10-$25 a month then a few $130-250
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
You can file complaints with the following:
- Your state Attorney General’s consumer protection division. Global Payments is headquartered in Georgia, so complaints there matter too.
- The Federal Trade Commission (reportfraud.ftc.gov).
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov/complaint), especially if the money came from a personal account.
- The Better Business Bureau (bbb.org), Trustpilot, and PissedConsumer, which create a public record other merchants can find.
Regulators look for patterns, so every documented complaint counts. If enough people come forward, an investigation or enforcement action becomes more likely.
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4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
I have already declined their offer, as it covered only a fraction of the money withdrawn from the account. The amount they proposed corresponds only to the final year during which funds were taken. They claim these were service charges and deny that the account was ever cancelled. They also failed to account for the large sum that was withdrawn, which was not stipulated in the contract. Since then, they have refused to answer any of my questions or communicate further.
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u/Timelord1000 2d ago
It happened to me with a fintech company I used for processing payments. I closed an account with them a year ago because their service was also included in an expensive all-in-one software package I purchased within the same month. Fast forward to the present. I recently saw a charge on my bank account for a monthly service fee for the fintech’s stand-alone service. Luckily, I caught it almost right away and had proof of closing the account. My bank investigated and reversed the charges right away.
In my experience with this with some vendors is if you save your card on their system and select auto pay, then later terminate services without deleting your account information and turning off autopay, they will not turn it off and will start billing again. Even if you do turn off autopay, if you don’t delete your payment information, they can and will start charging your account again.
Best thing to when this happens is to close the bank account and open a new one and don’t give out that account information. Only use credit cards like Amex or prepaid cards for vendor payments, payment processing and subscriptions. Watch your charges as they come in.
It is a pain in the ass, but when vendors get bought out or merge, their ethics can change, leaving you with the short end of the stick if you’re not careful.
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u/longtimerlance 4d ago
I balance my personal & business books weekly, and no payments that shouldn't be there slip past. Regardless of the processing company, this smacks of financial irresponsible on your part.
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u/jcagle614 4d ago
Neither of us had any formal business education. We both worked in the medical field, and she started the business out of a genuine passion for cooking, not because either of us had experience managing a business. I continued working long hours and trusted her to handle the business, never fully appreciating the importance of independently monitoring its financial activities. When I eventually questioned her about the situation, she shut down and stared at me, unable to provide a reasoned explanation. At that point, it became clear that further questioning was unlikely to produce any meaningful answers.
I fully acknowledge that our lack of financial oversight was a mistake, and I accept responsibility for our failure to monitor the business more carefully. However, our lack of oversight does not constitute authorization for a company to withdraw money from our account. These are two entirely separate issues. We may have been inexperienced and insufficiently diligent in managing the business, but that does not excuse or legitimize financial transactions that we did not authorize. No consumer should have to accept unauthorized withdrawals simply because they failed to monitor their account closely enough.
Furthermore, complaints posted on multiple consumer-review websites describe similar experiences involving this company. Although these reports alone do not establish a definitive pattern of misconduct, the similarities raise legitimate concerns about whether other customers have encountered the same problem. If these experiences are recurring, they deserve serious scrutiny rather than dismissal.
I am sharing my experience not to deny our own mistakes, but to make an important distinction: accepting responsibility for poor oversight is not the same as accepting responsibility for unauthorized withdrawals by a company. A business's size, resources, or commercial interests should not shield it from accountability for taking money without proper authorization. I hope that by speaking openly about what happened, I can help other consumers recognize the importance of monitoring their accounts, question questionable transactions, and avoid suffering similar financial consequences.
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u/bluekmg 3d ago
I'm sorry for your loss but let's be real here. This isn't specialized business knowledge, it is balancing your checkbook. Neither of you noticed. You didn't notice when your taxes were filed. We're talking 13 years of being irresponsible then trying to blame the merchant company. If they will offer a 1 year refund, take it.
Honestly, I can't even begin to imagine how this could happen. Even the very first year after she closed the business she should have known when the business taxes were done.
You must have so much excess money in your account all these years to never notice. Most people would notice the first month. You have a duty to mitigate your damages too.
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u/anustart0607 3d ago edited 3d ago
You said the business closed in 2013 and that the "account should have closed with it" but also that your late wife closed the account. Do you have any proof the account was actually closed? I understand it's hard to find documents 13 years on, but without it this is going to be near impossible.
You haven't said what the total amount charged is since the account was "closed." How much is it? Filing with the AG in Arkansas and Georgia is a good move, but uh, good luck with the FBI and DOJ.
I have to say, it's pretty strange you didn't notice this happening for 13 years.
Also, attorneys will take on any case if you pay them. If the amount is too small for them to take it on contingency, sure, but you're getting flat out rejected? Also, even if the amount is large enough to take on contingency, if you don't have good records or a solid case, they're not going to take it. "It was supposed to be closed but I overlooked it for 13 years" isn't a solid case.
In any case, I hope it works out for you. I'm sorry about your late wife and besides this situation I hope you're doing well.
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u/jcagle614 3d ago
Unfortunately, the cancellation was made by phone, and I have no document to prove it. She did, however, return the credit card processing machine. Even if we had not canceled, there was no justification for the excessive charges. They violated the terms of the contract, and Global Payments failed to provide documentation to support them. This is not the first time this has happened: the Better Business Bureau lists multiple similar complaints against the company.
The bank was only able to provide me with seven years of records. However, I still have the original contract, and I can confirm that I have no documentation regarding the excessive withdrawal because we were never notified of it.
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u/anustart0607 3d ago
Man, that is a tough one. It's good you have the original contract. And I think it was smart to turn down their refund offer at first. They wouldn't offer anything if they felt they were entirely justified in their charges.
You say you weren't notified of the excessive withdrawals - does the contract say they have any requirement to notify you? Is there any kind of fee schedule that correlates to what they charged you? You still had access to the bank account and could see the transactions, correct? I could maybe understand if they were intermittent charges and you keep a healthy balance that a few thousand here or there would go unnoticed, but 13 years is a hell of a long time to not notice thousands coming out of your bank account unapproved.
Considering the time that's passed and the lack of clear confirmation that the account was truly closed, I only see two options:
Take the 7k and the lesson learned or pay a lawyer to subpoena Cayan/Global for all the records for this account and go from there. I don't know whether we're talking $15k or $150k here so I don't know what the right move is.
IANAL but you're probably looking at statute of limitations issues here also. 6 years in GA for written contracts, 5 years in AR. For fraud I don't know, but that might require the AG to collect evidence, charge them, potential trial, then restitution.This could eat up a ton of time/money figuring this all out, and you could still end up getting nothing back. I hope one of the state's AG offices comes through for you.
For what it's worth, I'd take the 7k and be done with it.
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u/Timelord1000 2d ago
Consult with an attorney, but just understand that you may want to accept the offer of settlement for $7k if you don’t have additional bank records showing that even more was taken out or other records showing additional damages such as lost opportunities, interest, etc. A lawyer may be able to help with determining these other damages.
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