I am looking for a method of online payment where I can accept recurring payments from my customers every month. BUT the customer isn't allowed to cancel the recurring payments at any time. I am looking for a financing tool that will allow customers to pay for a service online over the span of 12 months without cancelling the payments. Anyone got any suggestions? Alternatively, I was thinking I will take down the customer's credit card information and bill them manually every month... this way the payment is forced to come out of their account. What do you guys think?
Can't immediately think of anything -- even credit cards (as you suggest) aren't foolproof, as the client could dispute a payment and you'd end up with a chargeback. You *might* get the dispute resolved in your favour if you can prove that the client was fully aware of what they were doing and that they had no right to cancel. But too many of these and your merchant services provider may just decide you are 'too much trouble' regardless of the rights and wrongs of the issue.
I agree with ceemage, you might end up having your account closed because of the amount of chargeback. However I can lead you to talk about it with a serious company if you want (they will tell you precisely whether or not you can do that).
Rofl - Your idea would never work If your customer wants to stop the recurring fees, a simple phone call to the provider and it is kaput. No merchant can prevent this and your best bet is to get reliable customers or have them pay the full 12month fee in one lump sum
Thanks guys. I have created a terms and conditions legal document saying that if a payment is stopped via paypal, then their credit card will be charged for the balance of what is owed. If they dispute it, I can show the credit card company that they signed the legal document and are therefore liable for the balance. What do you guys think?
You're doing all the right things, but enforcement is still going to be difficult, especially if your customer is in a different country/legal jurdistiction to you. It's the difference between legal theory and practical commerce. Is it completely unrealistic to require full payment up front? Because that's likely to be a whole lot less hassle.