Has anybody heard or used these people?
Nice name 
and sounds like a good service, just wondered if anyone has had experience with them?
Cheers
I found this:
YowCow, ever heard of them? Most likely you havent. It is one of those small companies that quietly plod along, watching everyone make the same mistake time and time again. They accept Credit Cards but they make sure that the Credit Card owner is legitimate. They provide free tools, because they know that it helps them. They dont charge any signup fees because they know that they will get a return in the long run. They charge 50 cents per transaction because its needed to remain competitive and will support their growth.
Keep your eye out for them, they dont advertise much, but slowly they appear. Not bursting out of the gate and suddenly going up in flames. Just nice easy controlled growth.
Here is my experience with YowCow and their service. I felt it was a good idea to post this information here for others to read since I have documented it all and will soon post an article on my website with that documentation.
A couple of months ago, a friend of mine told me about YowCow payment service. We do a lot of online transactions for larger amounts and really want our customers to feel safe. When I first looked at YowCow and made a payment through their service, I experienced a secure transaction. The first thing I noticed that was a little funny was the emails I received from them were saying something was wrong.
It took several days for the transaction to process. I was able to obtain a customer service number to call located in the affiliate section.
All the paperwork I had stated they charged me 2.5% which is the correct amount. Now, here was the kicker. When I received the credit card statement, I had been charged double that amount or about 5%.
So, I attempted to contact them again by phone and email. That was several weeks ago and I have heard nothing from them.
Of course, this was very disappointing and I felt I have been taken for a ride. The person I talked to in the U.S. was a gal who obviously was working out of her home and helping YowCow handle customer service for the U.S. She was helpful the first time I spoke with her but sounded unprofessional in my opinion or as though she was not focused on the activity.
I have never heard back from YowCow or their main office. I have not been credited for the overcharge as of July 21, 2004. The service was used about 60 days ago.
Ok, there you go. If you use the service, donāt be surprised if you pay 5% for your credit card transactions. I charged about $1300 on this particular transaction and paid an extra $35 to do it on top of $35 to do the transaction.
Overall, I feel this service is questionable and recommend you steer clear.
Randy Sink
randy,
itās one thing to have a legitimate gripe with a company, and
most people would agree that you had a reason to complain about
YowCow in this instance, but they seem to have come to the table
quite quickly and have offered assistance in a genuine and honest
manner.
yet you still feel the need to make disengenous postings on other
sites too, not revealing that YowCow are in fact in communication
with you and are in good faith trying to fix the problem.
if only all companies admitted mistakes and moved to correct them
as readily as this YowCow seem to be doing.
prof.
Professhojo is a yowcow.com flack who makes excuses for them all over the internet, see his identical post at:
http://www.paypalsucks.com/forums/showthread.php?fid=10&tid=5373&old_block=0
Okay, we have 3 new members hereā¦ As far as I am concerned, I still have a neutral opinion.
But I will certainly do my research before signing up.
Well, as I didnāt get many replies when I first posted this question, I emailed YowCow direct with a few pre-sign up questions as they had been recommended to me. I am still waiting for replies to those questions.
Iām not sure whats happening there :xeye:
Shame - because their package reads well.
In response to all the posts I have been notified about, I would like to clarify the truth about Yowcow and their neglect on my behalf.
Yowcow has NEVER contacted me in response to my request for an answer. Just because someone who is obviously crossing the line by posting untruths online about my personal business, does NOT JUSTIFY any facts to this case.
As it stands, Yowcow did not contact me even once after I requested it. I would not expect them to assume I was I liar because if that is the case, then they probably think that of everyone and should be shut down.
Since I have the documentation to prove my case 100%, my advise to who ever is posting lies about Yowcowās response, would be to shut up as it only makes my case stronger.
Again, no one has come TO ANY TABLE and to see posts online to the contrary only shows this company has goons working on their behalf or they themselves have an agenda that includes ripping people off.
All I have to do is look at the CREDIT CARD STATEMENT IN MY POSSESSION to prove the amount I was charged. I will now begin to post that on my site for all to see along with other documentation.
This should clear up any doubts for those of you that might accidently consider using their service only to find out you could be charged any amount they decide and not what they specify on their site.
It is a shame to see such posts here and on other sites proving the lack of integrity of this company. I guess when your operating a business like that, it is common place to dig yourself into a hole you canāt get out of.
Randy Sink
Before I make a judgement call on this yowcow, I am wondering if you sent them the paperwork they wanted. Ive read the posts on paypalsucks.com and they say they are still waiting for them, so why havent you sent them?
If thats all it took to sort it out, I sure as heck would have sent it. Some things are just not adding up for me.
When I first read this post I thought, Oh no, another crap system, but as it continued to develop I noticed certain questions being asked and answers being avoided.
If you are going to post this paperwork without showing yowcow, you are not doing anyone justice. Shops ask for receipts when you wish to get a refund or contest an items price, but it seems you want yowcow to take your word because you post here.
I tried the support on yowcow and I got a reply within 3 hours. Better than a majority of sites. Things are not adding up ! I also sent you an email from the site you posted. Its been 12 hours and counting and I have yet to hear a peep from you. Im sending you a follow up email now and I hope you answer this time, as I have posted here now 
Its difficult to try and stay ahead of things when all I want to do is sell my artwork on the internet and find what I think is a good payment system, only to see a complaint like this. If you have sent the paperwork then I apologize Mr Sink, but if you havent, then all you have done is make it harder for me, a struggling artist, trying to sell my hard work to keep a roof over my head.
I have used PayPal to get my art supplies and I funded my PayPal account. I also did get a credit card fee from my bank which was imposed by the bank and not PayPal. Is this the fee you are talking about??? (I however do not trust PayPal for obtaining funds on my behalf due to what I have read in regards to frozen accounts etc)
At first i thought yowcow was dishonest, now I think there might be some other factors in play Mr Sink.
Jesse J,
In response to your post, you say these words, āI am wondering if you sent them the paperwork they wanted.ā
I am stunned at your post. It would be nice to KNOW THEY WANTED IT. I would be VERY happy to provide it but it seems the only correspondence I am receiving is from somebody else beside Yowcow themselves.
I did not know they wanted it. Does that help?
They have not contacted me ONCE from my call and email sent directly to them. I have the original email sent to them on June 24, 2004 on file telling them they had overcharged me $38. I made a payment of $1295 through their system. I received an email from them saying the total was $1327.38. I looked at my (credit card) statement and it said $1365.88. I ask for an explanation either way and got no response.
I repeat, they have not asked for anything or even responded once.
If this is a fee which is imposed by the credit card company, itās the same difference. Since your post, I will now call the credit card company and ask them if this fee was imposed and update you on what they say.
(It says right on Yowcow site these words, āthere are no merchant or seller feesā.) The credit card company is the merchant is this situation.
If they say it was imposed, then I will ask why and let you know. People should be aware that you will pay around 5% for credit card transactions and not 2.5% overall. All I have ever asked is for someone to be upfront and honest about this charge.
All the information I have provided is factual and whether you survive or not Mr. J, I have no bearing on it. You read these posts at your own risk. I post it here because it is real and 100% fact.
My suggestion to you Jesse is if reading these posts is going to make it harder for you to make a living, then by all means -donāt read them. I definitely care about people and donāt want you destroying your life over this information.
Randy Sink
So why donāt you just go back to paypalsucks.com, follow the thread to its conclusion, understand from the contents of the posts that yowcow would like to see your paperwork, send them the paperwork and get on with your life?
Sorry, that should have read:
āSo why donāt you just go back to paypalsucks.com, follow YOUR ORIGINAL COMPLAINT thread to its conclusion, understand ā¦ā
Notice that in the very young month of August, JesseJ and blueskies have signed up, and the only posts either of them have EVER made is at sitepoint are in this thread.
Professorhojo joined on July 31, and the only post HE has ever made at sitepoint is here in this thread.
What else do these three posters share besides being very focused newbies? They all attack Randy, and they all defend Yowcow.
This kind of baloney is as old as message boards themselves. These are clearly multiple Yowcow personalities, created to give the impression āeveryoneā thinks Randy is wrong and Yowcow is right.
Randy did not realize how right he was when he said he was being attacked by goons.
And before anyone asks, yes I joined here just to post in this thread. But I am not exhibiting āmultiple personalityā disorder.
See also:
Yowcow āgoonsā gang up on someone who had the nerve to complain about them
http://www.yowcow-sucks.com/board/index.php?board=1.0
Randy doesnāt have to do his posting at paypalsucks.com, a site where yowcow is a major advertiser, and where Yowcow spends all their time promoting themselves and attacking anyone they perceive as even mildly questioning the way Yowcow works. If they spent 1/10 the time and energy on customer service, perhaps Randy wouldnāt have had this problem.
Gee getreal, when did you join? OOOOOh, in the āvery young month of Augustā. Snort.
Hang on a second. This really doesnt make any sense. How on earth would they know what fees you āBANKā charges? Ive read thier policy and you are right in regards that THEY DONT charge any other fees. For goodness sakes, if it is your bank that has charged these fees, then YowCow has done right by you. Have you even bothered to contact your bank prior to this post, or did you fly off the handle? Oooops, you already answered that
Quote:
If this is a fee which is imposed by the credit card company, itās the same difference. Since your post, I will now call the credit card company and ask them if this fee was imposed and update you on what they say.
Unquote
Ive contacted them pretending to be an upset customer and they responded, even quicker than the first time, yet I STILL have not got any feedback from YOUR support. Its been over 24 hours since the first email to your site.
Please dont label me a goon as that is not called for. Im very upset at the way you and getreal have handled such a petty issue, when in fact your website has yet to respond in a timely manner. What makes you even worse, is that you are throwing other things at them and forgetting what your purpose of the post was. You have taken a petty issue and turned it into something hateful, which quite frankly makes me SICK !
FYI, I am a her, not a him.
How do you treat your customers Mr Sink, if they make a mistake? Humiliate them on a public forum?
You disgust me !
I will now make it my mission to show people how low vacationsense.com can stoop. I will show in forums how your bulldog getreal is let loose on forums to attack innocent posters with thier own opinions. The way all this has been handled is not reasonable and people should be made aware of what they are getting into when they deal with vacationsense.com and its staff.
RE: Humiliating customers - Lest we forget Randy is the customer and Yowcow has been attempting to humiliate him.
You are not Mr. Sinkās customer, nor is Yowcow. Where do you get the nerve to attack Mr. Sinkās customer service, which exists to service his own customers?
I hope youāre posting from a public terminal, because I believe Mr. Sink has an actionable case against you for defamation and harassment, and your IP can be traced. And after never having any involvement in this message board before, why are you so intensely interested in this? āThe lady doth protest too muchā - Shakespeare
RE: āIāve contacted them pretending to be an upset customerā
Jesse, what kind of nut case are you? Get a life!
Send me your email address and Iāll send you a $10 certificate for a reading comprehension course.
In the post you replied to, I wrote:
āAnd before anyone asks, yes I joined here just to post in this thread. But I am not exhibiting āmultiple personalityā disorder.ā
Bring this to Jesseās attention, sheās got a hot line to Yowcow. She gets her questions answered immediately
I beg your pardon?
You want to take me to court for asking a question?
You want to take me to court for asking what Mr Sink would do if his customers made a mistake?
You want to take me to court for asking if Mr Sinks has even bothered to talk to his bank?
You want to take me to court for harrasment and defamation when all I have seen from you is the degrading of posters who post questions.
I hope you dont use your male chauvinistic attitude in public, getreal.
Its a pity that email will not get responded to from vacationsense as you rightly stated, even though vacationsense.com/contact-us.htm is clearly posted.
Bully tactics and threats to innocent posters by vactionsense should be public known on the internet. Dont you think so, getreal?
I came here and posted because I was generally interested in the outcome of all this as I am thinking of using YowCow and it only makes sense to do some research.
I didnt expect to get abused, threatened and talked down to, because I am a female.
forums.femalewebmasters.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2350
You wrote:
"How do you treat your customers Mr Sink, if they make a mistake? Humiliate them on a public forum?
You disgust me !
I will now make it my mission to show people how low vacationsense.com can stoop. I will show in forums how your bulldog getreal is let loose on forums to attack innocent posters with thier own opinions. The way all this has been handled is not reasonable and people should be made aware of what they are getting into when they deal with vacationsense.com and its staff."
[b]You have no legitimate business with vacationsense.com. You are harassing him in his place of business. You are defaming Mr. Sink personally, and his business, in public, over a matter in which you are not involved, for the purpose of damaging his business and reputation. The fact that you are āthinkingā about using Yowcowās service provides you with no status in this case.
If you were ever involved in a business, you would know that Mr. Sink has no obligation to repond to unsolicited message he receives. You have no service to offer him, and he would not be expected to respond to unsolicited offers of service in any case. The only obligation he has is not to discriminate against bona fide clients on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, or age. You are not a bona fide client, you are a wacko. Look it up in the dictionary, if you canāt spell it, just look for your picture, it will be there under the word, wacko.
Mr. Sink is running a business, he is not looking for penpals. Stop waiting for an email response from him, you are not entitled to one. Go for a walk smell the roses.
You are making groundless accusations about how he treats his customers, for the purpose of damaging his business. Heās got an excellent case, and your best defense is insanity (i.e. the nut case defense, which it looks like you can make stick, solely on the basis of your actions on this board).[/b]
Iāve got a good lawyer for him. I can recommend the same lawyer to Yowcow if you call them pretending to be upset customer - this is harassment too.
So tell me again, why is it Tizer never got an answer to his questions to Yowcow? I suppose heās lying too? He wanted to use Yowcow, but all you moocows are too busy playing Sybil all day on the internet to answer legitmate customer inquiries.