alternatives for merchant account? please help

[ineedhelp07]

Hi, i recently started up a business but I don't have very good credit so its very hard to get a merchant account. I have tried pay pal but my clients don't like having to go online and dealing with it because I am in the type of business where everything is done over the phone. I have applied for quite a few merchant accounts and haven't gotten approved. Does anyone have any alternatives? oh and i don't have a tax id number yet or a company ein number yet. any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. thank you

[ownedbox]

whats the nature of your business that it needs to be over the phone?
how about moneygram and western union.

[ineedhelp07]

My business is a consumer based advocate group and we assist people in going after fraudulent companies that they have been defrauded by. Because we are offering a service instead of an actual item paypal wont let us charge more than 500$. Most of the times are fees are more than that amount. and western union we have used but alot of clients find it a hassle and they also dont take discover.

[ownedbox]

you can receive unlimited payments in a verified paypal as far as i know but probably depend to which country and the type of account.
can you tell us, why didn't they allow it?

[ineedhelp07]

Well one of my problems is having to have the clients create an account and verify it and all that. I'm helping people that have been scammed so already they are hesitant in doing business at all. But even with that i had clients make accounts and get verified but now paypal said i cant accept any payments through them at all because of the fact that i had a lot of activity on my account to begin with. They are saying its too high risk for them and they aren't willing to take the chance. I've tried calling to talk to them but they said that i have to use another way.

[ownedbox]

They're always suspicious though. I guess they'd not take chances to give away money to you all because clients signed up thru you.
You'll gonna have to do it manually and make an effort to go to your clients to reduce their hassles after all its about services that you offer.

[Fergal]

What about asking your customers to send you a cheque, would they be prepared to do that?

Other options to look at would be 2Checkout and Yahoo Merchant Services.

[patriciaa]

I have a growing high risk business. Do I keep on using Paypal or obtain a merchant account as my business grows? Is it safer to choose for a third party high risk merchant account provider?