NetSpend Corporation
Per-transaction fees and account frozen with money held

Background:

I bought my card at a check cashing location here in PHX AZ over 2 months ago now. I asked all the preliminary questions and everything seemed to be great. Right on the application I checked the 9.95 monthly fee so I didn't get charged per purchase. I also started to have my paycheck directly deposited into this bank account.

The problems begin:
I started checking my account history and noticed I was getting billed $2.00 Per transaction. This was easily adding up to $20.00 a week in fees for purchases I was making at the gas station for cigs or for a soda. I even bought a soda at the store for $1.29 and ended up paying $3.29 for a 20 ounce drink

If they would be able to retrieve my initial application they'd see I did request the 9.95 a month fee. They probably took over 150$ in fees. (RIP-OFF #1)

So, anyway, Xmas came around, and it was a week before Xmas. My daughter, who lives in a different state than I is four and a half years old. And she's the sweetest little girl, I might add. I bought her a LeapFrog Learning game system with some games. I bought it from Amazon. About 4 or 5 days till Xmas, Amazon tells me that they cannot ship the gift until Jan 15th. Of course this is completely unacceptable - a 4 year old does not understand santa being late. So I cancelled the order and made the purchase directly from Leap Frog. All is ok right? WRONG!

The $114 Purchase has been sitting as Pending since around the 16th of December. I cannot access those funds. I called Customer Support and they said any purchases over $100 can take up to 30 days for the money to come back to my account. The other option is having Amazon Send a FAX with a letterhead stating they will not be collecting the money. So I contacted Amazon and they said they sent the FAX. Guess what, the money is still held. After calling over 10 times, and trying to work as a liaison between these two companies, I gave up. Here it is January 17th and my money is still in pending status. (RIP-OFF #2)

So, Just last weekend I went to make a purchase and my card was declined. What the heck right? I got to netspend.com and check my account and it says it has been blocked and to contact the customer support, who are 90% from India I might add. I called them and they said because I did not active the card they sent with my name on it, they suspended my account. I told them I never received the card, and all my money is in that account. I have bills to pay. All my money is rapped into that account. Suspending it, takes away my ability to pay bills and feed myself. I could see if it was just the card, but I have NO WAY to access my money AT ALL. I have emails coming from companies saying payments were rejected, and they are closing services that I have. The customer service for Netspend said they will send me another card but will take 7-10 business days. Thats 2 weeks, without any money. I'm sorry but I need food, heat, a home to live in, car insurance.

This is my money and I want access to it; it is not Netspend's money. I should not be penalized like this and in no way prior was I informed that is was going to take place.

So Guess what, I found my card buried in my uncles bills. I called them and they said that there was a Fraud Block on my account now and that the people were not available to help me until the morning. So I called back the next day and they said there was weather conditions that kept the people who could help me out of the office that day. I was instructed to call back the next day.

So here it is the next day, I have 114$ that hasn't been placed back on my card and I have no access to any money. I can't even get my lunch for work. Let's call them right now and see what happens. I will type word for word what information I get from them.

Placing Call
I'm so frustrated with this.

Talking to: Gabrial
She transferred me to another department

-5 minute mark on hold/call queue
Approx wait time stated, 19 minutes.

-17 minute mark on hold/call queue
Approx wait time stated, 16 minutes.

-25 minute mark on hold/call queue
Approx Wait time stated, 14 minutes.

I have to hang up because I have to get back to work. My lunch break has ended. Thanks Netspend for your great experience!

Company: NetSpend Corporation
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Austin
Address: PO Box 2136
Phone: 8663877363

  <     >