A friend gifted us with a $100 Visa gift card issued by All-Access (aka Netspend aka Inter National Bank).
After about a year we called All-Access to confirm that the card could be used for Internet purchases, and we were told that the card was now worth $50-something dollars.
The service rep on the phone told us that the extremely fine print tucked away at the bottom on the back of the gift card enevelope, makes it abundantly clear that All-Access will deduct a $4.95 administrative charge each and every month after an initial period of 6 months. WTF?!!
This is the kind of greedy sh! T that the @ssh0les in the financial community indulge in at the expense of other people. They are not happy charging us $5.95 for the card purchase and then taking the money they get for the card and using it to earn more interest and leverage. They have to try and screw us out of more of our money.
I am almost certain that most other gift cards use similar tactics. Why? Because the @ssh0les in the banking/finance community are predictably greedy and all run in a herd. If they see another finance @ssw! Pe using a tactic or business strategy to gain an edge, they can't bear not getting a piece of the same action. It does not matter if that tactic is unethical or immoral or even borderline-illegal. This mentality is the root cause behind the recent implosion of our financial system.
Lessons from my story:
1) Avoid gift cards. Give real cash and urge others to do the same.
2) Read and understand the fine print if you must use a gift card.
3) Write, lobby, and convince as many political, business, social leaders that the financial system needs to be completely changed if we are going to stop our country from degrading into an oligarchy owned by bankers.
Thanks for reading this!
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