Another life lesson learned - Do Not Ever buy a "Green Dot Debit Card" for any reason. Especially for a gift. This company is a SCAM. These cards are actually for sale in CVS, Walgreens and other outlets. In today's blog you'll learn why you should avoid them (and the mess I dealt with).
WHY I BOUGHT IT - Last week my credit card was compromised (2nd time in a year, UGH) and I refuse to use my debit card for on-line purchases (because if you do, and it gets compromised, thieves can wipe out your bank account). So, these "Green Dot" cards came recommended by an acquaintance on social media. BIG MISTAKE.
HOW IT WORKS - First, you must pay $2.00 for the card at purchase on top of the amount you want to put on it. I put $20 on the card because that was the minimum. I didn't mind the $2.00 since it's a service. What I DID mind came next.
CARD NUMBER COMPROMISED - I don't understand why people steal other people's credit and debit cards. It seems that people go into stores and write the card numbers down or something. Whatever happened, the number of the GREEN DOT Debit Card was STOLEN and used, not once but 3 TIMES in 1 week. * When you set up the card, they ask for a phone number, so they texted me of 3 different fraud alerts, two from Fake companies in Florida, one in California... so I had to reply "NO" to the valid charges text question. -
ONE OF THE FRAUDULENT CHARGES- Some weird website listed as www.schfve.com charged $39.99 on the card. I've never heard of them.
HIDDEN MONTHLY FEE CHARGED NEXT DAY AFTER PURCHASE - I had to log into the Green Dot Website to check that the false charges were removed (which totaled $83 and the card only had $20 on it). That's when I saw "GREEN DOT MONTHLY MAINTENANCE FEE" of $7.95! So, just ONE DAY after I put $20 on the card, it was only worth $12.05 . WTH?
POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE - I tried going the "Chat" route on their website, which was useless. Then I finally found a phone number and went through about 10 prompts, including inputting your card number, Phone#, Birthday and SS# (which I found out was mandatory to prevent terrorists from buying debit cards and purchasing airline tickets- it's a 9/11 regluation- that I'm uncomfortable with). 30 Minutes of navigating later, I got a HUMAN. They put an "In-store purchase Only" lock on the card, so on-line purchases were blocked - at least that was okay.
TO REISSUE THE CARD - Would be yet another $5.00 charge to the already dwindling balance of $12.95. I was ready to tell them to keep the freaking Card!
THEN...
ANOTHER CHARGE WHILE I WAS On-LINE with Customer Service! - They said another $2.99 charge was JUST MADE against the card from another company while I was on hold! WTH? The customer Service Person said, "You can dispute the charge but I have to transfer your call." So he did. RIGHT into LIMBO.
NO MORE RESPONSE - I called back again. And again, and again. No one answered. I went back to the On-Line Chat, and got a response that said "Someone will return your call in 24 hours." They didn't.
END RESULT- No resolution. My $22 card is now worth $9.06 and I must spend it in store today to keep the money, otherwise the July "Monthly Fee" will take another $7.95 and leave the card at $1.11. THIS IS A SCAM.
CVS and Walgreens should immediately stop selling this garbage.
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