NetSpend review: nothing but embarrassment and severe inconvenience! 130

I would like to file a complaint against NetSpend Prepaid Visa Credit Card I parched one on line and I have been having trouble with it I had it for 3 days and only used it 2-3 times when someone at the company put a freeze on it and now they refuse to remove it even though I have fax all the documents time and time again . this has causes me not only tremendous embracement but also a great deal of inconvences. Over Over Over Over Over the last 2 1/2 weeks I have made numerous calls to them , the last call I made was on Friday oct,20.2006 at apex 11:00 am and I was told that the freeze was off as of Saturday night it has not been lifted.

I still have money on it [not munch never the less it's still that] and they refuse to send it back.

I have asked then time after time to either to fix my account or refund me my money and they refused to do either one .

Thank you

Debit card complaints can be sent to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) Customer Assistance Group ( http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm#Filing%20a%20Formal%20Complaint ). They regulate national banks and operating subsidiaries of national banks, which I think is what Netspend is. When I complained to the OCC about Netspend, the OCC opened a case and sent me a letter with the case number and at the top of the letter they referred to "Inter National Bank" and put "Netspend VISA" in parentheses.

My experience is that the OCC will contact Netspend and Netspend will try a little harder to help. Unfortunately, the OCC may not inform you of their decision as they promise in their letter if they think Netspend settled the case with you. I believe that's why the OCC never informed me of their decision, so I requested all correspondence between the OCC and Netspend regarding my complaint under the Freedom of Information Act, and I asked what the outcome was. The due date for the documents is five days from now.

The reason I'm suspicious of the OCC is based on more than them not getting back to me. See the following webpages.

http://www.nader.org/interest/091004.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/
http://www.aota.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21692

P.S. On the PBS page that I linked to in my last post, search for the episode named Secret History of the Credit Card.

When I added my son onto my account. I went to starbucks to purchase a beverage for $2.90. The charge was declined "twice". Embarrassed I paid cash for it. I called netspend on 3/26/07 to ask why. Apparently when you add someone onto your account it "FREEZES" the entire account so you do not have access to the funds. They do not inform you of this when you are online adding a person. I believe they do this to "hold" funds and collect interest. I was in banking and it is a common practice for banks to deposit their funds into other banks in order to collect interest or to hold funds to inflate their financial status. The fees they collect are more than substantial to cover the expenses of administering the account. I was satisfied with this company until they froze "MY MONEY".

I don't know why they let you send money from paypal to your netspend account but yet they won't let me transfer money to paypal it's just crazy. By the way other then that I've had a pretty good experience with the card SO FAR! CROSSES FINGERS :0

net spend wote work for u i had over $2, 000.00 in paypal and put the money on net spend and now paypal is $1526, xxx.00 and net spend wote find out why the deposit was incorrect net spend sucks but i had no pro.s when i add cash so i dont use paypal anymore i took my money out of paypal and just keep the cash and ebay sucks too i use ubid.com

I have used Netspend for a long time, I have my direct deposit from work and my son's social security check incoming to that account. I have never experienced any problems.

I just got a hundred dollar, non-reloadable, card to use online. That didn't work. So now I google the bank and company and am reading all these negative things. I sure hope I didn't just kiss a hundred bucks good bye. I'm a regular customer where I bought it. If I get screwed I'll be printing ALL the complaints I can find online and showing the store manager. I find it quite odd and worrysome that I am unable to get their web page to come up. Very "fishy". Andy

P.S. I'd be interested to know if the "customer service" phone number gets me a third party, middle eastern sounding representative.

I am having problems too and have had 2 cards sent, not able to use the card at a lot of places, when I call for a balance or to log on I cannot get the info. because it says my card # ...is not an actual cars, yet I have been able to use it other times. I've been trying online ordets for xmas and they are denying the card...nothing but HASSELS

ps I am having the same problems with the NETSPEND MASTERCARD also- beware! Also, I should have stated above that when I call for asst. I am charged everytime 50 cents over and over. I asked these fees to be waived and I was told yes- no it has not been waived. The staff always says they have fixed the problems and I go to use it again - same ###- different day, to be blunt! I had a Western Union Mastercard. I bought the Netspend Mastercard and Visa because I was having these issues with that card- Same issues with these.

I have had a netspend reloadable for 2 months now. I have not had any problems with this card until recently.
I was double charged by a proccessor and asked for this to be fixed. They took the charge out then put same amount as pending.. I was told that I would have to wait 30 days to get my money back.. so goodbye netspend and hello capital one prepaid.

netspend is a rip off.

netspend ripped me off. i used it at a atm machine. the machine was out of money. i did not know that...i got and error message to try again...so i tried again 3 more times...i got no money out of the atm... but i got hit with a $2.50 fee 3 times ...when i called net spend they said they charge $2.50 for each time i get money. i told them i got no money 3 times...the man on the phone said "i see on the computer you got no money out of the atm...but you are still charged the 2.50 fee each time you use it regardless if you get money out or not. they would not let me talk to a supervisor either...they said it is in your agreement that you pay us everythime you stick the card in the machine wether or not the transaction is completed or not. i am pissed

I have netspend visa and I had no problem with it except when I try to get cash from my acct! When ask if it was a cking acct or saveing acct? I was hit the button (SAVING) because I dont have a cking acct at all! It came back with a message saying funds wert availble? Well I new I had over $1000 ths in my acct! Got custmer service on the line! found out when you were ask if it was a saveing or cking acct? Y need to hit the button ( CKING ACCT ) ! The machine spit out my money! I love my netspend (VISA) I use for on line to buy whatever & gas staion when ask for pass word you enter the zip code! the same zip code you use when you fill your apply for your visa! Like I said I wouldnt go any where without my (NETSPEND) Mike

Wow

Debit = Checking.

For real, I don't even see how you got confused on that one. Even if you had the netspend savings account, you can't access it on an atm.

Glad you like your card and you aren't complaining about stuff that really isn't netspends fault.

But yeah, debit always equals checking, lol, rock on mike . . . :)

I work for a company that sells Netspend prepaid debit cards. If Netspend is freezing your account, it is because when they screened your account to make sure the information on the account matches your social security number, something didn't match. When you add a second user on the card, you must supply Netspend with the social security number and other information for that second user. Netspend is government regulated, and they have had A LOT of money laundering in the past, so YES, they will freeze your account if something doesn't match up.

As far as being charged 50 cents each time you are calling customer service...you must listen to the prompts! The reason you are being charged is because you are choosing the balance inquiry option. If you want to get directly to a customer service rep, Press 0 as soon as the menu starts. The automated system will still have you enter your card number and pin number, but you will get a human. If you do not understand them, or they do not speak clear English, tell them you need an English speaking person. I have had to do this on the vendor support line as well as the customer support line. It sucks, but unfortunately a lot of companies are outsourcing their customer service calls.

I would never recommend anyone use the ATM with their Netspend card, because you get ripped off on fees from the card and the ATM. You can go to most reload locations to withdraw funds. Also, you can use the debit option to get cash back at a retailer. Another thing I never recommend is paying at the pump for gas. ALWAYS go in to pay, or you will have money being held for up to 7 days after you pay at the pump.

I honestly think the Netspend cards are a great idea. For those of us that have ruined our credit with credit cards and overdrafts at our banks, Netspend is an excellent way to only spend what you have. I like the direct deposit option as well as the option to have a savings account on the card. By the way, the savings account pays more APY than most banks!

also if u want cash back here u can go to krogers customer service get cashback for free
u can load card at heb superstore for free
and anyone interested they are now paying 20.00 for referrals and ppl that have referred someone
just call netspend and give referral code [protected]
some are getting it after having card 3 and 4 yrs and some arent
the new signups have no problem they get it

I have owned my netspend card for over 2 years now. I decided to switch to netspend when my bank's overdraft fees began to eat up too much of my money. As we all know financial institutions post credits and debits in an unorthodox manner to ensure that money is taken out of your account through overdrafts and other hidden fees.
With netspend I can use only what is on my card and I never have a negative balance on my account. for $10 a month, $2.00 for atm withdrawals, and .50 per phone balance check, I can maintain this card. Those are the ONLY fees that netspend charges you. Since owning this card I have been able to afford to pay all my bills and save money. With their 5% apr savings account I can save money at a rate of almost 5x more than the average bank offers.
Netspend is not without its drawbacks however, their customer service is piss poor in my opinion. but i definitely feel that netspend is worth it in the end. for those who are getting hit with too many overdraft fees at your bank, try netspend for yourself and make your own informed decision, don't just base it off of the comments you see posted here.

Don't listen to hairstn. He is a company shill. The phony complaint at the end of the comment is only designed to make you think he is a real person.

The fact of the matter is that Netspend is probably the worst of all the prepaid debit cards. You get charged for using it and charged for not using it. That's fair.

I normally like Netspend...but I'm very upset after being told lies.

A company that I do business made a mistake, the lady charged me too much money by adding a zero to the end. She quickly voided the charge and then went ahead and charged me the correct amount minus the zero.

I informed Netspend about what happened. I was told that it was no problem and to just have the company fax in the voided receipt along with a letter explaining what had taken place, using the company letterhead. It was done, but first they didn't get it because they gave me the wrong fax number twice.

Finally, I fax it in, three times. They claim to have it, but let me add that I don't think they really saw it, they just know that it was sent in. I suspect that they don’t need it in the first place, so that is why they don't actually read the fax. Because they kept mixing up the info. on the fax. Anyway, they say that they have it, but because it is over $400, they have to make me wait 7 days.

So I say send it back to the Merchant, they tell me that the merchant can do it. When I question how it's done, I'm finally told that it can't be done. I explain that I will complain, to bbb...blah, blah...nothing matters.
I have to wait 7 days, if it's over $150 they say, then no only if it's over $400.
I explain that I need the money to travel, my son needs to have surgery.
Surgery that I have waited a year for and this money is very important, but it doesn't matter.
So either they are the cruelest ops in the world, or they really couldn't do anything.
I suspect that they really couldn't do anything or else surely they would have. Especially being on the phone for hours. Noone could be that cruel, right? Anyway, I don't know what to do.
They won't give me the money and they aren't going to release the money to the merchant. So as of right now, the only one that can have my money for the next 7 days is Netspend. I can't believe that they aren't willing to do anything else.

Especially when we have been with them for 5 years. We both get direct deposit.
All of the money is from a direct deposit!

Guess I will have to cry it out, and sleep in my car because that was my hotel money.
I still like them on a whole, but I'm very distressed over them not letting me get my money back, when clearly the merchant doesn’t intend to collect on it.
And the second charged that the merchant charged on the same day, which was the right one has already cleared.
So even without the proof of the receipt and letter from the company, on their letterhead and faxed from the company. They can see that...oh forget it!

I got a (Account now) Visa card and went ahead and set up direct deposit. They had a program iadvance that lets you get an advance on your check befor it comes so I borrowed the money and I came out short I kept borrowing every month so I wouldn't come out short they only charge a 15$ fee so it was no problem. But with no warning they stopped the iadvance on me and I had to sell my car just to pay the rent. I also have a credit card from visa and I reported it stolen it took them 7 days to really stop the card and I ended up haveing to pay 3, 400$ that someone used from my card and noone knows who it was and visa says its my fault for losing it. They are a legal scam and I have paid them off and will NEVER get another visa related card and they still send me offers anfter I called and took my name off the list twice two years ago!

Visa has ruined my life!

I transferred $485 from my paypal acct into Netspend several days ago. paypal listed the transaction as "pending" but today in my paypal acct it says it is "completed." However.. the money has not shown up in my Netspend acct. They told me to ask paypal for the tracing number. PP would not give me one but gave me some [censor] and bull story about the money going into the Netspend's "federal reserve" acct where it can sit for days. I called Netspend back and they informed me all transfers are posted to accts within one hour and there is no record of paypal transferring any money. Paypal has the correct acct number because they deposited verification amts of 3 and 17 cents (and it did not take days to do so). Now I don't know where my money is and paypal says they cannot give me the tracing number for 7 days. Originally they tried to convince me that the transaction number was the tracing number but when I wouldn't bite then the customer service person said I couldn't have it for 7 days. Paypal insists the money is no longer with them but Netspend does not have it. Btw, Netspend is a real bank (MetaBank) with branches in S Dak and Iowa.

I hate netspend. I tried to pay my bills online and tey rejected the payment by mistake. I got returned check charges from the power company and requested a letter fro netspend that verified it was their fault and not because I didnt have the funds. They said they have no such letter to send me and that was it. I hate them...as soon as i get my direct deposit working in my other account im dumping them!

My daughter in law recently moved in with me and purchased one of these cards to pay off some old bills. Even though she 'answered' all the extremely probing questions they required, and they did say she could now use her card. Well, when she tried to pay the bill - no go. Now they're requiring her to fax copy of driver's licence, social, and bill in her name at our address. She doesn't have anything at our address and why the bleep do they need my address? What a scam! She's not opening a bank account, she just wants to pay a freaking bill. They have her $$$ and will not let her use it! Now she's incurring late charges, etc. Speedway will not reimburse the $$ for this, so now she's out over $250. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TOTAL SCAM. SHAME ON SPEEDWAY FOR CARRYING THIS CARD AND SHAME ON NETSPEND FOR BILKING TO MANY PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR $$$. I am having her file a complaint with the Ohio attorney general.

I Maria Bravo Acevedo called on 9-25-12 and made a claim despute about some unauthorize transactions made with my Prepaid Master Card ending with 6398. On the following dates Sept. 6, 2012 $59.94 HSS Homes 8-27-12 $6.99AVANUQUEST.Ubill, com on 9-8-12 Jack Box $19.86 on 9-27-12 AVANUQUEST.Ubill.com $19.99, 9-8-12 $19.87, Sept. $6.58, 8-7-12 $6.00, 8-7-12 $1.00, Sept, 1 $1.00 3 times same amount and transaction made 8-16-12 $75.59. This transactions where made without my Authorization please fixed this and re embeberst me back my claim number is #[protected] claim made on the following date Sept. 25, 2012.

Thank you for your attention
Sincerely, Maria Bravo Acevedo
[protected]

I JUST WANT TO PREVENT PEOPLE OF USING PIVOT VISA CARD FROM PETRO CANADA. THEY FROZE MY ACCOUNT WITHOUT ANY GOOD REASON TO DO IT I BEEN TALKING TO THEM FOR A WEEK NOW THEY STILL CAN'T FIX IT. They don't want to give my money back. SO THIS IS THE WORST PREPAID CARD TO GET THEY ALSO SAID THAT IM NOT THE ONLY ONE HAVING THIS TECHNICAL PROBLEM .

text 22622 balance [protected] ssa 596.00 posted netspend elite corp tranfer [protected]

socail secuity adriminartion deposit account [protected] routing number [protected] meta bank ssa 596.00 posted po box autin texes united state 237 westb 48 streeet 5 floor ny 10036 passca confirm direct deposit account need posted meta bank [protected] [protected] text 22622 ace elite there women send federal check back sender wait card stolen then send federal funds back upon cleint calling payments

Netspend not releasing my direct deposit Netspend tends to charge for all kinds of fees, more or less I would like my money to appear on my card in a timely manner.
Yolandra Green

I tried to sign up for something and entered my info and was told it can't be verified. then I get a text saying there is a problem with my card and not to use it till I call the support center. I go to check my account and it says it's locked.

My card was used for a purchase through wish that i didn't make, i would like my money refunded and information on the person whom used my card for further criminal charges that i didn't make.

I filled a dispute because there were 2 unauthorized transactions. You closed my account after being a customer for 5 years. Dispute said transaction were authorized. Impossible. I was in jail I sent the information proving it. No reply. My dirct dep hits that acct in 2 says. told it will be rejected. And I paid 25 to have my new card s

Ive had my netspend card for over a year now and all my dd have always come on time but as of today my dd is not on time is there a reason why tge dd is late there has been no holidays so it can't be that.

You cant just charge people for nothing. It is illegal and will get you sued in court. I can let police know you are doing something illegal. You better stop with your cheating people out of money.

my account is now locked because i tried to add my spouse to it and my large tax deposit is missing me email is bri080976@gmail.com irs sent it 2 days ago and my deposit is missing i take what i owe you and give us our money please it was deposited 4 days ago were are the taxes?

Im so upset my account has been locked, im behind on bills and they wont help! Everytime I call I get put on hold or they hang up, this is very upsetting! Dont use netspend its not what they say it is!

Got an unsolicited Debit Card from Net Spend.
I will just through it into a garbage can.
Where did they got my name and info?
It sure looks like fraud to me!

No matter where I go i can't get the information I need.

I had to bury my husband and took out over$2000.00 and they froze my account.. Saying I can't get any money till October 26.. Now my car has been towed. I need to get my car out of the impound which I can't get because I can't get money from my account.. Now I'm going to have to pay more money to get my car.. This is bull..I need my money now..