Consumer complaint received 2020-10-20
Company: Netspend Corporation
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX my card was charged XXXX withdrawal at XXXX XXXX  in XXXX, Alabama. Along with a XXXX over the counter withdrawal fee. I receive automatic real time alerts anytime a transaction is made on my netspend card. I immediately contacted netspend and told them about the charge and cancelled the card on XXXX. I was told by customer service I could not dispute the charge until it went from pending to posted. The charge posted on XXXX which I disputed immediately. 

I reached out to XXXX XXXX  and was told they were not able to assist me because I do not have an account at the bank and I needed to reach out to my debit card to discuss the fraudulent charge. And their fraud department will communicate directly with my fraud department. 

I also contacted police department on XXXX in XXXX Alabama in reference to this and was told to reach out to my local police department to file an economic crime. I contacted my local police department in Virginia on XXXX and filed a report. 

I was told on XXXX they were going to provide me with a provisional credit of XXXX while they investigated further. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I was contacted by local detectives asking if there has been any update and advised I have not heard anything from Netspend in reference to this last update I received was on XXXX after I submitted a formal letter of my request that my funds be returned to me as this was an unauthorized charge. I do not live in Alabama and never have been to Alabama or no anyone in Alabama and no one had permission to charge my card in this matter. I was told I wouldnt get an update until XX/XX/XXXX. The police department wanted to know was there footage of the criminal who stole the money from my account. 

I contacted netspend on XX/XX/XXXX to ask if they had been in contact with XXXX bank and was given this response : Provisional credit issued. Next XXXX  update XX/XX/XXXX. 

According to Regulation E and your Cardholder Agreement, we will determine whether an error occurred within ten ( 10 ) business days ( twenty ( 20 ) business days for new accounts ).

We will notify you in writing as soon as more information is available.

Because this claim is not pertaining to an error on your account, and is a service/merchandise issue, Regulation E does not require a provisional credit be issued. Regulation E is a regulation that financial institutions must follow when receiving reports of errors. Because your dispute is between you and the merchant, concerning service/merchandise, it is not covered under Regulation E. However, we will work on your behalf to file a chargeback with the payment network in order to try and retrieve the funds from the merchant.

The chargeback will be submitted through the payment network within ten ( 10 ) business days, to reverse the funds from the merchant. A chargeback can take up to forty-five ( 45 ) calendar days ( ninety ( 90 ) calendar days for point-of-sale or foreign-initiated transactions, or new accounts ). During this time, the payment network will hold the funds until either the merchant provides documentation to validate the transaction or the timeframe has been reached.

We will notify you in writing as soon as more information is available.

This was not a merchandise/purchase or an authorized purchase so I am not sure why I am being held to this elusive regulation e. This is  criminal activity and I am being punished by XXXX XXXX  and Netspend for their negligence. I cant get straight answers from either XXXX XXXX  or Netspend and I am becoming increasingly concerned that I am being scammed by both bank institutions.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation