Consumer complaint received 2019-05-17
Company: Netspend Corporation
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Trouble using the card
Sub-issue: Problem adding money

Complaint:
I obtained a NetSpend prepaid / reloadable card from the Check Center check cashers in XXXX, California ... I set up Direct Deposit to receive my SSI checks directly to the card. The card worked OK for most purchases and even for ATM withdrawals but some time later the card was stolen along with my smartphone wallet containing my drivers ' license, social security card, and smartphone. There is about {$1400.00}. in the NetSpend / XXXX account but due to some sort of technical idiocy at NetSpend ( including their horrible " Customer Service '' reps in the XXXX who can barely speak English but act like they are English scholars ), I am unable to get NetSpend to send me a new card and put my money on it. I even went to a XXXX XXXX locally here with someone else 's money ( {$2.00} for the replacement card plus {$20.00}. minimum deposit just to activate the card at all ) ... first of all, the card I got had a built-in no-ATM limitation which was not mentioned on the card, the card packaging or by the store clerk who sold me the card, so I could not even access the CASH I just had in my hand just seconds before I put the money on the card, following instructions from a NetSpend " customer service '' phone rep who told me to go and buy another NetSpend card, then call them back to be " identified '' over the phone so that the new card could be activated, the existing $ 1300+ on the account transferred to the new temporary card, and a new card issued with my name on it ( non-temporary ) and mailed to my new address in XXXX , Arizona  ( I moved largely BECAUSE of the theft, thinking where I was living was simply full of thieves ) ... a second call to NetSpend `` customer service '' yielded the realization from them that they can not put my account balance on the new card because it has a limitation on it because I have " not identified myself '' ... the rep didn't even tell me HOW to identify myself to them except that, again, I had to call in with my details that only I would know and that would suffice for identification ... I have emailed XXXX,  uploaded a copy of my previously-scanned California Drivers ' License ( same one I used to get the Check Center NetSpend card in the first place! ) to XXXX, then forwarded to XXXX  and have received no human ( non-auto-responder ) response for the past few days ... based on NetSpend 's irresponsibility in the past ( well documented by the Federal Trade Commission on their website ), and their CURRENT irresponsibility where my account is concerned, I do not expect to receive any satisfaction from NetSpend directly and am ready to sue but am now 'exhausting legal remedies ' administratively before proceeding into court and filing ( another ) complaint with the FTC ... I sent all my XXXX routing and account numbers, amounts deposited, dates deposits made, etc. which I obtained from XXXX XXXX, the Office Manager at the Social Security Administration office in XXXX, and they continue to send auto-responses and repeat the useless unusable boilerplate instructions to me by email in response every time. The last email I received from them said the complaint had been " Escalated '' to Corporate but I have no faith in them at all ; I just want my money back from this ripoff company, can you help???

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