Consumer complaint received 2019-09-11
Company: Netspend Corporation
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase or transfer

Complaint:
I previously used a pre-paid card and listed it for direct deposit of my XXXX XXXX   payments. I wasn't receiving payments for XXXX XXXX on a consistent basis so years passed and it never occurred to me to update my direct deposit info with the XXXX XXXX agency. On XX/XX/19 & XX/XX/19 I received text messages from IL XXXX XXXX XXXX that there were payments direct deposited. Upon calling the agency I discovered that they had my old Netspend account on file. I reached out to Netspend to confirm the deposits were in fact received and they were, this took place on XX/XX/19. I started this process at XXXX Pacific time and the saga continued until well after XXXX. I was bounced all around and placed on hold numerous times with no resolution. They asked me for my address, my name, my SSN, questions regarding family members, my new and old phone numbers, the list goes on and on. For starters I initiated the call to let them know I was notfied that my XXXX  XXXX   deposits had been sent to the account and I explained that I hadn't used the account in a very long time so therefore I no longer had the card. I was advised to purchase a temporary card from the store and call back to have the funds in my account transferred to the temporary card. When I called back I was told that I couldn't have the transfer completed because there were restrictions on my account, keep in mind that it's now about XXXX and I've been off and on the phone with Netspend since XXXX. No one ever said there were restrictions on my account. So now I get transferred to the Risk Management Dept- I'm told I need to email or fax documentation showing proof of identity. This is not the problem, the issue is that I've spent alllll day on and off the phone with Netspend and no one ever mentioned that I needed to submit anythng. By the time I found this out I was late for my second job and I ended up missing work because I had to go home to use the computer to upload these documents. I missed 6hrs of work from my PT job as I work 2 jobs to take care of my family. This is why receiving the XXXX XXXX was so important. Around XXXX Pacific time I was finally able to get the issue resolved but 1st I had to have 1 more phone call and be on hold to reach someone who then was less than helpful because she wasn't listening to me. I gave her a summary of the issue prior to requesting help with the transfer. The representative in the Risk Dept had me wait 15-20mins before calling back to request the transfer, only to call back and get the same type of reception as the previous calls. The final call of the day was with a supervisor who was able to resolve the issue. The purpose of this complaint is not just to whine about my personal issue in dealing with Netspend but to let you know how traumatic something like this can be to anyone when in need of accessing their funds. It's a trickle down effect for those of us living pay check to pay check and this caused a great inconvenience for me, I needed this money to pay for a car rental as my car is down and I have to have a car to get to work here, I was devastated. I just can't stress enough that halfway doing a job is unacceptable, this should have NEVER taken and entire day to just gain understanding literally. Once my direct deposit information has been updated with XXXX  XXXX I will NEVER use Netspend again. The loss of time and money is just not worth it

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