Consumer complaint received 2021-08-28
Company: Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc.
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Gift card
Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Sub-issue: Trouble getting a working replacement card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I was issued a virtual Mastercard Gift Card through Blackhawk Network for a class action settlement just shy of {$900.00}. I was getting ready to leave for vacation later in the month and thought it would be more convenient to have this virtual card transferred to a physical card. So around XX/XX/XXXX I requested a physical card be sent to me through their website. I was told it would take 10-14 business days for the card to arrive. It did not make it before I left for vacation so I expected it to be there when I returned. It was not. On XX/XX/XXXX I went to XXXX and used the virtual card that I had linked to my XXXX XXXX  account previously. When I returned home I called the phone number associated with the company to figure out what the balance was on my card. When I called, the automated service told me that my card was expired and that it was no longer an active account. Confused, because I had just used it, I requested to speak to a representative. When the rep picked up, the first thing they asked was for me to verify my address, which I did. She then explained to me that my card had not expired, but that I had been issued a physical card and used it, so when I used it, it disabled my virtual card. I explained to her that I had not received nor used a physical card. She verified the last purchase made on the card was from XXXX, so I informed her that that purchase was made using the virtual card. So, after telling me that the physical card had been issued, mailed, and used by me, she then told me that " actually I see here the card was just sent out on XXXX ( the day prior to this phone call ), and that rest assured it would be delivered to me within 7-10 business days ''. I asked what address they mailed it to and she said " whatever address you told me at the beginning of this call. '' Frustrated, I ended our conversation expecting I may see a card in the mail in the next couple weeks. A couple weeks came and went, and no card was delivered. My virtual card no longer works at this point either. I waited until XX/XX/XXXX and at that point filed a complaint with the XXXX. I also reached out to the company via their company XXXX page. Surprisingly I received a response from them regarding my XXXX message. They apologized for my experience and issued me a case number " XXXX ''. A couple days had passed and I hadn't gotten a response from the company regarding my XXXX  complaint or my case number. I messaged them back again through XXXX asking for an email address or someway to contact their company in writing. They told me that there was no way to give me contact information for the person involved in my case, but they would pass my request for a quick reply along. Again, frustrated, I contacted the company by phone on XX/XX/XXXX. This time I spoke with a man named " XXXX ''. I explained the entire situation over again to XXXX. XXXX tells me that " yes, the card was issued on XXXX as you said, but it actually takes 15-21 days to receive it. So since it's only been 15 days I suggest you wait another 5-6 days and it will be delivered ''. I told XXXX that was not acceptable and that I want a new virtual card issued to me that day. He said that wasn't something he could do, so I demanded to be transferred to someone that could. He sent me to his supervisor. I did not catch the name of the supervisor. I explained the entire situation yet again and again demanded that a virtual card be issued. She said " I suggest that you wait a few more days because the card was just mailed to you on XX/XX/XXXX and it takes 7-10 business days to receive, so it should be coming to you soon ''. I was astonished. I've now been given a 3rd date of when the one card had been issued. I asked her what address the card had been issued and she tells me " the address in Illinois like you said ''. At this point I'm beyond angry. I told her I was not hanging up until I was issued a new virtual card. She put me on hold for quite some time, coming back on every few minutes to tell me she was researching my options. She finally got back on and said she had received approval to issue me a new virtual card. She asked me to verify my email, which I had her read back to me. I told her I would access my email with her on the phone to verify that I had received it. To which she replied " I'm sorry, but it takes 1 to 2 hours to process the request and have it reach your email ''. I asked who I was supposed to contact when this email doesn't exist in 1 to 2 hours, and she said I could call that number back. I made it quite clear to her that I was onto the scam they are trying to pull. She denied nothing. It's been one deliberate lie after another. I've never had an experience like this with a company in my life. I can not believe with all of the identical complaints about this company that they are allowed to continue to operate. I have {$340.00} left on that card. I can only imagine how much money they have scammed out of their customers over the years. It's absolutely sickening.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation