Consumer complaint received 2019-01-06
Company: Netspend Corporation
State: MO
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:
My Netspend debit card was stolen on XX/XX/XXXX and PIN number compromised. Two unauthorized ATM transactions ( at 2 different locations ) were made as a result. A dispute was made the same day as well as a police report filed and a provisional line of credit requested. 

The dispute was quickly declined with no account credit given. I was informed their decision was based on " no error found ''. I was told these transactions were consistent with my spending habits and I did not change my PIN. After receiving the documentation to back up their findings, the one ATM they said was consistent was used several times during XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX. I argued their findings did not show any consistency since they occurred 4-6 years earlier. The other ATM was never used at all. The PIN was never changed because I had not yet realized at that time my debit card was missing. The dispute was opened back up for further evaluation. 

I tried calling several times over the next 2 months for updates. The only way you can do this is to schedule a return phone call or by email. Both take up to 48 hours for a response. They have no direct incoming phone lines and your call can not be transferred to them. I did finally get a response and was told they needed a copy of the police report as this would show sufficient proof to grant me credit. I got this report from the city ; s Records Division and faxed it to the dispute dept on XX/XX/XXXX.

After another long wait, I finally insisted on a higher level manager who escalated this dispute. After a couple days, I received a phone call from a representative who told me they still found no error and the police report was just an " incident report ''. It was not a valid police report. The only way for me to get my money back was to pursue prosecution on my own. They said this was their final decision and the case was considered closed with no account credit given. 

Additionally, after 6 long frustrating months of fighting this, another transaction was attempted from a XXXX member on XX/XX/XXXX. I called Netspend the same afternoon and was told this would not go thru. They noticed the person attempting the purchase was having trouble and errors were being made with the merchant to indicate suspicious activity. I was advised this was being declined and the money would go back into my account. Somehow this fell thru and I was still charged. Five days later 9 more charges came through from XXXX. These occurred during the middle of the night and early morning hours when I was still sleeping. 

These charges were all debit signature purchases and total {$1500.00}. When I woke and realized, I called immediately. Several of these charges were actually still pending and I told them to stop payment or decline them because they weren't mine. I was told they could not do this but had to wait for them to post first and then dispute them. This is false information as one of my own legit transactions for a mere {$14.00} was declined based on being suspicious. The only credit I have received so far out of all this has been for {$110.00}. 

My balance was nearly wiped out and more disputes had to be started. I had to wait for another new card. After receiving that & activating it, I was able to use it 2-3 times until XX/XX/XXXX when I tried to pay a bill. The card stopped working and I was blocked from logging into my account. When I called to find out why, I was told my account had been closed. The little balance I had left was {$410.00} and this would be sent to me by paper check which would take 15-20 days to receive. They also said the latest disputes were still on-going and I guess they will send them by paper check as well. 

My whole argument with this latest activity is why these transactions were not stopped from the start since suspicious activity was evident to begin with. I was clearly told the 1st one on XX/XX/XXXX was being declined. Not only that but why would NINE MORE transactions be allowed? To make matters even worse, they closed my account out entirely which denied me access to the balance I had left. 

What am I supposed to do now? My direct deposit had to be rerouted and I have been left with nothing. Closing the account with no indication was wrong. It was not only untimely but not necessary. This could have waited until disputes resolved and still allow me access to my balance of {$410.00}. 

This has left me devastated. Netspend has lied to me, deceived me and then closed my account without my knowledge. I am now desperate and stuck in a serious financial jam with bills to pay. I have been more than patient and have supplied sufficient proof of fraud. I feel all I have been given this entire time is the run around to avoid reimbursement. 

These business practices should clearly be deemed unethical and completely unfair. PLEASE 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