Consumer complaint received 2023-07-25
Company: FISERV INC.
State: DC
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 am writing to complain about a dispute I lodged in XX/XX/XXXX regarding unauthorized transactions on the Money Network prepaid card I received from the XXXX XXXX XXXX. {$5500.00} was stolen from my Money Network prepaid account after my card information was stolen by a man named XXXX XXXX on or around XX/XX/XXXX. I had asked XXXX XXXX for assistance with setting up XXXX  on my phone because I couldnt get the app to work by myself and I wanted to transfer money to my sister so she could buy some clothes. I asked XXXX XXXX to put my Money Network card into the app on my phone so I could start transferring money. After he set up the app for me, he gave me back my phone and Money Network card. 

Later that month, I realized my account balance was dropping quickly even though I was barely using my card. I notified Money Network, and they provided me with a transaction dispute form. I immediately completed it and returned it to Money Network on XX/XX/XXXX. Money Network then sent me a written denial of my dispute, dated XX/XX/XXXX ( the same day that I sent the completed transaction dispute form to them ). 

Then, on XX/XX/XXXX, staff at the halfway house where XXXX XXXX and I were living confronted XXXX XXXX about whether he had stolen my card information. They confiscated his phone and confirmed he had stolen my card information and stored it on his own cell phone. They called the police, but XXXX XXXX ran away from the halfway house before they could catch him. The Office of the States Attorney for XXXX XXXX criminally charged XXXX XXXX with theft and I was subpoenaed to testify against him. I went to the courthouse to testify twice, but they cancelled the hearings because they still hadnt caught XXXX XXXX. 

I wasnt sure what to do about Money Network denying my dispute, so I found an attorney from a nonprofit in DC to help me find additional evidence to show XXXX XXXX had been using my card without my permission and to provide guidance on additional steps I should take. She looked at the transactions on my card and discovered that XXXX XXXX was XXXX friends with most of the people he had been transferring money to. For example, at least {$4600.00} was transferred to someone named XXXX XXXX, who was XXXX XXXX friend on XXXX. My attorney shared the evidence that she gathered with the prosecutor who had filed the criminal case against XXXX XXXX. She also sent a letter to Money Network that included the additional evidence and requested reimbursement for the unauthorized charges. She additionally asked them to provide all documents they had relied on to conclude their initial investigation. 

Money Network confirmed by phone that they received the letter from my attorney on XX/XX/XXXX. They also said they re-opened the investigation, and that they normally take 45 days to complete investigations but that it could take up to 90 days. The 90-day deadline was XX/XX/XXXX, and I havent heard anything from Money Network XXXX The lawyer sent them a follow-up letter on XX/XX/XXXX to see if they needed any more information for their investigation, but they never responded to that either.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation