Consumer complaint received 2020-09-25
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised — 
Company: Conduent Incorporated (OK)

My complaint is against Way2Go/Conduent, the vendor used by the Oklahoma XXXX  XXXX   Commission for unemployment payments. This company provides a Way2Go  debit card directly, or allows for automatic transfers of unemployment benefits to an individual 's bank account via direct deposit. I have been utilizing the automatic direct deposit since I first filed for benefits in XXXX after I was laid off due to COVID-19. I never utilized the Way2Go  debit card due to the fact this company Conduent has numerous complaints filed regarding inability to use the cards at various ATMs, daily withdrawal limits, random card freezes, late deposits, terrible customer service, etc. Since XXXX, XXXX  sends the funds for my regular weekly benefit to Conduent  on Monday, and the direct deposit is available in my XXXX XXXX  checking account by Wednesday of that week. 

This week, despite notifications from Way2Go/Conduent  that the deposits were automatically transferred on XX/XX/XXXX to my bank account, my bank has not received any deposits as of today, Friday XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX   implemented the Lost Wages Assistance program this week, and as I qualified for all 6 weeks of the benefit, I also received text notifcations from Conduent that multiple deposits of {$300.00}, totaling {$1800.00}, in addition to my regular weekly benefit, were also deposited and automatically transferred as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

I rely on my regular weekly benefit to pay my bills and support myself, including rent that is automatically drafted via XXXX  from my landlord on the first of every month. Not only have I not received that regular benefit, but the additional payment I am entitled to hasn't been received by my bank either, leaving me to wonder if I will have these funds available by the end of the month to pay my bills and keep my home. I have called Conduent  multiple times, and been given different answers each time I call. To date, neither Conduent nor XXXX  has provided anyone with an official reason for the delays or a timeframe of when we can expect direct deposits to be received. The answers Conduent call center reps have given include : deposits are behind due to an influx of payments by OESC and will be received within 3-5 business days ; Conduent experienced a " glitch '' in their system causing all deposits to be automatically rejected by banks, and the funds will be returned to the Way2Go debit cards in 10 business days ; fraud holds were placed on all Oklahoma accounts due to the influx of payments from OESC and they are waiting for " direction from upper management '' on when the holds will be lifted ; the large increase in payments caused " their system to crash '' and they don't know when it will be fixed ; and/or that the deposits show cleared on my account and " they don't know what's going on. '' My Way2Go account via the app shows no reflection of any hold, nor does my bank ( XXXX ) reject deposits like this. I feel as though this company is keeping thousands of Oklahomans in limbo, without a clear answer as to where our money is and when we will receive it. There are cases against Conduent/Way2Go in other states for fraud and shady practices, and I fear that these benefits we are all entitled to are now being affected by the same practices. Conduent charges {$.00} per call after 2 calls in a month, which I find to be a ridiculously predatory practice, as oftentimes, the representatives who answer the phone after the excessive hold time will simply hang up on you after being faced with a question they don't have the answer to. 

There is a new petition gaining signatures now in Oklahoma for our governor to initiate our own investigation into Conduent, and for OESC to change vendors immediately as this seems to be an ongoing problem with Conduent. I have signed that petition and am now filing this complaint in the hopes that Conduent will resolve their issues quickly so that Oklahomans like myself who rely on these benefits can continue to feed ourselves and keep our bills paid. I appreciate your time and assistance in reviewing my complaint and the others that have been filed against this company.