Consumer complaint received 08/28/2016 about Prepaid card (Gift or merchant card) with U.S. BANCORP (WA).
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint: I have a prepaid XXXX card through XXXX XXXX. I bought a product at XXXX XXXX. I loaded more money onto my prepaid card. I returned the product to XXXX XXXX because I needed to replace my refrigerator. I was denied the ability to purchase the XXXX $ refrigerator because my funds were frozen for 72 hours due to the returned merchandise. My balance per the phone line was over XXXX $ the returned merchandise was XXXX $ and yet the denied my XXXX $ purchase. I began an absolutely infuriating attempt to discuss the situation with Customer Service and have spent hours upon hours trying to identify who " handles '' the money flow for the XXXX XXXX Prepaid XXXX card. XXXX XXXX says it has nothing to do with the card. XXXX says they have nothing to do with the card. US Bank says they have nothing to do with the card. Customer Service says they only supply the card but do n't manage the money flow. Customer service also refuses to allow a caller to speak to a supervisor, refuses to identify their company name, refuses to provide an address to file complaint with. And in the end if you work at it long enough they finally offer to open a " dispute '' escalation ticket on your behalf with an assurance that someone will call you right back, which then becomes Within 24 hours and then with in 72 hours. They also presented a moving target on the actual reason for the hold, first saying the specific company was blocked and then when I attempted to make a purchase at another lumber store, was told it was the type of retailer, so then I went to a bank and was denied and they said no, it was my card that was blocked. But, pardon my diversion, back to the " escalation '' process which promised a call back from a " dispute resolution specialist '' who actually never called back until nearly XXXX weeks later within hours of me calling XXXX XXXX to express my frustration. 

My complaint/biggest concern is that this is not the banks money being advanced to me on credit, this is my money, placed on a prepaid card so that I can take advantage of electronic purchasing and manage my finances on line. Banking is a nearly instantaneous activity these days and customer service folks routinely fix issues immediately. But in this case not only is customer service a sham, but they are placing holds on money that is n't even in play. I would not have appreciated the hold being place on the returned merchandise that I bought and returned to the exact same place with the same prepaid card but I would have understood it 's policy and accepted it. However they blocked the entire XXXX $ plus that I had deposited on the card and prevented me from having any money or access to money for 3 days over a weekend when banks are closed as well. 

I believe that is nothing short of theft by fraud. And if and when I am ever able to get a straight answer about whose policy was acted upon, by whom, and under whose responsibility the money transactions on Prepaid XXXX Cards are conducted, I will likely file a small claim for the theft and value of the refrigerator I was unable to buy because all of my funds were frozen, not just the value of the returned item.

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