Anyway, I spoke with the disputes department at Green Dot. As expected, they've denied our dispute. Their reason, 'You made a charge on your card 2 hours after the charge in Bulgaria.' I am not sure at ALL how this proves that we made the charge, but that is their stance on it. Apparently, even though I explained to them time and time and time again that the cards never left our wallets didn't mean a thing.
I have been told I can start another dispute, and provide more information. It was suggested to me that I contact the bank in Bulgaria to get information from them. Funny, I assumed that was the job of the disputes department...since, you know, they said they would be doing that.
At this point, I will be contacting the student legal services to see what we can do from here. I am tired of dealing with Green Dot, and this is utterly ridiculous. I have been advised that I should take this to small claims court, which is definitely an option.
I sent this letter to Green Dot customer service last night. I wonder if they'll actually respond to me?
To Whom it May Concern,
My name is April Horinek, and I am writing you regarding a situation
that I have been dealing with regarding my Green Dot Pre-Paid Money
Card through Wal-Mart. This situation has left me bewildered and
frustrated, and has left me encouraging everyone I know to avoid your
service at all costs. I found your e-mail address through various
other websites detailing complaints with your service.
On December 7, 2010, an unauthorized charge was made on my account in
the amount of $272. This was discovered when my husband (Colin
Douglas, secondary card holder) went to purchase groceries and it was
declined. As we needed groceries on our house so my family could eat,
he purchased just the essentials for the amount of $7. When he got
home and told me what had happened, I immediately logged into my
account online to see what the problem was.
This unauthorized charge was made from an ATM in Sophia, Bulgaria. I
immediately contacted your customer service department regarding this
situation. Since then, I have had nothing but trouble from your
customer service department - representatives, supervisors, and people
in the disputes department.
As a note - this happened on December 7th. On December 17th, my
husband and I took off on a cross-country move. Not having nearly
$300 was crippling throughout the move. We have had to borrow money
from family members and put off paying bills and it has really caused
a lot of issues in our lives.
I was told when I contacted your customer service department, that
there was nothing that could be done until the charge had posted to my
account. This in and of itself was strange, and was incredibly
frustrated. Several of your supervisors who I spoke to at this time
told me very clearly that my case was cut and dry...that there was no
way I could have been in Bulgaria making a withdrawal and then in
Oklahoma making one the same day! I was assured, numerous times, that
the money would be returned to me in a timely fashion. I was told by
one of your supervisors that I should call the bank in Bulgaria, to
see if they would reverse the charges for me. I explained, as
patiently as I possibly could, that I didn't speak Bulgarian. That I
couldn't even find contact information for this bank.
I also was advised to cancel my card and have a new one sent to me.
As I was moving in a week and a half, I was concerned that it would
not get to me in time. At first, I was basically told, "Tough. Thats
just too bad. But you can pay extra and get it overnighted!" Which I
thought was ridiculous. Eventually, one of your supervisors did send
us new cards at no expedited charge. That was one of the few things
your company did right through this whole mess.
I did in fact file a police report with the Tulsa PD. Unfortunately,
due to moving from Oklahoma to Montana, I never received my paper copy
of the report.
After the charge had posted to my account, I called your company to
file the dispute. At that time, I was told that they would begin the
process. They would do all of the research and all of the leg work,
and all I had to do was send in a dispute letter. As I was in the
midst of moving, it took me several days to get the dispute letter
sent. However, I was assured that it would be 7-10 business days from
the time they opened the dispute - regardless of when I sent in my
letter.
That, again, was a blatant lie. When I sent the letter in, I was told
it would be 7-10 business days from the time they received my letter.
Again though, I was assured that my situation was cut and dry, and
taht there was nothing further required of me. I asked every one of
your supervisors that I spoke with if there was anything additional I
needed to send your company. I told them I did not have the paper
police report, and I was assured that it would be fine, that it was
just not needed for my case.
This morning, I spoke with Mary in your disputes department. She told
me my dispute had been resolved, although not in my favor. Their
reasoning? "Because you made a transaction 2 hours after the $272,
you obviously still had your cards." As I explained to her - as I had
explained to EVERY SINGLE person I spoke with - we still had the cards
in our possession. The cards were never stolen. We had them, up
until we cut them up. No one else had our cards. But someone
obviously was able to get our information and forge our card. Mary
told me that I should contact the bank - IN BULGARIA - and speak with
them about getting further information and documentation proving I did
not make the withdrawal. As I said to her - that was their job to
research. I was told THEY would gather all of that information while
they were reviewing my case.
I was told that if I can get a copy of the police report, they will
consider reopening my dispute, and will start the process all over
again.
I am less than pleased with this entire situation. I have spent hours
on the phone with representatives and supervisors trying to work this
out. I have been reassured time and time again that I would have my
money back in a timely fashion, only to be denied on a completely
ridiculous basis. When my husband and I went to Mexico earlier this
year, I called a week before we left to inform your company that we
would be out of the country, just so that there would be nothing
suspicious on our card. It is impossible for a charge to be made in
Bulgaria at an ATM and then another made in Tulsa within 2 hours of
one another. I could even show you my passport that OBVIOUSLY does
not have any stamps going to Bulgaria.
I will be filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau regarding
this situation. At this time, I am discussing my options with my
husband and looking for advice through our legal aid office. We did
everything we were asked to do, and yet we are still out nearly $300.
Our money was stolen in what was OBVIOUSLY a fraudulent act, and we
have had nothing but trouble from your company - the company that we
chose to use, on good faith. I feel as though we have been given the
run around for over a month, and it is absurd. I as the customer - as
a paying customer who has been with your company for 2 years - should
not be treated in such a manner.
Thank you for your time,
April Horinek & Colin Douglas
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