Complaint Review: AccountNow - Internet

i also have the same problem..i did my sons taxes this year as i always do. Since he was living out of state he asked if i could have his refund deposited to my accountnow card ( my family has 4 cards ) and i could send the money to him western union..he is 26 and was to use that money to come home because his baby had been in the boston childrens hospital since october..he wanted to get to boston fast vs. Waiting for a check..anyhow, my 17 year old son who also has his own card said mom he can put the money on my card if he wants because i know he needs to come home..well we opted to do that and I filed his taxes on Jan 23rd using the younger ones direct deposit info..The IRS processed it rather quickly and on an 31st the refund was deposited into the younger ones account..i logged onto accountnow.com and was able to see that both his federal and state returns had been in there..it was $8000. I went to the atm and was able to withdraw $800..that's the last we saw of that money the funds were immediately frozen...both phone and online accounts were immediately locked as well...we called right away and they told us to fax all of our identifying information and notarized letters of authorization from both kids stating the transactin was authorized by one another etc..they told us Someone will call in 48 hours..no one ever called and we have no was of knowing the balance in the account or any other information because the online and phone access are dead as well...its been almost 8 days qnd we still have no money and no answers from this horrible company. Being a former 10 year bank employee and ive personally dealt with the largest and most reputable lending instutions in the country and I have to say I smell something fishy about accountnows business practices..Its most definately shady and suspicious..I know the laws and regulations for banks and it is illegal to hold funds in an account indefinitely they know this too and i can bet that theyve covered their asses in every aspedt..Seeing as this company has over 400 complaints filed for this exact thing I can almost assure they are running an identity theft ring..my guess..they freeze the good accounts, obtain our information to create a fraudulent account same routing number different card number..they then transfer that money into the fictitious account that supposedly belongs to us and they use it for online purchases..this way if there's ever an investigation there's a paper trail leading right back to us...so essentially if we file a claim they are protected they just say we gave the money to them they must of spent it...perfect plan...they never get caught..why else would this company still be in business after 400 complaints. Im sure they must of been investigated after 400 complaints, its a high possibility they were but in the end the money led right back to the customers account..the fake card...no evidence to prove anything..Its apalling that the government lets this happen..in any case ive filed with bbb, fdic, fed reserve and attorney general..im not anticipating getting this money back because as i see it how can 400 complaints go unnoticed an unresolved..someone must have looked into this but in the end it cant be proven because the money trail leads right back to us.....just something to think about and i only hope if more people complain the government just might wake up and realize whats going on....i have no hopes of ever seeing that money as i am sure its probably long gone..this was a very expensive lesson to be learned..don't trust the internet for anything and from now on I will be getting a check from the IRS..after this im done with all banks..now i know why my parents his their money in the mattress...sorry to say but for once my parents were right....back to hiding money in the wall..people need to think about that identity theft scenario and never use accountnow or any other prepaid card its the only real way to put thieves like this out of business for good

i also have the same problem..i did my sons taxes this year as i always do. Since he was living out of state he asked if i could have his refund deposited to my accountnow card ( my family has 4 cards ) and i could send the money to him western union..he is 26 and was to use that money to come home because his baby had been in the boston childrens hospital since october..he wanted to get to boston fast vs. Waiting for a check..anyhow, my 17 year old son who also has his own card said mom he can put the money on my card if he wants because i know he needs to come home..well we opted to do that and I filed his taxes on Jan 23rd using the younger ones direct deposit info..The IRS processed it rather quickly and on an 31st the refund was deposited into the younger ones account..i logged onto accountnow.com and was able to see that both his federal and state returns had been in there..it was $8000. I went to the atm and was able to withdraw $800..that's the last we saw of that money the funds were immediately frozen...both phone and online accounts were immediately locked as well...we called right away and they told us to fax all of our identifying information and notarized letters of authorization from both kids stating the transactin was authorized by one another etc..they told us Someone will call in 48 hours..no one ever called and we have no was of knowing the balance in the account or any other information because the online and phone access are dead as well...its been almost 8 days qnd we still have no money and no answers from this horrible company. Being a former 10 year bank employee inequality dealt with the largest and most reputable lending instutions and I have to say I smell something fishy about accounts business practices..I know the laws and regulations for banks and it is illegal to hold funds in an account indefinitely...also, seeing as this company has over 400 complaints filed for this exact thing I can almost assure they are running an identity theft ring..my guess..they freeze the good accounts businessobtain our information to create a fraudulent account same routing number different card number..they then transfer the money into the fictitious account that supposedly belongs to us and they use it for online purchases..this way if there's ever an investigation there's a paper trail leading right back to us...so essentially if we file a claim they are protected they just say we gave the money they must of spent it...perfect plan...they never get caught..why else would this company still be in business..400 complaints, they must of been investigated but the money and money lead right back to the consumer...Its apalling that the government lets this happen..in any case ive filed with bbb, fdic, fed reserve and attorney general..im not anticipating getting this money back because as i see it how can 400 complaints go unnoticed an un resolved..someone must have looked into this but in the end it cant be proven because the money trail leads right back to us.....just something to think about and i only hope if more people complain the government just might wake up and realize whats going on....i have no hopes of ever seeing that money,,its long gone..this was a very expensive lesson to be learned..don't trust the internet for anything and from now on I will be getting a check from the IRS..after this im done with all banks..now i know why my parents his their money in the mattress...sorry to say but for once my parents were right....back to hiding money in the wall...