- Report: #736049
Complaint Review: MetaBank - Pleasanton California
Reported By:
John255131 -
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
MetaBank
Pleasanton, 94588 California, United States of America
Phone:
1 (888) 524-1283
Web:
giftcardmall.com/mygift
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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MetaBank Visa Gift Card Visa Gift Card Purchased At Local Grocery Store - BEWARE Pleasanton, California
I concur with the post below from another poster and wanted to follow up with a comment of my own....
..."If you do not read the little pamplet that is inserted with your Visa gift card you may be in for a BIG surprise. Gift cards are not to be used at gas stations. But what they do not tell you is that if you do they will hold your money for 2 weeks. And when I say hold your money I mean your entire open balance that is on your card. (which could be the entire amount!!) Even though the gas station was unable to process your sale.
First they told me 3 to 5 days. Then it changed to 10 days, but in actuality it has been 2 weeks. I will never purchase a non-reloadable Visa gift card that is processed by U.S. Bank ever again and I will warn all of my friends and anyone else out there that is interested not to as well!!!!......"
1. This happened to me as well. My card was not a re-loadable card but a fixed amount card. I found that all the Visa cards issued by MetaBank, US Bank, etc. has this stipulation.
2. After contacting CS, I was informed the term was listed in a little white paper that was included on the package the card was attached to when purchased. However, the clerk at the store who activated my card had to remove the card from the pack which basically destroyed the card. So, she threw it away!
3. There are terms on the back of the card...but not this one!
4. My online gift card accounting of transactions does show my entire balance of approx $100 as being withheld. By the way, my actual transaction was at a gas station for $30. The CS person told me the they withhold $50. When asked why the entire balance was withheld, she had no answer other then i would get it back in 3 days!
In conclusion, by using my Visa Gift Card for a $30 gas purchase, my entire balance has been taken from me until this Visa service decides to return it! Unfair practices? A clear case of Visa screwing the consumers? I think so!
..."If you do not read the little pamplet that is inserted with your Visa gift card you may be in for a BIG surprise. Gift cards are not to be used at gas stations. But what they do not tell you is that if you do they will hold your money for 2 weeks. And when I say hold your money I mean your entire open balance that is on your card. (which could be the entire amount!!) Even though the gas station was unable to process your sale.
First they told me 3 to 5 days. Then it changed to 10 days, but in actuality it has been 2 weeks. I will never purchase a non-reloadable Visa gift card that is processed by U.S. Bank ever again and I will warn all of my friends and anyone else out there that is interested not to as well!!!!......"
1. This happened to me as well. My card was not a re-loadable card but a fixed amount card. I found that all the Visa cards issued by MetaBank, US Bank, etc. has this stipulation.
2. After contacting CS, I was informed the term was listed in a little white paper that was included on the package the card was attached to when purchased. However, the clerk at the store who activated my card had to remove the card from the pack which basically destroyed the card. So, she threw it away!
3. There are terms on the back of the card...but not this one!
4. My online gift card accounting of transactions does show my entire balance of approx $100 as being withheld. By the way, my actual transaction was at a gas station for $30. The CS person told me the they withhold $50. When asked why the entire balance was withheld, she had no answer other then i would get it back in 3 days!
In conclusion, by using my Visa Gift Card for a $30 gas purchase, my entire balance has been taken from me until this Visa service decides to return it! Unfair practices? A clear case of Visa screwing the consumers? I think so!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
John255131
United States of AmericaOh Quite!
#2Author of original report
Fri, June 03, 2011
The simple fact that the only apparent notice of this is on a white piece of folded paper attached behind the plastic card and the cardboard packing (the banks description, not mine) is actually glues to the pack and becomes destroyed when the store clerk removes the debit card from the backing to activate it.
Interesting how just about all other terms are either on the back of the debit card or clearly stated on the back of the cardboard display card where it can be read without removing the debit card.
Unlike you, and I do not care who it is, banks or gas stations, my card was paid by cash and they have no right to withhold my cash..period!
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Not quite
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, June 02, 2011
found that all the Visa cards issued by MetaBank, US Bank, etc. has this stipulation
- Actually all Pre-Paid Debit Cards have this notice.
But as you found out the Debit card CAN be used when you Pay at the Pump, but it is not recomended for the exact issue you have. With ALL debit cards when you Pay at the Pump they will withhold a certain amount. The amount is determined by the station not the card issuer. The average seems to be around $50, but there are reports that some stations attempt to authorize $125.
Now, the amount of time that the amount is held is determined by the card issuer. Normally the station will release the hold and put in the real purchase amount. However until they do the bank does not know that it should be released. In this case REGULAR banks will tend to hold funds for anywhere from 3-5 days. But that is because you have an account with them and they know how to find you if there is an issue. With a Pre-Paid Debit card you are basically anonymous, that is if this causes you to go into an "overdraft" situation they can not find you. So they are going to hold the money for an extended amount of time to make sure that the hold does not turn into a real purchase.
To avoid this all you need to do is go into the gas station and tell the cashier exactly how much you want to pump. They will then attempt to authorize the EXACT amount and you won't have this issue.
