ComplaintsforPrepaid-USA

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  A former employer used this business for bulk gift cards as part of a corporate incentive/rewards program, and while the fees ate most all of the stored balance provided to my colleagues and me, the more annoying part is that at some stage I was apparently added to call/email list, and have not ceased hearing from this organization ever since. While my background is only that of a Paralegal, I know enough about the law to know that their privacy practices as outlined on their website do not match what they're actually doing (it actually states an entirely different bank/financial institution- perhaps the card issuer?) I'm not sure who is in charge at this company, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're not only not compliant with some of the practices I've outlined, but if their entire business model is in fact predicated upon such shadiness. Caveat emptor - buyer beware! Avoid this business at all costs.

  

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  Our customers (business) receive a copy of the Privacy Policy which describes how we use information. Additionally, our emails allow an individual to opt out of receiving further communication from us. See attachments. The consumer should speak with their employer and request that they not volunteer their employees' email or any other information they wish to not disclose. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I won a $100 gift card from Pepsi. Its issued from www.prepaid-usa.com I activated the card as instructed and it has a balance of $100 But every time I try use it the payment gets declined

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Here is the expiration date

  01/25

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

  Expires 01/25

  Customer response

  02/21/2024

  Yes, the card has been activated and has $100 on it. 
  I have not tried to use it again since it was declined at Amazon, ***************** and Poshmark 

  

  Business response

  05/17/2024

  We need the card number in order to research this matter further. Thank you!

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In August 2023, we purchased $53,000.00 in prepaid cards and paid an additional $5898.08 in fees for cards to be distributed to conference attendees. The cards were to be shipped to our conference location in early Oct. After distributing 30 of the cards, we became aware that none could be utilized. Recipients received an error when trying to use their cards. Several calls with USA Connect did not resolve the issue.We needed to return **** cards that we were unable to use. USA Connect said they would send a refund within 23 business days. Two months later we are still awaiting receipt of our returned funds. A portion has been received (30 days after promised) but weve not received the final refund due.This caused a tremendous inconvenience for us and at the last minute we were without an avenue to provide the desired **** prepaid cards to our attendees.

  

  Business response

  12/19/2023

  USA Connect, Inc
  *************************************. Second Floor
  ******, ** 92880
  
  Re: ***********************
  BBB Response
  

  December 15, 2023
  

  On December 13, 2023, USA Connect received a message from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The customer, *************** for ******************* and Supervision (ACES) states that they experienced issues with the cards in their order. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that USA Connect has not issued a full refund. These are Incentive (LAP) prepaid cards.
  

  The following details were collected from the complaint:
  

  Incentive (LAP) prepaid card.

  Order #: 299263509
  All Mastercard.
  
  Load amounts $25
  $25 x **** cards = $50,000
  Load amounts $300
  $300 x 10 cards = $3,000
  
  Order total: $53,000
  Fees: $5,998.08
  Total Refund: $58,998.08
  
  Our processor, FIS, confirmed that there was a technical issue with the cards in the order.  Such an issue has not occurred before or since.
  
  Two (2) checks were mailed out to the client to complete the refund. The first check was mailed out to ACES on 11/30/2023 in the amount of $50,000. The client received that check with no issues. The second check was mailed out to ACES on 12/1/2023 in the amount of $8,998.08.
  

  *********************** from ACES reached out to USA Connect on 12/11/2023 stating they had not received the second check. A stop payment was applied on the first check and a new check was issued on Tuesday, 12/12/2023. The client should receive the replacement check any day,but the holidays could be impacting the delivery time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
  

  USA Connect.

• Initial Complaint

  05/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased several thousand in branded Visa Gift Cards. We were not in anyway told there would be a one year expiration date. Once we realized the cards were expired, we reached out to the company assuming they would extend the date or re-issue. We were told the best they can do is a 'one-time' 50% credit. We were also told "The Incentive Award cards are purchased by companies/organizations with the understanding that there is a one (1) year expiration date. We review the terms and conditions verbally with the representative(s) who purchase on behalf of each organization and the information is provided in the cardholder agreement that is distributed with every card." <--- THIS IS NOT TRUE We were never notified of the expiration date. Other cards we have purchased locally didn't expire for 10 years do we would never think to check the expiration. This is not a good business practice and we would like the cards re-issued at 100% of value.

  

  Business response

  05/20/2022

  On May 12, 2022, USA Connect received a message from Better Business Bureau (BBB). The complaint requests that we reissue funds on 10 expired cards. As a standard business practice, USA Connect does not issue refunds on expired cards.

  Our research in this matter determined the following

  Invoice #3****46

  Order placed on 8/21/2020.

  Cards had an expiration date of 9/30/2021.

  Load Value $100 X 10

  Load Value $50 X 20

  Load Value $25 X 80

  Total of 110 Incentive (LAP) prepaid cards in order.

   

  Cards in complaint

  Load Value $100 X 1

  Load Value $50 X 1

  Load Value $25 X 8

  Total of ten (10) Incentive (LAP) prepaid cards

  
  

  There were no recorded attempts to contact USA Connect prior to the expiration of the cards. More than 90% of the cards in the order were used.

  On 3/29/2022, **** *****, purchaser of cards on behalf of Amerilife reached out to USA Connect via email. At the time, **** stated he was aware that the cards had expired and requested we reissue new cards.

  On 3/30/2022, Our Operations Manager, **** *****, replied to Mr. ***** explaining that cardholder agreements were mailed with each card in the order. Additionally, **** informed Mr. ***** that the information regarding expirations would have been covered verbally at the time of purchase. Lastly, information regarding the card expiration was also included in the co-branding application for this specific order. 

  On 4/5/2022, Mr. ***** sent another email stating he was not informed about the expiration date at the time of purchase. Additionally, he alleges that cardholder agreements were not included in the card delivery.

  On 4/12/2022, Our Operations Manager reached out to Mr. ***** asking for the details regarding his return request. More specifically, the number of cards Amerilife wanted to return and the load value of each.

  On 4/13/2022, Mr. ***** replied informing us that Amerilife wanted to return the 10 cards mentioned above.

  After careful consideration, we reached back out to Mr. ***** on 5/11/2022 and initially informed him that PrePaid-USA was willing to make a one-time exception and issue a refund worth 50% of the total remaining balance of the cards at the time of expiration. Please note, that these cards have now been expired for almost one (1) year. The same day, Mr. ***** responded he was not pleased with our offer. Being a customer centric company, we decided to offer Amerilife a full refund on all 10 expired cards in question. Details on how to return the cards were provided.

  Since our last email exchange on 5/11/2022, we have emailed and called Mr. ***** but have not received a response. Our offer still stands if Amerilife decides to receive a refund.

  Cards have a “VALID THRU” expiration date that is embossed on the front of the card. Expiration information is also provided in the Cardholder Agreement that advises the funds expire with the card expiration, and once the expiration date has passed, the card will be voided and not replaced.   The cardholder agreement was included with the card when sent.  Additionally, the back of the card lists our website www.Prepaid-Usa.com which may also be used to access the Cardholder Agreement.

  “Expiration of the Card and Funds. The Card has a “VALID THRU” expiration date embossed on the front of the Card. Once this expiration date has passed, the Card will be voided and will not be replaced. All funds on the Card expire on the expiration date shown on the Card. If you do not spend all the funds on the Card prior to this expiration date, the remaining funds will not be available to you. You have no right to the funds except to use them for authorized purchases prior to the expiration date of the Card.”

  Regards,

   

  ****** ******

  ****** ******

  Chief Compliance Officer

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩