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The company behind the Prepaid Visa Upside Debit Cards has an F rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). The BBB has noticed a pattern of complaints concerning Metabank---Cardholder Services.

Specifically, consumers are alleging that after purchasing prepaid credit cards, Metabank places holds on the cards disallowing consumers from accessing the funds on the prepaid card (13 complaints filed against business.

Failure to respond to 5 complaints filed against business.

Business has failed to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints). My husband and I did business with these cards and company and learned the hard way.

Location: Suncook, New Hampshire

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Guest

I was screwed out of $158.00 with the Meta Bank AAA prepaid debit card. I tried to buy something at Amazon, but the card denied the charge.

Then MetaBank still charged my account for the amount. So, Amazon says they never billed me the amount and the Meta Bank card says I made a purchase.

The Meta Bank Customer Service is overseas and would not let me escalate and find a resolution. Its time to shut these *** down and return my money!

Guest

Never do business with this bank stay away. They offer a value load feature in which I used my husbands checking account to load funds they withdrew the money twice and claim there was a lag in there system which would of causes the double transaction I can't get ahold of anyone in there fraud dept do they even have one?

My husbands bank investigated and they are not able to explain why it was debuted twice. I'll be filing a lawsuit in small claims

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-977369

How do I file a lawsuit against them did the same to me

Guest

Best prepaid card is Bluebird by American Express. Costs nothing, no monthly fees.

Normal fees for ATM withdrawal but free direct deposit, free cash money load at walmart. Free for every credit card transaction.

You can deposit checks with their app :) who would get a card with meta bank? Seriously their cards suck!!!!

Guest

Visa upside thieves. Accused me of money laundering.

Shut my card down. While in transition waiting for them to cut my check for the money in my account they still charge me monthly fee for card maintenance EVEN THOUGH I CANNOT USE THE CARD and on top of that charge a processing fee of $13 to mail your check to you.

All that after they accused me of something that is completely false. I shop eBay with my card and load money on it frequently so now I'm a money launderer.....

Guest

This is a card i would never advise any one to get it it has nit only refused to give me my money back on an unauthorized charge it has also over charged me in an arena that has yet to be explained and has flaged my card as potentially fraudulent and refuses to let me have my money be advised do not get this card

Guest

Why was I mailed this card? Did Social Security Administration share my information?

Guest

This is the worst bank service i have ever encountered.

Zeno Eur

Since March 2012 I have been using a prepaid debit card provided by upsidecard.com. On Thursday, September 19, 2013, my card usage was blocked and marked as โ€œpotentially fraudulent.โ€ I telephoned the company at 866-845-**** and was informed that due to a โ€œloadโ€ that was over $10,000, I needed to provide proof of where the load came from.

The load was for $10,241.00 which was a student loan refund made by the university I attend. On the evening of Thursday, September 19, 2013, I faxed a copy of my student account showing the student loan refund and other information contained in the print out. That evening, my wife, who has a separate account with upsidecard.com, checked her card and it was also marked as being โ€œpotentially fraudulent.โ€ She called the same number and was asked to fax a copy of her driverโ€™s license and social security card.On Friday, September 20, 2013, my wifeโ€™s card was unblocked and the โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ mark was removed. When I inquired about my card, I was informed that theโ€ risk assessment โ€œ could take from 24-48 hours to review my card status and given that they do not work over the weekend.

The reason I was provided for this inconvenience was that pursuant to the terms and conditions agreement, the maximum load amount is no more than $10,000.This was not the first time my debit card was loaded with a large amount from my student loan refund. I enroll in three semesters per year and every January, May, and September of the year, my university loads my student loan refund into this card for amounts ranging from 8,000 to over 10,000. This pattern is demonstrated in my card usage activity. In fact, in May 2013, my university loaded my card with an amount exceeding $10,000 and this not did cause my debit card to be blocked and marked as โ€œpotentially fraudulent.โ€ The other major loads to my debit card are from my employer on a monthly basis.

In fact, the first load from my employer in March 2012 caused my debit card to be blocked and marked as โ€œpotentially fraudulent.โ€ In this occasion as well, my wifeโ€™s debit card was marked and blocked as well. Prior to the block on September 19, 2013, my debit card was blocked and marked โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ and I was required to fax my driverโ€™s license and social security card, which I did.Interesting to note are three issues with these facts: (1) my debit card was marked and blocked as โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ twice in the same month and my personal identification and proof of the load was requested, making this the fourth time since March 2011 that this has happened as well as my wifeโ€™s debit card although our accounts are separate; (2) upsidecard.com has in the past accepted load amounts from my university in amounts over $10,000 with no block or โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ status being had; (3) my wifeโ€™s upsidecard.com debit card is always blocked, and vice versa, although we maintain separate accounts for payroll deposits and the reason for this offered by upsidecard.com is merely because we reside in the same household; (4) proof of non-public personal identity information was never requested by upsidecard.com at the point of requesting a debit card and is now requested more than a year and a half later; (5) upsidecard.com allowed for the $10,241 load in September to go through and blocked it and marked it as โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ only after more than $5,500 of the funds were used; (6) I have no idea how my non-public personal identity information , driverโ€™s license and credit card, is being protected nor where this fax number and machine is located, nor how my identity information is being shared.When I contacted the number on the back of the card to request an update on my card status, the only information I am provided is a record of the calls I have made and the generic responses I have been provided. After calling multiple times on Friday, September 19, 2013, the only information I was provided was that the โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ department had received my fax. I informed the customer service rep that my wifeโ€™s card was unblocked and requested a reason as to why mine wasnโ€™t.

At all times during my calls on Friday, the responses appeared to be generic and read from a script, to wit, โ€œthe risk assessment department is still completing their assessment and this can take from 24 to up to 48 hours.โ€ During the last call I made on Friday I requested, at their suggestion, for a manager to call me back. I requested to speak to a manager at the time of my call and/or to someone in the โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ department and was informed that any communications beyond a customer service representative had to be made in writing or I can have a manager call me back.On Friday, I received a call from a manager named Becky. She could only provide her first name and an ID number which was 1318. When I asked when my card would be unblocked Becky flip-flopped on not knowing the status of my card and finally acknowledged that the documentation faxed was received.

She then proceeded to provide the generic script response, โ€œthe risk assessment department is still completing their assessment and this can take from 24 to up to 48 hours.โ€ Annoyed, when I pressed for more information as to where this โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ department is located, Becky then became annoyed and in a rude tone reversed her original position from โ€œmost likely itโ€™ll be unblocked todayโ€ to โ€œitโ€™ll be unblocked on Monday.โ€After the call with Becky 1318, I again called and requested that I be contacted by a manager. I was informed that a manager would call me on Saturday. On the morning of Saturday, September 20, 2013, I missed a call from a manager named โ€œEricโ€. The number identified on my caller ID was 866-518-****.

I pressed the call back button on my phone and was surprised to hear a recorded message from Jackson Hewitt Smart Card Customer Service line. I have no business at all with this company. The voice mail message from Eric informed that I should call the number on the back of debit card. I immediately called the number on the back of my debit card and the voice of the customer service rep sounded like the managerโ€™s voice who just minutes ago left me a voice mail message and they had the same name.

I asked Eric for his ID number, which is 1363, and inquired whether he was also a manager. Eric refused to answer my question and upon being told that he had the same name and the same voice as the Eric who just left me a voice mail message, he than acknowledged that he had in fact called me and left a message as a โ€œmanagerโ€ but that he doesnโ€™t usually disclose this fact.When I asked Eric about the status of my card and the expected time when my funds would be available to me, Eric informed that by Monday, September 23, 2013 it would be clear. When I asked Eric about the โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ procedures he informed that Plastyc, a company located in New York is where โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ is located.I continued to make calls on Monday, September 23, 2013 when my card was still in โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ status and was still blocked. I spoke to Debbie 1013 and Lorissa 3408 or 34608, who were rude when I made inquiries about the โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ process.

I was informed once that โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ was located on another โ€œfloorโ€ and another time I was informed that โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ was located in another building. When I informed that I was told that โ€œrisk assessmentโ€ was located in โ€œNew York,โ€ the response was โ€œI donโ€™t know why you were told thatโ€. When I asked where they were located they responded โ€œSouth Dakotaโ€. Both told me to read the โ€œterms and conditionsโ€ policy on their website.

However, this policy does not inform about these procedures nor does it provide any information as to what triggers a โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€ block on the debit card and how to avoid it. It neither informs about privacy concerns with regards to my non-public personal identification information that was faxed to them. Upon asking further questions, they both replied with a standard script response, to wit, โ€œI see that this conversation is not moving forward and I will no disconnect our callโ€.Today, Tuesday, September 24, 2013, I got a return call from a โ€œmanagerโ€ by the name of Ryan 2811 who informed me that, of course, the issue has not been resolved yet and that he can see on his screen that I faxed in my documents as requested. However, he informed, he โ€œcannot seeโ€ whatโ€™s contained in the document and asked me to re-fax all over again, thus restarting the 24-48 hour time period all over again!I am not familiar with the intricacies of banking processes but I do know that the bits and pieces of information I have been able to obtain from my conversations with upsidecard.com customer service representatives points to some shady and possibly fraudulent business practices.

My email account is flooded with payday loan vendors and I receive numerous shady phone calls since Iโ€™ve been with upsidecard.com since March 2012. Looking up reviews on this company on the Internet has turned up dozen of similar incidents on sites such as www.consumeraffairs.com, www.pissedconsumer.com, and www.ripoffreport.com, all with customers, such as myself and my wife, having access to their legitimately deposited monies into their debit cards blocked as โ€œpotentially fraudulentโ€. Upsidecard.comโ€™s policy is not to protect customers from others attempting to obtain access to their debit cards. Upsidecard.comโ€™s policy is not to email or telephone customers in this possible situation and legitimate situation.

Their policy is to block customers from having access to their own legitimate monies loaded either by the IRS, Social Security, Employer Payroll, or as in my situation, government issued student loan refunds.At this point, I greatly fear that I will lose my 4,725.04 balance on my upsidecard.com debit card. The upsidecard debit card is issued by MetaBank and it should be seriously investigated as well as their connections to Plastyc and Jackson Hewitt.

Guest

I have only had my upside card a few months now but have had no issues at all. I have even had a few times when I needed questions answered and my emails were returned right away. Also, love the new feature of mobile deposit like a real bank.

Guest

I have had my Upside account for over a year and have never had a problem until a couple of days ago when my account was frozen. My account status was "Potentially fraudulent" so I called the 800 number listed and talked to a customer service rep. They told me to fax copies of my ID, SS card and a Utility bill with my address and name on it to the Upside Risk Services dept. This was after midnight on a Saturday night.

I had read quite a few reviews saying that Upside was famous for saying they never received any faxes or that only part of the fax was readable.

So, On Sunday evening, I faxed my information to the number I was given. I sent the fax 3 separate times in a row, just to make sure that they would have 3 separate copies of my info when the Risk Services Dept. opened on Monday morning. Upside had told me that it would take 24-48 hours after they received my fax to lift the freeze on my account.

I woke up Monday morning and the freeze was already lifted and my account was back to normal. This whole thing took less than 48 hours.

My point is that if your account is frozen like mine was, don't be disheartened. Just follow the directions given to you by Customer Service and try your best to make SURE they receive your faxed information as quickly as possible.

Remember, if they don't receive it or if only part of the fax is readable, they won't use it and your account will stay frozen. They DO NOT Call you or email you, telling you that your information wasn't received or didn't turn out well enough to read on their end. You have to contact them.

I suggest faxing 3 or more times in a row to be sure they have a good copy of the information they need from you. I don't have a fax machine and I live in a small town. I had to drive 30 minutes to find somewhere to fax my info to Upside. I also had to pay $2 per copy, but it was well worth the time I had to take to have my account back to normal the next morning.

Upside freezes accounts for their customers protection when the system detects a problem. This is NOT them picking on you, lol.

If Upside did nothing when a problem was detected and someone's account was cleared out by theft, customers would be complaining that Upside LET a thief take all of their money.

If your account is frozen, just do like they ask and fax your info in. Do your best to make sure they receive a good copy and wait a couple of hours. That's it! :p

Hiroko Wzm

How can a bank hold your money with out reason. I have been using UpSide card for about 1 year.

Until 3 days ago they were good. Now there is a potentially fraudulent block on my card. Can not talk to a supervisor and no one can tell me why it was flagged. I sent the fax information to them twice now and still they haven't released it.

There is no correspondence from them by phone or email. I am disgusted with Metabank, and Upside :(

JAYMIE L Nbg

Same here. I hate Upside; complete frauds. I used their website to get a Companion card for my account. The website would not validate my information (same info on the account for nearly 4 years). Instead, they flagged it & marked my account as Potentially Fraudulent, & demanded I send copies of my ID, SS Card (whole card & number) along with my utility bills to their main office fax,.

They will not unblock my account no matter the fact that I have validated all information & more with them,.

After 3 weeks of this, I have demanded they close my account & issue a check for the money in the account:. They are now refusing to do so unless (you guessed it) I fax my SS card, ID, and bills proving my information,.

My information (even my address) has remained the same since before I even used them, yet this is the second time they havce blocked my account for no reason,. Still, they will not give me access to my money in any circumstance'. They are a ripoff".

If I could find a way to press charges against them for attepmting to commit fraud on my account for demanding every ounce of sensitive personal information & holding my money against my expressed wishes; I would,. Do not deal with them. 1592f3c

Guest

:p very happy with the service after a year!! Now looking to see if maybe they have the same kinda deal but for a business or see how I can have two accts connecting one personal n one business! *****love meta bank upside visa card!!***

Guest

MetaBank in general are a piece of *** never had a problem with them before until today my student was deposited on the card its been done numorous times and my pay checks and taxes as well,today they decided that they needed conformation that the money was intended for me and made me fax in a bunch of stuff and they said it would be 4 hours nope not for this guy now they are saying tomorrow the worst part of not letting me have my 5000$ they put a hold on the $300 that i already had in the account so now im broke no food or no gas thanks alot ***

Guest

Had this card for a cpl weeks and they placed a possibly fraudulent on my account which means I can't do anything..... add $ use money I already have nth... 3emails and 2phone calls later with no help I'm seriously over this card so to those who haven't been burned yet u just wait it'll happen!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-562415

They put a fraud on my account today and froze my money. Several emails and calls, no email responses, and customer service is a joke.

They tell me they can't transfer you to the fraud dept, they don't have a direct line, and they don't even have a supervisor. Getting rid of the card once someone contacts me.

Guest

I've tried different pre-paid cards, and UpSide is definitely the best I've used. I've been with them for over a year, used it worldwide, and NEVER had a single issue with them.

Every time that I email support, they reply quickly. Many people write negative reviews just because the card won't do what they want it to do! Well, read what it can and can't do BEFORE getting it, and you won't be disappointed!

5 STARS FOR UPSIDE! Very satisfied customer for over a year!

Guest

Only one/Meta bank stole money from me! 34 dollars down to zero in less than a month!

plus the reload cards are a joke,they want SSN just for reloading it. Why don't they state that on the prepaid card itself??!! They fail to disclose reloading requirements at all, especially those reloading cards don't say anything about how to specifically reload them. to me these "upside" prepaid cards are the same as "only one" prepaid except for the name.

Even prepaid cards other than metabank state that you must have a SSN and be at least 18 years of age to use this card in large bold letters on the package. This institution will want you to buy their cards so they could drain your money all the time until you ditch this card.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-526790

If you want to load funds it is best to use a green dot moneypak card

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