Green Dot
reviews and complaints

It has been over a month since I received my tax refund which was deposited into a prepaid account with Green Dot. I filed my taxes through Turbo Tax and chose this option because they advertised it as being faster option. The alternative would have been to wait about 4 weeks for the IRS to mail me a check. Needless to say, I wanted my money sooner so I had them mail me a Green Dot card. Within a matter of days, I received my card. 2 days later, the money was deposited into my account and I was able to make purchases. Approximately 1 week later, after trying to make a purchase, I came to realize that my card was locked. I called Green Dot for an explanation and they informed me that my account was being investigated and they required a copy of my photo ID, social security card, as well as a utility bill in my name in order to perform a full investigation. I don't have any bills in my name so I sent the other 2. They informed me that it would take 10 business days and someone would get back to me. That time had passed and I still had not received a phone call. I spoke with 4 service representatives and 3 supervisors and got nowhere. They will not budge without that utility bill. They said it was to verify my home address even though it's clearly displayed on my photo ID. Had I went the traditional way and chose to have a check sent to me, I would be spending my money right now without any problems. I have been waiting almost a month and still, no progress is being made. It seems that there are thousands of people that go through this every year which means Green Dot (now partnered with Turbo Tax) is holding all of this money and collecting interest from these accounts while I sit here broke and in debt. How is it that these corporations would need to question a deposit made by the IRS? If I was responsible for fraud, wouldn't the IRS be responsible for catching that and filing charges? And If it's fraud they're worried about, why allow me access to my money for the first week instead of investigating when the money was first deposited? If anyone else is having similar issues with this company, please let me know because I'm very close to contacting an attorney about this.

I have had a green dot card for over a year with little to no serious issues. Recently, I had my income tax return loaded on the card. Early March of this year I went to pay for some work on a vehicle I own and the card was declined which I found to be odd. When I checked the remaining balance on the card it showed $22.00 down from $2400 the night before. Illegal purchases were made using the card in two different Countries within hours of each other. I started a claim with Green Dot stating that my identity had been stolen and the card was compromised. I investigated into the companies where the card was used and forwarded the information to Green Dot hoping it would expedite the claim. 10 days after they had said I should see the money on the replacement card, a customer service rep whom I couldn't understand too well stated "Based on the information we received from on of the merchants involved, we have concluded that you are filing a false claim". The reason-The merchant knew my address, name, age etc.. (What part of identity theft are they not getting?) When I asked if they could provide whether the purchases were made on line or in person she replied "No, if you want to pursue this further, you will have to use your own means". Wow! I went from being a victim to being called a liar. I have since received $500 of the $2400 spent which I don't understand but will take it. The merchant's, amounts and dates are as follows. I hope this helps you: 3/2/11-Fashion X $200. 3/2/11-Fashion X $294.68. 3/3/11-Pulguita.com $761.28. 3/4/11-Pulguitas.com $973.97. Also, various charges for foreign transactions totalling $88.00. Ok, so my card was used in Mexico, China and Georgia within 2 days of each other while I attempted to use the card in California during the same time frame. Hmm. Well, I am writing this off as a very costly lesson. Only my Faith is keeping me from going Postal! Do not use these cards!

Someone called and said that they were given a faulty moneypak on 3/10/2011 for 100.00 the company looked up the moneypak number and saw that this number was applied to my account on 3/07/2011. This moneypak was purchased on 07/07/2011 by my father for me and applied to my account correctly. The other customer claimed that they purchased it on 03/10/2011 yet faxed the a receipt for my moneypak purchased on 03/07/2011. Immediately this should have raised a red flag to the investigator that something was wrong with this person claim. The company did not call me about the issue or notify me in any way to give me and opportunity to prove that the 100.00 in question was rightfully mine. Instead the froze my entire account with a balance of 939.00. This money was not from a moneypak at all it was a direct deposit from a tax refund in my name. I check my balance online and it showed my balance of 939.00 so I had no way of knowing that the account was blocked after make 3 transactions and looking back at the seeing them declined I call the 800 number listened to my balance and was told it was upward of 900 dollars. I spoke to a cust service rep on 3/11 and was told of the block. On 3/12 my step-mother confirmed that the moneypak was mine and the person who did the compliant withdrew it saying that they made a mistake. As of today my money has not been returned to me even though they know that I am not in the wrong. I've been disconnect 3 times by cust service. And have yet to get an apology, they just keep justifying their actions. I would like to be compensated! I am requesting 25.00 and payment for and late fees of declined fee due to this.

When I purchased a green dot reloadable pack and a kmart prepaid credit card, I assumed that I would have the same consumer protection as every other credit card; however, that is not the case. I had the sad occasion to use my kmart credit card on a fraudulent site, who kept all my money, never sent one single item I purchased. when I called to dispute the charges on my card, I was told that I would not be any of my money fraudulently taken from the scam. when I read their 'consumer agreement, " which I should have done beforehand it, it states: disputes with merchants. neither we nor green dot are responsible for the delivery, quality, safety, legality or any other aspect of goods and services that you purchase from others with a card. all such disputes must be addressed to the merchants from whom the goods and services were purchased.
So if you think you are protected against fraud or loss with kmart or green dot, do not be misled, as they certainly are trying to do. there are many, many other prepaid cards you could use that do offer that protection. I strongly suggest using another before you are out all your money, as I was.
Just a word to the wise, and I hope this does help at least one person to not buy from them.in fact, don't even purchase anything from kmart for the scam they are perpetrating on the public! the more voices, the more we will be heard.

some weeks ago i canceled my walmart moneycard because someone stole 47 dollars from it via the internet.
customer service mailed me a check for the balance which was $86.80
the check was from wells fargo in sanfrancisco CA.
i tried cashing the check at walmart but it was denied on the count of CERTEGY claiming i had issued bad checks in the past.
not only was this untrue, but i really needed that money!
does anyone know what can be done about this?
i will file a complaint with the fbi's c3i division anf the F.T.C. but what else can be done besides wait?
please let me know [protected]@yahoo.com

Purchased green dot refill card but green dot is refusing to release the $300 in funds. The transaction is being "investigated". I have sales receipt with activation number, refill card with activation code, faxes, record of phone calls, etc. Green dot says they do not have my money..

I purchased a green dot money pak for $300.00. They will not release the money, citing a variety of reasons. I spoke to 10 different people in ONE day and got 10 different reasons. I faxed copies of the money pak card along with my receipt, then was told I did not fax anything and was accused of being unwilling to cooperate. I had the Transmission Verification Report IN MY HAND!
I will fight this to the bitter end. Green Dot WILL NOT steal my money. I have PROOF of purchase, activation numbers, and proof that I faxed everything to them TWICE.

My husband bought a MoneyPak and put $100 on it to load onto his son's Green Dot card who resides in another state. When he tried to scratch off the back to reveal the number, several of the numbers in the middle disintegrated! He has been using the same scratch off process for close to a year. He called the service number listed and was put on hold for over 1/2 hour ("your wait time is approximately two minutes"). When a clerk finally answered, he explained his problem, gave the information available and was told that he would "hear back but if you don't hear anything after 24 hours, call back". Now we need to buy another MoneyPak while these funds remain in limbo. Green Dot will become a victim of its own success if they don't find a way to provide a more responsive support system. 24 hours is not an acceptable time frame. We are withholding our recommendation to two other potential users pending the final outcome of this situation.

Happy new year!
Green dot gaffs retired military pay.
I woke up this morning and my retirement check has not been credited to my account. I tried to call green dot and some lady in india could only tell me it is a holiday and check back in two days (Monday)
I am third gen military retiree and this is the first incident of my check not being available to me on the first of the month.
As a retired paymaster, I am aware the government sends out the deposit authorizations 5-10 days before the pay date. To me this simply means green dot is trying to excuse the new year as an excuse to hold my money for three days. Several thousand (Or hundreds of thousands) retiree checks times three days is a lot of money in accrued interest for green dot to pocket.
I am switching today and would advise everyone to do the same. If you tell me there is a fee, fine. If you withhold my money to save or make a buck, shame on you. Which is it green dot!

i purchase a $250 green dot money on dec. 24 to give away to my son as a chrismas gift when he went to ativate it the card had zero balance. i am waiting for my money

I had purchased 6 Money Packs at one time. Each Money Pack had $995 dollars for a total of $5970.00. I purchased them at Wal Mart and went to load one and was successful. Then I tried to load the others and they all was Blocked. Now I paid to load these in cash for a total of $4975.00 for the 5 that would not work. It was crucial to get this money loaded to cards right away for business purposes but I was unable to. I called and spoke with GreenDot and they verified that yes the cards where loaded with $995 in cash each but there was a block on each card. I asked to be put on with a manager of Loss Management and when I spoke to them they told me I was out of luck that I would have to fax the receipts to them for verification of load "FROM WAL MART" ok well that would have been fine then he said no I would have to wait for 8 hours before I was able to get my $4975.00. This is so much garbage they advertise a service with Wal Mart guaranteed to Load right away and you must use cash but when all the proper steps are taken you still get taken advantage of and basically GreenDot gets to house my money until they feel they have satisfied there needs but the advertisements say it is safe and secure and guaranteed well guess what in laymens terms we call this fauls advertisment and in other terms well you know. I lost out on the Purchase of a Vehicle that was crucial to have for my business the owner sold it to another buyer b ecause I was made to wait to get my money out of GreenDots pocket. I am going to seek and I ask for any help in any guidance to making sure GreenDot suffers a loss as I did. I worked hard to locate the vehicle and I was very successful then when I needed to get money from one state to another by loading it on GREENDOT Cards I lost the deal of a lifetime a $10.000 dollar Vehicle for half price the guy needed the cash right then to keep from the bank taking the truck so he was only asking what was owed, but again GREENDOT REALLY DROPPED THE BALL.

On 12/4 I purchased a greendot universal reload for 300.oo us dollars to add to my paypal account to do some christmas shopping. When I scratched off the back to enter the number on to my paypal account the amount shown was zero dollars. I immediately called greendot and reported the issue and I was given a claim number and advised to fax proof of purchase and copy of the front and back of the card. I have called 8 times to inquire on where my money is and have been given the run around. I was supposedly assigned to a senior loss management rep named Shanea but am told that I can not speak to her directly, I am only able to have an email sent to her and she will call me back. Today 12/15 I asked to speak to a supervisor (9th call) and was passed to Carla B-1418 and once again was told only Shanea at 5501 could help me and this time an email with high priority will be sent for her to call me back. I have been given the first and last name of the person who used my greendot number already, with greendot admitting it is fraud. However, they still will not return my money. HELP, I have to have options here on how to retrieve my money.

Received a check today 12/08/10 in the amount of $965.94. The check came to me at my maiden name (maiden name is Hume) and also in the script, said "could use a little financial aid Hume Hume". It states it's a "CHAHIER'S CHECK" for the above stated amount and that if I cash the check, I am to pay $401.00 to a Vicki Marshall via Greendot Moneypak prepaid cards. Also the letter with the check states that if I fail to not pay after cashing the check within 5 days (doesn't state calendar or business), then my name will be sent to the credit bureau and will report negative marks on my report and that I will have to pay back the entire amount of $965.94. If after I cashed the check and paid Ms. Marshall, I would receive a check for a grant loan (double negative, right), for $9035.00 to total of $10, 000.00. I know a little about grants and know that you don't have to pay them back and you shouldn't have to pay money to get money (from what I have learned about online lotteries and from playing PCH.com). Especially since the Cashiers check is misspelled. Big red flag. I will be keeping the letter/check so I might send it to someone if needed to be able to file charges or need evidence.

Greendot Company in whole has very bad Customer service, The Customer Service Representatives dont co-ordinate among themselves. When Ever you call different person picks and tell you different thing. I have a refund Cheque i was suppose to pick from them. They promised me that I was going to receive it within (7-10) business days and today as am writing this article is the 13th business day i havent receive any cheque and all they could tell me was to wait for another (7-10) business days again for them to reprocess a new cheque. i needed the Money urgently to pay for my sons hospital bills and even need to travel form the address i gave to them. i have a flight which cost $1, 700 and cannot cancel the flight because of the cheque which is not up to half the ticket flight. Infact no body could help me there and am suprise. I need the money and dont know what to do now. Please to all people who deal with MONEY PAK from green dot. They are not a reliable company and should be very careful dealing with them they cant help you in any way when you get trouble. Infact Now is between Live and Death for my son and they told me their sorry they cant help me. If possible people should desist from using the greendot Moneypak because of their bad customer service. They Cant even track the cheque in US post.

my moneypak account info is repeatedly rejected or unacknowledged by moneypak company over internet & phone, denying me access to funds i've entrusted to them.

Having money, fifty dollars left on my Green Dot card, I tried to purchase gasoline at four different gas stations all four rejected my card, Green Dot Card has charged me one dollar each for these rejections, for a total of four dollars, now I am afraid to insert my Green Dot card for fear of it not only being rejected, but a one dollar charge just for trying to buy gasoline,
Also another $11.86 disappeared from from the account, with no explanation, and Green Dot Card customer support, would not help, or explain.People Use Green Dot at your own RISK! ! !

I have put 50 on my card and they put my money on the wrong card and after I called them to fix it they only credited me back 20 dollars and they also take money out of your card almost every day for their "monthly" charge. They should tell you it's a daily charge! Green dot has screwed us over and all they do is take your money!

on july, 3 2010 the day of my birth day i went into cvs pharmacy to purchase a money order and load 500.00 in a green dot card. when i got to the counter asked the clerk for a money order. i payed him . he handed me the money order. i took it. i reached to give him the green dot card and money together, while i was telling him the amount. someone standing behind the line grabed the money out my hand and ran. after filling out a police report. cvs tape. four witness. the police still have'nt caught the four guys involved or given me any more information. cvs risk management told me the whole incident was my fault for paying with cash . they only accept cash at cvs ! they say i layed the money all over the counter making it easy and that i was'nt doing a tranaction with the casheir. if any one had something like this done to them please comment about it i do'nt carry that amount of cash on me, but i needed it to get a prepaid card. cvs have only one person in the front and no sercurity. so you are at your own risk when you enter the stores. cvs only cares about cvs.

I recently signed up for direct deposit for my Veterans Administration check so that I did not have to get out and do so much walking to cash my check etc...The VA did not put the last 3 digits of my account number on the direct deposit so Green dot kicked the wire back. I contacted them before the 2nd deposit went in and explained to them what had happened and that my social security number was on the check and that they could verify that against my account since that is the way they verify my identity over the phone and they refused said that they could not do that. My sister has worked for a bank for over 25 years anytime a direct deposit is rejected it kicks out a sheet telling them that something was wrong with the account so I know that they can verify the information by using my social especially when the account number is only missing 3 digits I explained this to the first person I spoke with and of course she either didn't understand what I was saying or just didn't care but I asked to speak to a supervisor I assume they thought I was going to hang up because they left me on hold for twenty minutes when she came back on the line and said her supervior was on a call with another person but she had spoken to her and she agreed there was nothing they could do. I again told her I wanted to speak to someone in charge and after another 15 minutes of waiting I finally got a Rommel on the phone probably some pee on who said the same exact thing that she had just said, I said to him so what you are telling me is that you are refusing to assist a Disabled American Veteran to ensure that my money is put on my card when I am telling you that it is coming in and exactly how much it is going to be for and hes exact words were I'm sorry there is nothing I can do...These companies need to hire more Americans and less of those people who do not understand English where is the compassion I also told him that this was going to put me in a serious bind since it takes at least 3 weeks for the VA to return the funds but he did not care...So for anyone thinking of using these people just know they are not compassionate at all and will not assist you in any way...So as soon as this is over I will be removing my money and they can take the card and shove it where the sun don't shine...

On july 7, 2010 I attempted to purchase three (3) green dot moneypak cards. I was refused and told that the store was not allowed to sell more than one (1). Having done this type of purchase in other walgreens stores I wonder why I was turned away. I understand that when the green dot card is loaded (Store or internet) that walgreens will not allow more than one load for $500 per 24 hours. I do not understand why walgreens treats customers in this manner as to not sell the moneypak. Who is to say how meany accounts the moneypak will be applied too.