PayPower
Reviews and Complaints

I have been waiting for my pay power card of 2/12/2014 it is now May 7, 2014 no money and no card as of today I have sent EMail and called 2 times just to get the run around no help they can not talk to me about this clam that they have to talk to my spouse we should have a joint account as we did file our taxes together I did Contact the IRS about this as well

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced with Paypower. Regarding Direct Deposit, we post the funds the day we receive them. In order to protect your personal information please email cs@blackhawk-net.com so we can assist you.

Their customer service is horrible. If you have to dispute a transaction, you'd better hope the merchant will work with you because they told me that there was 'nothing they could do'. Be wary

We apoligize for any inconvenience you have experienced with PayPower. In order to protect your personal information please email cs@blackhawk-net.com so we can assist you.

I have used them for a view years and didn't have a problem - until I had a problem two weeks ago. Someone charged something on my account that I did not know - a bogus charge. Apparently they are using a call center for their customer service. The kids were nice - but it took two hours to get them to not only do something but explain it to me. To make matters worse - they would cut me off (four times) and I was automatically charged two dollars everytime I called back!
To be fair - they were able to get all the call back charges but one - but you cannot expect a call center to be a bank. They closed my card (and did not tell me over the phone until the fourth call back and then said on my new card I would have all my money, including the $185.00 bogus charge.
Wrong - they gave me wrong information 3 times, over charged - cut me off - yet they were all very nice - just inept. New - not trained - whatever. Horrrible horrible horrible - as it came close to two hours I was practically screaming into the phone. I still don't have my money back - I DO NOT RECOMMEND META BANK TO ANYONE - A CALL CENTER IS NOT A BANK - AND I DON'T THINK THEY ARE ONE EITHER. THEY ARE OKAY BUT CANNOT SOLVE PROBLEMS IF THERE IS ONE.
As soon as I get my money back I am cancelling my card - horrible horrible horrible!

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced with PayPower. Please email cs@blackhawk-net.com so we can assist you.
PayPower Visa

Complete scam, the cards are NOT reloadable, instead it's transfered to a digital online card for online use only, which is useless to me, I needed this for in store purchases, Paypower will not refund all of the money and will only refund you via a cheque. I made a complaint to the grocery store where I purchased the card, they are now investigating the issue, I recommend you all complain to the retailers to pull these cards from the shelves

PayPower stay away! I booked a hotel and there was a preauthorization for the room, taxes plus deposit. 4 minutes later, I was charged the exact same amount again according to my statement, and my balance was lower by that amount. As soon as I logged in, I could see both transactions. The hotel provided me with a receipt for the one night stay which I provided to PayPower. I also took a screenshot of the double transaction. PayPower said, the amount would be returned to my card. It has been 2 weeks and no funds returned. The funny thing is, when I review my statement now, the 2nd transaction miraculously vanished off my statement. Why would they remove this transaction that was in error and not refund me my money?

I have used Paypower for a few years now without any glitches until recently! My cards were both blocked...and when calling Paypower the automated system would not recognize my information! I had to google to find a working email to get a response, which I had to send in my ID to prove who I was. Eventually, over days of fighting, my cards were unblocked. I reloaded $250 on my one card...and was blocked again! I'm beyond angry and frustrated! Once I get my money off the cards I will no longer be using this company! They have horrible customer service!

My experience with Pay Power is somewhat the same as others experiences, On March 9, 2016 my card was stolen and I reported it as such on March 11, 2016 when I called the agent that I wanted the card blocked, he replied, (in bad English) he could not block the card to prevent usage, until I gave him some numbers on the bottom of my safeway receipt, where I bought the card. with original amount of $80.00 .By this time, the card had already been used on March 10, 2016. Would you believe, the balance was now at -$115.85 dollars After the two verbal sessions with the agent, I am now unable to login to my account. Today is March 20, 2016 and I still cannot login to my account. I do hope more people are made aware of this product! (1.0% for, 99.0% against would be my score) I am following suggestion of other complainants about notifying authorities about this product.
GM

Paypower scammed me too... I opened a card loaded with 5 Reloadit packs...paypower blocked my card and told me to snd them proof of purchase of the Reloadit packs... The packs were old and the receipts were gone... Paypower said too bad we have to keep your money...

I bought this card for my disabled son to travel with. Cash is difficult for him to handle. I wanted the security that if he lost the card, we could report it and get him a replacement right away. When I went on line and gave out my son's personal information (social security number) birthday...I got a message that they could not process my request. I called customer service and spoke to a gentleman who could not speak English well. I had to have him repeat everything to try and understand him. He took my trouble report and told me someone would call me in two days. I got the call two days later and spoke to another person who could barely speak English. He told me that they could not verify my sons identity (same problem as other people who have tried) and therefore could not set up the account. After much arguing back and forth he finally told me the account information I provided on line did not match with government records! He refused to give me any options in verify my sons identity. He could still use the card but if the card was lost or stolen, we would be out $500. WHAT A SCAM! I jsut hope and pray they are not trying to use his personal information some how. WILL NEVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN. The customer service is all automated and it is very difficult to get to a person and when you do they are overseas.

I agree with Ekky. Paypower is an incredibly useful tool that I use everyday too. I've been using it for over two years and have had only a few problems with their service. Currently, I cannot use the debit function and I admit, it's a bit annoying; nevertheless, quite useful.

They do ask for your SS# but I haven't had a problem with that. Plus, it's not like they verify that it's your Real number ;)
Also, they send a card out a few weeks after you register the card. Just keep track of your information and you'll be all set.

Thinking I'd just present my daughter with a cash card for her birthday and let her decide how to spend it, I purchased one of the Paypower cards at the local Safeway. This was in early April; it's now well into July. When she called to register the card, the company took all her information. But, when she tried to access her account to check the balance, there was a message that the card was not 'authorized.' Thinking that maybe I should have registered the card (as original purchaser) I finally called after she'd gone through the registration process numerous times with no satisfactory result. When I called, the agent (who was barely understandable - heavy latino accent) started asking for all sorts of personal information, claiming it was required for the process. This is after my daughter had already given them a ton of information they had requested to 'authorize' the card. I told the service representative that I had purchased the card as a gift for my daughter and had no intention of using it myself, so declined to provide any additional information. I have several other major credit/debit cards (VISA among them) and have never been asked for as much information as Paypower was requesting. I told the service representative that I was very disappointed in the authorization process, the ongoing delay for my daughter to be able to access either account information or purchases and that the company should go ahead and close the card account completely and refund the remaining balance (they apparently charge a monthly transaction fee whether the card is 'activated' or not) to my daughter's address (which they had asked for). The representative responded almost immediately that they could not de-activate the card and refund the money because the card had now been activated. By this time, I was becoming annoyed with what seemed to be a real 'run around' and told the representative that I still wanted the card deacitivated, money refunded, that I was terminating the conversation and pursuing alternative action through the State Attorney General's office, VISA, Safeway Customer Service and the Better Business Bureau. Copies of the information provided here have been forwarded to those offices and agencies. My intention is to post this story on several blogs, Facebook, and mention my dissatisfaction on Twitter. I've been told there's no such thing as 'bad' advertising - well, we'll see.
BTM

I have no problem with paypower at all.. I get my check direct deposit every two weeks.. I used the card everyday.. Beside the monthly service charge.. This card cone in handy... U use what u put in..

Customer since 2010

I have had a similar problem activating my PayPower card. They required my "initial value, " which I was told was $50. The customer service department disagreed and basically told me my money was gone and out the door unless I could get them the "correct" initial value. Since they were in complete control of the situation and I had no way to provide them with whatever mystical number they were expecting (when you receive a gift card, how else are you supposed to verify the value other than use the value reported to you by the gift giver and present on the receipt?!), my money is gone. I'm still pushing against them pretty hard, but I have a hunch I'm never going to see those $50.

Thanks PayPower for stealing my aunt's $50 gift,
Jordan

Thank you for your inquiry. We are currently making improvements to our website to better serve you. Please contact us at [protected] for immediate assistance, the customer service phone number is working properly again.
Thank you,
Adrianne N
CS for PayPower

yes, this is BS. Just baught a card at my local grocery store. Tried activating and registering when I got home, and the website doesn't exist. I have $220 that I loaded it with and now I don't even know if I'll be able to use it. Their toll free number doesn't work either. [protected] is the number to call to also acivate it. It just keeps saying that it is under maintenance.

Asking someone to send their card number over email is suspicious. Do you really think this is the best way to help your customers?

Hello,

We apologize for any inconvenience. Please send your card and contact information to PR@Blackhawk-net.com so that we may assist you.

Thank you,
PR for PayPower

Terrible Card.
Prefer to use the money mart product

I had lots of problems with this card also. Had my founds frozen for a week.
STAY AWAY FROM PAYPOWER VISA!

Hello,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. If you are in need of further assistance, please email PR@Blackhawk-net.com and we will help you resolve the issue.

Thank you,
PR for PayPower

Hello,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. If you need further assistance, please send your card and contact information to PR@Blackhawk-net.com.

Thank you,
PR for PayPower

Hi Amy,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Please send your card and contact information to pr@blackhawk-net.com so that we may assist you.

Thank you,
Public Relations for PayPower

Hello I called on July 14th to report a lost card and was told on that date that I would receive a new card in the mail in 7-10 business days! With-in that time I've been calling to make sure that the replacement card was indeed on the way, not taken out of my mail and not activated by someone esle! On Monday the 25th I placed a call to customer service and was told that they could not find my information and that the card numbers, of which i have 2 in my name, did not match up! After trying to make myself clear the rep investigated further and realized that he was dealing with the gift card dept. He found the 2 and matching info on my cards after asking for my last 4 ss#, gave me the balance of both, and told me that i'd be receiving the new replacement card by the 28th of July! 2 days later Weds. the 27th still no card in the mail. I call CS again and they cant find my information at first, but after investigating the representative Carlos, finds my info..TELLS ME THERE WILL BE NO CARD BY THE 28, BECAUSE OF A MESSAGE THEY RECEIVED 3 DAYS AGO, THAT THE CO HAS NO DEBIT CARD INVENTORY!, And my card wont be sent until the 16th of August! NIGHTMARE! I was not given any kind of notice that there would be no card mailed with in that 7-10 days specified originally on the 14th of July and was charged 6 dollars for replacement! I was given a ref number I T R 476669, spoke to a shift supervisor, and was told that since i have a activated card they would honor my request to have $197.44 transfered funds on card ending 4762 the replacement card, to 7757 by Friday afternoon, July 29th, ..I simply cannot wait no longer than tomorrow or Friday at the latest for a transferr of funds! Please verify that this transaction will be taking place! Patricia Graves very angry customer!

Hello,

We apologize for any inconvenience and would like to help you resolve this issue. Please email your card and contact information to PR@Blackhawk-net.com so that we may assist you.

Thank you,
Public Relations for PayPower

Hello,

We apologize for any inconvenience. If you need further assistance please email your card and contact information to PR@Blackhawk-net.com.

Thank you,
Public Relations for PayPower

i recieved my income then they put a block on my card. i keep telling i have to talk to the risk team to get my money

They done the same thing to me yesterday right after my Fed Tax return was posted. The risk dept put a block on it. I had other money on it I loaded and it won't let me access it. We used a different card last year and had no problems. Was your block ever lifted?

I just got my tax refund 2/6/2014..i went to the bank n took off five hundreD the amount they allow u to take off a day.i then tried to swipe my card and it wouldnt work so i xalled pay power and they told me the risk department put a block on it because a red flag pop up on how much i took of My card. I have a balance of 5073.00 on my card and cant use it.they tell u the risk department has no contact info...all im saying is if this block is nit off by next week im calling a lawyer and channel 3 news...

READ people.READ. Every one of these prepaid credit cards have fees. If you get it as a gift, blame the idiot who bought it for you for also being too stupid to READ.

This Card company is a SCAM! I also will not stop until people know about them. I had used my card at a gas station like I have before and they held ALL my money for THREE business days. I told them I had other people to feed besides myself and needed access to my funds and could wait three days. They just kept repeating the policy the policy. Then I asked to speak to a supervisor and he was NO help his NAME was ALEX and his Employee id is 13565, HE WAS SO RUDE. I asked him who his boss was and he said no one! then I asked well who runs the company he said he couldn't tell me! What this is A SCAM!

You charging $5.95 a month is a major rip off. We received your worthless card as a gift and by the time we went to use it, the balance was zero thanks to your monthly fee every #$%^ month. And there is every other imaginable fee on your card. That's the last I will ever use your useless card. You scammers should be ashamed of yourselves.

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced with your PayPower card . Regarding the fees that we have charged to your card, let me explain the following:
We don’t have over draft fees since this is a prepaid card. You are only able to spend the balance available on the card. The only fee that we charge monthly is the maintenance fee of $5.95. When the card shows a zero balance the system will charge one monthly fee on the stipulated day, leaving the card with a maximum negative balance of $5.95. However, a new maintenance fee is not charged again until you have a balance in your favor, even if you don't use the card for several months.

If you need further information about the fees for the card or how the card works you can find it in the terms and conditions, or you can visit our website www.paypower.com. We'll be happy to further assist you. However, in order to protect your information we ask that you please call or email the contact information provided below. If you'd prefer you can also use the email form provided on our website.
PayPower
[protected]/ cs@blackhawk-net.com

i HONESTLY THINK THAT THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM. I WANT TO PUT A PAY POWER SCAM WEBSITE! THERE IS TOO MANY COMPLAINTS ... EMPLOYEE ALEX ID NUMBER 13565 WAS SO RUDE AND WOULD NOT GIVE ME THE NAME OF HIS BOSS OR WHO RUNS THIS COMPANY! BEWARE OF THE RIP OFF SERVICE!

Hello,

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. If you require further assistance please send your contact and card information to pr@blackhawk-net.com so that we may resolve the issue.

Thank you,
PR for PayPower

I purchased one of these cards and had my money direct deposited to this card and before I got home I received a call saying my purchase wasn't completed and that I needed to provide my SSN to complete the transaction. Idiot me did and they took all the money off the card. Immediately called customer service and they told me I had to file a dispute. I did that as well. Going into my 5th month now and customer service just told me that I needed to file another dispute. OMG... just tell me that your card is not secured or backed in any way or fashion and move on. This card and service is a very unsecured way to spend money. I highly recommend that you do not use this crap.

DON'T GET THIS CARD FOR YOUR TRAVELING CHILD. After purchasing this card, I was unable to load more money on it for my child who was 1000 miles away for 6 days. The customer service rep told me that I would have to wait 24 hours and try again. If that didn't work, then oh, well, it was just a gift card and I would have to find another way to get them money.

PayPower advertises that you can reload there card, when I register my card the website told me I had to be over 16 to register unable to register witch made the card void according to customer service. Funny thing I was born in 1966, I like the math there web site dose. How can they run a business with no customer service, first and last card I will buy of there's.

Worst customer service ever, there are other choices in the market, you should consider anyone other than Visa Pay Power card.

I just got my Paypower card in the mail & I tried to activate it.
For some bizarre reason it said I wasn't entering the correct
Last four digits of my phone #! I tried again and again and then
They locked my account down. When we called customer service
The guy said that they have to "investigate" and that it would take
One to three days to resolve. My question is how can they Lock
And investigate a card account that doesn't even exist?
I have to REGISTER it first! There is no money on the account
So why are they acting so cautious? It's just a card that we
Elected for our tax return-The good news? I'm calling the IRS
& having the money placed in our Bank account. You can do
That as long as IRS hasn't finished processing our return.
So sorry for everyone...Hope and pray you get YOUR money
Back!
Good Luck!
Anna Smith

For three days I have been trying to locate my money on PayPower I had put a check on the ingo app and so the check went through to Paypower. find I can't access my money due to a block and they lied and said never received the money once again you're trying to steal money off the consumers, this company is a total fraud you can't even get decent customer service if you can even understand the person you were talking to, then they are rude they lie to you about the money being on the card went to check again when the money was not there called them back that I had to wait two days why would I have to wait two days for money that supposed to instantly be there they've screwed me out of two days work and as a nurse this is a significant loss I will never recommend this company I am going to the Better Business Bureau because no one here will resolve the problem.it's a shame that a good name like a visa is sitting on this company .class action lawsuit is needed and I will gladly sign in. Very dissatisfied dissatisfied customer

I bought a paypower card in April and had no problems until june so i bought another one and that one did not work so i bought one again this month July And So far it would not let me Register it Since it is keep saying unable to process your request So far For travel i WOULD Not Reccomend this card for online shopping or regular shopping this card is decent.

I have also been trying to get a hold of them for days to try and cancel. Given to me as a gift card, it now has a 'negative' balance due to the ridiculous monthly fees.

Only one of the seven messages I sent through the website was replied to, and all it told me was to call the same phone number, again, put in all the info, again, listen to all the messages, again, and get hung up on, AGAIN.

All of the people using the word Scam seem to be right.

How do you get ahold of them?
the number on back of card keeps hanging up?
Im desperate, they have my tax refund
...

Was hit with a $7 charge on my account that only read "Settlement Adjustment Debit" with no further information given. No date, no origin of charge, no vendor information, nothing. I called PayPower support (which is seriously lacking in efficiency, located somewhere out of Mexico or South America. Almost impossible to understand.) and the explanation they gave me was that it was a charge from a gas station about 3 months prior that never came through. Seriously? When has it ever taken a bank that long to process a debit. And I know this is false because I have only been to that gas station ONCE and it was while passing through a city when I was moving and the dates are months apart from when they claim the charge was made. So to me this sounds like PayPower targeting cardholders for any money they think they can get away with stealing and saying it was a late debit from whichever random company they choose from your account history. It's awfully convenient that on their end they can say where the charge came from, but neither they or the website can provide me with any information I could use to possibly follow up on it myself. I am going to be reporting this to the FTC.

Yes I was under the impression that with the deposit of both my income tax deposits, They would tack on 20 dollars on to my card.The incentive was that the deposits both had to be 200 dollars for each deposit, this was the promotion for accepting the terms of this card this was in print on the Tax act page.so when I called customer serv. I was told that I was with in the promo guide lines and that rep sent to cooperate the request for the moneys, it should be processed in 2 days.well I called back, guess what I am not eligerble because it was a tax deposit, huh that was the promo WTF is going on here.I definitely will have to put a complaint in for false advertising amongst other things.Good Luck with this Card serv.

wish I would have read these comments and known that tax act was using this company this year, they seem to change cards every year, think ill find my own next year, because they excepted a partial payment from the irs in feb, then I was under review when they went to deposit the rest in april, paypower denied the deposit, so now the irs says they have to re review it and it could take 8 to 10 weeks for them to send out a paper check, keep calling paypower about why it was rejected and keep getting the someone will call you back run around don't use paypower what a joke

I just bought a card earlier today from the store and instead of it working it hasn't. I get declined everytime. What am I supposed to do now? I spent 30 dollars!

Don't be fooled by PayPower's response - they clearly spend their time answering these comments online but not in reality. My son is now 3000 miles away with a card that doesn't work AND THEY WON'T ANSWER THEIR PHONE. This is a scam company. Do NOT use their cards.

Hello,

We apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced and ask that you please send your contact information to pr@blackhawk-net.com so that we may work with you to resolve your issue.

Thank you,
PayPower

Bonjour. J'ai déposé ce matin 30$ sur ma carte paypower et pas moyen de m'en servir. J'essaye de me faire un compte et mon numéro de téléphone es refusé. Ça fai plusieurs fois que je perds mon argent avec vous donc svp corrigé la situation.

Salut jai acheter une carte noir paypower de 150$ pis quand jai appelle on ma dit que ma carte Etais pas activer et de vous envoyer un email et de vous expliquer mon probleme elle ne fonctionne toujours pas Pouvez vous maider svp MERCI!

Reload it pack . Doesn't allow to open safe

I saw them today, all the younow transactions are fraudulent.

I bought a card and when i tried to add to pay power it immediately rejected me. When i called customer service they told me they appoligized what a joke. Then said buy another card and try to activate that now i am out a 150 dollars. I cant get a refund because customer service will not accept the card i bought to activate the power pay card i reload card. This is a scam. Trying to screw ppl with bad credit like we dont matter. And it seems like they send this all overseas so we dont have a chance but get screwed and we have to accept it

Same story as most, purchased card, paid my money, nothing on the card. Live agent no help, "card not activated" oops I have a statement it was" oh the cashier did not do it correctly, contact the Esso Station manager. He is never in, assistant say they did it correctly, it's Pay power fault. Well someone is enjoying my $ 66.00. Lesson learned, went to Scotiabank got prepaid visa, worked with in 24 hours NO PROBLEMS. Never buy Esso gas again or purchase anything that I cannot eat or drink right now from any gas station again. Big SCAM and rip off.

I bought a reload pack at Safeways at Sargent & Maryland and I scratched the numbers on the back and 1 # wore off we could not read it. The manager called pay power .We talked to a service rep.I gave her all the info. she gave me a reference code and told the refund would take 30 days. After 30 days I called them they said they wanted the reciept and reload pack no. witch I cannot read. Paypower will not give my money back. They have all the info. on their computers. This happen march 26, 2016. ref. INC0519600

Paypower ripped me off for 7, 400 from my 2012 tax return held it for a fraud security claimed they sentvmoney back to IRS and the IRS cashed the check. However the IRS states that they never received the funds back from paypower. Paypower refuses to provide me with a copy of the cashed check or help me any furthet

This company seems very shady. They want your social security # to open an account. Never heard of that before. I just wanted to activate a card my son had received as a gift. When I called to speak to a representative I checked the card balance on the automated menu. It said there was a 0 balance, which did not seem right, especially since we had never used it. When I finally spoke to a representative, he said he couldn't see the balance and asked how much was loaded on the card. I told him it was a gift and I had no idea. He told me I would have to contact the person who gave it to me. WHAT?!?! So basically somebody (the person who bought the Visa debit card) just gave this company money and we have nothing to show for it. I feel like they stole hard earned money from somebody. This seems very unethical and like a scam. Stay away from Pay Power!

This paypower card sucks my Taxes was deposited on this card 2 weeks ago. They took money out of taxes but wont release them to me. Over 9000 dollars my kids need glasses and etc...ready to sue for my money an pain an suffering...