While the man in the earlier story who mentioned that he might get a machine gun and use it against the employees of a customer service call center was improperly venting his frustration, the person who called in a bomb threat to a New Jersey Kmart was just trying to scam the store out of some money. [More]
prepaid debit cards
More Than 286K People Ask McDonald’s To Stop Franchisees From Paying Employees With Debit Cards
By 7.17.13
A month after an ex-McDonald’s worker in Pennsylvania sued her former employers because they required that all employees receive their pay via a fee-laden Chase prepaid debit card, she has put together a petition asking McDonald’s leadership to put an end to the practice at McDonald’s nationwide. [More]
New York Attorney General Investigating Walmart, Home Depot, Others Over Prepaid Payroll Cards
By 7.3.13
Though it’s been a point of concern with employee-rights advocates for years, the use of prepaid debit cards as a substitute for traditional payroll checks is finally getting attention from the powers that be, with the New York state attorney general’s office investigating the practice at some of the nation’s largest employers. [More]
Sued McDonald’s Franchisee Now Says Employees No Longer Have To Accept Pay On Debit Card
By 7.2.13
The McDonald’s franchisees who were sued by a former employee after she was forced to accept her wages on a prepaid debit card have had a sudden change of heart, saying they will now be giving workers at their 16 McDonald’s franchises in Pennsylvania the option of receiving their pay on good old-fashioned paycheck or direct-deposit. [More]
Here’s Why Employers & Banks Love Putting Wages On Prepaid Debit Cards, And Why Employees Keep Their Pay In Shoeboxes
By 7.1.13
The recent lawsuit filed by a former McDonald’s worker against her employers has drawn a lot of national attention to issue of paying wages on prepaid debit cards, with a some people not understanding why a business would push these cards over traditional payment methords, or why an employee would have such a big problem with the cards. [More]
Coming Soon: Withdraw Prepaid Debit Cards From The Nearest ATM
By 6.21.13
The automated teller machine is now ubiquitous and can perform most of the functions you would visit a bank branch for: withdrawing cash, transferring money, making deposits. One thing that has really never changed about ATMs is what they dispense. Cash is cash: untraceable, lightweight, and nobody charges you any fees to use it. How boring and unprofitable. [More]
McDonald’s HQ Says It Has Nothing To Do With Franchisee That Forces Employees To Get Paid Via Debit Card
By 6.20.13
People around the country have taken an interest in the story of a former McDonald’s employee who recently filed a lawsuit because she was told the only way she could receive her wages was via a prepaid debit card. Meanwhile, the folks at the McDonald’s corporate office are trying to put as much of a buffer between themselves and the franchisees running the store in question. [More]
Ex McDonald’s Employee Sues Because She Doesn’t Want Her Paycheck On A Prepaid Debit Card
By 6.17.13
Earlier this year, a woman in Pennsylvania was expecting to get her first paycheck from her new job at McDonald’s, but rather than an envelope containing cash or a check, she received a prepaid debit card from Chase. This did not go over well. [More]
Oakland Decides It Doesn’t Need All Those Fees On Its Combination ID/Debit Cards
By 4.9.13
A few weeks back, we told you about the new photo ID cards being issued by the city of Oakland that could also be used as prepaid debit cards. We also told you about how these debit cards came loaded with sky-high fees. Now it looks like the city has decided to ditch some of these exorbitant charges. [More]
Chicago Transit Prepaid Debit Cards Also Fully Loaded With Fees
By 3.21.13
Yesterday we told you about the sky-high fees associated with the combination photo ID/prepaid debit card being issued by the city of Oakland. Now comes a report that Chicago-area residents who choose to opt in to the prepaid debit option on their transit cards will also see their cash eroded by fees. [More]
Oakland Residents Will Be Slammed With Fees If They Use City IDs As Debit Cards
By 3.20.13
The city of Oakland has begun offering ID cards that can also double as prepaid debit cards. Not inherently a bad idea, except for the fact that these cards come loaded with fees that will chisel away at the user’s funds. [More]
Yet Another Reason Prepaid Debit Gift Cards Are A Terrible Idea
By 1.29.13
Cody had a Visa gift card, and he used it up to buy a grill, ordering online from Lowe’s for in-store pickup. He didn’t say where the gift card came from: maybe it was a present or he received it from a rebate. It doesn’t really matter. He used it for only part of his purchase. The problem came when he forgot to pick up the grill and other items that he bought for almost a month. The store where he was supposed to pick it up no longer had it in stock, but they couldn’t transfer the purchase to a different store. He needed to get a refund for the grill that he had ordered online, then buy it over again at another store. Easy enough…if he hadn’t used up the prepaid card and then tossed it out. [More]
My Employer Will Only Pay Me By Prepaid Debit Card. Is That OK?
By 6.6.12
Everyone (except consumer advocates like us) seems to love prepaid debit cards. You can get student loan fundage on them, unemployment benefits, and even federal and state tax refunds. And now they’re handling your paycheck. Christopher just took a job as a pizza delivery driver for a major chain, and he has only one option for receiving his pay (other than tips): a prepaid debit card. He doesn’t like it. [More]
Zynga-Branded AmEx Prepaid Card Lets You Earn FarmVille Cash In The Real World
By 5.22.12
This site does not, in general, approve of Zynga’s freemium addiction-based gaming model or fee-laden prepaid debit cards. So we are amused and slightly dismayed to bring you the news that AmEx and Zynga have teamed up to bring a Farmville points rewards card into the world. Fill up your card, spend the money, earn points to buy in-game stuff. How could this product possibly go wrong? [More]
Prepaid Debit Card Fees Are Wildly Inconsistent, Not Always Disclosed Up Front
By 3.29.12
The Federal Reserve says that prepaid debit cards are the fastest-growing non-cash way to pay. All that competition to get customers has led to an overall decrease in the fees associated with these cards, but a new study finds the price points for these fees are all over the place, and that companies are not always up front about disclosing them. [More]
Green Dot Mixes Up Prepaid Card Addresses, Ties Up My Money
By 3.7.12
Sarah bought a Green Dot Visa card at Walmart so she could do some shopping online. Her experience is a great illustration of why this site isn’t a huge fan of prepaid debit cards: she put down cash for a card that had erroneous address information even though she had carefully followed all directions and registered the card. She ended up with most of the card’s balance tied up in transactions she couldn’t complete. [More]
South Carolina To Provide Tax Refunds On Bank Of America Debit Card
By 2.23.12
This tax season, South Carolina taxpayers will have three options for getting their tax refunds: direct deposit, paper check, or a prepaid debit card from Bank of America. While this last option might seem like a good idea to some, they could be paying for the convenience. [More]
