Walmart Money Card Green Dot Bank Criminal Activities by Walmart Money Card steals close to $800 from a family of five. Redding California

My husband and I have been Walmart Prepaid Card customers for over 8 years. We have our taxes direct deposited every year. It was not until they switched to Green Dot Bank that we had an issues with Walmart Money Card. I am still in disbelief over the absolute hell they have put my family through over the last 3 months. My card number was compromised and used for online charges as well as one charge from the Baymont Inn. We received a big refund this year so I did not watch our balance as close as I normally do because I knew there was plenty of money in our account. I finally began looking more in depth because the small online charges began to add up. The amount was sizable enough for me to know that something was wrong. There were over 50 fraudulent charges. I filed 2 police reports as well as filed a dispute with Walmart on March 25, 2016.

My husband and I were devastated. He is a utility pole inspector and when he works out of town, its necessary for him to have money for food and lodging which is reimbursed later. Walmart said that it would be 10 days. After about 14 days, I called them and they informed me that we were denied because of insufficient evidence. I could not believe it! My husband needed to get back to work so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I called every company where my card was used fraudulently. One after the other, I was able to get reimbursed by each company. They easily determined that the card was not used on any of my accounts. Therefore, I was able to get reimbursed for $347.68 without the help from Walmart Money Card. There were only 2 companies and the Baymont Inn which still needed to be resolved.

In order to prove my case with the Baymont Inn, I went to the motel where my husband and I had stayed for our anniversary on February 10, 2016. We were disputing a charge that happened one month later. Baymont Inn had charged my card $250 on March 19, 2016 without my authorization. They said that someone claiming to be me, paid cash for the room, but told them to use the card on file for their deposit. They smoked in a nonsmoking room, so the Baymont Inn charged my card $250. I asked them if they had any surveillance, they said it was not showing clear footage which made me speculate and become suspicious. I could see cameras right next to the front desk so not allowing me to see what footage they had on the day my card was used, made me suspect the staff. Anyways, I explained to them that there was no possible way I could have rented a room and the reason why was due to the fact that I had changed my last name to my married name on February 11, 2016.

An issue date is shown on my new drivers license. When you get a new drivers license in California, the DMV punches a hole through your old license making it invalid. I could no longer use my old license which happened to be the same name as the card someone used fraudulently at the Baymont Inn. I further suspected the crime might be employee related since someone rented a room under my name with no drivers license and used the card on file without showing the card with a valid drivers license matching that card. It would have been impossible for me to rent a room without a valid ID matching the name of the credit card on file. I collected all the new information which was a copy of my new license, marriage certificate, 2 police report case numbers, an updated police report and a copy of the room receipt from the Baymont Inn. I resubmitted my case with Walmart supplying them with all of the information on March 15, 2016. I faxed the paperwork and emailed everything as well.

This now leads me to the reason for my complaint. Not only did Walmart deny me again for the Baymont Inn, but for over 3 months Walmart Money Card has refused to allow me access to my money. Today is June 11, 2016! I have $492 credit on my account and they will not release it. We have argued and called them almost everyday. They have no right to keep money that was directly reimbursed by companies especially when it was my actions which caused them to reimburse me. They denied me on May 23, 2016 for the Baymont Inn even with all of the evidence. When I first called them regarding all of the fraudulent charges, they offered to send me out a replacement card for the account. I said that I had changed my last name to my married name so instead, they opened a new account with my married name. They still kept the old account open for the disputes, but I had no access to the money in that account.

They still have not given me any reasons or time line for when we can have our money. As I further researched the law and the fact that they claim to be FDIC approved, I realized that they are illegally doing this to us. My husband lost weeks of work because they would not give us discretionary funds and they have blocked me from having access to my money. The real shock came when they still charged us a $3 dollar monthly service fee on this account. Yet, I have no access to it. They will not let us talk to corporate. We have threatened a lawsuit, but they do not care. They will not tell me when I'll have access. They lie to us every time and say that someone will call us back, but no one ever does.

Almost $800 dollars was taken from us and it has put my family through a financial hardship and the stress has been more than I can bare. I had a breakdown due to all the stress they have put us through. They are screwing us and there seems to be nothing we can do. It is wrong! I filed a complaint with FDIC and with the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco. I also filed a report with the Better Business Bureau. Since filing these reports, Walmart Money Card has blocked our new account with them. They claim it was due to suspicious activity. They stated that they not only needed to close down our account, but we can no longer acquire an account with them. Once again, lies. They have no consequences for hurting innocent families. I do not know what else to do or where else to go. My hope is to rally against them with others who are victimized.