Do you have a Walmart MoneyCard? Were you unable to activate your card or access your funds on or after May 16, 2016? If so, your account may have been affected by a failed system update.
Every day, consumers purchase prepaid debit cards believing them to be a reliable and secure means of storing and accessing their money, and businesses that provide such cards owe a duty to their customers to ensure that the funds are available for use without interruption.
Unfortunately, it appears that Walmart and its vendor, Green Dot, failed in their duty. On or about May 16, 2016, purchasers and users of the Walmart MoneyCard, which is serviced by Green Dot and issued by Green Dot Bank, began experiencing errors that prevented cardholders’ access to their account information and funds.
By May 24th, Green Dot had acknowledged via Twitter that “[s]everal technical issues have come up over the last week that have impacted the ability of some cardholders to use their cards” and that “[t]hese issues ranged from errors associated with balance inquiries to activations and declined transactions.”
The service interruption appears to have been related to a failed conversion to a processing system maintained by MasterCard. A similar system conversion caused issues that plagued users of the RushCard prepaid debit card system, resulting in a class action lawsuit that recently settled in favor of consumers.
On June 28th, Senators Brown and Menendez of the Senate Banking Committee sent letters to MasterCard, as well as to Walmart and Green Dot demanding explanations as to how this service interruption could happen, the scope of its impact on consumers, and what the companies planned to do to compensate consumers for their damages.
Any interruption in access to funds should be taken seriously. Because many of the users of prepaid debit cards face extremely tight financial situations, even brief delays in access can result in late fees, failed payments, and necessary services like utilities being shut off. Indeed, this incident exemplifies the importance of being able to hold the companies entrusted with providing for our most basic needs – here, the ability to pay – to account when they fail their obligations to their customers.
Attorneys at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP have successfully brought lawsuits on behalf of numerous aggrieved consumers. We are currently investigating this matter, as well as other claims against sellers and issuers of prepaid debit cards. If you believe that your access to the funds loaded on your prepaid debit card has been interrupted, please contact us to discuss your legal options.