Vanilla Visa screwed me over
I bought a $75 Vanilla Visa prepaid card and used $45 of it with no issues. Then when I went to use the last $30, the card just stopped working completely. Wouldn’t work in stores. Wouldn’t work online. Nothing.
So I call customer service thinking it’s some simple fix. They tell me the card was “compromised” and they have to send me a replacement. Then they say they need a mailing address and it’ll take time. I tried explaining I needed that money now. I asked if they could just give me a virtual card or transfer the balance or literally anything so I could still use my own money. Nope.
That $30 was the last money I had.
I bought the card because I needed to pay my phone bill. My phone had already been shut off and I was supposed to start a new job the next day. I was counting on that money to get my phone turned back on so my employer could call me.
Because the card wouldn’t work and they refused to give me any way to access the balance, I couldn’t pay the bill. My phone stayed shut off. My employer couldn’t reach me. I lost the job before I even got the chance to start.
And for context, I was already homeless at the time and trying to take care of a young child. Losing a job opportunity over $30 that was sitting on a prepaid card I couldn’t even use was honestly devastating.
They also refused to let me talk to a supervisor or manager. Since I didn’t have a stable mailing address, I never got the replacement card and never got my money back either.
So yeah. I will never buy a Vanilla Visa again. What was supposed to be a simple prepaid card ended up making an already awful situation even worse.
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