Be Very Wary: Do Not Get A Prepaid Mastercard From Moneymart

I heard about the new prepaid Mastercard from Money Mart. I decided it would be a great investment considering I did not have a currently functioning credit card( my VISA was stalled because I owed money) and refused to wallow in my own misery for the simple fact that I could not venture onto the world-wide web to do some online shopping.

I asked around about it (okay, I only asked about three people), but they said that it was easy to get and obviously this is the only mandate I really needed to hear. So, the very next day I ended up heading down on Lakeshore Blvd West at Islington.

Now, had I known that this Money Mart would be brimming with all sorts of creepy people, I probably would have scoped out some other "creepy-people" free Money Mart. Man, was it uncomfortable. I was dressed in jeans and runners and yet I still looked haute couture comparatively to the other red-neck folk there. I stayed there for a total of 10 minutes, having my identification validated, and listening to an otherwise competent and jovial worker, who probably could be working at a more apt place.But who am I to say?

So I headed off home with my plethora of brochures and paperwork, and my new prepaid Mastercard in hand. Now this was right around birthday and the reason I needed so desperately to a credit card was because as a personal gift to myself, I was going to buy a monthly premium membership package to Second Life.

Now, this is kind off topic but if you don't have an idea what Second Life is, let me explain here. It's an online virtual reality community aptly named Second life. So, I entered all of the needed credit card info and tried to buy a premium membership package. The first try did not go through. Of course, I thought nothing of it. Ahh, hindsight is everything, isn't it? So, I tried a second time. No luck still. So finally, I tried a third time. This time it went through and I was ecstatic! But not for long . . .

I thought nothing of it until I checked my online account the next day. Now, talking strictly about your online account, and believe me, you will need to have one because every time you call the "toll-free"number, you are charged $1.50. Also, DON"T EVER FORGET your user id, because if you do, you won't be able to retrieve it. They have a security system in place that they'll email you your password, but you're on your own if you forget your user id. I suppose you can call they're "toll-free" number, but that'll cost you $1.50 and up.

And while I'm on the topic of security systems in place, why the hell can't I access the proper website??? The first time I attempted to google "next wave titanium plus", I couldn't even get a clear web address. So, I entered it into my browser. I managed to get to nextwavetitaniumplus.com the first time. Yet, on every returning visit, my browser automatically transferred me to "galieoprocessing . . ." web site. What the hell? Apparently, it's legit, and secure. But still. What the hell's going on? It's the only place I could ever enter to check my online account so I assumed that it's affiliated with this "next wave titanium plus". It still doesn't soothe my nerves though.

Now, onto my account mishaps. So I check my account transaction history. This is possibly the biggest jumbled spectacle I have ever had to decipher. Knowing exactly what are legit transactions is near damn impossible considering that everything is termed ambiguously so in the end, all my transactions look like mistakes.

I'm telling you right now, if you want a legit card, this prepaid Mastercard ain't the one for you. The history account looks like as someone who was on an acid trip constructed it. It's very confusing, and obviously it was intended that way.Everyday I get new charges on and old charges taken off? Huh? Exactly. I have no idea what's going on either! I think it's purposely executed this way, so once you calm down and realize that you can identify your purchases, you'll conveniently overlook the plethora of fees. It's about $2.00 for every transaction fee, and sometimes, as in my case, it'll be double the amount of transaction fees for half the amount of purchases. Ergo, you'll be billed 2x$2.00 for one purchase, which means you are freaking getting ripped off!!!!

Also, I bought a premium membership package from Second Life. Which was labelled as "international"? according to my online account. Which only means that I get another sublimely cool "International charge" too. Yippy! See, there had to be a damn excuse as to why these punks would label it "International"'. Just great. 'Cuz I have so much freaking money that I don't mind at all if you guys keep bilking more money out of me!! That's exacly why I have a prepaid Mastercard instead of an actual credit card!

Additionally, I also became concerned when I realized that there was unknown extra charge of $25.00 in addition to the $10.00, which is the amount that I had originally intended to be billed for from Second Life! So now I have $35.00 being billed to my account from Second life plus the international fees of $10.00. What the Heck?

Well, I speed-dialled Second life and had to listen to a very chipper Englishman on the phone who seemed unaware of any extra charges that Second Life had billed to my prepaid Mastercard. He had initially thought that someone else was using my card but then gave me a number to the fraud department to call on Monday.

So Monday came and I decided I was going to take out some money from this card instead of ever using it again on the Internet. After all, I was sure that I wasn't going to bilked again. So I headed over to the nearest ATM, and attempted to take out $60.00. No money was dispensed. After looking over the receipt, it said that the pin number was incorrect. Huh? So I tried again. This time though, I only attempted to take out $40.00. But still no luck. This time the receipt said that there was insufficient funds in my account. I was shocked. I swear a day ago, I had over $200.00 in my account. So, I ran home and looked at my online account. It said I still had a remaining $40.00 in my account, but I had taken out $100.00 five minutes ago and that it went through. I also had a plethora of fees that totalled over $50.00 and obviously that is how I came to be at a balance of $40.00!!!???

Okay, this is just nuts! So I called the "toll-free" number and spoke with a call centre employee. She said that the money did not go through because of some mix-up and it would be returned within 48 hours to my account. She was able to check into the situation and validated that the reason my transaction did not go through was because of a mix-up.She gave assurances that I would receive my money! She also took down my phone number and said that once the money was re-instated into my account I would receive a text message. I waited the required 48 hours and thensome.

I called again on the 28 of April 2008. This time I was told that the money was settled, it was no longer available to me as it had been processed as a transaction. I could not speak to a supervisor because no one was available. No one bothered to call me back as they had promised either.

Today, April 29th, 2008, I called a third and final time. I spoke to a supervisor named Luke, who said they would send me a dispute process claim through my account with NEXT WAVE TITANIUM PLUS. I called around 3 pm, and I am waiting for said claim. I would still have to fill out this form if indeed I do receive it before the year 2020, but it's unlikely I will get any money back because I did not keep the receipts from the ATM. I know, I know, I am a complete and utter Moron.

I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau stating exactly the situation and what I want back. It's very likely that I will have to call the ATM and asked that they corroborate my story and send proof to this company in order to get back my $100.00. I still don't know what will happen with my $30.00 plus that they unlawfully stole from my account and pretended to charged as per Second Life. I will probably have to contact Second life too and ask them to corroborate my transactions in order to get my $30.00. I still have about $45.00 in my prepaid Mastercard but I'm holding off talking that money out because I'm still dealing with getting back my other money.But now I'm thinking I need to take that money out RIGHT AWAY!! Regrettably, I cannot get back any of the exuberant fees charged to my account even if the transactions were falsified and unvalidated. So, it looks like at the end I might end up losing out on over $200.00 of my own money. Wow. What a damn waste.

To anybody out there considering getting this card, you're walking on thin ice. It might be all fine and dandy right now, but once there's a screw up, there's no recourse for you to get your money. No one there knows what they are doing, and who can you complain to? It's been almost two weeks since my birthday, and still have not seen a penny of my missing money. I'm just grateful that I didn't lose more money, because then I would be even more livid. I could have used that $150.00 to get a manicure, some waxing done and a haircut! I guess i'll just have to stay fuzzy a little longer.

This prepaid Mastercard is a scam! If they don't try to bilk you out of money by charging you numerous unwarranted fees, then they'll charged you for purchases that never went through online or by not dispensing you money when you try to withdraw money from an ATM. And all you can do is complain to them but it won't change anything. According to them, their company doesn't make mistakes!

Let you guys be warned and if any of you guys are experiencing a similar circumstance, let me know! I'll keep you guys updated on my plight.