Anyone else with having problems with Rubycard?

allaboutjase

On the 5th of September I loaded my Rubycard prepay card with money to make an online purchase. The transaction was denied, so I went to the rubycard website where I was met with the following -

This message, in conjunction with an email sent to your registered email address on the 11th June 2012, is to inform you that the RubyCard Prepaid MasterCard programme will be terminating in 60 days. This means that your card and account will be closed in 60 Days. This notification is in line with our Prepaid Terms and Conditions, as available online via our website at .... Why? RubyCard and its partners are always looking to ensure the best possible service and due to circumstances beyond we are no longer able to offer this product. We are currently exploring an alternative card product and are hopeful that we will be able to inform you of an exclusive offer in the coming weeks. What does this mean for me? This change will take effect 60 days from the date of this letter, which means that your RubyCard Prepaid MasterCard will be terminated as of 10/08/2012 and you will no longer be able to use the card. What if I still have money on my prepaid card? Your money is safe. The quickest way to access you funds will be to withdraw cash through an ATM or spend your funds online or in store within the next 60 days or you can contact us on the below email address and provide a bank account with matching account information to your prepaid card, i.e Full Name and Postal Address, and we will arrange the funds to be transferred into your chosen account (bank charges will apply). Once the funds have been spent, please dispose of you card securely by cutting through the magnetic strip and chip before throwing the card away. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us by email Yours Sincerely On behalf of the RubyCard Customer Service Team

Firstly, I have no record of having received any such email. I would have thought a decision like this would be dealt with in writing. Apparently not.

What is infuriating is the card is still active as it has been charging fees for failed transactions - even after the date of termination mentioned above. I wrote emails on Monday and also today to them which have received no response.
I then called them on two separate occasions and was told that they could not access their system and that they would call back. They haven't. The money i put on the card is evaporating daily - despite this withdrawal of service. It is now gone below a point where accessing it through means of ATM is impossible. I only got the card in March.

I have been promised phone calls back all day but they have not materialized.

Has anyone else been affected by this and who would be best to contact with regard regulation and consumer rights? Having paid the cost of getting the card and the fees that go with that, surely this level of service is unacceptable?

How can a terminated card still accept top-ups and charge for failed transactions?

Thanks for your help.

allaboutjase

Still no reply from Rubycard. Wholly unacceptable.

Yggr of Asgard

There have been persistent rumours’ for month now that Transact (the issuer of the card) is running out of money fast and in fact they have terminated existing card schemes throughout Europe in the last couple of month.

Rubycard is just the latest to wind down their operations and it is handled very badly because you are not the only one that never received this e-mail about their wind down and there is no statement either on their webpages.

Now you can complain to Transact directly (as issuer) here but don’t expect them to help you beside standard templates.

I hope you get your money back soon, I withdraw all my funds once I read about transacts problems.

Transact now has sold part of their business to the US The Bancorp Inc, so they are effectively taken over the show.

allaboutjase

Thanks for that, dublin-texas. I emailed them again there now. The third time this week. The whole lot goes to Joe Duffy tomorrow.