Cash Plus Prepaid MasterCard Review

“STAY AWAY FROM THIS CARD BEWARE BEWARE!!! ”

Written on: 30/01/2010 by Steiner1902 (1 review written)

STAY AWAY FROM THIS CARD BEWARE BEWARE!!!



MASSIVE CHARGES TO CALL THEM!!!



RIDICULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!



Please note I have only given one star because review centre does not allow none!

I bought one of these cards and loaded it with money for a trip to Thailand.

Tried to remove money from an ATM, denied!

Tried to buy currency, denied!

Checked on line, all monies there. So I called them...



Now that's another joke, calls quoted as "10pence per minute from a BT line" other service providers may charge more (how many people don't have a BT landline now we are in the low cost mobile plan era???).

So in full knowledge that statement is carte blanche to de-bag and bu**er you if you call from any other provider when I needed the pin number, which cannot be obtained on line but only after a lengthy call during which CASH PLUS (remember the name) de-bag and you've guessed it folks bu**er you! I called from a BT call phone at Heathrow, FOUR POUNDS and SIXTY PENCE to get a pin number!!! I do hope you are sitting comfortably for this review folks, thankfully it wont take as long as I did to get my money from CASH PLUS (remember the name)



So I am in Thailand with a CASH PLUS card (remember the name folks) which wont work at ATM's and with which I cannot buy currency.

I called them from Thailand as almost all my money was on this card and I did not have a back up (total call cost to NOT rectify the problem FOURTY FOUR POUNDS) and spoke to 'Mary' who was definitely located closer to Thailand than the UK and assured me that "we will arrange for you a callback within 2 hours sir, that is for sure our policy sir."!



Never ever ever ever called me back even though I received a solemn promise to do so EVERY time I spoke to someone from their customer service team (strangely only "Mary" and "Steve", very rude, answer the phone and consultations between the two take seconds, which leads me to conclude that their customer service team consists of a combined force of... TWO PEOPLE, separated by... ONE DESK and "Steve does not live any closer to the UK than Mary).

Oh and every number they have listed; from the UK, stolen/lost card or calls from abroad all go to the same number where someone will ramble on Forest Gump style while CASH PLUS (remember the name folks) de-bags, bu**ers you and takes your money AND you cant access the options before they stop rambling even if you know the options menu inside out (which you will do if you buy one of these cards) in the same way you can with a reputable company.

So now they tell me that my card is an 'express card' (can't be used at an ATM or to withdraw cash).

This 'top secret' information is to be revealed to you in an email (I got mine 5 days after arriving in Thailand) OR if you see an 'upgrade' option on the member area of your account on line. I wonder if anyone ever gets this information in an email?

"Upgrading is easy" I was told, "simply send us a proof of address such as a utility bill and we can upgrade your card."

Now if you are considering one of these cards then it is highly likely that you have some sort of problem; bad credit, no proof of address etc. In my case I was not yet out of bankruptcy and was renting a room in a shared house so no utility bills in my name and no current bank account. That's why I got the stupid card.



Ok no problem, so even if I had a utility bill I simply pop it in the post (express post from Thailand 5 working days and that's it. Well I don't know about you but I always bring a utility bill with me on holiday, sure you never know when you'll need one. Did 'Mary' and 'Steve" become temporarily deaf or just choose to ignore the fact that I told them during that phone call and the consecutive three that I WAS IN THAILAND WITH NO MONEY AND THEIR USELESS PIECE OF PLASTIC!!!



"You can use the card at stores sir" droned both 'Mary' and 'Steve'. No problem, "I will approach this road side vender who carries his entire business on a three wheeled self-build project dating from the 1950's and ask if he accepts CASH PLUS (remember the name).

Well folks as they say "Mama didn't raise no fool" (apart from the day I bought a CASH PLUS card) so at this point I realised that CASH PLUS (remember the name) would perpetually de-bag and bu**er me via protracted calls and NEVER ever ever call back so I gave up. Faced with the ever closer option of sleeping in a dirty soi (Thai for street) and storing my urine in bottles for an even rainier day I had to strike a deal with a shopkeeper for a cash advance. It was not in my favour of course as I was stroked me for NINETY POUNDS to advance me FIVE HUNDRED, he had probably seen a trail of brow beaten, dejected and hungry Cash Plus (remember the name) customers before me.

In my last phone call to 'Steve' I made him a promise that during my stay in Thailand (at least 3 months) I would sit down once a week in the sunshine, open a cool bottle of beer and while getting acquainted with it I would write an internet review of my Cash Plus experience. 'Steve' and 'Mary' this one's for you.



So folks heed my advice and AVOID CASH PLUS like the plague or you might end up like me wandering the dusty roads of South East Asia, like David Carradine in Kung Fu or Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, planning the demise of CASH PLUS.



CASH PLUS you owe me money, I recon a minimum of 200 pounds for protracted phone calls both from the UK and abroad, for the amount I had to pay for a cash advance and for the disruption/ time lost on my holiday.

STAY AWAY BEWARE BEWARE!!!