Your Unemployment Check Might Come With A Fraud

That's right, if you receive your unemployment check through a card run by EPPICard®, you might be being scammed. Read my complaint to WBTV TV 3 in Charlotte:

That's right, the EPPICard® MasterCard issued to you by the State of North Carolina (and 17 other States) for you to receive your North Carolina Employment Security Commission benefits on comes with one additional benefit that neither the State of North Carolina, nor Austin, Texas based EPPICard® will tell you about. Usage fees. To their credit, as listed in the fee schedule, all purchases made using the card are without fees. According to the EPPICard® website (https://www.eppicard.com/ncdcclient/index.jsp click on "Low transaction fees"), they claim "$1.50 for successful ATM cash withdrawals after 2 free per month. To corroborate that stance, the website for the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina (http://www.ncesc.com/individual/DebitCardFees.asp) states in the first bullet point, "You are allowed two (2) free cash withdrawals each month at EITHER a Wachovia ATM or a MasterCard Member Bank Teller window." That point is reiterated twice (two (2) times) more on that same page.

However, the VERY FIRST TIME I used my EPPICard® MasterCard unemployment check disbursement device at an ATM--A Wachovia ATM, mind you--I was charged that $1.50 fee. When I told them that they were in error, I got an argument on the phone attempting to convince me that I was in fact the one in error. When I threatened charging them with theft, I was very very quickly placed on hold while the clerk (Anthony) sought the advice of his supervisor.

After the consultation, I was told that I would recieve a credit of $1.50 within 7 to 10 days.

7 days later I got a dispute claim form in the mail, a far cry from the resolution "Anthony" described to me over the phone.

I sent this same complaint against EPPICard® in Austin, Texas to the BBB there in Austin. I have 12 pages of full documentation of this whole episode, including photos of the Wachovia ATM that EPPICard® claims is not a Wachovia ATM. Also, EPPICard® can contact Tracy Cox at Wachovia Branch 1401 Matthews-Mint Hill Rd, Matthews, NC 28105, 704-814-1240.

The reason I bring this to your attention is the following:

(1) The card company handling UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS charged me an unjust fee, then claimed it to be a "standard fee", then denied that the ATM in question was owned by their "approved" bank, and only when I mentioned "theft" did I get any non-brainwashing response in the positive.

(2) Either the State of North Carolina OR EPPICard® of Austin is scamming people out of their UNEMPLOMENT MONEY then telling their "customers" that they (the consumers) are wrong.

(3) I am only one person, and this lit many red flags. Of the tens of tousands of unemployed in this state, how many are being charged these illegal and immoral "fees" and accepting them to be correct ot merely not speaking out? I intend to file a class action lawsuit against EPPICard® and the State of North Carolina, whoever is responsible for this scam. The public needs to be protected from predators like this. $1.50 x 10,000 dummies not bright enough to realize it as a scam or too meek to complain = $15k, but to whom? And this is per transaction--not per any time period!

Now how do you feel about your government?