At first glance the Mango PrePaid Debit Card looked to be a great card to have. Almost zero fees and they are the only card that is eligible to receive money from your PainPal account. Actually, the fact that they are even tied in somehow with PainPal should have raised red flags, bu xt it didn't occur to me at first. First off, I don't even know how the Mangomoney card even has anyone using it at all. I went to their online sign-up website to register for an account as I have done with many other prepaid debit cards. The information they requested was about as simple and basic as it could be. All they wanted was my name, birth date, and social, and address of course. I entered the info and immediately I got a message saying there was an error. They said their system was not able to verify my information at this time. What? They couldn't even verify my name, address, or social? I sent an email and advised the company of the situation and asked how to work around it. Then I called the number they provided. The rep I got told me that sometimes their system makes a mistake and said I needed to try entering my info again in 24 hours. I waited the 24 hours and tried again and I still got the same error message. Then an email response came in and it told me that I needed to try a different browser. So I tried again using a different browser on my PC. Same error message again. Now, let me make it clear that I am 58 yo, born and raised in California, been here all my life. Same name and social always. I've had drivers license, bank accounts, many other prepaid debit cards, all the usual, normal types of services that require a valid ID
And verification. Any time I apply for anything it sails right through without a hitch. Never a problem of any type until... the Mango money card. So I did everything they told me. Although it was a little strange that I inquired three times and each time received a different resolution to my problem, none of which worked anyway. After the third attempt I began to realize that this was ridiculous. The error message kept telling me that their system was unable to identify some part of my information. What part could that possibly be? My name, birth date, and social. What could be so hard about identifying any of those three most basic forms of ID? I called customer service again. I told the woman, sounded like Philippines, what I had been experiencing. I wanted to know what part of my info were they having a problem with so maybe I could help with some additional info to correct the situation. She said they cannot give out that information. I asked so what can we do to rectify this situation. She said some part of my info was not able to be identified, even though that was obvious by now. I said, I realize that... so what do we do to work around that problem? Again she said, Our system is having a problem identifying a part of your ID. I asked her several different ways how we could make this work and every single time she said the exact same thing as if she hadn't heard a word I said. I told her that when their was an ID problem with any other institution they always asked me personal questions pertaining to my public info on the net. She said Well, our system apparently can't locate any public info on you to verify your information. I said, So you're telling me that your system is flawed in some way because it can't perform the simple functions that every other company has no problem with. Her answer? I'm not allowed to give out that information. In other words, I can't tell you that our system has problems. After 20 minutes of going around and around with her robotic answers I asked to speak to someone else. She immediately got very defensive and tried to convince me over and over that no one else could change the outcome of my refusal. If their system denied me then that was the last word according to her. I said OK fine, but I still want to speak with someone else. She put me on hold for a very long time. Then she came back and said Sir? As if she wasn't expecting me to be there. I said Yees... right here. Oh... I'll transfer you right away. Thought she already did that? Another even longer wait... hello? Yes, I'm still here and not leaving. Oh... yes sir... I'll transfer you right away. AGAIN? How many times can someone be transferred right away"? It was very obvious at that point she had been stalling me and hoping I'd give up and leave so she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. After it became apparent I meant business and wasn't being driven away she finally switched me to a "supervisor". From the sound of her voice the only thing she was eligible to supervise was the middle school softball team. I explained the situation and told her it was extremely frustrating and aggravating that my info was being rejected when I'd never had any problem like this before and there was obviously no real reason for it. Immediately she started in with all the same "remedies"... wait 24 hours... did that... use different browser... did that... since that wasn't blowing me off she casually said OK sir, then you need to wait one month and try again. One month? I said How will that change anything? She said, That will give our system time to regenerate so it can process your information fresh again. I wasn't falling for that load of crap. I said, Uh. I don't see how it could possibly take a lightning fast computer a whole month to "refresh" itself. She could see I wasn't going for her lame $#*! story, so she began trying to steer me away to other prepaid debit cards. I told her I knew all about all the other cards and that's why I wanted to try this one. She kept on telling me all the benefits of the American Express debit card. I said I know about it already, but too few merchants accept it. I kept asking her how we could get around this seemingly minor problem of simply verifying in another way whichever part of my ID was having a problem. Same robotic reply as the rep... we're not allowed to give out that information. I said, So how can I possibly know which part of my ID is supposedly having a problem and try to correct it so my info will be accepted? She had no logical answers for anything and knew I wasn't gonna let up. So she suddenly hits me with what she figured would just squash any further questions. After everything she'd already told me she suddenly says Actually there's nothing we can do for six months anyway. I said, Six Months? Why is that? And she lays out the biggest load of pure bull$#*! I'd heard yet... She says, Because "actually"(again) it takes six months for the computer to "clear itself" of all the applications you've submitted... so there's nothing that can be done for six months. First it's another browser, then it's 24 hours, then it's one month, and now the "actual truth"
Six Months. I was so dumbfounded that she could seriously say something so incredibly stupid and ridiculous that I barely realized she'd said so Have a Nice Day and hung up.
The thing that really concerns me now is that Mangled Money has my social floating around in its flaky $#*! system just waiting to be accessed by one or more of the highly trained employees who actually draw a paycheck there. If I'd gotten the run around from just one inept rep my complaint wouldn't hold much water. But remember... I talked extensively to two customer reps and a "supervisor". Now I figure it as a blessing that their system is so flawed it denies perfectly eligible applicants. After knowing what the staff is like and how they operate, there's no way in hell I want them managing my money.