Give Them Credit
Last Saturday I opened a piece of mail from SBC (opps…the New AT&T powered by SBC). The envelope contained an SBC VISA Gift Card also marked Debit right above the hologram. Three pieces of paper, printed on both sides, were also in the envelope.
The first one thanked me for my recent purchase. What recent purchase? It told me how to activate my card. And it also said “Card Value: $0.00.” On the back of this cover letter is a statement (in very small print) from West Suburban Bank outlining their prepaid card privacy statement.
Still a bit confused, I looked at the next sheet. It is the SBC Gift Card VISA Disclosure and Master Agreement that covers both sides of the paper and, again, is in very small print. What did catch my eye was a box on the bottom of the back of the page that outlined a Schedule of Fees. Fees? For what? There is an Administrative Fee to Close Account and Transfer Funds ($10), Card-On File Fee per month ($5), and a Lost or Stolen Card fee ($10).
Now I am a bit dazed. What is this card? If I activate it, what am I obligating myself to? The third sheet of paper (in regular size print) helped a bit, but it still was not clear to me what all this was and whether I should even activate the card.
Customer service was closed on the weekend. The 800 number was of no help in answering my questions. The web site for activation was no better.
Monday morning, bright and early, I called the customer service number and asked all my questions. Seems like it’s a $25 gift card. It expires 4/06. If you don’t use the money on it, they take it away. Still not sure why they sent me one, but okay. Then there was a discussion about how to use it. It still isn’t clear to me whether it’s a debit or credit card (even though it says Debit on it) given what the representative told me. And there is a list of rules as long as your arm about when you can use it and how. I was also assured that none of the fees shown apply to me or my card. They are just things that a bank has to disclose. Right!
So, it’s activated. I haven’t used it as yet, but it did provide some entertainment so far.
The first one thanked me for my recent purchase. What recent purchase? It told me how to activate my card. And it also said “Card Value: $0.00.” On the back of this cover letter is a statement (in very small print) from West Suburban Bank outlining their prepaid card privacy statement.
Still a bit confused, I looked at the next sheet. It is the SBC Gift Card VISA Disclosure and Master Agreement that covers both sides of the paper and, again, is in very small print. What did catch my eye was a box on the bottom of the back of the page that outlined a Schedule of Fees. Fees? For what? There is an Administrative Fee to Close Account and Transfer Funds ($10), Card-On File Fee per month ($5), and a Lost or Stolen Card fee ($10).
Now I am a bit dazed. What is this card? If I activate it, what am I obligating myself to? The third sheet of paper (in regular size print) helped a bit, but it still was not clear to me what all this was and whether I should even activate the card.
Customer service was closed on the weekend. The 800 number was of no help in answering my questions. The web site for activation was no better.
Monday morning, bright and early, I called the customer service number and asked all my questions. Seems like it’s a $25 gift card. It expires 4/06. If you don’t use the money on it, they take it away. Still not sure why they sent me one, but okay. Then there was a discussion about how to use it. It still isn’t clear to me whether it’s a debit or credit card (even though it says Debit on it) given what the representative told me. And there is a list of rules as long as your arm about when you can use it and how. I was also assured that none of the fees shown apply to me or my card. They are just things that a bank has to disclose. Right!
So, it’s activated. I haven’t used it as yet, but it did provide some entertainment so far.
posted by Bud Hirsch at 8:02 PM
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