We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
Vanilla Prepaid MasterCard - help & advice please
mandyypops
Posts: 6 Forumite
in Credit cards
Hello, my husband recently received a Vanilla Prepaid MasterCard for his birthday. It has been activated and has £50 on it, but he can't seem to spend it anywhere (even though their website says you can use it at "millions of outlets").
It's a swipe card only, no chip & pin. He originally tried ordering something on Amazon with it which didn't go through. He tried redeeming it for an Amazon gift card. He registered it in his PayPal account to see if he could send £50 from that card to himself and to a friend, who could then bacs him the cash. He's also tried redeeming it for Love2Shop style vouchers after that was recommended on MSE on a similar thread, and has tried paying our gas bill with it which was another recommendation on that thread. That thread was a couple of years old though so I thought I'd post as a new question incase anyone else has had any luck with this recently??
Apparently they charge you a monthly maintenance fee once your card is activated after 6 months of no use (if it has a balance on the card). He's thinking worst case scenario if he can't use it anywhere of having to call them and close it the card, even with the full balance on it (who knows if we can even do that - and we've seen lots of posts online about them not having particularly helpful customer service, shock).
Any advice or help would be hugely appreciated please! We're a bit stuck at the moment as to what to do with this card?? Thank you in advance.
It's a swipe card only, no chip & pin. He originally tried ordering something on Amazon with it which didn't go through. He tried redeeming it for an Amazon gift card. He registered it in his PayPal account to see if he could send £50 from that card to himself and to a friend, who could then bacs him the cash. He's also tried redeeming it for Love2Shop style vouchers after that was recommended on MSE on a similar thread, and has tried paying our gas bill with it which was another recommendation on that thread. That thread was a couple of years old though so I thought I'd post as a new question incase anyone else has had any luck with this recently??
Apparently they charge you a monthly maintenance fee once your card is activated after 6 months of no use (if it has a balance on the card). He's thinking worst case scenario if he can't use it anywhere of having to call them and close it the card, even with the full balance on it (who knows if we can even do that - and we've seen lots of posts online about them not having particularly helpful customer service, shock).
Any advice or help would be hugely appreciated please! We're a bit stuck at the moment as to what to do with this card?? Thank you in advance.
0
Comments
-
UPDATE: incase anyone does have an issue with a card if they've been bought one, we have managed to crack it!
Apparently there was a new law passed which stops prepaid card payments of £50 or above. My husband has now managed to buy a £40 Amazon gift card and a £10 Amazon gift card! All has gone through successfully and gift cards received.0 -
we had the same problem! thanks for sharing this solution
-1 -
These cards aren't the best - more of a burden than a gift with all the usage restrictions and acceptance issues. I just pay them into my account and bin them.0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 349.7K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.9K Spending & Discounts
- 242.7K Work, Benefits & Business
- 619.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.3K Life & Family
- 255.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards