Prepayment Mastercards, Optimum, Pockit, Etc., Help !

jet01

MinuteNoodles said:

If you need cash you just ask for cash back when you pay by debit card at your local shop.

Or just go to an ATM to withdraw cash. Which is free with a basic bank account whilst most prepaid cards will charge. It really is a no brainier to get a bank account over a prepaid card. Although some people must use these prepaid cards for so many providers still to be offering them. 

mrbrian

What is going on with Pockit prepaid Mastercard ?.
Can anyone tell me what is going on with this company ?.  I applied for the Pockit prepaid Mastercard on 24th of July, got an email on 28th July asking to upload copies of driving licence and utility bill for proof of identity and address, which I did, but have not heard from them since or received the card.

They are 100% impossible to contact !
Each time I phone customer services I cannot get an answer just endless recorded messages and if I select option 2 on my phone I should get a call back from them but, when they do phone back they immediately hang up as soon as I answer also, sometimes the recorded messages say that the customer services are closed and only available from 8am until 1pm Monday to Friday, even though I phoned today at 11am on a Wednesday ?.

Obviously, I have also tried to email them several times but all I get are automated replies stating, "sorry, we haven't forgotten about you" or we are sorry for what you are going through" and some waffle about financial ombudsman.  To make matters worse, I've forgot the password to sign in with (my fault entirely) and, when I click on the button to email me a password reset, they don't send me the email with the password reset.

Is this the worst customer service ever in the UK or is this company on it's way out ?

jet01

Yes they are terrible. 

The lesson here is to listen to the advice from virtually every poster above and open a basic bank account. You would have been up and running by now and would be able to have all the functionality you need without all the charges and load fees that come with Pockit. 

mrbrian

jet01 said:

Yes they are terrible. 

The lesson here is to listen to the advice from virtually every poster above and open a basic bank account. You would have been up and running by now and would be able to have all the functionality you need without all the charges and load fees that come with Pockit. 

The whole point of my question is that I want something I can use for online shopping without opening a bank account, that's just not an option for me, I don't want or need a bank account.   As above, until now I've used a prepayment Mastercard from Virgin Money but they are withdrawing this product, I just need a replacement for that card and, I'm certainly not opening a bank account just so I can shop online.

eDicky

And the whole point of our answers is for you to avoid the expense and dismal customer service involved in using prepaid cards.

You have given no valid reason why a basic bank account is 'not an option' for you, and why you insist on limiting yourself in this way.

Most prepaid accounts these days have the characteristics of a bank account anyway, sort code and account number, and identity/address check when being opened. However, they lack the FSCS protection of your deposited money that you get with a real bank.

Meanwhile, if you continue to insist without any justification, try opening a Monese account.

wiseonesomeofthetime

@mrbrian - take a look at HyperJar

You do not need to use their merchant-assigned jam-jars to have the card and use only online.

Headscratcher14

I've been using a pre-pay card for a while, as I had problems with my bank when using a seperate "Basic" account for internet usage.  They made a change to give me an overdraft limit when I'd specifically told them I didn't want one on that account.  I may be looking for a new pre-pay Mastercard provider shortly as mine is proving difficult to contact and my card has stopped working.

[Deleted User]

Headscratcher14 said:

I've been using a pre-pay card for a while, as I had problems with my bank when using a seperate "Basic" account for internet usage.  They made a change to give me an overdraft limit when I'd specifically told them I didn't want one on that account.  I may be looking for a new pre-pay Mastercard provider shortly as mine is proving difficult to contact and my card has stopped working.

Basic accounts (by definition) don't come with an overdraft limit.
You either have a standard current account all along or they have upgraded you to one.

Headscratcher14

Looking through the documentation, they had given me a Basic account as requested, then changed it without my permission.  I'd created that account as a security measure for internet use away from my main account, but then found they are linked so if one is compromised, so is the other - hence me using a pre-pay for internet use.  Now this card (Tuxedo Pre-Pay Mastercard) has stopped working, so I need another pre-pay card if I can't get in touch with the provider (see other post on this for details).