EPPICard is designed to make it easy to claim unemployment or disability benefits, but it hasn’t always been so easy. The ATM card-style distribution system was designed to make it easy for the unemployed to access their benefits money. Yet numerous problems quickly emerged with EPPICard. According to the Fayetteville Observer, hidden fees plague the entire EPPICard system.
EPPICard and fees go hand in hand
The EPPICard debit card system has had trouble with a phishing scam or two within the past, and identity theft has been a concern. Numerous of these issues had supposedly been addressed already. It is safe – unless you’ve to use your EPPICard in multiple rounds or forget your ATM. Wachovia, reports the Observer, charges $ 1.50 per incidence for excess use at its ATMs, when they charge a comparatively affordable 50 cents for instances of forgotten EPPICard PIN numbers. Those are large fees, particularly for those without jobs. While these possible fees for EPPICard pay day advances are reportedly spelled out on the various state Employment Security Commission websites where EPPICard is used, it’s clear that the unemployed do not need this kind of nickel and dime exploitation that’s passed off as “service”.
Charging the unemployed for state benefits
Larry Parker of North Carolina’s Employment Security Commission told the Observer that you will find “plenty of ways” to use EPPICard without being charged additional fees for a quick cash. What he failed to mention is why consumers should be subjected to fees within the first place. Are big government and big banks in cahoots to bring the little man down?
And EPPICard phone calls will cost you, too
Yet an additional fee is generated when a customer calls EPPICard with a question. That’s the kind of service welfare consumers in 19 states are currently receiving, to horrible reviews. Personal Money Store and numerous other financial news outlets have suggested before that simpler, less costly methods like check distribution and direct deposit would be better.
Citations:
Fayetteville Observer
fayobserver.com/articles/2010/06/20/1007753?sac=Home
