Orvie Nix, a retiree in Amarillo, Texas, had expected his family would receive its $2,400 in stimulus funds with a letter signed by President Trump, or by direct deposit in his bank account, as he had seen on the news.
Instead, Nix got an envelope in the mail from “Money Network Cardholder Services”, containing a prepaid debit card. The plain envelope seemed typical of the unwanted financial offers that flood the mail. Like an unknown number of others, Nix assumed his stimulus payment was junk mail, and put it in the shredder.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
With passage of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act to speed financial relief to individuals and businesses in the wake of the pandemic, some four million Americans are receiving their stimulus payments on prepaid cards in a process that has been described as confusing and disorganized.
Democrats on a House oversight subcommittee complained in a May 28 letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the debit cards are easily confused for junk mail or a scam, due to the use of the plain envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services,” a name taxpayers won’t recognize. The paperwork inside the envelope bears the logo of the Department of Treasury but makes no reference to the IRS.
“Alarmingly, if an individual calls the number listed in the accompanying materials” to activate the card, the person must enter “a substantial portion of his or her social security number,’’ the letter said.
The lawmakers sought answers from Mnuchin by June 2 on how many people have had to order replacement cards, and how taxpayers were chosen to receive the cards rather than a paper check. A spokesman for the panel told FairWarning that the Treasury Department has not yet responded.
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An IRS spokesperson who declined to give his name told FairWarning he did not know how people were selected to receive the debit cards. He said that the IRS was not involved in the decision, and referred further inquiries to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service, which did not respond to emails.
Representatives of the financial firms handling the prepaid cards, Metabank and Fiserv, also referred questions to the Bureau of Fiscal Service.
A letter from Money Network Cardholder Services, a company responsible for mailing stimulus debit cards to Americans. (Photo by Zack Stanton)
Mobile banking and prepaid card companies had lobbied the Treasury Department for contracts to help distribute stimulus payments, claiming that prepaid cards would be a swifter and more secure way for Americans to get their money, as Reuters reported in April.
The Economic Impact Payment Cards, as they are called, are issued by MetaBank, which describes itself as one of the nation’s leading providers of prepaid cards. The bank primarily serves low-income individuals who do not have access to traditional banks, according to the company’s 2019 annual report. A website set-up by Fiserv and Metabank provides information on using the cards and about fees.
People who mistakenly tossed their cards can get a new one by calling 800-240-8100. Orvie Nix said he called the 800 number and got a new card earlier this month.The IRS initially said it would charge $7.50 to replace cards that had been lost or thrown away, but later announced that it would waive the fee for first-time replacements.
The IRS also issued a press release urging people to watch for the envelopes. And the agency appears to be alerting tax preparers with emails like the one it sent to Nix’s accountant Cliff Heffner.
“Please help us get the word out that these are valid cards,’’ said an IRS representative in an email to Heffner. “Folks are throwing them away or are wondering if they are fraudulent. Please share the information on your websites, newsletters and social media accounts, etc..” says the email to Heffner, which he shared with FairWarning.
Heffner wrote back: “The prepaid debit card action has certainly been done by IRS in a haphazard and unannounced fashion…What a mess you people have caused!”
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This same issue happened to my wife and I. I read all the information in detail on the card site, and the electronic fund transfer method was best to get the card funds into our checking account, without fees, or trip to the bank. Very good article.
I too thought it was junk mail.
But after opening and reading the documentation was pleasantly surprised.
Gee,the government actually got it right. Would have been nice to get a letter advising the pending receipt of a prepaid cash card!
Thank you Fair Warning. Just like Mr. Lombardo, I was told I didn’t have an account with that information. Seeing people who still have their jobs and getting the stimulus check is depressing. I found this website through reading the book “Fair Warning” by Michael Connelly . This information was very helpful for me. I have already passed on what I have learned to friends. Once I have money to spare, I plan to support this website.
Post Script I contacted my son in law and he was perplexed by the debit card. He never received a stimulus check although he did get a letter a number of weeks ago stating he did get it.Very confusing and I agree handled very haphazard. I’ll forward the debit card to him and let me deal with it.
I received one of these envelops last week. The address only included a first name and initial (no last name). It was my address. I thought it may be a renewal credit card for my son in law who currently lives out of the country, so I just put in a pile to eventually forward to him . When I saw your article I looked more carefully at the envelop and noticed that although it carried his first name, the middle initial was incorrect and (as previously stated) did not include a last name.
I will return it to sender but feel sorry for the individual waiting for it.
I became interested in your website after finishing listening to Michael Connelly’s audiobook “Fair Warning”. Today was the first time I accessed your website and this was the first article I read. I subscribe to The Washington Post and The New York Times as well as my local paper and never saw an article describing this problem.
I was fortunate in the fact that I was in the process of getting rid of the envelope unopened and then decided I had better look at it instead. I quickly figured out that I almost made a HUGE mistake. However that being said it was a Visa card and my credit union could not cash it for me, I had to go to a bank that processed Visa cards. It was a hassle.
Thank you Fair Warning for this important article. I am experiencing the same junk mail error scandal. I commented to the Washington Post article on the same scandal as follows:
Your advice did not work for me. You wrote as follows:
When you call, ignore the instructions to press Option 1 to reach customer service. Instead, choose Option 2 for a lost or stolen card. Then you need to select Option 1 to input the last six digits of your Social Security number as well as your Zip code. From there, you should be transferred to a person in customer service, where you have to answer some security questions before a replacement card is mailed. Berliner was asked the color of a previously owned car.
I was not transferred to a live person. The computer voice said they were not able to find an account for the information I provided.
I repeated the process numerous times without success.
Any further advice for someone who discarded my card as junk mail?
Thank you Fair Warning for trying to protect Americans.
I hope your article gets action to solve this scandal.