Rant against NY State & Chase

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 4:49pm

A friend of mine has just come off New York State Unemployment. I can't believe how the government scams the unemployed.

He was forced to take his weekly benefit payment on a Chase Direct Payment Card. He had three options for getting his money: ATM (only in increments of $20); use it in stores that accepted debit cards; or go to a Chase branch and pay a fee.

He was getting $369 a week. (If he was getting $400 a week, he could have taken everything out of the ATM). Now that he's off unemployment, he has a balance of $1.25 on the card. Chase won't give him the money and he can't take that out of an ATM. He's stuck running around NYC trying to buy something for $1.25 because he doesn't want that money to go into Chase's account.

The State of New York should be ashamed for paying out money but not allowing citizens to collect the full amount.

[Anakela]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 4:59pm

Can't he buy something for greater than $1.25, use the card for $1.25 and pay the rest with some other payment? Or does it not work like that?

It still doesn't sound right though- there should totally be some other way to get your benefits, _______ or this Chase card way, it doesn't seem right that this Chase card's the only way.


ETA: hey fyi if Chase won't give him the $1.25 then they are (apparently) violating the rules as posted on the NY State Dept of Labor's website (emphasis below is mine):

There is less than $20 in my account – how do I get it if the ATMs only work in $20 increments?

If there is less than $20 in your account, you can go to a teller at any Chase location or to any bank that displays the MasterCard logo and receive the balance of your account in cash for free. You can also spend these funds at any Point-of-Sale (POS) that accepts MasterCard.



Dept of Labor site- FAQ about direct payment cards Updated On: 4/20/07 at 04:59 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/20/07 at 5:03pm

"Or does it not work like that?"

I'll ask him.