Funny as soon as a TV station got involved they took care of it. Based on this who could trust NetSpend.
PHOENIX -- A Valley woman says her tax refund is missing and she can't get anyone to find it.
The refund is pretty sizable. Many people have their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts, but some people choose to have it put on a debit card. Marissa Arroyo went that route, and it turned out to be a problem.
Arroyo has a busy household but she still has to put time aside to get her taxes done.
“As far as tax season, we look forward to it because, of course, it's a big refund and it gets us caught up on everything," she said.
This year's refund is really important because Arroyo is expecting another child. She had big plans for the money.
"To buy everything that the baby needs, to get new things for the kids that they need," she said.
Arroyo filed her taxes right away and was excited to get a big refund -- a little more than $8,000.
Arroyo had the Internal Revenue Service deposit that onto a prepaid Visa card run by a company called netSpend. With the tag lines "a better way to bank" and "a trusted partner," netSpend's website encourages consumers to deposit their refunds with them.
"The netSpend card was supposed to be mailed to me within seven to 10 business days after filing," Arroyo explained.
When she tried to activate her netSpend card, however, she was told there was a problem.
"They said, 'Oh we're sorry, your account has been closed,'" Arroyo recalled. "I was like, 'OK. So where's my money.'"
That was the $8,000 question. Where was all that money?
3 On Your Side contacted netSpend which looked into the issue. The company said there were irregularities in Arroyo's account that caused problems and ultimately had her account closed. After 3 On Your Side got involved, netSpend cleared up those so-called irregularities, re-activated her account and made sure her $8,000 tax refund was on the card.
Arroyo says she couldn't be happier and credits 3 On Your Side for clearing up her $8,000 mess
"I was running around like a chicken with no head , not knowing what to do and once I called 3 On Your Side, I was very hopeful you guys would get involved and you did and it made everything so much easier," she said.
