The idea of a debit card is interesting in and of itself, but what bothers and irks me is that the cards are issued from Bank of America.
The idea of having to deal with Bank of America for anything more in my life is a bit unsettling. First I have to keep asking myself how they landed that gig... and how much they are getting paid in fees....
Apparently there *should* be away to take the funds off the card without getting nailed with a fee by either visiting a teller at a bank and withdrawing them or having them deposited into your checking account...
but then again, its Bank of America so who really knows?
Has anyone out there had any experience with the EDD debit cards?
I think your best bet is to use the debit card for normal expenses (gas, groceries, etc) and just put the equivalent of what's on the card into savings from your own paycheck. Then you don't have to deal with B of A.
ReplyDeleteI got one this year for my daughter's birth when I was on short-term disability and then Paid Family Leave. I just took it into my bank each time and had them do a cash advance. Since it is through the state, the bank cannot charge fees on it. I decided to do that because it was faster to get the money that way since I don't bank at B of A.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in retail, and I absolutely hated it when people would use hundreds of dollars off their unemployment debit card. It didn't make any sense to me.
ReplyDeleteDo you get charged a swipe fee to make a purchase though? Using it as a debit card wasn't listed under the "no fee" options... I'd hate to be charged money to essentially pay in cash for things.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. I have a friend who had the card also and she said it was great because it was so easy to use.
DeleteI meant to say that there was no swipe fee at the retail store, but I'm not sure if the card charged a fee on their end.
DeleteIs it definately the only option? My husband got unemployment last year from Illinois and they told him it would be on a debit card. He said he prefered direct deposit and they had that as an option - but only if you asked.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently unemployed and I use the card. I had the same reaction because I don't like BofA either. Fortunately,I have never incurred any fees. It has a Visa logo so you can use it like a debit card or a credit card. I usually use the website to transfer most of the money to my checking account at another bank. My bank sees it as a direct deposit, so it waives my monthly checking account fee. Yay! That takes 1 day, so I usually leave a few bucks on the card to get gas or cash at the atm. I have never been charged a fee to swipe my card using the pin or as a credit card. I also withdraw money from BofA atms for free. I really like the website: www.bankofamerica.com/eddcard (you can not access this account using the regular BofA website), because you can also set up email alerts and notifications as well as scheduled or impromptu transfers. If he uses tele-cert or web-cert on Sunday when his claim is due, then the money will be on his card by Tuesday or Wednesday. Its faster and it saves postage. If he mails his claim it will take around 7 days for them to process it. I recommend the web-cert because it only takes 2 or 3 minutes. The tele-cert takes a minimum of 10 minutes because you have to listen to each prompt in its entirety before it will recognize that you press a button. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteCan you post the link for the tele-cert or web-cert options? We only thought there was the paper submission forms.
DeleteCan you please tell if the web site still works. I, tool like looking at accounts on line. Nevertheles, everytime I go to pull up the web site it fails. Your help is greatly appreciated
DeleteWe never figured out the online accounts and just mailed off the forms.
DeleteI don't think it's fair to judge what people spend their unemployment on. We all pay into the system, so it is there to help us. Yes, there are people out there who are abusing the system, but there are many more of us out there who really rely on it in difficult times. It's my main form of income right now. I use it for everything: groceries, clothes, school supplies, even to treat my children to fast food sometimes. I even used it for Christmas presents for my children. Of course they didn't get video game systems or fancy cell phones. They got books and clothes that were deeply discounted and sorely needed. Their Christmas wasn't big, but it was something. It's a huge reduction in income so that does keep most people from spending extraordinary amounts on things that aren't necessities.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, SCG, I don't think it is possible to "improve your lifestyle" while on unemployment. So don't be so hard on yourself and SCB about it. :)
Thanks Karazay, we just don't want to be a burden on the system if we don't have to just because we qualify. We are planning on putting the money into savings and not spending it unless something unexpected comes in like a car repair or medical stuff.
DeleteSounds like in an effort to make things less complicated, they are actually making them more difficult for you. I wonder how many lobbyists B of A had to get them this deal...
ReplyDeleteI don't have experience with that card but know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteI hated dealing with Chase and was so happy when they were out my life. But now my child support gets put on a Chase Visa instead of a check or into my account. It annoys me to know they get some benefit from me (state through me, whatever).
Hi SCG,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know there was tele-cert until I needed to call EDD with a question and the recording mentioned it. So I started using it. Then it stopped working for me and I went online searching for reasons why it wouldn't work and found out about web-cert. I also like web-cert better because you can see the day you submitted your claim and then once it's paid they keep a record of the payment dates for all claims you submit using web-cert. You don't get that peace of mind with mail or tele-cert. The peace of mind of knowing for sure that your claim was received.
Web-Cert Info Page
http://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/EDD_Web-Cert.htm
Web-Cert Register/Login Page
https://cccwpd.edd.ca.gov/Security/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fdefault.aspx
Thanks!!! I'm going to have SCB try this out!
DeleteHe got a log in for it this week, but he needs to mail the paper form in one more time and then he can do the electronic version.
DeleteFor what I gather, they still mail the paper form to you so you can fill it out if you got work and needed to record it, correct?
Yes, you will still get the paper form every two weeks. If there are any changes (income, address, etc.) then you have to use the paper form instead of the telephone or website.
ReplyDelete