The key issue here is that netspend debit cards are marketed and sold next to giftcards in pharmacy and convenience stores, but the XXXX classes of cards have significantly different rules of use. As a result, people buy debit cards, thinking they are gift cards, and when they are given to their recipients, they are done so without the recipient agreeing to significant fee rules which start upon *purchase* of the card ( vs *activation* of the card ), at least in the case of XXXX debit cards. As a result, the card value can be greatly reduced from the original value even before initial activation. 

The story : My kids received netspend debit cards from their grandparents for XXXX, each with {$75.00} on them. My parents thought they were giving the kids gift cards, not reloadable debit cards. Kids being kids, they forgot that they had them, and by the time we activated them 5 months later, they both were expired, and XXXX had a value of {$57.00}, while the other had a value of {$32.00}. In addition, a significant amount of personal information was needed ( social security number, address, etc ) to activate and use the cards. While the agent was able to arrange for the kids to have the remaining balances, l 'm extremely disappointed with the significant fees that were incurred before the cards were activated, and the difficulty in receiving back the cash originally put onto the cards. Basically XXXX received {$60.00}, 40 %!, of the money paid while providing absolutely no product or service ( other than a plastic card to be given as a gift. ) This just is n't right. I do n't know what to tell my kids about the gift they received from their grandparent - how do you explain to a XXXX that the bank took over half of their money? 

A cautionary tale to be told far and wide. It really is terrible to market these cards next to gift cards that have totally different rules so that someone mistakenly picks XXXX up to give as a gift, and for the receiver to be subject to unknowingly be subject to significant fees - I as a receiver did n't agree to these terms, yet I suffered the consequences. It really is n't right. 
