Looks like Russell Simmons has some explaining to do after scores of people took to Twitter and Facebook to voice their displeasure over the hip-hop mogul’s prepaid debit card, which they said had many locked out of their accounts and some showing zero balances.
According to Time, the controversial prepaid RushCard debit card, which some have argued offers predatory fees to low-income residents, stopped working, and many users took to Twitter to say that after noticing their balances had been wiped out, they called customer service, only to be hung up on after waiting hours to speak to someone. Some said they have been unable to access their funds for a week, Time reports.
Simmons posted a video and statement online saying that everyone’s money was safe.
“We know what the issues are and are working to resolve them as fast as humanly possible with our new partner,” he said. “Lastly, we will not go to bed until every customer’s issues are fixed.” He also offered his prayers:
As of publication time, the card was reported to still be not working for many, but Simmons said that he was calling people personally to ensure that the card would be up and running.
Simmons has argued in the past that the RushCard is a service to low-income residents, offering them alternatives to high-interest banking that requires minimum deposit amounts or has monthly fees.