All posts in category The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges.

Permissiveness of US Laws on Lobbying and Campaign Financing and the Major Problems that go Hand in Hand With That

The Spread of Oligarchy; The Distribution of Assets;

Who Controls Your Money

The ultra-rich are world’s new dictators

Democracy at risk as oligarchy spreads

Oct. 26, 2013 9:26 PM  / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Written by  Christian Caryl

Foreign Policy

Caryl, the editor of Democracy Lab, is a senior fellow at the Legatum Institute and a contributing editor at Foreign Policy. He is also the author of “Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century.”

WASHINGTON — Earlier this month, the investment bank Credit Suisse published its annual survey of global wealth. The bank’s report is filled with illuminating findings, but one in particular caught my eye. It has to do with the distribution of assets in Russia, where, as the report notes, a mere 110 people own a mind-boggling 35 percent of the country’s entire wealth. At the same time, 93.7 percent of Russians are worth $10,000 or less.

As the report notes, this makes Russia the country with the greatest wealth disparities in the world. Americans, who are now increasingly concerned about deepening inequality in their own country, might seek some consolation from this dismal conclusion.

Even under present circumstances, wealth in the United States is still spread a lot more evenly than that.

Things could be worse, right?

Well, maybe. But I see little cause for jubilation. Russia is merely the most extreme case of a worldwide trend that potentially represents one of the greatest threats that democracy faces today: the spread of oligarchy.

The problem isn’t just that some people in today’s world are fabulously rich. It’s that disproportionate wealth increasingly goes along with disproportionate power.

Russia, again, offers a textbook example of the dangers. Back in the 1990s, a handful of politically well-connected business tycoons managed to profit from their close relations with Boris Yeltsin’s Kremlin by taking advantage of the privatization of the country’s industrial jewels — above all its vast oil wealth. Those magnates weren’t shy about exploiting their economic power to political ends. They bankrolled Yeltsin’s re-election as president in 1996, controlled ministerial appointments, and dictated government policy. No wonder these businessmen-cum-politicians were soon dubbed the “oligarchs.”

(”Oligarchy” is Greek for “government of the few.”)

One of them, the recently deceased, arch-Machiavellian Boris Berezovsky, engineered the rise of an ex-KGB officer to the prime ministership. Vladimir Putin ultimately proved less than grateful, though. Once Putin became president in his own stead, he was quick to cut his erstwhile patron down to size, forcing Berezvosky into exile.

Putin curtailed the power of other Yeltsin-era tycoons, too (most notably Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who now marks his 10th year of imprisonment in a labor camp), but in their place he raised up a new group of businessmen — many with ties to the old Soviet security services — who owed their fortunes to him. One of them, another KGB alumnus named Igor Sechin, who heads the country’s largest oil company, is regarded by some as the second-most powerful man after Putin himself.

But this isn’t only Russia’s problem.

As has now become apparent, globalization and the powerful economic forces it has unleashed have awarded unparalleled wealth and power to a tiny new elite. 

Call them what you will: the superclass, the plutocrats, the “global meritocracy.”

What they exemplify is the nexus of wealth and political power. And that’s a problem that is increasingly vexing voters in places from London to Kuala Lumpur.

It’s a challenge that takes different forms.

In China, membership in the ruling Communist Party is often the easy road to wealth. Many of today’s political scandals center on the antics of well-connected “princelings,” the descendants of senior party officials who embody the country’s peculiarly potent blend of Marxist-Leninist crony capitalism. Thanks to some remarkable digging by enterprising journalists in recent years, we’ve learned some astonishing things about the scale of privilege enjoyed by the extended families of notables such as President Xi Jinping and ex-Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

But this hardly comes as a surprise.

When you consider that the People’s Republic is governed by the seven members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party, you’re talking about a tiny number of families who exercise unchecked control over one of the world’s largest economies. In such a setting, it’s only natural that political and economic power are mutually reinforcing.

The situation in China is, of course, the outcome of an economic liberalization program steered by an autocratic elite.

In the countries of the developed West the situation is rather different. The number of players is larger; wealth and political influence are more widely distributed.

But that is presumably small comfort to, say, the Americans who have emerged as losers from the country’s latest Gilded Age. ( Oh and Americans don’t like losing, in case you hadn’t noticed.)

Economic equality in the United States grew steadily during the first three decades of the period following World War II, but ground to a halt amid the stagflation and increasing international competition of the 1970s.

As economist Joseph Stiglitz notes in a recent editorial:

“Last year, the top 1 percent of Americans took home 22 percent of the nation’s income; the top 0.1 percent, 11 percent. 

Ninety-five percent of all income gains since 2009 have gone to the top 1 percent. 

Recently released census figures show that median income in America hasn’t budged in almost a quarter-century.”

At the same time, the extraordinary permissiveness of U.S. laws on lobbying and campaign financing has allowed wealthy elites to gain immense sway over the political process.

By now, anyone who follows American politics has heard the stories about the vast sums of cash spent by conservative business magnates like the Koch Brothers; less often discussed, perhaps, are the rich Democrats, such as George Soros or Tom Steyer, who are happy to leverage their wealth to shape policy.

But even less visible are the big corporations and industrial associations who can purchase lawmakers and fix legislation to boost their own bottom lines.

One recent academic study calculates that 40 percent of political campaign contributions in 2012 came from one-hundredth of 1 percent of U.S. households. That figure probably reflects the new economic elite’s growing awareness of its own political power — not to mention the apathy among other segments of the population who feel increasingly divorced from meaningful participation.

The erosion of alternative power centers, such as labor unions, undoubtedly contributes to a sense of rising cynicism and disengagement. It all serves to undermine the promise of America’s democratic system. (Given this context, it’s no wonder that the U.S. Supreme Court is once again weighing the question of limits on individual contributions to political campaigns.)

As a result, the United States is now experiencing a remarkable discussion of the causes of the new inequality and its political consequences. Authors from George Packer to Tyler Cowen are stirring impassioned debate about the perceived breakdown of the American social compact. The new book from economist Angus Deaton, “The Great Escape,” includes a memorable quote from the lawyer Louis Brandeis: “If democracy becomes plutocracy, those who are not rich are effectively disenfranchised.”

Can we stop the trend?

  •  Some — like Cowen, who believes that current inequality is largely a function of technological change — are skeptical.
  • Others insist that we can counter the drift towards government by the few with smart policies designed to level the playing field — above all in education, infrastructure and health care.
  • Measures to limit the role of money in politics probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either (presuming we can find some that actually work). For those who still believe in the primacy of the market, the package might also include measures designed to promote genuine competition in the place of today’s corporate welfare for politically plugged-in superfirms.

This certainly doesn’t mean giving up on capitalism.

As development economists point out, globalization has brought relative prosperity to many around the world who couldn’t even dream of it before. (Think, for a start, of all those Chinese peasants who can now afford three meals a day — unthinkable in times past.) Overall health and development indicators have improved dramatically over the past 50 years.

None of this, however, obviates the need to ensure that the extraordinary benefits accruing to the superstars at the top don’t end up disenfranchising the rest of us. Otherwise the future looks dark.

********************************

Balance of power, being able to control our own money, having access to clear and accurate information about banking practices so that what we do as individuals allows us to make informed and educated decisions, genuine decisions, about our own assets and lives are reasonable requests. Otherwise the future looks dark.

Our experience using METABANK crossed over into the dark zone. We were lied to. Our own cash money was kept from us. METABANK took our cash money first and then made up some far fetched story that was so easy to see through that it was disgusting. Seeing immoral and criminal acts, being lied to and being taken advantage by a power banker which is how METABANK has been acting, not only in the USA, but on a global scale is so extreme that we must speak up and out against how METABANK operates.

Consumers must align, join forces and work collectively for solutions to the problems created by METABANK and any other entity that wants to use consumer’s money as an interest free loan for themselves. METABANK operates as a usurer, a loan shark, in the greediest and most self-centered sense of that has ever existed.

METABANK began as a “THRIFT BANK” which catered to the poorest and most economically fragile citizens from whom they charged exorbitant interest rates and then moved into “COLLECTIONS” which is really what METABANK is all about, the enforcement of collections. METABANK sets up all the rules by which they operate and also retains the right to change the rules without notices. METABANK operates as a scam of consumers. No safe guards are in place to protect consumers from predators like METABANK. Only you as a consumer can protect yourselves.

If we hadn’t been so badly scammed by METABANK as their former customer, we wouldn’t feel so compelled to write this blog…. The reality is that METABANK abused us as their customer so we feel that all we can do is to alert others to prevent from happening to them what we had foisted upon us as a customer of METABANK. We are trying to put into action the “Golden Rule.” If only METABANK had treated us the way we would have liked to have been treated as customers

#1 We would have been pleased with the service we received from METABANK

#2 We would still be doing business with METABANK

#3 We would be endorsing the kind of product offered by METABANK       ………… BUT WE ARE NOT  !!!!!

BUT BECAUSE WE WERE SO ABUSED BY METABANK, WE CANNOT ENDORSE ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE COMING OUT OF STORM LAKE, IOWA.

CONSUMERS, BE WARNED!!! Don’t become a customer of MetaBank. Unfortunately, Meta Bank operates using many different names and they use a partner company to market their prepaid network branded bank cards.

Because METABANK is the largest processor of the Network Branded Prepaid Bank Cards, it will be difficult for you to know if you are a customer of METABANK or one operating in the same manner as METABANK. METABANK has offered classes to other banking entities in their methods so as to normalize their practices.

We are curious about the placement of METABANK advertisements.
Leave a comment
by mrnd5 on October 27, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Banking, Consumers align to protect yourselves, Consumers are Vulnerable: Help each other, Consumers Demand Bank Reforms That Serve Their Real Needs, Consumers Join Forces to Protect Each Other from Bank Scams and Frauds, Consumers must speak out, Consumers suffer at the hands of METABANK, Creating Easy Preys Doesn't Make METABANK's Practices Moral, Customer Complaints Abound Regarding how METABANK treats them., customer service of METABANK, Customer's being scammed by Money Network, Disabled Veteran abused by METABANK, Do not give up control of your own money by using a prepaid card, Dollar General Pre-paid Card is Meta Bank, Don't Invest in META BANK, Don't use PREPAID BANK CARDS of any kind, Economic Servitude needs to be studied and abolished in the USA, fast paced banking systems, fees related to gift cards, fees required to talk by phone to NETSPEND, Financial Regulatory Reforms Needed, Get Debit dot com is Meta Bank, Gift Cards are an interest free loan to an unknown bank, Gift Cards May be Suspended After Purchase and without notice, Green Dot is Meta Bank and Green Dot already has many complaints from customers, Holiday Gift Cards: have hidden fees, How did the assassins pay for their Meta Bank/Payoneer Pre-Paid Cards? Where else were these cards used?, Human Rights, Internal Audits not able to cope with problems related to prepaid bank cards, Jackson-Hewitt and METABANK are partners, Just Curious About Meta Bank's Ad Placement, marketing is basically Meta Bank's major strength just behind collections, Meta Bank, META BANK bilks their customer base, Meta Bank charges customers for spending their own money, Meta Bank denied one man his right to a fair and impartial trial. What kind of a world citizen is Meta Bank? We are tired of fighting the wars that Meta Bank causes., META BANK doesn’t serve the general public, Meta Bank is nothing but a publicity scam, Meta Bank operates using many different names, Meta Bank Scams Americans, Meta Bank sells VISA and Mastercard Pre-Paid Cards, META BANK: Creating all the rules in their own favor, META FINANCIAL GROUP INC, META FINANCIAL GROUP INC fails to address customers' real needs, METABANK, METABANK average employees earn wages below the poverty level, METABANK causes the late fees for customers, METABANK CEOs create and require all of the rules, METABANK CEOs make huge annual incomes, METABANK customers are still being scammed, METABANK customers are still complaining about the abuse they have received from METABANK, METABANK Customers complain about METABANK's mistreatment, METABANK designed the prepaid bank cards, METABANK fails to hear and to respond appropriately to customer's real needs, MetaBank is corrupt, METABANK operates using many different names, METABANK uses false awards- false testimonials, METABANK uses the rules for their own gain, METABANK's practices are narcissitic, METABANK's publicity is a lie and filled with false promises, metabank.com, Money Network is META BANK, More behind META BANK's scam than we may have previously realized, NBPCA is a scam on the American public, Nothing and no one has yet been able to put a stop to META BANK's scam, Outrageous practices within MetaBank, Predatory Practices of BankMeta.com, PrePaid Bank Cards bad for consumers, PREPAID CARDS promoted by METABANK, PrePaid Name Brand Bank Card Association a non-profit is a scam, Protecting Your Customer Base, Publicity or Factual, Put yourself in charge of your own finances, Real Customer Service Builds a Genuine Customer Base, rebate cards, Rules Designed BY METABANK for the benefit of METABANK, Scams by banks like METABANK, seek revenue growth for themselves not you the customer, self-centered, self-serving, Staying Competitive at What Expense, Steve King (R-IA) received large campaign donation from James S. Haahr of Meta Bank, Storm Lake IOWA, Suspicious Activity is within Meta Bank's internal practices and policies, Terrorism within the USA, The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges., This is not a sustainable pattern for the US Economy., Thrift Bank - the concept is a scam, Tricked by METABANK's publicity, Two problems found in METABANK's "No Credit Check" Cards, unbanked, Usury, We are all vulnerable to predatory practices of banks like METABANK, Why does METABANK lie to their own customers?, You may be dealing with Meta Bank under a different name
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by mrnd5 on October 27, 2013

https://mrnd5.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/permissiveness-of-us-laws-on-lobbying-and-campaign-financing-and-the-major-problems-that-go-hand-in-hand-with-that/

Solving Customer’s Problems Should Be of the Foremost Importance…. METABANK abused us while we were their customer

Customer Service Solves Problems To Create Loyal Clients

but NOT SO at METABANK

Make it easy for frustrated customers to contact you, get problems solved. You’ll create loyal clients.

In the past 30 days, I canceled service with three companies I’ve used for years.

Customer service was the reason. It was that bad.

 

But I kept my business with another company even though its actual service keeps messing up. That business’ customer service is that good.

Customer-service representatives are everywhere. Anyone with a phone, TV, computer, coffee maker, credit card or insurance; or who buys subscription services or makeup from shady companies advertising on TV has dealings with them.

And let’s not forget about business-to-business customer-service reps. [This is part of how METABANK performs their scam.]

Their numbers are growing by the minute. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the profession will expand 15.5% through 2020.

Call centers alone had almost 23,000 vacant jobs, more than a third listed in the past week, according to CallCenterCrossing, which calls itself the largest collection of call-center jobs. The company cites the health care law, holiday season and general economic expansion as the chief reasons for a rise in call-center hiring.

As long as companies offer things to buy and services to use, folks will need help.

[Customers have over a period of many years now indicated that METABANK and its affiliates, including the Network Branded Bank Card Association, fail when it comes to customer service. We, as former METABANK customers/clients believe, based on our own personal experience using METABANK et al., that METABANK by design treats their customers in an abusive manner. We have been scammed and lied to. We have been treated in an inhumane manner.

METABANK does not offer any kind of model that should be used as a guideline by any other entity…. METABANK relies on numbers and the population is growing rapidly.

METABANK relies on getting partner corporate entities to market their prepaid bank card  a relationship which is in fact one that will increase the rate of decline of that partner company. At first the partner company will experience an initial  spurt that may appear to be great and fabulous; this is the honeymoon, but it is a marriage that is doomed by design. METABANK only wants their partner companies’ list of customers whom METABANK will use for their own financial gain.

In establishing this partnership, METABANK promises to take care of all the collections for their partner. Collections is the dirtiest of dirty work so the partner company is happy to hand over this part of the operation to METABANK. METABANK, as we former customers have found, has an abusive customer service system by design.

When METABANK’s customer serivice representatives basically went through a list of standard lies they had been handed to use for all situation; the lies serve to blame the customer for the problems the customer had encountered using METABANK. However, by design, METABANK created a prepaid bank card which customers load with cash money, and then METABANK limits and controls when and even if a customer will be able to have access to their own money…. This scheme is predatory. It is based upon false and misleading promises.

METABANK is by design immoral. Only consumers can speak up to warn others so that METABANK can be stopped from doing this great scam on the people.]

Companies claim to know how important these front-line jobs are. They say they strive for a “customer-first mindset,” “transparency and accountability,” “positive customer relationships” and “consistent and efficient delivery of superior customer service.”

So why don’t more customer-service reps deliver? Is it the company or the employees?

Likely both.

Workers tell me they want these jobs because they like people. Yet too many companies do everything they can to not let their people talk to us.

Finding contact information can be like a game of hide-and-seek.

Some refuse to talk to you. Take Twitter: [This isn’t a model anyone should follow!!!!!]

My account has had a problem for four months. I’ve obediently followed Twitter’s directions and sent in a dozen requests for help.

I’m still waiting for an answer.

On the other hand, companies such as crowdSPRING help businesses and creative talent find each other and make it easy for customers to communicate with them.

[This concept is an old one that worked. It worked very well. This is what we as consumers expect, but this is not at all what METABANK provides. METABANK uses this concept to catch consumers and their partner companies off guard so that METABANK can get their foot in the door. What META BANK does is an IMMORAL ACT.]

This company posts its phone number on every page of its site. No doubt this springs from the philosophy of co-founder Mike Samson who tells his reps that the spoken word is better than the written word, to say “please” and “thank you” and always end with “much obliged.”

 

People who get into customer service tell me they love to solve problems.

Yet “I can’t help you with that” are the last words that a lot of people hear from a customer-service rep.

  • Those workers either don’t know how to think like a problem solver or don’t think they have the authority to help.
  • Some customer-service reps are plain mean. The other day I asked a one that I could barely hear if she might speak a little louder.   She snapped, “No, I can’t scream.”
  • When you keep getting bad customer service, you wonder why companies keep sending surveys asking how your customer-service experience went.
  • I also often wonder why companies insist that customer-service reps speak canned faux caring phrases like “Have a nice day” after they’ve been mean and obstructive.

Chief Operating Officer Zach Cusimano of Bizness Apps, which makes mobile apps for companies, says his business doesn’t coach reps to use particular phrases.

Company officials do encourage them to “throw in some love” and foster more interactions by saying, “I’m happy to help,” “Please let me know if you have any other questions,” and “Looking forward to hearing from you again.”

[However, if these statements are nothing but empty words with no real response and no action behind them then they are useless. It is our strong impression as former METABANK customers that the CEOs of METABANK have created all of the guidelines, which include a list of rote excuses for why it is always the customers’ fault for any problems they may have encountered. METABANK creates the problems by which they get rich and then richer; METABANK breaks with every expectation that any person would normally expect.

METABANK creates all the rules and retains the right to change all of the rules without notice. This is bad, but on top of that METABANK takes customer’s money and keeps us/them from having access to their own money while using the NETWORK BRANDED PREPAID BANK CARD.

The NETWORK BRANDED PREPAID BANK CARD amounts to being an interest free loan from customers to a very rich bank. The whole concept has been reversed. Potential customers are mislead into taking on such a card by the partner company who is in effect being used as a “PATSY” in this dynamic triangle of abuse of the consumer.]

I contend that more people would like their customer-service jobs and customers would be happier if they did what Jesse Richardson does.

“We love our customers,” Richardson says. She is conscious community officer for Conscious Box, a subscription service for eco-friendly products.

Seriously.

If you want a satisfying career helping solve problems for people who are frustrated, confused and sometimes angry, care for them no matter what.

Find a great company that values them and you.

In the 25 years I’ve counseled people with their careers, most tell me one thing: I want to be of service to others. Here’s your chance.

[As former customers of METABANK we had expected this kind of treatment, but METABANK and the NETWORK BRANDED PREPAID CARD ASSOCIATION act in a predatory manner so that they abuse their customers, only to move onto the next  person so they can dupe that person. The huge size of our population is how METABANK has been able to get away with this kind of scam for as long as they have. Only you can stop this kind of a scam.]

Career consultant Andrea Kay is the author of This Is How To Get Your Next Job: An Inside Look at What Employers Really Want.

Leave a comment
by mrnd5 on October 27, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Access Sought To Your Company's Customer List, Advocate for your needs and concerns as a consumer, agreements with 520 campuses that enroll more than 4.3 million students, Annual Income of META BANK's CEOs, Bank Publicity that is simply "Garbage Talk", Bank Reform and Proper Regulations are Needed, BANK REFORMS NEEDED TO BE CAREFULLY REGULATED, Bank Regulations must be enforced, Bank regulators shut down MetaBank payday loans, Bank Scams go international, Bank Tellers at MetaBank earn wages on the average that are below the poverty level, Banking, banking in Storm Lake IOWA, Banking in the USA in 2013, BankMeta lies to keep customers from their own money, bankmeta.com, Banks are creating economic servitude in the USA, Banks Designed To Keep Consumers in Debt, Banks have created all the rules for PREPAID CARDS, Banks Lying to Consumers To Trick Them into taking on Debt, Big Corporations and Banks run the world, Complaints Against Meta Bank, Consumers act to protect themselves and others from further bank fraud and customer abuses, Consumers being forced to use plastic, Consumers Demand Bank Reforms That Serve Their Real Needs, Consumers must speak out, Consumers Need To Save Money And Stay Out of Debt, Consumers Start Talking and Learning Real Facts About Banking, Consumers suffer at the hands of METABANK, Corrupt Practices found within METABANK, Customer Complaints Abound Regarding how METABANK treats them., Customer Service at METABANK.com, Customer Service isn't listed as being one of META FINANCIAL GROUP INC areas of interest or studied skills, Customers of METABANK continue to complain about how they have been mistreated by METABANK, Customers' Scammed Repeatedly By METABANK, Do not give up control of your own money by using a prepaid card, Does METABANK believe their customer base are unworthy?, Dollar General Pre-paid Card is Meta Bank, Don't Invest in META BANK, Don't use PREPAID BANK CARDS of any kind, fees required to talk by phone to NETSPEND, Fight Corruption, Financial Regulatory Reforms Needed, Gift Cards are an interest free loan to an unknown bank, Gift Cards May be Suspended After Purchase and without notice, Green Dot is Meta Bank and Green Dot already has many complaints from customers, Internal Audit Committee at Meta Bank, Internal Audits not able to cope with problems related to prepaid bank cards, J. Tyler Haahr, Just Curious About Meta Bank's Ad Placement, META BANK bilks their customer base, Meta Bank charges customers for spending their own money, Meta Bank denied one man his right to a fair and impartial trial. What kind of a world citizen is Meta Bank? We are tired of fighting the wars that Meta Bank causes., META BANK doesn’t serve the general public, Meta Bank is nothing but a publicity scam, Meta Bank never accepts responsibility, Meta Bank operates using many different names, META BANK same poor service as always, Meta Bank Scams Americans, Meta Bank sells VISA and Mastercard Pre-Paid Cards, META BANK: Creating all the rules in their own favor, META FINANCIAL GROUP INC fails to address customers' real needs, META FINANCIAL GROUP INC pushes blame off onto their customers for their own design issues and internal operating problems, METABANK =TURBOTAX and both are scams, METABANK as the alpha baboon in our society, METABANK average employees earn wages below the poverty level, METABANK causes the late fees for customers, METABANK CEOs create and require all of the rules, METABANK CEOs make huge annual incomes, METABANK customers are still being scammed, METABANK Customers complain about METABANK's mistreatment, METABANK fails to hear and to respond appropriately to customer's real needs, METABANK is a collections agency, METABANK is a collections agency and not a bank, METABANK is a piece of crap, MetaBank is corrupt, METABANK lies to their own customers, METABANK operates using many different names, METABANK practices are dragging the economy down, METABANK uses false awards- false testimonials, METABANK's partner company provides METABANK with access to their customer base, METABANK's practices are narcissitic, METABANK's publicity says that their prepaid card will meet your specific needs but in reality they are the exact same card just using different publicitty, Narcissism of Storm Lake IOWA, NBPCA is a scam on the American public, Ordinary customers can't get the METABANK PREPAID CARD TO SERVE THEIR NEEDS, payment cards that carry hefty costs, Payment Solutions with Serious Problems, Payment Systems, PayPower Scam, PayPower Visa by META BANK, Pre-paid Bank Cards don't work, Predatory Practices of BankMeta.com, PrePaid Bank Cards bad for consumers, PREPAID CARDS are not consumer friendly, PREPAID CARDS promoted by METABANK, Real Customer Service Builds a Genuine Customer Base, Rules Designed BY METABANK for the benefit of METABANK, Scams by banks like METABANK, Staying Competitive at What Expense, Success shouldn't be about profits - People mattter, Suspicious Activity is within Meta Bank's internal practices and policies, Terrorism within the USA, The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges., This is not a sustainable pattern for the US Economy., Thrift Bank - the concept is a scam, to fee-paying students, travel card, Tricked by METABANK's publicity, Two problems found in METABANK's "No Credit Check" Cards, unbanked, Usury, We are all vulnerable to predatory practices of banks like METABANK, Western Union and MetaBank have joined forces, Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by mrnd5 on October 27, 2013

https://mrnd5.wordpress.com/2013/10/27/solving-customers-problems-should-be-of-the-foremost-importance-metabank-abused-us-while-we-were-their-customer/

Say No to Meta Bank; Say No to the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association

CONSUMERS: “Spend Your Hard Earned Money Carefully” ….. Buying Happiness

Background:

META BANK and the Network Branded Prepaid Bank Card Association have created a product that will make you miserable. Each of the two entities mentioned above make promises to consumers that these prepaid cards will be safer than using cash. This is true for the bank, but not for consumers. It is a gimmick for the bank to get full control of your “CASH MONEY” so they can get an interest free loan from consumers. When consumers need their money the most they simply can’t get access to their own cash money once it is placed on one of those prepaid cards. META BANK brags that they are the largest provider of prepaid bank cards. META BANK makes consumers extremely unhappy. As consumers you would do yourself a great service by simply not using META BANK. Unfortunately, META BANK operates using a third party to promote their prepaid bank cards and their prepaid bank cards are sold using different names. This means that you may not realize you have opted in to META BANK’s plan, which is by design a scam of their consumers. META BANK simply moves onto the next consumer to scam them relying on a large population that is growing rapidly.

This blog was created by consumers for other consumers. We need to bond together, share the reality of our lived experiences, and serve to protect others who are people who are a lot like us, consumers who are looking for a fair deal and to be treated with respect.

META BANK’s treatment of consumers had become so outrageous that something needed to be done. It has already taken on an international scale and magnitude. META BANK is the rich stealing from the poor so that they can get richer and richer at the pain, misery and expense of the most financially vulnerable people in society.

This is a cautionary and truthful summary of what I experienced using a META BANK prepaid card.

However, we don’t want to leave you without a sense of hope. Michelle Singletary explains some ways to get your money to work for you to bring you happiness and she is spot on. Her October 4, 2013 column appears, copied and pasted below:

Michelle Singletary

Columnist Washington Post

Five ways money can buy you happiness

By Michelle Singletary, Published: October 4

You have probably heard and maybe even embrace the idea that money can’t buy happiness. I’ve said so myself numerous times.

But behavioral scientists and researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton argue this is not exactly true. Money, if you spend it right, can buy happiness.

So what’s the right way?

“Shifting from buying stuff to buying experiences, and from spending on yourself to spending on others, can have a dramatic impact on happiness,” Dunn and Norton write in “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending” (Simon & Schuster, $25). Dunn is an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. Norton is an associate professor of marketing at Harvard Business School.

Truthfully, I needed a break from all the dreary talk about the federal government shutdown and concern the country might default. So “Happy Money” is the Color of Money Book Club selection for this month.

I’m always trying to find research that looks at how people can do better with the money they have. I plan to use this book in my financial classes, where folks believe that if they just made more money, their level of happiness would increase. They could afford to buy better stuff, a larger home or cooler car. Yet studies show that more doesn’t increase your long-term happiness.

Dunn and Norton strive to show how to spend money in less typical but more pleasing ways. They offer five principles you can use to buy happiness:

●Buy experiences. As frugal as I am, my husband and I decided many years ago to set aside two weeks a year, every year at the same time, to take a luxury vacation with our children. My oldest has gone off to college, but she still wants to be included on these family vacations. As Dunn and Norton write: “Research shows that experiences provide more happiness than material goods in part because experiences are more likely to make us feel connected to others.” [META BANK has robbed us as consumers of opportunities like this because they withheld our money from us when we needed it the most. META BANK is not a friend to consumers.]

●Make it a special treat. Don’t overindulge yourself, the authors say, because “abundance, it turns out, is the enemy of appreciation. This is the sad reality of the human experience: in general, the more we’re exposed to something, the more its impact diminishes.” [Think about this: “Abundance is the enemy of appreciation.”  You don’t need to keep spending money on things to be happier especially if buying things puts you into a state of debt…. “Keeping up with the Joneses” needs to be practiced in reverse. Purposefully down scale, downsize your image from all those Joneses…. Don’t worship the false God of money, greed and materialism. Life is best with less, but you should be in full control, real control of your hard earned cash money. Don’t hand over that right to an anonymous entity like META BANK.   META BANK is motivated by greed and profit increasing at all level regardless of the rest of the genuine needs of humanity]

●Buy time. If you can afford it, you might decide you’d rather hire someone to cut your grass than do it yourself. You might spend a little more on an item rather than drive across town to save 10 percent. I’m a reformed bargain shopper. I realized I was wasting a lot of time going from store to store trying to save money. “We too often sacrifice our free time just to save a little money,” the authors write. “Many of us wish we had more free time to do more of what we love.” [Be sure that you get the service you have paid for…. META BANK prepaid card is not a genuine or honorable service. META BANK has scammed consumers over a period of many years. This is their sole purpose and they scam consumers by their own design.]

●Pay now, consume later.

[Please note Singletary is NOT promoting putting your cash money on a prepaid bank card, a gift card or a debit card here…. Please read carefully.]  

“Consuming later provides time for positive expectations to develop,” Dunn and Norton write. Paying for a vacation in advance may help you enjoy it more because by the time you take the trip you won’t be so focused on the cost. At the same time, fight the power of now. This is especially true when it comes to paying with plastic. In one study cited by the authors, 30 people were asked to estimate their credit card expenses before opening their monthly bill. Every participant underestimated how much he or she had spent on credit by an average of almost 30 percent.

●Invest in others. I generally hate spending money. But when I helped a friend’s daughter by buying her books for college, I was elated. I was investing in her education, and that was an awesome feeling. My husband and I often get teased for our frugality, but we counter by telling people we are cheap for a purpose. We like spending money when it makes a difference in someone’s life. Dunn and Norton say their research shows that spending even small amounts of money on others can make a difference in your happiness level. [This means having control over how you spend your own money. Give directly to the person you wish to help.]

I love the five principles of happy money because they aren’t about getting more money but getting more out of the money you have. Let me leave you with this from Dunn and Norton: “Before you spend that $5 as you usually would, stop to ask yourself: Is this happy money? Am I spending this money in the way that will give me the biggest happiness bang for my buck?”

I’ll be hosting a live online discussion about “Happy Money” at noon Eastern on Oct. 31 atwashingtonpost.com/discussions. Dunn and Norton will join me to answer your questions. Every month, I randomly select readers to receive copies of the featured book donated by the publisher. For a chance to win a copy of this month’s selection, send an e-mail tocolorofmoney@washpost.com with your name and address.

Leave a comment
by mrnd5 on October 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bank Publicity that is simply "Garbage Talk", Bank Reform and Proper Regulations are Needed, Bank Regulations must be enforced, Bank regulators shut down MetaBank payday loans, Bank Scams go international, Banking, banking in Storm Lake IOWA, BankMeta lies to keep customers from their own money, bankmeta.com, Banks are creating economic servitude in the USA, Banks Designed To Keep Consumers in Debt, Banks have created all the rules for PREPAID CARDS, Banks Lying to Consumers To Trick Them into taking on Debt, Be sure to vote and then to follow up asking elected officials to serve you as a consumer, Blackhawk & METABANK to be avoided, Complaints Against Meta Bank, Consumer Advocate, Consumer Alert, Consumer Rights Advocacy, Consumer Rights- consumers have no or few protections from predatory banking practices, Consumers act to protect themselves and others from further bank fraud and customer abuses, Consumers align to protect yourselves, Consumers are Vulnerable: Help each other, Consumers being forced to use plastic, Consumers Demand Bank Reforms That Serve Their Real Needs, Consumers Join Forces to Protect Each Other from Bank Scams and Frauds, Consumers Need To Save Money And Stay Out of Debt, Consumers suffer at the hands of METABANK, Corrupt Practices found within METABANK, Creating Easy Preys Doesn't Make METABANK's Practices Moral, Customer Complaints Abound Regarding how METABANK treats them., Customer Service isn't listed as being one of META FINANCIAL GROUP INC areas of interest or studied skills, debit card fraud is always a possibility, Disabled Veteran abused by METABANK, Do not give up control of your own money by using a prepaid card, Don't Invest in META BANK, don't take on more debt to pay off the first debt, Don't use PREPAID BANK CARDS of any kind, Economic Servitude needs to be studied and abolished in the USA, fees related to gift cards, fees required to talk by phone to NETSPEND, Get Debit dot com is Meta Bank, Gift Cards are an interest free loan to an unknown bank, Green Dot is Meta Bank and Green Dot already has many complaints from customers, Higher One has agreements with 520 campuses that enroll more than 4.3 million students, Integrity, Internal Audit Committee at Meta Bank, J. Tyler Haahr, Jackson-Hewitt and METABANK are partners, Just Curious About Meta Bank's Ad Placement, marketing is basically Meta Bank's major strength just behind collections, META BANK bilks their customer base, Meta Bank charges customers for spending their own money, Meta Bank operates using many different names, META FINANCIAL GROUP, META FINANCIAL GROUP INC & PREPAID CARDS FAIL CONSUMERS, METABANK, METABANK as the alpha baboon in our society, METABANK causes the late fees for customers, METABANK CEOs make huge annual incomes, METABANK customers are still being scammed, METABANK customers are still complaining about the abuse they have received from METABANK, METABANK is a collections agency and not a bank, MetaBank is corrupt, METABANK lies to their own customers, METABANK operates using many different names, METABANK practices are dragging the economy down, METABANK uses both Pyramid and Ponzi Schemes, METABANK uses false awards- false testimonials, METABANK uses shills- stooges to market their product, METABANK uses the rules for their own gain, METABANK's partner company provides METABANK with access to their customer base, METABANK's practices are narcissitic, METABANK's publicity is a lie and filled with false promises, Michelle Singletary gives good advice to consumers, narcissism in US banking, NBPCA is a scam on the American public, NETSPEND is METABANK, Nothing and no one has yet been able to put a stop to META BANK's scam, Ordinary customers can't get the METABANK PREPAID CARD TO SERVE THEIR NEEDS, PayPower Visa by META BANK, Pre-paid Bank Cards don't work, Predatory Practices of BankMeta.com, PREPAID CARDS are not adequately regulated, PREPAID CARDS are not consumer friendly, PREPAID CARDS promoted by METABANK, Publicity or Factual, Steve King (R-IA) received large campaign donation from James S. Haahr of Meta Bank, Storm Lake IOWA, Terrorism within the USA, The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges., This is not a sustainable pattern for the US Economy., travel card, unbanked, Usury, Western Union and MetaBank have joined forces, Where There Is Smoke There Is Fire, Why does METABANK lie to their own customers?, Xoom and Meta Bank are one in the same, You may be dealing with Meta Bank under a different name
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by mrnd5 on October 13, 2013

https://mrnd5.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/say-no-to-meta-bank-say-no-to-the-network-branded-prepaid-card-association/

META PAYMENT SOLUTIONS will create havoc in partnering companies

Payment Solutions Made Simple [ or will you just be getting a real

headache while losing your customer base?]

META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is simply trying to expand their own income base. Serving consumer’s needs and their own partner’s real growth needs are not part of the package being offered by META PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Please be forewarned.

We just don’t want others to be scammed because META PAYMENT SYSTEMS scammed us.

If only someone had spoken up earlier perhaps we wouldn’t have been scammed by META PAYMENT SYSTEMS. Please help to stop this scam that META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is trying to  expand for their own benefit. Partner banks and/or companies are nothing but convenient tools for META PAYMENT SYSTEMS to use to get access to your customer base.

However, the way that META PAYMENT SYSTEMS operates will run off long standing customers. META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is the problem and not the solution for the economic recession we are now dealing with; they profit and the rest of us suffer.

What follows is only publicity to get partner banks hooked into their collections service by META PAYMENT SYSTEMS…. META PAYMENT SYSTEMS wants to tell you what you want to hear

Our Simplexes™ prepaid product suite gives you the opportunity to offer advanced Visa®, MasterCard® and Discover® branded payment solutions to your customers, reach non-customers [but if customers are lied to, a common trait of META PAYMENT SYSTEMS, you won’t keep new customers and you will lose all your old customers ]  and significantly increase foot traffic. Plus we’ll give you the tools and support to manage and market them. [These tools are what META PAYMENT SYSTEMS has used over and over again, sometimes changing the name, but never the real service or product… This will benefit META PAYMENT SYSTEMS, but in the long run, as a partner of META PAYMENT SYSTEMS, you will lose out. META PAYMENT SYSTEMS will simply move onto yet another company/bank and start all over again. It is using the population growth to their advantage. There is nothing humanitarian nor kind in what META PAYMENT SYSTEMS does in the way that your customers will be treated…. This publicity amounts to false and misleading promises being made to attract partner banks/companies who then push the META PAYMENT SYSTEMS product for them… This is nothing but a gimmick.]

Fast and flexible. [META PAYMENT SYSTEMS changes the rules without notice. You will lose customers and they will make a fast buck and then move on.] Reach your market and expand your offering by adding prepaid without a costly and time-consuming investment in infrastructure. We’ll have your program up and running in as little as 21 days.[ Remember that this is publicity. Customers are already complaining loudly about META PAYMENT SYSTEMS and they have been for years!!!]

Your financial institution will be able to offer Gift, Reloadable, Travel and Youth Card solutions to your customers.[ These services have all been abused, not by the consumer, but by META PAYMENT SYSTEMS….. Please don’t mistreat your customer base by using META PAYMENT SYSTEMS]  We also offer a Large Order Gift Card solution that’s ideal for commercial customers for holiday, bonus, and incentive programs. [ Large order gift cards have been used to get unsuspecting entry level clerks to push the META PAYMENT PREPAID CARDs off onto unsuspecting customers. These clerks can do this with a straight face because they appear like a great gift to them…. This is part of META PAYMENT SYSTEMS scam… it is well thought out as a scam, but this is not any kind of good customer service.]

Experience

We understand your business needs may be unique. We have the experience to tailor a program to your size, location and demographics.[ META PAYMENTS SYSTEMS is a collections agency that works more like a loan shark… all of your customers will be run off. You may never realize what hit you; it was META PAYMENT SYSTEMS.]

Expertise

We focus on compliance and legislation so you can focus on your business.[ This is true. Wow! Compliance means that META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is in fact a collection agency. META PAYMENT SYSTEMS has a lot of money ,but they want yours too so they can hire Rupli and Associates, D.C. Lobbyists to push for laws that protect META PAYMENT SYSTEMS income growth…. No mention about improving customer service is mentioned because that isn’t what META PAYMENT SYSTEMS does.] Our company is completely PCI compliant and our commitment to security sets the standard. Rest easy and see why our Simplexes suite is so easy to operate. [This only means that META PAYMENT SYSTEMS will take advantage of your list of customers for their own financial gain.]

Serving You

Our proprietary web-based [ web-based in this case means no real personal nor face to face contact with the people who will suffer the most by what META PAYMENT SYSTEMS actually wants to do.]  platform makes it easy for you to order plastics, activate and reload cards, and manage your inventory from any computer with Internet access. The program website includes user-friendly [user-friendly??? not for me when I was META PAYMENT SYSTEMS customer]  tools that make it easy to manage your program, whether you have one location, 100 locations, or more.

We also provide one-stop online access to a wide variety of seasonal and year-round marketing materials, many of which can be customized with your logo. Choose from eye-catching card carriers, posters, countertop displays, window clings, statement stuffers, web banner ads and media kits.[META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is also excellent at doing publicity, but their customer service is despicable and demeaning for consumers.] We update the selection frequently, so it’s easy to keep your marketing campaigns fresh. Media kit templates are available so you can easily create and customize your own marketing materials.

Meta’s Business Resource Team provides program support that starts with our step-by-step Full Circle Training implementation process that includes a welcome kit and live webinar training for your program administrator. We also include extensive online resources, ongoing support via email and a toll-free telephone line.[ META PAYMENT SYSTEMS usually treats their partners quite well so that they can get their foot in the door to scam your customer base.  Serving you??? META PAYMENT SYSTEMS is really positioning themselves inside the works of your bank or company so that they can do what they do best, collections and scamming innocent people while lying to them…. Can you really afford to partner with META PAYMENT SYSTEMS when they are so immoral in the way that they do business?]

We have one of the most reliable networks in the industry moving over a billion dollars seamlessly every month. [This income is at the expense and misery of those who can least afford it. Please do not add to their misery. Please do not partner with META PAYMENT SYSTEMS. ] Even during high traffic times like holidays, we use only a fraction of our network capacity. So when your customer needs to activate a card, make a transaction, check a balance, or get other information, you can be sure it works, every time.

We combine our expanding lineup of innovative [ this translates as to being one step ahead of law enforcement officials… there is nothing new about what META PAYMENT SYSTEMS does… they are a collection agency and con artists] products with reliable knowledge, personalized assistance and flexible retail pricing, creating a simple way to build customer loyalty and reach new prospects.

[From all appearances, META PAYMENT SYSTEM wines and dines the CEO of partner banks and/or companies so that they will gain your trust. Once they have access to your internal working system, META PAYMENT SYSTEM will milk the living blood out of your customer base. Your good name will be destroyed. META PAYMENT SYSTEM will make a big profit for themselves. Oh, you may make a bigger profit for the short term, but your customer base will fall away as they lose confidence in your organization…]

Leave a comment
by mrnd5 on December 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Meta Bank uses empty verbiage, META FINANCIAL GROUP, METABANK practices are dragging the economy down, NBPCA is a scam on the American public, PREPAID CARDS are not adequately regulated, seek revenue growth for themselves not you the customer, Steve King (R-IA) received large campaign donation from James S. Haahr of Meta Bank, Suspicious Activity is within Meta Bank's internal practices and policies, The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges., The U.S. Department of Education called the charging of such fees "unallowable" in guidance to financial aid officers issued last month., We are all vulnerable to predatory practices of banks like METABANK
Tagged , , , , , ,

Posted by mrnd5 on December 30, 2012

https://mrnd5.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/meta-payment-solutions-will-create-havoc-in-partnering-companies/

The Corporate Psychopath: I found them at META BANK when I was one of their prepaid bank card customers

Consumers, Your help is needed to get the proper regulations in place that will actually protect you and all of us from Bank Scams

I established this blog after I had been scammed by META BANK when using their prepaid bank card.

META BANK Lied to me and I had wondered why.

Then I went online and saw that META BANK had been doing this to many other people. It was always the same scam but using different PREPAID BANK CARD names.

The scam is “To keep customer’s money from them” and “To get a free interest loan for META BANK.” That is the part that is consistent and which happens regularly with META BANK.

META BANK has created all of the rules in the fine print on their bank contract. The rules can be changed at any time and with out notice to their customer base.

META BANK began with the underbanked and used that experience to build up their repertoire for what came to be their scam pattern that they would seek to push off onto the general public. The underbanked would be the most economically vulnerable people in our society.

META BANK promises to help them to improve their credit rating by getting one of META BANK’s PREPAID CARDS and by having their payroll salary check or government check directly deposited into an associated checking account. By doing this, META BANK gets full control of all of the assets of the most financially vulnerable people in our society. Then META BANK wreaks havoc on the lives of these people who have been enticed by false and misleading promises.

Oh, it was bad enough that META BANK had scammed me, but the fact that META BANK had done this to so many people really irritated me, and that they had done this to the most vulnerable among us really upset me… so much so that I had to speak-out on their behalf in an effort to protect others from being scammed by META BANK as I had viewed was happening to so many people already.

      • Potential Corporate Partners needed to be warned about the damage that META BANK would cause them when all the while lying to those corporate partners.
      • Consumers needed to be made aware so they could protect themselves.

I don’t want what had happened to me to happen to another person and yet META BANK had actually done much worse to others. I needed consumers to speak up and to act in ways that would serve to protect them and others. We are all in this together in one great fraternity of consumers/customers of a banking system. We must help each other  because banks like META BANK have shown us that they cannot or will not serve us as they should . Given the fact that META BANK has hired lobbyists (RUPLI and Associates) to promote the PREPAID BANK CARD, we can see that META BANK has the means to serve the public, but that their interests are only in creating greater and greater wealth for their CEO’s.

Because META BANK doesn’t understand the real purpose and role in what customer service should be, as consumers/customers, we must demand bank reforms that actually protect us from Banking Practices such as those currently practiced by META BANK.

The Corporate Psychopath

By Paul Babiak, Ph.D., and Mary Ellen O’Toole, Ph.D.

corp-psycho.jpg
© Thinkstock.com

Psychopathy is one of the most studied personality disorders. It consists of variations of 20 well-documented characteristics that form a unique human personality syndrome—the psychopath.

Many of these traits are visible to those who interact with the psychopath who possess some or all of these characteristics. For some, superficial charm and grandiose sense of self make them likable on first meeting.

Their ability to impress others with entertaining and captivating stories about their lives and accomplishments can result in instant rapport.

They often make favorable, long-lasting first impressions.

This personality disorder is a continuous variable, not a classification or distinct category, which means that not all corporate psychopaths exhibit the same behaviors.

Beneath the cleverly formed façade—typically created by psychopaths to influence their targets—is a darker side, which people eventually may suspect. ( META BANK’s advertisements were designed to address my needs as a customer, but the product really wasn’t designed to meet my needs. Then META BANK Lied to me. Is META BANK only hiring people who don’t mind lying? Certainly, after a while those people who must do the dirty work for META BANK by lying to their customer base will come to realize that they are only salaried employees and that  the CEO’s are making a real fortune from this scam. I saw the dark side of the PREPAID BANK CARDS very clearly and in a very negative way… I want to protect others.)

They can be pathological liars who con, manipulate, and deceive others for selfish means.( Wow! That is what META BANK does!!!) Some corporate psychopaths thrive on thrill seeking, bore easily, seek stimulation, and play mind games with a strong desire to win. ( MIND GAMES with a strong desire to win… That is exactly how I was treated by META BANK as their customer and why I feel so compelled to speak out to warn other consumers.)

Unlike professional athletes moved by a desire to improve performance and surpass their personal best, psychopaths are driven by what they perceive as their victims’ vulnerabilities. ( As a former META BANK customer/victim, I have observed that META BANK targets their publicity to customer’s self noted vulnerable areas… Often times, META BANK uses the customer’s desire to protect their financial welfare, promises them that security and then scams that same customer once they have possession and control of that Customer’s cash money. META BANK hasn’t improved their product to meet customer’s real needs; META BANK only changes the wording in their publicity to move the same product using a new name, but it is the same old scam all over again.)  

Little research exists on their inner psychological experiences; however, they seem to get perverted pleasure from hurting and abusing their victims. ( I believe that META BANK seeks out customer’s by making false promises and giving those potential customers misleading information to hook them in. META BANK changes their name and then does the same scam over and over again…. Of course, META BANK enjoys this scam and is indifferent to the people they scam. META BANK was indifferent to my needs as a customer and lied to me…. It was when they so boldly lied to me about many things and kept expanding the list of lies that I began to question what was really  going on within META BANK…. Then I read about Boesen and Pickhinkle, both of whom I felt got royally scammed by META BANK and then after Boesen committed suicide META BANK went after his estate. Years later META BANK was still trying to drain more assets out of the widow Boesen had left behind… I see META BANK/META FINANCIAL SYSTEMS as  a major con of our times.)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) research indicates that psychopaths are incapable of experiencing basic human emotions and feelings of guilt, remorse, or empathy.1  ( This is most likely the case for META BANK because once they have scammed one customer, they simply move on to the next. META BANK doesn’t learn from their mistakes so they can improve their services for their customers. OH NO!!! META BANK is inspired by their own success at lying to only lie more and to continue. The average person would feel remorse and any problems relayed to them by customers would be addressed, but META BANK only keeps doing the same scam over and over again.)

This emotional poverty often is visible in their shallow sentiment. ( Wow that described my experience with META BANK? META PAYMENT SYSTEMS which is after all really nothing but a collections agency. It had become obvious to me that to get the partner corporate entity to buy into promoting their product that META BANK had wined and dined that entity just so they could sweet talk them into scamming all of their customer base. This partnership gave META BANK full access to all of the customers with whom the partner  had been building a rapport for many years… I could no longer trust that corporate partner, and I severed all ties with them after many years as their customer… sad really… META BANK indicates that they have all of the collection aspects of the relationship in place as part of the publicity to that corporate partner… I never would have become a customer of META BANK if a trusted local partner hadn’t been the one selling me the PREPAID CARD….. META BANK had also lied to that corporate partner who initially sold me the prepaid card, but the scam was being pushed off onto me… That corporate partner wouldn’t believe that META BA NK could abuse me in such a way because the card had worked so well for them… Well, that was just apart of the bigger scam, and META BANK is a scam operation.)  

They display emotions only to manipulate individuals around them. They mimic other people’s emotional responses. Some lack realistic long-term goals, although they can describe grandiose plans. The impulsive and irresponsible psychopath lives a parasitic and predatory lifestyle, seeking out and using other people, perhaps, for money, food, shelter, sex, power, and influence.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder traditionally assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).2 Often used interchangeably with psychopathy, the term sociopathy is obsolete and was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1968. Currently, there is no formal diagnosis of psychopathy in the DSM-Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR); however, it is being considered for the 2013 DSM-V list of personality disorders.

Façade

It is fascinating that psychopaths can survive and thrive in a corporate environment. Day-to-day interactions with coworkers, coupled with business policies and procedures, should make unmasking them easy, but this does not always hold true. Large companies’ command-and-control functions ought to make dealing with them simple and direct; however, this may not be the case. ( META BANK’s customer relations are convoluted. Their publicity is basically a lie. META BANK Makes money for their CEO’s who are incredibly rich!!!)

Psychopathic manipulation usually begins by creating a mask, known as psychopathic fiction, in the minds of those targeted.

( Because of the way that METABANK representatives lied to me and tried to push blame on me for their actions , which I believe were intentional that allowed META BANK to hold my $5,000.00 and to keep me from having access to my own money… I believe that there is Pschopathic manipulation present in META BANK.)

In interpersonal situations, this façade shows the psychopath as the ideal friend, lover, and partner. ( How else would such a person get by and be kept by META BANK? Also I believe that this person or group of people may actually be rather high ranking at META BANK)

These individuals excel at sizing up their prey. ( META BANK is best at studying the needs of the American Consumer and perhaps consumer’s in general and they market the identical product using many new names designed to meet the real needs of their targeted customer, but META BANK really has only one kind of prepaid bank card and META BANK retains the right to change all of the rules whenever they see fit and as often as they see fit without notice to their customers…. What kind of a real relationship is this? … The design relies on publicity targeted and crafted to appear to meet consumer’s real needs, but that is part of the scam.)

They appear to fulfill their victims’ psychological needs, much like the grooming behavior of molesters. ( META BANK says in their publicity that by using their PREPAID BANK CARDS that this is safer for customers; it isn’t safe at all for customers given how META BANK takes over and fully controls a customer’s money and keeps the customer from being able to access their own cash money while META BANK has free use of the customer’s money; in this way the PREPAID BANK CARD works like an interest free loan to META BANK while doing nothing at all to protect consumers…. META BANK gets corporate partners to market their card for them, most likely with promises of increased revenue, but that partner corporation will lose their former customer base who will find that META BANK is impossible to deal with. META BANK has obviously courted those corporate partners. Their employees are issued gift cards, and then asked to push the prepaid cards to their customer base. For the employees they can honestly say that the cards work quite well because for them they do. So they can sell the cards with a straight face and with great sincerity. The customers who are issued prepaid cards that may look like those that the employees have are actually issued prepaid cards with a different numbers and the contact phone number on the back will bring each to their designated customer service representative. The customers will find great difficulty using the cards and in dealing with META BANK who has told customers that they haven’t used the card correctly… this has been repeated over and over again per customer’s online complaints to that effect.)

Although they sometimes appear too good to be true, this persona typically is too grand to resist. They play into people’s basic desire to meet the right person—someone who values them for themselves, wants to have a close relationship, and is different from others who have disappointed them. ( Wow!!! This is even how META BANK’s PREPAID CARD Publicity reads… Customers are studied and then marketed to based on those customer’s most vulnerable areas what ever they are because META BANK has a card for all of those vulnerable areas. Actually the card is the same; the publicity for the card is modified to appear to meet the needs of the customer. It has always been the same prepaid card that META BANK has offered just with a new name.)

Belief in the realism of this personality can lead the individual to form a psychopathic bond with the perpetrator on intellectual, emotional, and physical levels. At this point, the target is hooked and now has become a psychopathic victim.

Corporate psychopaths use the ability to hide their true selves in plain sight and display desirable personality traits to the business world. To do this, they maintain multiple masks at length. (I had wondered how this worked, but it would seem that the people who are behind the scam by which META BANK operates may convey a very congenial face to the world or they send a newly hired employee to speak to the public… that new employee doesn’t even know that what they have been given to say is a con and that they have been given only partial information… SEE: LISA BINDER who spoke to the press about the Dubai Assassination Using a  META BANK PREPAID CARD. )

The façade they establish with coworkers and management is that of the ideal employee and future leader. This can prove effective, particularly in organizations experiencing turmoil and seeking a “knight in shining armor” to fix the company. ( This knight in shining armor must exude confidence that draws people to them… I feel so sorry for the employees of META BANK… Pickhinkle is in prison for bank fraud/embezzlement or CD fraud, but what were her supervisors doing while she did this scam? I think that she was as much a victim as the enactor of the crime… just my opinion from the outside looking in. She indicated at her trial that she was following directions… I believe her.)

Con

How is it possible for psychopaths to fool business-savvy executives and employers?

They often use conning skills during interviews to convince their hiring managers that they have the potential for promotion and the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do an outstanding job. ( It may be in the very higher/higher eschelon of META BANK where the con actually began, but the way META BANK’s operates is a scam of their customer base through the use of misleading information, publicity that has little basis in facts and by lying to their customer base, per my own experience.)

Using their lying skills, they may create phony resumes and fictitious work experience to further their claims. They may manipulate others to act as references. Credentials, such as diplomas, performance awards, and trophies, often are fabricated.

“Psychopathic manipulation usually begins by creating a mask,known as a psychopathic fiction, in the minds of those targeted.”

Once inside the organization, corporate psychopaths capitalize on others’ expectations of a commendable employee.

( I believe that META BANK does this through employee reward systems)

Coworkers and managers may misread superficial charm as charisma, a desirable leadership trait. A psychopath’s grandiose talk can resemble self-confidence, while subtle conning and manipulation often suggest influence and persuasion skills.

Sometimes psychopaths’ thrill-seeking behavior and impulsivity are mistaken for high energy and enthusiasm, action orientation, and the ability to multitask. ( Meta Bank advertises for employees who can work in a fast changing and fast paced work environment…. no mention is made of honesty, integrity or the ability to work well with their customer base…. META BANK’s value system is skewed.)

To the organization, these individuals’ irresponsibility may give the appearance of a risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit—highly prized in today’s fast-paced business environment. Lack of realistic goal setting combined with grandiose statements can be misinterpreted as visionary and strategic thinking ability; both are rare and sought after by senior management. An inability to feel emotions may be disguised as the capability to make tough decisions and stay calm in the heat of battle.

Damage

Evidence suggests that when participating in teams, corporate psychopaths’ behaviors can wreak havoc.

In departments managed by psychopaths, their conduct decreases productivity and morale. These issues can have a severe impact on a company’s business performance. ( I had felt that the reason that METABANK employees lied to me, bold and brazenly lied to me as their customer originated in the higher ranks among their CEO’s. The mind set is a really sick one at META BANK that would permit them to lie to their customer in such a brazen way…. Had they never seen that they were lying? META BANK had mailed me a check at my home address and then said that I ( pleased note that META BANK was pushing the blame off on the consumer/customer base) had never given them my address. META BANK had a canceled check with my correct mailing address on it… Why did META BANK feel the need to lie? I saw through the lie, but once META BANK has your money, you have lost all control and even complete accessibility to your own money.)

There also is the risk for economic crimes to be committed. For the corporate executive and the criminal justice professional, the issue is the possibility of fraud. ( It was clear to me that META BANK had designed the prepaid bank card as a way to keep money from consumers. The way that the idea was put in place was to scam their customer base rather than to serve them… META BANK’s mindset is really sick.)

Today’s corporate psychopath may be highly educated—several with Ph.D., M.D., and J.D. degrees have been studied—and capable of circumventing financial controls and successfully passing corporate audits.( META BANK’s corporate pyschopath may actually have a law degree and be dedicated exclusively to pushing META BANK’s agenda.)

Investigation

Investigators should familiarize themselves with the typical traits and characteristics of psychopaths. They must understand the manipulation techniques used to create and manage the psychopathic bonds established with victim organizations. ( I can assure you as a former META BANK customer that there is something very wrong with the way that META BANK does business. The red flag for me was META BANK’s desire to push the blame off on me and to boldly lie to me… there is something very sick in the dynamics and internal practices at META BANK.)

Their reputations, as judged by those in power with whom they have bonded, known as patrons, often provide added protection from closer investigation.

As a result, the investigator may need to build a case with management for the use and broad application of more sophisticated techniques.

Psychopaths can be expert liars often immune to traditional deception-revealing techniques. Some practice avoiding detection in anticipation of being caught and interrogated. Therefore, investigators independently should corroborate any information provided by these individuals.3

Psychopaths often compartmentalize their behavior, enabling them to present themselves differently to various people. ( META BANK obviously wined and dined their partner corporations in order to get those partner corporations to push their META BANK PREPAID CARD. As a META BANK PREPAID CARD HOLDER, I was taken advantage of and misused.Because of this, I feel compelled to speak out  to try to protect other consumers.)

This can help them hide their manipulation and control over victims.(META BANK wanted and wants full control of customer’s money. It is an interest free loan to META BANK. META BANK has offered classes to other banks to show them how to do this same scam. Then if they are all doing it and basically they all need to do it in order to be able to survive, it may appear that the underlying principles of the META BANK CARD are usual and normal, but in reality it is only an expansion of the same scam. This time, since “Everybody is doing it” there is an added sense of legitimacy to the original scam.)

Coworkers may have knowledge or suspicions about the psychopath’s actions that can be useful to the investigator. However, they either may fear repercussions or fall under the influence of the psychopathic bond. (I don’t know what the deal is at META BANK internally, but from what I have observed, there is a major problem. META BANK needs for others to imitate their practices when in fact these practices are very harmful to the general public.)  

If investigators establish rapport and trust with coworkers, information that will make their work easier may be forthcoming. The difficulty comes when these associates are persons of interest. Fortunately, some companies have hotlines for employees to report coworker fraud and other complaints. This information provides an invaluable source of leads.

Corporate psychopaths with exceptional verbal skills make crafty interviewees.( I have felt that META BANK is very skilled at creating publicity on line… it is just too good to be true that any entity could actually meet a customer’s real needs. META BANK has customers self identify according to their own perception of their most vulnerable places. Then META BANK sells the same prepaid bank card using a new name but the same old prepaid bank card after hooking the customer.)  

This ability provides an opportunity embraced by many of them to fool law enforcement officers. In these cases, investigators should proceed with caution.4 Specific interview strategies should focus on exposing psychopaths’ vulnerabilities. Possession of a sense of superiority and lack of empathy can enable them to boast about the brilliance of their latest fraud scheme. They often believe that only someone equal in intelligence to them could understand their actions. Strategies specifically designed to elicit such boasting can result in a wealth of information for the investigator.

Corporate psychopaths are successful because they single out and isolate their targets.(META BANK’s customers are often sought out online and never come face to face with META BANK employees. Frequently META BANK customers must pay extra to phone META BANK . I was handed from one person to the next after having been put on hold. The scale of META BANK’s scam, by using many different names, is great and therefore a serious problem.)

They sometimes manipulate several victims at the same time. Investigators never should assume they are immune to a psychopath’s approach. One conversation may be enough for the bond to be established. Investigators must know themselves so that psychopaths’ attempts at bonding fail. It is valuable for investigators to allow psychopaths to believe they have established rapport with someone inside law enforcement.

“Corporate
psychopaths use the ability to hide their
true selves in plain
sight and display
desirable personality
traits to the
business world.”

Investigators must work as a team, communicate openly, and take all observations seriously. This is necessary for personal self-defense, proficient investigative work, and successful prosecution.

Officers must take heed to avoid being impressed with a suspect’s credentials and success. ( I think that META BANK has given large amounts of cash to re-election campaigns in Iowa to buy some credibility.)

Occasionally, when psychopathic white-collar offenders are identified, they seek out the media and give interviews. They may believe their skills of persuasion are effective enough to convince the public that they have done nothing wrong and are being targeted unjustly by law enforcement. To prevent serious problems with the investigation and prosecution, investigators must remain prepared for all possibilities.

Conclusion

Psychopathy, one of the most studied personality disorders, can cause numerous problems for investigators. Therefore, law enforcement officers must become familiar with psychopaths’ traits and characteristics, prevent psychopathic bonds from forming, corroborate information, and take all observations seriously. Investigators must know themselves, work together, communicate with one another openly, and be prepared to deal with the corporate psychopath.

Endnotes

1 Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain.

2 Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is an assessment tool. Psychopathy, as determined by the PCL-R, is indicated by an overall score of 30 or above out of a possible 40. Many point configurations could result in the overall score, determined by adding up the total points for each of the 20 individually listed traits.

3 Research on psychopathy and lie-detection equipment has yielded conflicting results and remains inconclusive.

4 Once established that a perpetrator truly is a psychopath, reviewing the videotaped interrogation can be a lesson in their subtle, yet sophisticated manipulation techniques. This is the same method used by psychopathy researchers.

Additional Resources
P. Babiak, “When Psychopaths Go to Work,” Applied Psychology: An International Review 44, no. 2 (1995): 171-188
P. Babiak, “Psychopathic Manipulation at Work,” in ed., C.B. Gacono, The Clinical and Forensic Assessment of Psychopathy: A Practitioner’s Guide (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2000): 287–311
P. Babiak and R.D. Hare, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (New York, NY: Harper/Collins, 2006)
P. Babiak, “From Darkness into the Light: Psychopathy in Industrial and Organization Psychology,” in ed., H. Hervé and J. Yuille, The Psychopath: Theory, Research, and
Practice (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2007)
P. Babiak, C.S. Neumann, and R.D. Hare, “Corporate Psychopathy: Talking the Walk,” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 28, no. 2 (2010): 174-193
H. Cleckley, The Mask of Sanity (St Louis, MO: Mosby, 1982)
J. Coid, M. Freestone, S. Ullrich, “Subtypes of Psychopathy in the British Household Population: Findings from the National Household Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity,”
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatra Epidemiol 47, no. 6 (2012): 879-891
R.D. Hare, Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us (New York, NY: Guilford Press, 1999)
R.D. Hare, Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised, 2nd ed. (Toronto, ON:
Multi-Health Systems, 2003)
M.E. O’Toole, “Psychopathy as a Behavior Classification System for Violent and
Serial Crime Scenes,” in ed., H. Hervé and J. Yuille, The Psychopath: Theory, Research, and Practice (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2007): 301-325
Leave a comment
by mrnd5 on December 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 'Not cheaper for the students', agreements with 520 campuses that enroll more than 4.3 million students, and begin talking about change in the actions of Meta Bank and banks like it. Ask for Bank Reforms to Protect Consumers!!! Please focus your energy on this. We need all of your help we can get., Bank Reform and Proper Regulations are Needed, Banks have created all the rules for PREPAID CARDS, Big Corporations and Banks run the world, but it is still Meta Bank's same service and poor quality, Colleges and banks rake in millions from the fees, Complaints Against Meta Bank, Consumer Advocate, Consumer Alert, Consumer Rights Advocacy, Consumer Rights- consumers have no or few protections from predatory banking practices, Consumers act to protect themselves and others from further bank fraud and customer abuses, Consumers are Vulnerable: Help each other, Consumers being forced to use plastic, Consumers Demand Bank Reforms That Serve Their Real Needs, Consumers Join Forces to Protect Each Other from Bank Scams and Frauds, Consumers must speak out, Consumers Start Talking and Learning Real Facts About Banking, Customer's being scammed by Money Network, David and Goliath -the consumer and METABANK's prepaid debit cards, Don't Invest in META BANK, don't take on more debt to pay off the first debt, Economic Servitude needs to be studied and abolished in the USA, even clear-cut cases of fraud where victims are protected from liability by consumer protection laws can cause significant hardship, Gift Cards May be Suspended After Purchase and without notice, Holiday Gift Cards: have hidden fees, How did the assassins pay for their Meta Bank/Payoneer Pre-Paid Cards? Where else were these cards used?, Internal Audit Committee at Meta Bank, Internal Audits not able to cope with problems related to prepaid bank cards, Is Lisa being set up by Meta Bank to take the next fall for their actions? Watch for the next developments., marketing is basically Meta Bank's major strength just behind collections, Meta Bank and Banks like it are the source of the bad economy - stop talking about any politician at any point in history, Meta Bank charges customers for spending their own money, Meta Bank denied one man his right to a fair and impartial trial. What kind of a world citizen is Meta Bank? We are tired of fighting the wars that Meta Bank causes., Meta Bank is nothing but a publicity scam, Meta Bank never accepts responsibility, Meta Bank never made any promises to their customers in their legal documents, Meta Bank operates using many different names, Meta Bank Scams Americans, Meta Bank sells VISA and Mastercard Pre-Paid Cards, Meta Bank uses empty verbiage, METABANK designed the prepaid bank cards, METABANK practices are dragging the economy down, METABANK's publicity says that their prepaid card will meet your specific needs but in reality they are the exact same card just using different publicitty, Money Network is META BANK, NBPCA is a scam on the American public, Netspend/Meta Bank makes life miserable, payment cards that carry hefty costs, Pre-paid Bank Cards don't work, PREPAID BANK CARD FRAUDULENT PRACTICES, PREPAID CARDS are not adequately regulated, PREPAID CARDS are not consumer friendly, PrePaid Name Brand Bank Card Association a non-profit is a scam, seek revenue growth for themselves not you the customer, Stay Out of Debt, Stay out of debt- don't get loans to pay off loans, Steve King (R-IA) received large campaign donation from James S. Haahr of Meta Bank, Suspicious Activity is within Meta Bank's internal practices and policies, The cards and accounts are marketed aggressively using college letterhead and websites carrying the endorsement of colleges., trying to manage regulatory regulations - still don't understand the problems they have caused, We are all vulnerable to predatory practices of banks like METABANK, What were Meta Bank's supervisors and internal auditors doing? Did they even exist? Why doesn't Meta Bank's Higher Ups ever know anything and have to push the blame around all the time?, Xoom and Meta Bank are one in the same, You may be dealing with Meta Bank under a different name
Tagged , , , , , , ,

Posted by mrnd5 on December 1, 2012

https://mrnd5.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/the-corporate-psychopath-i-found-them-at-meta-bank-when-i-was-one-of-their-prepaid-bank-card-customers/