I was recently in miami, florida on vacation for christmas. While at the beach, someone broke into our rental car and stole my drivers license, bluebird card, suntrust debit visa and my merrick bank visa as well as two of my boyfriend's credit/debit cards. So while our family was at the beach playing in the ocean and having a blast, some *** (S) was in fort lauderdale at the dillard's fraudulently charging merchandise on all of our cards. They were able to push through more than $500 on my suntrust card. My bluebird card, which I use for a small weekly direct deposit of $100 was also used. They made a transaction of $89.03. The transaction that was made on the merrick bank card was unsuccessful. My love's cards were also charged for undisclosed amounts. We realized the theft when we were back in the car and headed for our accommodations. I checked my bank balanced and noticed the discrepancy immediately. When I looked in my pocketbook, I noticed that not only were my cards missing, but so was my driver's license. Needless to say, I was pissed. I noticed that I was getting repeated calls from several 800 numbers. These were my concerned banks and credit card companies calling because of the unusual behavior on my cards. I spoke to merrick bank who told me about the transactions that were declined. I spoke to suntrust bank who immediately escalated the fraudulent charges to the claims department. I called amex bluebird and told them what happened. Immediately, I was issued a new card by them and I was told to call back after the transaction had posted to the account because they couldnt do anything about it until it actually posted. We returned home and I waited until the transaction posted to the account to call again to report the stolen card and start what I though would be a relatively short process of returning my money from this fraudulent transaction. One thing I must note about even calling in to report a card stolen is that their system is automated initially, so I continues to ask for your card number and will end the call if you don't have it. I was extremely frustrated when the incident initially occurred because I was unable to get through twice because I did not have the card with me to punch in the numbers. That is an obvious and ironic flaw in their system... (It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that having your card numbers in front of you is highly unlikely if someone has stolen your physical card. ) perhaps having an option for stolen or lost cards would make sense to expedite the process of restricting the use of the card as well as protecting the customer, which, as I learned, is not the priority of amex bluebird. Anyhow, I did escalate the issue as a claim on january 1st. I was told that it would take 7-10 days to resolve the investigation at which time, they would credit the money back to my account. I thought that the time frame was just okay compared to my other accounts that took action immediately and credited my money back within 3 days of the incident.In fact, my suntrust money was back in my account and all associated fees were resolved before I concluded my vacation which ended on december 30th, 2016. Nevertheless, I figured, that bluebird would be the last to return my money and I would be fine within a week and a half at most. I called 3 times between january 1st and january 16th to check on the status of the credit to my account and each time I was told that they were "investigating" the incident. I was told that they were communicating with the merchant. As a business owner, myself, I accept credit cards and have dealt with chargebacks. A simple form is sent to the vendor to explain the details of the transaction and include receipts, whether the merchandise was delivered... Etc. This in no way constitutes a fraud investigation. Finally, on january 17, 2016, I received an email from amex bluebird: we received your recent inquiry about the following transaction: we have completed our review and have determined that no credit is due. The transaction will remain on your account because: transaction details: date 12/27/2016 amount $89.03 from/to dillards 252 broward valid documents received from merchant with the valid signed receipts. If you would like to receive a copy of the documents that we used while making our decision, please contact us at [protected]. Questions? Call us at [protected]) —we’re available 24/7. Thanks, the bluebird team really??? Does bluebird amex believe that since a thief signed a credit card receipt that it's not a fraudulent charge??? What kind of investigation actually took place? Why call it customer protection when I was never even listened to as a customer??? I made a police report due to my drivers license having been stolen along with the credit cards. Did amex bluebird ever inquire about that information? No!! They took the word of a merchant trying to cover the rest of their losses. What this incident tells me and what it should tell anyone else is that your money is not protected when using a bluebird card. My hope is that no one in their right mind who receives a tax refund or regular direct deposit on this card is in need of their money because in the case that you become a victim of a thief, you will also become a victim of bluebird's hemming and hawing for 2 or 3 weeks to find out that they do not care about their customers and you will not get your hard earned money back. You will get the run around and you will not hear from them until you get the fateful email that your luck has run out. Unlike other fdic insured institutions, they seem to be okay with allowing fraudulent activity on their cards with no recourse for the customer who then becomes a victim twice. (I should say three times because the hassle of waiting forever just to find out that you're not getting your funds returned is not only frustrating, stressful and irritating, but it speaks to something more awful. The fact that your voice is unheard an these big multi-billion dollar companies can hold your money away from you while they continue to make money is completely absurd and disgusting. ) I would not recommend this card ever again. If they cannot be trusted to protect my $89.03 or even care about such an awful situation for their customers, I fear deeply for anyone who trust them to guard their whole paycheck or their tax return. God forbid anyone get their hands on your card. They can sign on the dotted line and claim your money. It's laughable that they gave me the option of seeing the forged signature document from dillard's, I guess that was meant as evidence that I should be okay with bluebird, dillard's and the thieves stealing my money. Thanks, but no thanks bluebird. You will never make another dollar off of me or my family and friends... And hopefully anyone who is able to read this information before putting one dime onto another bluebird account. Buyer beware.