Plastk Secured Card Not Returning Deposits – How To Protect Yourself When Getting A Secured Credit Card

A big story just dropped that we wanted to share. A CBC Go Public investigation found out that people closing their Plastk secured credit card accounts weren’t getting their security deposits back.

Here’s the quick summary of what happened, and what you can do to protect yourself.

What happened with Plastk members

We won’t get into all the details, but here’s what happened with some Plastk members. but you can see everything for yourself here.

As part of opening up a secured credit card, you need to provide a deposit to get issued a card. Once your deposit is received, you get a credit card issued to you, with a credit limit that matches your deposit.

When you close your account, you get your deposit back, assuming your account is in good standing.

With Plastk, that hasn’t been happening for some members. You’re supposed to receive your deposit back after 2 months when you cancel your account.

But for many, that hasn’t been happening. And it took a CBC Go Public investigation to get one person’s deposit back. Others have also complained and are worried they may not ever see their money.

A big issue with all this is that Plastk themselves are not a bank. Since they are not a bank, you have fewer options at your disposal to get your money back. Better Business Bureaus and consumer protection agencies are bouncing people back between Plastk and their issuer, Digital Commerce Bank (DC Bank). The 2 companies also have counter lawsuits against each other, further complicating the matter.

What you can do to protect yourself

If you’re in the market for a secured credit card where you’ll have to give them a security deposit, what can you do? Here are 2 things to keep in mind.

1. Research your credit card issuers

If you’re looking at a lender you’re not familiar with, make sure to research them first. There are a couple of things you can do.

Find user reviews of the company. Google reviews may have some reviews of the company you’re looking at. TrustPilot is another place you can turn to for company reviews.

The other thing to do – check to see if the company is a bank themselves. If the company doesn’t issue the cards themselves, they’ll disclose who does.

This is not to say you wouldn’t run into this issue with a bank. It may happen. But banks are much more regulated, and if you do run into an issue getting a deposit back, there are more options you can use to get your money back. Plus, you’ll only have to deal with 1 company and not 2.

2. Limit your security deposits

With a secured credit card, you get to decide how much you want to provide, with a prescribed minimum amount you have to provide.

If possible, can you get away with a credit card with a lower limit on it? This way, you’ll be losing out on less money if anything goes sideways.

The secured credit cards we list

With what is going on with Plastk, we’d like to take this time to quickly discuss the 2 main secured credit cards we list – the Home Trust Secured Visa Card and the Neo Secured Credit. We’re not here to say they’re completely issue-free, so reached out to each institution to make sure.

But first of all, we do not have Plastk added in our database at this time, and with this news, we won’t be adding them anytime soon either.

Here are the details of the 2 secured institutions we do offer:

• Home Trust: They’re a bank that does everything themselves, which was confirmed by a representative. If you have a problem, you’re only dealing with 1 institution to get your issue resolved, and won’t be caught in a middle of a feud like with Plastk. Their policy is to return deposits within 4 to 6 weeks.
• Neo: Neo is also their own bank. So like Home Trust you have recourses if you can't get your money back.

Your stories about Plastk and other secured credit cards

The Plastk situation is scary.

For those who have had a secured credit card in the past, what was it like getting your deposit back? We’re also curious about your thoughts on your secured credit cards from Home Trust and Neo.

Let us know in the comments below.