New type of splash plastic-prepaid Maestro Card (splashplastic.com)

Member Name: mab1888

Product:	splashplastic.com
Date:	18/04/06 (1628 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you can now use splash plastic cards in shops

Disadvantages: high fees, not chip and pin cards, and erm, high fees

Splash plastic has now changed from being a top up card to use to spend on the internet at selected on-line stores (which was a very good service) into a pre-paid "Maestro" card operated by 360 money which uses the splashplastic name which means you can now top up this card and spend it anywhere that takes the Maestro logo, thats many online and high street shops. Sounds great, but dont be foolded.
For starters, you have either got to pay £6.99 for the card initally then pay 25p for each transaction you make, or you can pay a monthly fee of £1.99 and not have to pay for the card or transaction fees. Not so good, especially when the previous splash plastic card did not charge transaction fees or such a high price for the card. However, i decided that i would use it even though there were these high fees.
The next problem is that when you use it in shops, it is not a chip and pin card but a chip and signiture card. As most cards nowdays are chip and pin cards, you constantly get cashires asking "Why dont you have to enter a pin?" which to be honest, gets tiring after a while.
Also, although the card shows the Maestro symbol on the card, the card is actually recognised as a SOLO card. I found this out when trying to buy a rail ticket from a machine. These machines take Maestro cards, but NOT SOLO cards, and because the splashplastic "prepaid Maestro card" has a card number starting with 6767 (which all solo cards do), i could not pay for a ticket because the machines do not take solo cards, despite the fact that the card bears the Maestro symbol on it.
So after you pay for your card or all the fees, your left with a card that says Maestro on it but it isnt and its embarrassing to use it because its chip and signiture. So i decided to cancel it. Then they really were having a laugh, they charged £7 to cancel it plus 2.5% of the balance!!!!! A very expensive mistake.

Summary: A Maestro card that isnt that charges ridiculously high fees.