To want to retrieve my money from a prepaid post office travel money card that has expired?

[ncob]

We used to use post office travel money cards a lot some years ago before the pandemic. I have got 2 expired cards which will definitely have money in them. Any idea how to go about retrieving this? Or is it lost forever? Thanks!

So we had this.

You need to call them.

There was something they could do easily if they expired less than 2 years ago.

Ours were longer out of date than that and we're being charged a monthly fee as a result. We had to open new ones formally at a post office, with ID etc, and then call them back and they transferred the balances across from old to new. It wasn't difficult but a bit of a pain.

Oh gosh thanks @Ohmylovejune . Mine are also older. How much is the monthly fee? I'm not sure how much money is on these cards. Had no idea theres a monthly fee, theres been no reminders or any communication of any sort. Could it be that the fees racked up surpasses the funds on the card...

£3 a month comes to mind. Or maybe it was 3 euros, as ours is a euro card. I'm pretty sure the fee didn't start straight on expiry but after a while. We had been changed it for about 9 months.

They were really helpful when I called and told me what the balances were and that we were being charged. So I was able to make a decision on what to do.

We were going away again and wanted the cards for that so went through the hoops to get new ones and transfers done.

However, times moved on really. Using them is a bit outdated. We struggled to get cash out in Greece as we couldn't find ATMs anywhere in Corfu Town. I even queued up in a bank for 30 minutes to be told they only serve businesses with cash. I ended up taking some out in the airport atm with a charge ready for when we go back.

Thanks @Ohmylovejune , yes I have no plans to use them to be honest, just want my money back into an account I can access. Together we have 3-4 cards, of which we have 2 in hand. The most recent expired in 2021 and the oldest 2014. Thankfully, I have all the details written down - access codes, pins etc etc. I suppose I just need to call them....... for the one from 2014, the charges may be more than the funds, is there an option to just leave it?

Despite having the details, the website and app are so unhelpful - I cant seem to log in on either. The app just tells me reactivate my email, which I do, then theres no option type in the log in details anywhere. So frustrating!

I just found the phone number on the app 0344 335 0109

Thanks for starting this thread - I've had over €100 sitting on the card for 2 years!

@Clymene haha no problem! I think the app must have been lagging, I have managed to log into one card - somehow says it expires in 2024 now (even though I thought it went in 2021.. how does that work?) I have about 5 currencies on there, it shouldnt be a problem just transferring them out now right?

Now to get into my older cards...

When mine expired they sent me a new one?

Can't seem to get into the one that expired in 2017... It says my account is locked and to try again in 60 seconds. I wonder if it has somehow linked all of my cards hence all the currencies in one? Not sure..

Ok so the person on the phone has really not been helpful, I have again been put on hold. Anyone know if when you have multiple cards, they all get merged into one account, one big pot? I just wonder if thats what has happened hence the different currencies on this one card...

I've a feeling the provider has changed in more recent years. Well not recent, but since our old cards were in existence. I only have euros but my account now looks as if I could hold many different currencies on it, if I wanted.

I found the helpline very very helpful for my expired card. Try again and see if you get a more helpful human.

She keeps putting me on hold to speak to someone else, I'm on hold again but good news! Apparently I wasn't charged anything, it looks like funds had been transferred onto newer cards until the multicurrency card came out and should all be on it. However it is not. I have about half or just under than the total of my individual cards. I cant imagine I've been charged on this card though as it hasnt expired... so not sure where a few hundred ££ has gone

Is there a purpose for prepaid cards anymore? Is it worth me leaving a bunch of currencies on here (with the awareness to use this card on subsequent travels) or is it all dated and best off just using my usual debit cards as I have been doing?

I personally use Revolut for travel money. You can put money on it "as you go" and there's not fee for the first couple hundred euros you take out on atm and you get a card you can use FOC as a debit/credit card. Seeing how most places now accept these (unless you're going somewhere really old school) I would do this. There's different types of accounts you can hold (including a free one) with monthly fees, I often will "upgrade" to a paying one for a few monhs around travel time to get the better perks (more money FOC out of an atm, travel insurance etc) and then once I'm back downgrade back to the free version. You can also immediately remove any remaining funds to your UK bank account. Found the tip online and have used it for past 2 years for holidays in EU, have no complaints really!

I let my card expire, when I rang to get a new card they refused unless I sent ID, problem is anything sent digitally is not safe, information stored digitally is not safe and lets be honest the post office reputation is somewhat soiled. as I have a multi currency cards anyway I no longer need a post office card so I asked for MY money to be returned, this was refused unless I sent ID, I was also told that without providing ID they money would never be refunded, I sarcastically said so when Idie my kids cannot even get the money, he said no, post office will keep permanently