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Business Profile

Financial Technology

Privacy.com

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Privacy.com's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 35 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 13 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/26/2022

      Type:Customer Service Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I recently signed up for an account with Lithic, Inc. (DBA 'Privacy.com'). When I attempted to use the service, it failed to work correctly and prompted me to "contact customer service" for no discernible reason. I e-mailed their customer service department on 09/20/2022 to inquire about this. I received an e-mail response from their agent '*****' on the following day 09/21/2022. The message claimed that "my identity could not be verified" and therefore my account was suspended (copy enclosed). This response was too vague, so I sent a response asking for clarification on what I need to do to rectify the issue. Two days later on 09/23/2022, I received another response that stated "Unfortunately for security reasons, we're unable to disclose the reason our abuse prevention system or human review team decided we were unable to support your account at this time, or discuss the decision any further. We have suspended the account and removed the attached funding sources from our system" (copy enclosed). Again, no solution was provided. The wording used seems to imply that they will not allow me to use their service for undisclosed reasons.The company Privacy.com should be advised that denying access to financial services (not credit services) based on arbitrary risk factors would be a prima facie violation of the ******************* Act of 2010. Therefore, the company is either in violation of the law or is simply refusing to fix a technical issue. Regardless, I am deeply concerned about the response I received from the company and the way I am being treated. I ask for some sort of meaningful response and resolution to this issue.Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/03/2022

      ******* ** **** *** ****** ******** ****** ** **************************************************************** **  ***** *** ************************** *** ****** **********
      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by ************************* on September 26, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *************************** complaint, in which they claim we suspended their account due to being unable to verify their identity. ****************** alleged that we were violating ******************* Act of 2010 by not allowing them to use the service for undisclosed reasons.

      Privacy.com has reviewed *************************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time.

      Key findings are summarized below.

      On September 20, 2022, ****************** reached out regarding their account claiming they attempted to create a one-time use card and was prompted to contact Privacys support with no explanation provided. Privacy.com responded that we are unable to support their account due to being unable to verify their identity with the information provided at sign up. The account was suspended, with the funding source removed for ******************** security.

      On September 21, 2022, ****************** replied that he was unclear of the issue and to provide clear instruction on how to fix his account. Privacy.com responded the next day stating that for security reasons we are unable to disclose the reason our abuse prevention system and human review team decided to not support the account.

      The information provided by ****************** was screened for verification as is common for companies in the financial space as per Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering requirements. A fraud evaluation was also run which deemed the account high risk based on all of the information provided. It is not in the interest of Privacy.com to disclose to customers the details of our KYC onboarding process and the specific reasons why a customer failed our KYC checks. Providing such information would allow customers to find ways to circumvent the onboarding process and controls. ****************** cited the ******************* Act of 2010, which does not prevent a company from conducting KYC and fraud evaluations upon onboarding a customer, nor does it prevent a company from refusing an account to an individual who fails control checks based on the information provided.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated.

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******************** complaint. Should you or ****************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      ********** ************************ ********** ********** ******* ******* **** ************* ************************** ** *** ******.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/04/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

      I appreciate the response from the business, and I thank them for the additional clarification as to why there is an issue with my account. However, I am sure you can understand why I find this quite disturbing. I understand that the business does not want to disclose the reason(s) used to make this decision. However, I request that the business please inform me of the database or source of the derogatory information, as so that I may investigate this further on my own.

       

      The business should be advised that, unfortunately, I have been the victim of identity theft in the recent past, and I am very concerned that derogatory information could have been created by an unauthorized third party without my knowledge. Therefore, it is imperative that I am provided further information on the ****related information used to make this decision.

       

      Thank you,

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

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

      Business Response

      Date: 10/19/2022

      ******* *** **** *** ****** ******** ****** ** **************************************************************** **  ***** *** ************************** *** ****** **********
      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the appeal filed by ************************* on October 12, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *************************** appeal, in which they determined that the initial complaint has not been resolved.

      Privacy.com has reviewed *************************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time.

      Key findings are summarized below.

      In our initial response to ******************** complaint, Privacy.com noted that we were unable to onboard ****************** as ****************** failed out KYC/Fraud control check, which consist of verifying customer-provided information required upon onboarding. We stated that the information provided by ****************** was screened for verification as it is common for companies in the financial space as per Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering requirements. A fraud evaluation deemed the account high risk based on all the information provided, which led to the account being rejected.

      As part of the appeal, ****************** requested we provide them with any derogatory information that we may have identified, informing us that he had been a victim of identity theft in the past. Sharing specific details of our reviews is not in our best interest as this may allow customers to circumvent our controls. In addition, ****************** provided some documentation such as procedures to filing an identity theft report along with contacts to a law enforcement agency. This is insufficient. With the current information provided by ******************, Lithic stands by our decision to not permit ****************** to be onboarded.

      However, considering ******************** claim of identity theft we can reassess the account if ****************** wants to be reconsidered for an account. For this to be done we need ****************** to provide an ID with a selfie, in addition to an identity theft report with the **** Once this path is followed, we would begin to re-review the account. This is no guarantee of onboarding, but rather a re-review of the information provided.

      We encourage ****************** to submit these items for our review to ********************

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. Currently, the account remains inactive.

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******************** complaint. Should you or ****************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ************************ ********** ********** ******* ******* **** ************* **********************
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/12/2022

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I tried to create a new account with Privacy.com after changing my legal name. I have used the service in the past and haven't had any issues until now. After creating the new account on 9/5 I was told to remove the funding source I attached to the account via this error. "Our system indicates that the metadata returned from the funding source on your account does not match the information provided during account setup. All Privacy users must be the account holder of the funding sources they add to their accounts." Thanks for reaching out to me. I am the account holder for the Chase account that I linked ending in ****. There is nobody else on the account but me. ******************** LLC is a Single Member LLC located in ******** and I am the sole member. I am attaching the Statement of the Organizer from Incfile. The account I linked is my business account with ***** under ******************** LLC. I am attaching the latest bank statement from Chase to this email. I'm also attaching a copy of my social security card as well as my license. ********************** then asked me for more documentation. Specifically, Articles of Incorporation Tax EIN Letter, Physical Address of your business, and recent bank statement for the connected funding source. They also asked questions about the business and what I would be using Privacy.com for. I provided them with everything they asked for promptly. Privacy then suspended my account without any explanation and said they removed my funding source for my 'security'. I told them: Can you please explain what the problem is? I provided you guys with a ton of documentation so what's the issue? Totally unreasonable that you guys aren't able to activate my account after all of that. Is there someone I can speak to on the phone about this or a way to escalate this further? There's no reason why my account shouldn't be activated. So far no response, I don't think they looked at anything I provided them.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/21/2022

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

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by ************************* on September 12, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *************************** complaint, in which they claim they tried to create a new account after changing their legal name.

      Privacy.com has reviewed *************************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      On September 05, 2022, Privacy.com reached out to ******************** regarding the funding source that was not matching the information provided and instructed the user to remove the funding source. ********************** users must be the account holder of the funding sources they add to their accounts. On the same day ******************** responded that he is the account holder for the linked business account and ******************** LLC is a single member LLC located in ******** as he claims to be the sole member. He continued with attaching bank statements and identification documentation. ******************** claims that his name was recently changed from ***************************** to ************************* as well as the business, The Ad Masters LLC to ******************** LLC. ******************** mentioned that he has an existing account with his previous name ******************************

      On September 6, 2022, Privacy.com replied with a link to complete the account setup, which required ** verification. ******************** responded on the same day that he had completed the ** verification process and would close the previous account. Privacy.com confirmed that the photos were received and requested additional information such as business documentation related to using the business checking account as a funding source. ******************** replied with providing business documentation of the previous named business The Ad Masters LLC that is now ******************** LLC. Privacy.com responded that they will pass along the requested information to the designated team for further review and will follow-up.

      On September 9, 2022, Privacy.com followed-up that we were unable to support the account after completing the *** onboarding review. The account has been suspended and the attached funding source has been removed for their security. ******************** replied inquiring about the reason for failing onboarding.

      On September 12, 2022, Privacy.com stated for security reason were unable to disclose why our abuse prevention system and human review team decided to not support the account. It is not in the interest of Privacy.com to disclose to customers our *** process and the reasons why a customer failed our *** checks on information and documentation provided.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated.

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******************** complaint. Should you or ******************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* **********************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/03/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      Dear BBB,

      Privacy.com's response is why I initiated the BBB complaint. I provided ample documentation that has been used with ********** as well as other institutions without any issues but they refuse to reconsider reinstatement of my account. I have accounts active with Chase, Transferwise, new Credit Cards, etc all that have recently gone through KYC due to me changing my name and business name. I had an account with Privacy.com with significant account history and that is in good standing in my previous name and the only thing that has changed is my name and business name. I am including a ****** Drive Link with my personal information: ********************************************************************************** including the Court Order for the name change. I believe an objective fact finder would agree that everything is in order. The response from Privacy.com merely shows that they are aware of the situation not that they have investigated the matter as their position is they are unable to provide any explanation for why my account is deactivated. My complaint stands as unresolved as Privacy.com makes it clear that they wont change their position and refuse to provide any remedy. 


      I would like Privacy.com to review my documentation located here: ********************************************************************************** and either reactivate my account or let me know what additional information they require to reactivate my account. Its completely ridiculous that they are being so stubborn when all of my documentation is bonafide. Its clear someone clearly didnt want to put any effort into reviewing all of the documentation they requested and had their mind made ** in advance regardless of what I provided. People change their names or company names all of the time there is a legal process for it that I provided all of the proper documentation for to their Compliance team. I hope they do the right thing and reactivate my account. My complaint stands as unresolved in the meantime for the above stated reasons. 


      Best Regards,

      ****


       

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

      Business Response

      Date: 10/12/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the appeal filed by ************************* on October 05, 2022 with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to ************************* appeal, in which they determined that the complaint has not been resolved.

      Privacy.com has reviewed *************************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      In our initial response to ******************** complaint, Privacy.com noted that a review of ******************** onboarding information was conducted, including supplemental information ******************** provided. Following our verification and fraud checks it was decided that we were unable to support the account as ******************** failed our KYC/Fraud control checks. Privacy.com noted that were unable to disclose why specifically our abuse prevention system and human review team decided to not support the account as it is not in the interest of Privacy.com to disclose to customers our onboarding controls process and the reasons why a customer failed our KYC checks. Sharing this information with customers would allow them to find ways to circumvent our controls.

      As part of their appeal, ******************** sent documentation related to associated businesses and their official name change from ***************************** to *************************. Please note this was previously provided and reviewed during our KYC onboarding process. Our team stands by our decision to not allow ******************** onto our platform, especially after our review identified negative news findings related to *****************************, the alias and former name of ********************. The news related to charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to banks, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Unfortunately, we are unable to onboard this customer as this is above our risk threshold.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated.

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******************** complaint. Should you or ******************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com)
      **********************
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/31/2022

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Privacy.com is not being transparent on why merchants are rejecting transactions when I use my privacy cards, even with multiple funding sources from different banks. Both merchants and banks have confirmed, with documentation, that the issue is not on their ends. Ive been getting the runaround in this issue since April. Here is the last interaction with a privacy.com rep.** *********** *** ******** **** *** ********* *** *** **************** *** ******* **** ********* *** ************ * ******** ****** ***** ** ****** ** *** ******** ******* ** *** ******* **** **** *** *** ************** *** ******* ** **** ******* ** ***** ** *** ******* ** *** **** *** *********** *** ******** ** *** ******** *** *** ******** ** ******** ************** ******* ******* ** *** ** **** *** **** ** ******* *** ********** ** ********* **** ******* ******* **** ***** ***** * ********* ******* ****** ** *** **** **************** ***** *** *** ***** *** **** ***** ****** ** ****** **************** **************

      Business Response

      Date: 09/07/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by ************************* on August 31, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to ****************** complaint, in which the user claims ********************** is not being transparent on rejected transactions with merchants.

      Privacy.com has reviewed ****************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      On April 19, 2022, ******************** contacted us through customer support regarding a ********************** card for the merchant *****, to which they claimed a transaction for $15.85 failed and it was attempted four times alleging the merchant said they did not receive the funds and will cancel the monthly subscription. In addition, they claim their bank told them that they did not decline any transactions, to which the transactions do not appear on the account. On April 20, 2022, Privacy.com responded that there were two declines due to their set transaction limit on the card for ***** and that the limit was then removed, with three transactions being authorized all of which were not completed by the merchant. ******************** explained that the merchant is an online service and was not sure why they would be waiting to complete the authorization. In addition, he claimed to have attempted to pay the merchant using a Privacy card with the merchant giving confirmation of the transaction being approved. Shortly after he received an email from the merchant that payment could not be settled. Privacy responded explaining the process of an authorized transaction versus a settled transaction, and it is up to the merchant to allow the transaction to settle.

      On May 30, 2022, ******************** claims to have added a checking account as a funding source using their debit card, which they attempted a transaction that was later rejected by the merchant. On May 31, 2022, Privacy.com replied that they adjusted a setting regarding the funding source. In addition, we acknowledged that a recent authorization at ***** did occur, but we do not have additional information on why the merchant rejected the transaction. Privacy recommended ******************** try again and reach out to the merchant.  ******************** responded that they were finally able to successfully add their bank account. He also states that the merchant claims to have not rejected the transaction and that it was declined by his bank. He claims his bank denies this and says they have also approved the transaction and released the funds. On June 1, 2022, Privacy.com responded that we have not seen any recent declines for ***** on the customers account, which indicated the transaction was rejected by the merchant, and not declined by Privacy.

      On June 14, 2022, ******************** inquired about a declined transaction verifying that he had sufficient funds in his account. Privacy.com replied that the connection with the users bank account had expired and instructed on how to re-attach the same funding source and the transaction should be completed as long as there are funds in *** ********* bank account.

      On August 28, 2022, ******************** wrote in that a merchant told him companies like Privacy.com sometimes get declined for security reasons due to a low trust score. He then inquired on whether this is an issue for Privacy cards, stating that he had such problems with transactions being declined for ***** and neither the merchant nor bank being able to explain. Lastly, he mentions his first two transactions to ***** were declined due to setting transaction limits too low. On August 28, 2022, Privacy.com explained that when declining transactions occur the reasoning is listed on the declines section of Privacy card purchases. However, the decline on their account at ***** does not reflect on our end, as the transaction was rejected by the merchant and not declined by Privacy.

      Privacy.com reviewed and sees the first attempted transactions at ***** as declined due to a monthly limit cap set by ******************** as well as then a switch to per transaction cap. These declines were due to controls set by ********************. Another decline for ******************** was related to Task Rabbit whereby initially transaction limits were in place that blocked the transaction from going through and then the funding account had to be updated to allow for the transaction to process; this related to funds in *** ********* account. After this was resolved on *** ********* side, the transaction at Task Rabbit was processed. *** ********* account is active and transactions are being processed at merchants that allow for the transactions to settle. Regarding *****, it appears it is the merchant that is not settling these transactions for *********************

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ****************** complaint. Should you or ************************* require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* *************************************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/08/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      I have contacted ***** several times and they claim they did not reject the transaction. They place the blame on the bank. My bank(s) say everything is fine. I have no issues when I use bank issued cards from both banks with ***** directly, without the use of a privacy card. So logically there has to be some type of issue between ***** and the use of a privacy card.

      It would be really great if Privacy could actually investigate this, perhaps by contacting the merchant directly and finding out what actually is happening. I'm sure they are much more prepared and knowledgeable to ask the right questions. 

      Simply replying with a list of my transaction history and correspondence is not helping me solve this issue.


       

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

      Business Response

      Date: 11/30/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the consumers rejected response submitted by ************************* on November 22, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to ****************** complaint, in which they determined that the complaint has not been resolved.

      In the most recent rejection, *** ********* states he is aware of ****** contradicting responses, and as such Privacy.com is unable to comment further on issues between ******************** and the merchant as we do not maintain a formal relationship with ******

      Additionally, ******************** claims Privacy.com changed his funding source to another account, which made one of his transactions bounce. He claims this caused his account to be paused for a week. Regarding this claim, ******************** created the card on 10/14/2022, which at the time of the transaction (11/09) was linked to his funding source that did not have sufficient funds. This was the default account selected. After the transaction bounced ******************** reran the bounced transaction to his second funding source, which had funding and thus the transaction was settled.

      Privacy.com does not automatically change the funding source the card points to. This is strictly for the user to change. Regarding the claim of unjustly pausing *** ********* account, Privacy.com paused *** ********* account when the transaction initially bounced until the transaction settled as per our Terms of Service. *** ********* account was reactivated once the transaction was settled, which does typically take 3-5 business days. *** ********* account remains active; thus, this issue should be resolved.

      Lastly, ******************** claims Privacy.com is committing fraud due to not listing out card limitations on our website or Terms of Service. Again, whether a merchant does not accept Privacy cards is the responsibility of the merchant and not Privacy. We cannot guarantee the cards will be accepted at every merchant as further detailed in the No Warranties section of the Terms of Service, which all users must agree to when signing up on the Privacy platform. It is on the merchant to set payment acceptance standards for their own business.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated *** ********* complaint. Should you or ******************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ******************** ********** ********** ******* **** ************* ***************************************** ** *** *******

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/24/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      Privacy.com's most recent response was not accurate or truthful. They absolutely did change my primary funding source without my knowledge or approval, which was the cause of the "bounced" transaction and the subsequent pausing of my account. I do not know if this was a glitch or was done as a manual action by one of their employees, but I did not change this myself. I would encourage them to provide proof to dispute this. Regarding my accusation of fraud, I stand by this claim. This is text from one of Privacy.com's support articles found on this page: *****************************************************************************************************************************************************

      What if my decline isn't listed on my account page under 'Declines'?
      This could mean one of two things:
      1. The virtual card number was entered incorrectly - This will usually cause an error on the merchant's checkout page saying "Invalid card number" or something similar to let you know if this happens.
      2. The merchant blocked the transaction from going through - This could happen for a variety of reasons. If the merchant does not accept credit cards, which Privacy Virtual Cards are classified as, you won't be able to use Privacy Virtual Cards with that merchant.

      See point #2. It says that privacy.com cards are classified as credit cards. This implies to a normal user of the service that there is not any difference between when a user uses a ******************** virtual card versus when they are using a normal credit card issued by their bank. The reality is that the merchant is clearly able to tell the difference and can choose to block privacy.com virtual cards if they wish. Privacy.com fails to make this extremely important information readily available to the user. Again, as I have stated, this completely defeats the purpose of using Privacy.com's service for anonymity. The fact that Privacy.com chooses to bury this in an obscure part of their terms of service, while using very vague language to do so, shows that they are purposely misleading their users (i.e fraud).

       

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/20/2022

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I'm trying to recover a lost refund. I went back and forth between my bank and privacy.com many times. Privacy.con eventually said that the refund was "force posted" to my closed account, which my bank says is impossible. I am here to get this resolved so that I won't have to take the next step.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/27/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by *************************** on July 21, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to ******* ******* complaint, in which they claim they are trying to recover their lost refund alleging that it went to a closed **** account.

      Privacy.com has reviewed ******* ******* account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      On June 09, 2022, **************** reached out regarding a refund that he was waiting that was issued by a merchant. He mentioned that he had called his **** and still had not received it. Privacy.com responded with a request for additional information to further assist. On June 13, 2022, Privacy.com indicated the refund was issued, and we suggested the customer reach out to their ****. **************** responded that they had already spoke with their **** and that Privacy had sent the refund to a closed account. On June 16, 2022, **************** reached out again indicating the refund has not yet posted on his account, to which Privacy.com responded we do not reissue refunds once we send one for the same transaction.

      On July 26, 2022, **************** followed-up to the previous request that they were still awaiting a refund and to please respond to their BBB complaint to resolve the issue. After further investigation, Privacy.com responded that *** ******* **** had returned the funds from the closed account and Privacy has now reissued the refund after confirming the customers **** returned the original refund. The reissued refund should reflect in *** ******* account in 1 2 business days.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******* ******* complaint. Should you or *************************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* **********************
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/26/2022

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      am unable to create new cards

      Business Response

      Date: 05/31/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative, 

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by Aniel Arias on May 26, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *********************** complaint, in which they alleged they are unable to create new cards.

      Privacy.com has reviewed *********************** account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      On May 31, 2020, ************** reached out to Privacy.com that they are unable to open a new card or use the services. Privacy.com responded that the account is paused as there were two transaction that have been returned to their bank account, successfully rerunning the debits will resume the account. ************** did not respond to our response.

      On October 23, 2020. ************** stated that he is trying to unblock his account. Privacy.com closed the ticket, as chargebacks have been filed and ************** failed to respond to the dispute.

      On December 14, 2020, ************** stated that he was unable to create cards or make payments with his account. Privacy.com asked for the email address associated with the Privacy account, to which ************** provided. Privacy.com was able to link ************** email addresses to his prior account which was at this point paused by Privacy.com due to the violation of terms of use.

      On August 16, 2021, ************** sent a request that he was unable to create new cards. Privacy.com again was able to link the email address to the previously paused account and responded that after a careful review process they decided to suspend the users Privacy account due to activity that is unsupported or in violation with our terms of service. It was noted that pending transactions would be allowed to settle, and any refunds in progress would be sent to ************** funding source if our system receives them.

      On March 23, 2022, ************** reached out that he was unable to make a new account. Privacy.com responded that we were unable to support their account at this time with the information provided at sign-up; this is the result of us linking his email to the previously closed account due to terms of use violations. Thus, all future attempts at creating an account would not be approved.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated. 

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated *********************** complaint. Should you or ********************* require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below. 

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      Lithic, Inc. ************* ************************** ** *** *******

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/02/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

       

       what do i need to do to be able to make cards again?

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

      Business Response

      Date: 06/02/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative,

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the consumers rejected response, responded by ********************* on June 2, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *********************** complaint, in which they determined that the complaint has not been resolved, asking what they need to do to be able to make cards again.

      In our initial response Privacy.com decided to suspend the users Privacy account due to activity that is unsupported or in violation with our terms of service and that all future attempts at creating an account would not be approved and ************** will never be able to create new cards again with our program.

      As disclosed in our terms of services Privacy may terminate your use of the ******* Services at any time for any reason. Any termination of these terms does not relieve you of obligations to pay Fees or costs accrued prior to the termination, Chargebacks, and any other amounts owed to us as provided in these ******* Terms or the Terms of Service. In the event your Privacy account has a negative balance, Privacy reserves the right to withhold refunds or credits to settle the negative balance. If your access to ******* Services has been terminated, you may still be permitted to use Privacys other products, subject to our discretion.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated.

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated *********************** complaint. Should you or ********************* require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below.

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* ************************** ** *** *******

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/05/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

       

       That is not fair, am willing to pay whatever needs to be paid in order to regain full access to my account, please.

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/25/2022

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      No clue why I am unable to create an account with this business. They take all my personal information and then never let me use the service. No help from support.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/26/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative, 

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the complaint, filed by *****************************, on May 25th, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *** ******* complaint, in which they alleged we took all their personal information and would not allow them to use the service, with no help from support.

      Privacy.com has reviewed ******** ******* account history and correspondence during the relevant time period. Key findings are summarized below.

      On August 27, 2020, **************** reached out to Privacy.com inquiring about his inability to create new cards. On August 29th, 2020, Privacy.com reached out to **************** informing him that his account was unable to be supported and due to the security-conscious nature of the business we were unable to share details about this decision. We closed the account and advised **************** to not attempt to create any additional accounts as they will be suspended. **************** responded that he did not understand and was unable to use the service. Lastly, Privacy.com responded that were unable to disclose the reason our abuse prevention system or human review team decided to not support *** ******* account at this time or discuss the decision any further. No further inquiries were made by **************** at this time. In sum, Privacy.com was unable to verify *** ******* identity, which resulted in the account not being activated. When **************** signed up again his account was suspended due to terms of service violations, which due to the security-conscious nature of the business we are unable to share details about this decision.

      On May 24th, 2022, **************** reached out stating that they were unable to create a card and that they have tried to sign up for the service multiple times. Privacy.com responded that we were unable to support their account at this time, as we were previously unable to verify their identity with the information provided at sign up. **************** responded inquiring on why they were unable to be verified? As Privacy.com stated we are unable to disclose the reason our abuse prevention system or human review team decided we were unable to support their account at this time, or discuss the decision any further. Additionally, *** ******* prior account was suspended with the notice that future attempts at creating an account would not be approved. This is related to not only previously being unable to verify the account but also due to terms of service violations.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated. 

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******** ******* complaint. Should you or ***************************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below. 

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* **********************Tell us why here...

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/03/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

       

       I still do not understand how my information is unable to be verified, I have submitted all of the requested information yet my account is still closed. No clue why I am the only one having this issue. 

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

      Business Response

      Date: 06/16/2022

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

      Dear Bureau Representative, 

      Lithic, Inc. (Privacy.com) is in receipt of the consumers rejected response, responded by ******** ****** on June 13, 2022, with the Better Business Bureau. Privacy.com appreciates the opportunity to respond to *** ******* complaint, in which they determined that the complaint has not been resolved, as they do not understand why their information is unable to be verified and has no clue to why their account is still closed. 

      In our initial response Privacy.com decided to suspend the users Privacy account due to activity that is unsupported or in violation with our terms of service and that all future attempts at creating an account would not be approved and **************** will never be able to create new cards again with our program. The verification issue was tied to the aforementioned violation of terms of service since **************** attempted multiple times to open an account. Unfortunately for security reasons, we're unable to disclose the specific reason our abuse prevention system or human review team decided we were unable to support your account at this time, or discuss the decision any further as this would allow users to attempt to circumvent our process.

      As disclosed in our terms of services Privacy may terminate your use of the ******* Services at any time for any reason. Any termination of these terms does not relieve you of obligations to pay Fees or costs accrued prior to the termination, Chargebacks, and any other amounts owed to us as provided in these ******* Terms or the Terms of Service. In the event your Privacy account has a negative balance, Privacy reserves the right to withhold refunds or credits to settle the negative balance. If your access to ******* Services has been terminated, you may still be permitted to use Privacys other products, subject to our discretion.

      Privacy.com reserves the right to provision service at its sole discretion. The account is no longer active and will not be reactivated. 

      Privacy.com trusts the information provided satisfies the inquiry and demonstrates that Privacy.com thoroughly investigated ******** ******s complaint. Should you or ***************************** require any additional information, feel free to contact me at the email below. 

      Sincerely,
      ***********************, Compliance Operations Analyst
      ******* **** ************* **********************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/16/2022

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

      [Your Answer Here]

       

       I never did anything against the *** to have my account closed in the first place. 

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.


      Sincerely,

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




       

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