Dr John Muhlhaus

24th January 2019

Just over four years ago I got an ICE travellers cashcard and put 200 euros (about £163) on it. I haven’t used it yet but it expires this coming July. On Jan 21st, I got an email purporting to come from ICE saying that my card would be “closed” at midnight and would I log into My Account, and select Buy Back to get my remaining balance (ie, the £163) transferred to a bank account of my choice. No reason was given for the premature card closure. I logged into My Account and saw that the balance was still there, but there was no Buy Back option (Travel Money, Prepaid Card, Click & Collect, Money Transfers, Deals & Offers, Travel Extras, were the only options offered). I tried to send a message to ICE using their web contact form, but the message was rejected; “invalid characters in response”, except that my message used normal text, so what was invalid? I phoned up ICE using the number supplied in the original email and when I mentioned the absence of the Buy Back option in My Account webpage, the receptionist made no comment. She just said, send in an email with the details of my bank account. How dangerous is that? The email address I had to use was a strange one that she had to read out, letter by letter, three times to me. I still don’t know if I got it right! Needless to say, I was not going to send them an open email with my bank details. I tried emailing a response to the original email I’d received on Jan 21st. The reply acknowledged receipt and said my email would be forwarded to the “correct department” who would themselves reply shortly. Worrying about the possibility that ICE were trying to steal my money off my card, I stayed up till midnight that day, but no response came. I sent another email the day after, complaining about their lack of reply and about their suggestion of my sending bank details through an open email. I suggested they post me a cheque with the balance. There has still been no response. In the past, I’ve been able to check my ICE balan