For the past year, my exhusband hasn't paid child support. This is now surprise to me, he's self employed. What is a surprise is the new e-QuickPay program. Why you might ask? Before I tell you, let me first add, in my previous life, I worked as a child support enforcement officer. Having worked in the field, the last thing I wanted, ever, was to be reliant on the State of Ohio to forward my ex-husband's payments to me. So, ready to follow me now?
I live outside of Ohio now. I love where I live and I'm very active here. I have multiple credit union accounts and access my funds electronically as much as possible. I like the trail.
So, when the State of Ohio took over enforcement of all cases, and "issued" debit cards, I became really suspicious.
I work in the mortgage industry, so I know how to read the financial fine print for these kinds of programs, but my spidey sense was tingling way too much this time around because Ohio has been Republican controlled for way, way, too long.
I'm not a suspicious person by nature, really, I'm not. But I figured these new Ohio Child Support debit cards would carry fees that a single mom could ill afford. So, on my recent trip to Ohio, I made sure I searched out a Fifth Third Bank:
Easy access to cash at thousands of ATM locations.
e-QuickPaySM cardholders can obtain cash at any ATM displaying the MasterCard® or Cirrus® logos.
Avoid ATM surcharges by using your Ohio e-QuickPay Debit MasterCard® at Fifth Third bank ATM's or other selected locations.
There are no ATM Surcharge fees at Fifth Third Bank locations.
Wow, cool. So, I went to a Fifth Third location.
hio e-QuickPaySM cardholders are assessed the following fees:
- $0.75 ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee
- $0.40 for ATM balance inquiries
- The first replacement card issued each year is free, $5.00 for each replacement card issued thereafter
- $15.00 for each expedited replacement card fee
- Surcharges occur at most ATM's, except at Fifth Third ATM locations.
The fine print is that this is a money making contract for ACS.
And I feel really safe knowing that my private data is, well, private, right?
ACS may share personal information about you with our subsidiaries and affiliated companies. We also may share personal information with our suppliers, contractors and agents who perform functions on our behalf, or in connection with products and services offered by ACS or a request made by you. ACS may disclose your personal information as we consider necessary to comply with the law or governmental authorities, in connection with litigation, dispute resolution, or administration of this Statement or a possible violation of this Site's Terms of Use or the rights of ACS or a third party. In addition, ACS may disclose or receive personal information in connection with a possible sale, purchase, merger or other reorganization of a business.
No, really, I feel safe knowing that they'll share my info and also keep it.
Retention
ACS will retain personal information collected by a Site for as long as it is needed to fulfill the purpose for which the information was provided, to maintain a record of communications with you, or as required by applicable law.
I know that I feel safe knowing that they'll keep my info for the future and can also share it with whomever they see fit. Nice, huh?
So, who the hell is ACS?
Well, it was founded by Darwin Deason. Remember him, well, the Republicans of Ohio do. Arianna has the scoop.
Crime Against America: Affiliated Computer Services provides business processing and information technology outsourcing services for commercial clients and government agencies around the world. The company has outsourced about 1,300 jobs to India over the past three years. The outsourced jobs have primarily been data processing and technical support positions.
Partner in Crime: Darwin Deason is a $25,000 contributor to the Republican National Committee. The company's CEO, Jeffrey Rich, also contributed $25,000 to the RNC.
Nice, huh? I know I feel safer knowing that a poorly paid, non-union and outsourced employee is far more capable of keeping my records safe over the long haul, much more so than the county workers in Ohio. The county workers represented by AFSCME or the Teamsters, goodness knows, they can't be trusted to do a good job at a fair price in comparison to the Deason's of the world.
So, I want to be even clearer about the fees.
Obligors are required to pay 2% of the child support order to the State of Ohio in all of these cases. When I worked for county government, this 2% that had been earning interest (along with all the unclaimed funds which were also earning interest) bothered State lawmakers. Supervisors often spoke about the money that child support was sitting on due to the interest and how they couldn't use it to fund any other programs or even further enforcement.
So, you have a for profit company that is run by a Republican contributor who has made it possible to offer multiple Debit card programs to state after state after state. And in these states, it is the single parent that pays fees that go toward that same for profit company.
So, I sent my request for an automatic deposit into my checking account of all child support payments to the State of Ohio. I can't pay from my child support ANY fees to a company who's goal is outsourcing a government function. Enforcement of child support orders IS a governmental function. There are too many single parents who depend on these payments paying fees they simply can't afford. It sure would have been nice if Ohio had written into the contract with ACS ensurances that child support recipients wouldn't pay ATM or other access fees.
Shame on you Ohio. Shame.