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Cougar Card problems fall onto SGA ‘radar’

Costly fees, lengthy wait times and out-of-order ATMs have some students questioning whether UH should change its system for dispersing refunds.

Under the current system, a third party, HigherOne, handles refund disbursement and for nearly 200 colleges and universities across the country.

HigherOne issues students refunds through a debit MasterCard that must be activated online before a refund will be awarded.   During the activation process, the students are given the option of having their funds deposited electronically into their own bank accounts or deposited into an FDIC-insured checking account operated by HigherOne, called a OneAccount.

James Strickland, a senior mathematics major who was sent a CougarOne card when his application for a student loan was accepted, said the disbursement program is good in theory, but the execution leaves something to be desired.

“The ATMs are in the middle of nowhere in inconvenient areas. I would say half the time I go to the one in the basement of the library, it is out of order,” Strickland said.

With no choice but to use a “foreign” Chase ATM, Strickland said he was charged $3 by Chase and an additional $2 by HigherOne.  The next day the ATM was still not working, so he was charged another $5, which he called “ridiculous.”

Student Government  Association Senator Keith Richards agreed that the ATMs are inconvenient.

“I have not experienced it myself, but I have been getting a number of complaints from students about the ATMs being out of order,” Richards said. “So you have the added frustration that once you figure out where the ATM is and you get to it, it’s out of order so you can’t get your money out of it.” 

Richards added that the issue is “on the radar” of the SGA.

HigherOne pledges to refund up to $4 per day for any fees incurred due to downed ATMs. However, like many of the details of the program, this is information that cardholders may not be aware of.  

“I spend a lot of time telling students about the other great resources that we have available because we found that there are a lot of things we’re using that students aren’t taking advantage of yet, that could really clear up a lot of the confusion,” campus relations coordinator for HigherOne Aaron Poach said. 

Part of that confusion involves the fees HigherOne administers for using the card with a PIN as a debit transaction. 

Every such purchase is levied  50-cent charge by HigherOne.  Poach said the company always advises students to hit the “credit” button when making a purchase but for a different reason than a flat fee.

“The reason we encourage people to do what we call ‘swipe and sign’, to use the credit option, is because it protects you under MasterCard’s zero liability protection policy.  So any purchases made through the credit network are completely covered should your card be lost or stolen.  But PIN transactions are not covered under that,” Poach said.

Education graduate student Tom Pile, was entitled to a tuition reimbursement. Pile said the process he is going through to transfer his refund to his pre-existing bank account is too slow.

“It takes a big hassle and a long way around the barn,” Pile said.  

Poach said since UH was  HigherOne’s first-ever client, the company wishes to continue a good association with students at University.

“I have visited UH twice.  I personally got a good feeling that it is a very positive program and students like having a choice,” Poach said. 

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