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ADP Total Pay Card…..Something Important for All of Us to Know

  • Posted on December 18, 2010 at 6:42 pm

This payroll solution may be coming to a business near you some day soon!  The other day my son told me about a friend of his.  She is a few credits shy of her degree.  I guess she’s had trouble getting the foreign language credit completed.  She still has to pay her bills and found a job at Wendy’s near Tinley Park in Illinois.  When she received her first pay check, well it wasn’t a check.  She had to sign a paper in order to be hired that would allow them to pay her with an ADP total pay card.  Now you’re probably wondering what in the hell that could be, as I was.  It’s a credit card.  The company pays her by loading up a credit card.  You know a card that costs money to get cash from.   It goes directly onto a Visa or MasterCard.  Of course this indoctrination video programs people to see the beauty of payroll cards without the pitfalls:

It shows how you can get cash at almost any ATM machine but it fails to tell about the fees involved with such a transaction.  It’s amazing how ignorant they make these people appear.  It also fails to let them know all of the real life rules that come with the card.

http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/17/the-risks-and-rewards-of-payroll-cards/

Now, after the initial confusion you might be thinking what is wrong with that?  It appears that every time you want cash, it costs money.  Every time you want to check and see how much you have, it costs fifty cents.  The people getting these cards are obviously at the low end of the food chain.  They don’t have a voice.  They are the voiceless, the little guys, that most people don’t give much thought to when they’re being waited on by them.  While Congress is busy protecting the rights of the “super rich” these little guys are out trying to figure out how to get their money.

Josh’s friend can’t get her money that is supposedly loaded on the card.  When she contacts ADP they tell her that her employer hasn’t activated her card yet.  Essentially they haven’t “enrolled” her yet.  If she had been on the card, she would be charged by the minute to talk to them.  Keep in mind that she has been working for them for a few weeks now.  She started on November 14th and hasn’t received any money yet from her employer.  Would any of us want to work for nothing for weeks on end without getting our pay?  Probably not!  Wendy’s corporate says it saves them money.  I suppose it would with no paper trail and no one to come to the rescue of the little guy and make sure these people are paid on time and get what is their just due.  Now you might think, well she signed the paper.  Most of us will sign whatever the employer wants when we are trying to get a job.  That is something I am sure the corporations rely on.  Times are tough for jobs.  If you want to work, just be aware this may be coming to a company where you are looking for a job.

This is from the ADP website:

http://www.adp.com/solutions/employer-services/payroll/large-business/payroll-payment-solutions.aspx#totalpay

ADP TotalPay Card is a convenient paperless payroll solution that allows employees, with a bank account or without, to have their funds electronically loaded onto their own Visa®-branded debit card.

  • Increase security and reduce exposure to check loss and fraud – By eliminating paper checks and the associated distribution process, security risks are significantly reduced and concerns over traditional paper checks, that can be lost, stolen or altered are diminished.
  • Save time and cost, and enjoy more convenience – There is no escheatment required by the employer. As your single-source vendor, ADP acts as a one-stop service for reversals, deletions and returns, eliminating the need for multiple-source coordination and reducing administrative tasks.
  • Increase employee satisfaction and improve productivity – Employees are not required to have a checking account or obtain a credit approval to receive an ADP TotalPay Card. This convenient paperless option gives your employees immediate access to their wages on payday.

Your employees also have the choice of having full or partial pay loaded on their card, offering more choices and flexibility. With ADP TotalPay Card, your employees can shop at retailers worldwide or online anywhere Visa debit is accepted. They also have surcharge-free access to their money at 32,000 AllpointTM ATMs nationwide.

It’s hard to understand how this got started.  On the website there are links showing how the companies can get federal and state tax credits for hiring new employees.  This is some kind of new game that some corporations are playing and it is not leaving the countless number of their employees happy at all.  You will notice it mentions employee satisfaction which is really a myth.  All you have to do is type in “ADP total pay card ripoff” in Google and you will come across pages and pages of unhappy employees.  Something needs to be done to help these people collect their money and not be robbed by the corporations by being nickel and dimed to death with fees for withdrawing their own cash.  Go to this link and just read some of these real life stories from people.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Adp+total+pay+card+ripoff++&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I downloaded the brochure targeted for businesses from ADP.  I want you to notice one very important detail that the employee might not know.

http://totalpay.adpsolutions.net/docs/TotalPayBrochure.pdf

It appears that the company will receive automatic refunds for “uncashed” items older than 180 days.  That to me is unbelievable.  No wonder these corporations like this method of payment!  The money goes back to the employer?  The employee doesn’t just get a check sent to them in the mail?  Are you kidding me?  So if you lose the card or you die or something happens that you some how forget to get all of your cash out, then the money goes back to your employer.  I’m sure that’s where the people would want their money to go.

I am outraged that something isn’t being done about this.  To me it seems like another way to rip off the little guy.  I’m going to contact my representative and senators.  I called Senator Levin but his box is full.  Since it is so close to the holidays, the politicians are all getting ready to go home, so it may not be useful to contact them until after the holidays.  However, I think all of us should do everything we can to help make this new method of payment more equitable for the employee.  I am putting links here for anyone so inclined to contact their representative or senators.  You may also inquire into your own state legislatures to see if this is happening in your state.  It appears to be global.  In my research I see this has been going on in Europe for quite some time.

You can contact your federal political representatives here to let them know that some people are having trouble accessing their money through this payment method:

http://senate.gov/

http://house.gov/

Happy holidays everyone but don’t forget about the little guys that might be serving you at Wendy’s or Applebee’s or some place else that have no real representation.

ADP is Automatic Data Processing, Inc.  If you watch this video you will think they are the best place to work.

Maybe they are, but what ADP is doing for other corporations though these payroll credit cards troubles me to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_WKaUHyZs

Meet “Mayhem”

  • Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:37 pm

I love the “Mayhem” commercials from Allstate.  If I was in the market for insurance, I might even consider Allstate just because I love their commercials.  Fortunately for me I have a low cost insurance company that I would be hard pressed to leave.  You can catch a good compilation of the commercials here.

http://www.allstate.com/mayhem-is-everywhere/main.aspx

If you haven’t seen the ads, you need to watch for them because they are hilarious.  They are a reminder of the potential “Mayhem” that exists in our lives when we are driving our car.  Too bad “Mayhem” is so handsome even if he acts deranged as real “Mayhem” is much uglier in truth.

These commercials remind me of the mayhem many of us might feel about business and politics today.  Mayhem is all around us.  Just think about the BP oil spill and now the Enbridge spill in Michigan as well.  The problem is no one is really protecting us from it like an insurance company is supposed to do.  The government keeps holding hands with BP like they are star crossed lovers and they are convincing us that everything will be okay because they got married and the baby will not be a “bastard”.  No, in fact that baby has disappeared and you know that old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind!”  However that “Mayhem” is going to haunt us for years to come with health and environmental issues.

Some have felt the deranged sting from “Mayhem” when they lost their jobs and their waiting in line filing for unemployment.  They are put in a state of panic wondering what they are going to do.  The 99ers met “Mayhem” head on and there was no insurance company to bail them out.  Their unemployment ran out before they could figure out how to deal with the mayhem this economy threw at them.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan probably meet “Mayhem” often.  He may be waiting in a roadside bomb or a sniper somewhere.  The soldiers do their jobs hoping “Mayhem” stays away from them and their friends.  However, “Mayhem” always finds those people that it really wants to seek and none of our soldiers are safe from “Mayhem”.  The politicians don’t protect them and don’t even put forth good policy decisions that make the soldiers know when the job is really done and they can put “Mayhem” to rest.

“Mayhem” is touching all of us in some way or another.  Our schools are under funded and cuts are being made that will certainly make it easier for “Mayhem” to enter the lives of our most vulnerable, our children.  “Mayhem” might take the appearance of an over- stressed teacher, crowded classrooms or missing programs but “Mayhem” will make an appearance.

As we are stuck defending our homes because of cuts in police protection, be prepared to meet “Mayhem” when someone decides their business is your business.  “Mayhem” happily follows the troubled and the criminal.

“Mayhem” has even entered congress.  How else can we explain the fact that everything seems to be so ineptly handled?  The unemployment extension couldn’t be passed until after the July 4th recess.  Obviously congress didn’t feel the bite of “Mayhem” personally or they would have pushed this through in any way possible as soon as possible.  The “Mayhem” that really exists in congress is the way it works or doesn’t work.  When the Republicans were in power, they didn’t need 60 plus senators to get things done.  However, now that the Democrats are in power, they struggle to get anything done and blame it on the Republicans.  Those Republicans must be very powerful to be so clever.  President Obama came into office with a boat load of people behind him.  He could have done so much but he chose to shake hands with “Mayhem” and let him take over.  It really is sad that “Mayhem” has taken the voice of people like Newt Gingrich.

Senators and Representatives will probably understand “Mayhem” better when they meet him in November.  He’ll be smiling but they will be in the fight for their political lives as most people could care less about anyone in public office today.  Would you throw a lifeline to your senator or representative?  Many people think it’s time to clean house.  The only problem is what will “Mayhem” like this bring us?  More people like Newt Gingrich?  I don’t think that’s what we need but I sure hope “Mayhem” makes everyone think before he leaves us alone after the storm!

Wealthy Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!

  • Posted on July 21, 2010 at 5:43 pm

What are you willing to do for your country?  We have been asked repeatedly to step up for our country.  During WWII people had to step up by going to war in a foreign land, women had to take on more manual labor, people were encouraged to buy bonds and restrictions were made on the consumption of goods.  My parents had many children.  To get shoes for their children, they would trade gas rationings with my aunt so they could buy shoes.  Today with so many people living as “expatriates”, I wonder what people are willing to do for their country.  The poor always give.  Often times they give because they see no other alternative.  This is why many join the military.  The economy is poor and they are struggling to find work.  However, we have a war economy, so they join some branch of the military.  It might not be their first choice but they may see it as their only alternative when the economy is poor and they are not wealthy.  As you read my take on things, please think about what you are willing to do for your country.

I have two political groups that are nipping at my heels trying to get me to contact my senators for their causes.  Both of these causes are worthy:  One is to save education jobs and Pell grants and the other is for the passage of a clean energy bill.  Both of these causes and their supporters are feeling the crunch because Congress will go into recess in August.  Now as a teacher I have the summer off but I always find it interesting that although Congress just had a big July 4th break they are now going to take all of August off.  For the pay they receive, I find this amazing.  I don’t think the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have that option.  Nor do most of the other government employees that work for all of our states.  If every government worker took August off, a lot wouldn’t get done.  However, senators and congress people are a completely different breed.  While they expect everyone and his brother to change with the times, they remain stuck in some centuries old concept that was based on “beating the heat”.  Is there any wonder that not much really gets done for the people in modern congressional sessions?

So it looks like Harry Reid is waiting until the last possible minute to bring up the climate bill.  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39677.html I don’t presume to understand the politics behind this but it seems to me that it will be brought up and voted down as there won’t be enough time to discuss it before the August recess.  On the other hand, if they get it done just before the recess they can talk about it in their campaign speeches.  It’s just so sad that these votes are so political and not handled in the best interest of our nation.  Whether it is voted up or down after the November election who knows who will control congress and what excuses they will give then for being a “do nothing” congress.  Thomas Friedman has an interesting take on the energy bill and it’s worth a read.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/opinion/21friedman.html?src=mv

The American Federation of Teachers is contacting the public to try in get some assistance on saving teachers jobs and Pell grant money.  I received this link.  http://action.aft.org/c/44/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=382

Unfortunately, I don’t know what the bill is.  I know that Senator Harkin had this bill in April and it seems to have gone no where.  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3206

Teachers are being cut all over the country.  I think these types of bills are temporary fixes to the problem.  Both of these issues, energy and teacher jobs,  would have better chances of passing  or in the case of the teacher problem being corrected, if three distinct things happened in my opinion.  If we withdrew our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, I think that would free up a considerable amount of money that has been pouring out of our country.  We should also let the Bush tax cuts for those making $250,000 or more run out.  I’m tired of the politicians that claim these wealthy people will hire less people if this happens.  It’s quite apparent that since these tax cuts were voted in there has been a constant bleeding of American jobs.  The truth is any politician that tries to convince anyone with a brain that those tax cuts some how “trickle down” to the American people should be voted out of office.  Finally, the social security cap should be lifted on people making over $250,000.

I am a pragmatist but I have always felt that we have to do everything that we can for the best interest of our country.  The poor have always given to their country with the sweat of their brow in labor and even their lives in war.  It is only patriotic to ask those that have so much to give a little more to help our country when times are tough.  The toil of the poor and their labor built this country.  The poor have always been asked to step up during challenging times.  We now need to ask the wealthy to do their part.  We know they are unlikely to give their children for war or even labor for that matter.  They can give their money to help fuel our economy so that all can prosper in this great country.  I challenge the people making over $250,000 to ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.