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Originally Posted by suzzer99
So when I went through the benefits of my new contractor job (W-2) - I signed up for what I thought was an HSA. Turned out to be a FSA or something a parking and transportation account. I realized my mistake and cancelled it after a couple paychecks.
Welp turns out they never stopped deducting from my paycheck and now I have an $1170 balance I can't spend. The best part is, unlike an HSA, if I leave the contractor company it gets forfeited back to them. My work wants to convert me to full time employee by the end of the month. Sweet.
I tried the card at a parking lot near my work and it rejected it. Like it has to be some kind of licensed vanpool or something. Otherwise you need to fill out onerous claim forms. This whole thing feels like a ****ing scam.
The contractor care agent at the contractor company is currently saying there's nothing she can do, even though she admits I cancelled back in Sept. According to her it's written somewhere that I also need to call to actually stop the deductions. Awesome. I tried to pin her down on what canceling online actually does then, and she just kept saying it stops coverage. Which makes no sense for this benefit. Scammy!
She's going to reach out to the Benefits Center out of the goodness of her heart to see if I can get a refund. But she says it's totally at their discretion. I love when there's a "they" that you can't interact with in these spots.
Anyway if she says no, I wonder what my options are. Small claims court? I'll try the recruiters who hired me of course but I'm pretty sure they'll be useless.
Update on this. Got the run-around from the "contractor care" team at the company. Went back to my recruiter and told them I might be at my current employer (their client) for a long time, and it would sit pretty badly with me if they couldn't get this straightened out. A few hours later, strings have been pulled, and supposedly the money is on my way and I'll get it in a week.
It's always fun when there's a 3rd party "they" (in this case the Benefit Center) that the care person treats like they have no control over, and it's apparently my job to make sure one communicates with the other. Bonus if there's no way to contact the 3rd party directly. Bureaucracy ftw.