Fold App Review
Unfortunately I learned the truth about the Fold App the hard way, but more about the Fold App review in a second. First I wanted to share the news… CretoSeal is now accepting Bitcoin payments as an option at check out… yay! If you’re not familiar with Bitcoin I’ve linked to some good articles explaining more about it below. Just this morning I read about the worlds largest financial firm BlackRock was trying to start a Bitcoin spot ETF. You might not be hip to Bitcoin or might not use it but mark my words, ignore it at your own peril.
Just like most Bitcoiners I had some, sold it all, then kicked myself in the butt for selling it, and now slowly acquiring more for my portfolio. Podcasts like the Bitcoin Audible podcast help layman’s like myself learn more about the technology. I heard the host Guy Swann talk about this card called the Fold App. I understand that they are advertisements but it sounded interesting. One day on an impulse I decided to get the Fold App and that’s when my nightmare started.
What Is The Fold App?
So in my Fold App review I want you to understand what the Fold App is. The app is pretty much suppose to be a fun game like app where you get minuscule amounts of Sats ( one one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin ) for “free” for using the app. It’s pretty much a prepaid debit card with a “free” penny or two of Sats back on each purchase you make. Kind of like a prepaid Amazon card that comes with a free penny in each box delivered to your door. At the end of the year you’ll be able to take your spouse out for a candy bar and ice cream courtesy of the Fold App… yay!
For example, the app gives you ( at the time of this writing ) 1% “back” on each purchase you make. The physical card, kind of like a prepaid debit card, costs $10 per month. So that means you would have to spend $1,000 to break even every month with the card. For instance, if I were to spend $2,000 in a month using their card I just “earned” $10 in Sats… WOW! Impressive gains! A whopping $10 for spending the time to transfer money to this card and make all of my purchases with it.
This is why you should not act on impulse and think things through before acting. I wish I put more thought into this… it would have saved me such a ridiculous headache.
Back To The Fold App Review
To start, I downloaded the app and began to set it up. They asked for a lot of personal info like my drivers license and my biometric data. I thought this was weird, especially for a supped up prepaid card, but I went along with it. Mostly because I was in the moment and was wrapped up in the hype. I linked my 20 year old Bank Of America account to their app. I say that because I’m not some shady character. CretoSeal and Sweet Concrete are the two small businesses I run and have multiple bank accounts, business bank accounts, and accounts with PayPal, Stripe, and others. By the way, none of the major banks or payment processing companies asked for as much of my personal data as the Fold App did. This goes against the core of what Bitcoiners believe in, which is decentralization and privacy.
The first two days the app worked like a charm. The first day I received an email saying that my “transfer initiated”. I then spun their game wheel and got a whopping 50 Sats ( as of this writing is worth a fraction of a penny ). The second day I spun the game wheel to get hypothetical “free Sats” if I invited a friend. Obviously I wasn’t going to do that until I tested the app for a while. So that spin was a dud.
When Things Turned
The third day I tried to access the app but it made me log in. Weird… so I did… unsuccessfully. I entered my email and passcode. It then initiates a six digit authentication code it emails to you. When entering the code the app said “Something went wrong, try again later”. Oh no, this is how it’s going to be? I’m a busy guy so I didn’t think anything of it and went about my day. Before bed I reset my phone so the following day I could log into my account.
Now it’s the fourth day and my log in didn’t work… again! What was up? I received an email saying that the “transfer processed” and then a couple hours later I received another email saying that the “transfer failed”. What the heck?!! I checked my bank account and the money was withdrawn. Obviously it went through because it’s no longer in my bank account.
To clarify, I didn’t receive any emails updating me of my account status or anything. NO info at all. I had to look up the website and find their support page to open up a support ticket to find out what the heck was going on.
Fold Support
In response to the ticket I received an automated response. I then received a response saying they “understand how frustrating that can be” and that they’ll have to transfer my ticket to their “Escalation Team”. Okaaaay. So the next response was a kicker!
They said “To maintain a high level of security for our members, we must periodically update certain criteria in our systems with regard to user accounts. However, this can sometimes create false positives that require a manual review by our risk team. Unfortunately, it looks like your account is currently under review, and access has been restricted”.
Restricted? For what? I jumped through all of your stupid hoops. I’ve never even shared my biometrics with Apple… ha! I apply a sticker over the face scanning part of my iPhone before I ever start a new one. That’s how privacy minded I am. And somehow my account is under review?!! What a crock! That’s is why I’m writing this Fold App review.
This Is What Else They Said
So down the rabbit hole of faulty technology I go! I’m always amazed by how many tech companies get their product to good enough status, refocus on taking out all profit, and neglecting the actual tech that the company was founded on. The development and customer service are neglected until the company goes under. Enriching the heads of the company to the detriment of their customers. Round and around the 21st century goes!
Consequently this is what they NOW wanted from me… as the email read:
Please read the below instructions carefully, and upload complete documents using the secure link provided.
To quickly regain access to your account, we need:
– A selfie holding your ID with a note showing today’s date ( I don’t know how to do this. No one gets the paper anymore. What, do I write the date on paper and hold it up? Plus I already submitted a biometric selfie. )
– A clear photo of your government issued photo ID ( Which I already submitted. )
– A document from the below list, showing your proof of address:
- Utility bill (Must be a full statement in the image dated within the last 60 days, service address must match the address on file)
- Lease agreement (Full lease contract, including signatures by tenant(s) and landlord/owner)
- Mortgage statement (Must be a full statement image dated within the last 60 days and must match the address on file)
- Proof of Auto/Home insurance (Declaration page or physical card showing the address on file)
Know When To Say NO
Why do I get punished because of this companies faulty technology? If I submit this stuff again will that be enough? Will they ask for more data after that? All of this for a prepaid debit card? You don’t have to show an ID to buy an Amazon gift card so why should I have to do all of this for this prepaid debit card?
At this point I was infuriated. My wife and I had already read all of the bad reviews, which there are a lot of, on Trust Pilot, the Apple App Store, etc. which made me change my mind. I was over it and just wanted my money back.
I immediately replied to their support email letting them know I just wanted my money returned. Funny thing though, I have yet to get a response email since. Yes, you read that right! This company is ghosting my like an ugly ex-girlfriend. This completely unprofessional behavior I could deal with from a small seller on Etsy or Ebay but not a multi million dollar tech company. Then again, Google and YouTube have NO customer service departments for the plebs. Maybe Fold is trying to be like the universally despised mega tech corporations that hate your guts. I don’t know?!!
Just to be clear, the major tech platforms DO have customer service for PAYING customers / advertisers, not the general public. When money is involved, to the best of my knowledge, you can’t just take people’s money and NOT provide the service they requested from your company. Or they have to refund your money. That’s the definition of fraud, right? If they don’t refund your money?
The Million Dollar Question
If I choose not to do business with this company because of all of the problems I’m having with the company, do they have to give me my money back? Especially if they never provided the service for which the money was issued for in the first place? These are sincere questions.
Large payment processors ( which are pretty much banks at this point ) like Stripe or PayPal won’t take your money until your account is up and running. The Fold App took my money THEN denied my account. Now they’re holding my money and won’t return my emails. I opened up another support request to no avail. I didn’t even receive the automated response that my request was received. This makes me think my email was blocked, otherwise I should have gotten an automated response.
There’s NO phone number to call either. Not a single one… and they’re a multi million dollar financial company. Is this even legal?
When researching the company I found three headquarters in three different states. In other words, good luck going into a brick and mortar office because they don’t exist. This is the epitome of why the government wants to regulate this industry. Because of super shady practices like this company is doing.
Customer Service
Customer service is one of my companies strong points. As a small business you have to make sure that your customers are happy, no matter what. I fully understand you’ll never make EVERY customer happy but to actively defraud them is not good business. Luckily it’s the internet age and I can write blogs like this one telling people about my experience. I also have a YouTube video sharing my experience that’s linked below. I’ve been commenting on their social media accounts but I’m sure they’ll block me soon enough.
I truly don’t understand this type of business model. It’s all about the advertising, social media, and hype but then the customer service and tech is completely neglected. This is like a flashy new dresser you buy but when you get it home you find out it’s cheap particle board and the instructions on how to build it were left out. The up front sale is what keeps companies like Fold going. F*ck keeping the customer for life, just run a couple more ads and get a new customer to replace the disgruntled customer you neglected.
Fold App Review In Conclusion
To sum it up, this experience has been a complete disaster. I felt like I had to do a Fold App review because of this. I’m at a complete loss and I’m beginning to realize that I’m never getting my money back. People like Guy Swann and others should be ashamed of themselves for promoting such a shady company. That said, I should have done my due diligence. I’m just glad I only put in $400 when I was originally going to put in a couple of Gs.
Earlier this year I was scammed by a sealer company when their sealer failed over and over again, costing me almost $10,000. This was a nightmare as well. I guess this is the year of crap products and scammers.
That’s why I now offer a FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE with our new DIY Stain Kit. I’ve put together an exclusive full training course that comes free with the kit. I’m doing the opposite of Fold by giving my clients the best experience possible with the products they purchase. Giving the most value is my main goal with my business, unlike the Fold App.
The only hope is that a Bitcoin standard would disincentivize the bad actors but only the future will tell.
Update
So I ended up getting my money back. It took two weeks exactly from when my money was confiscated to when it was refunded. I say confiscated because if there were problems with what info I had provided they should have not taken my money hostage and then denied me access to their app. I don’t know how some of these financial companies can have no contact info on their websites and horrible customer support. Even the soap I buy has an email and phone number to call if you’re dissatisfied!
All said and done, I haven’t listened to Bitcoin Audible podcast since this happened. I don’t trust people who would promote such a crappy, big bank backed product as they pretend to rail against the system. What a joke!
Resources
Learn more about Bitcoin here: https://thebitcoinmagazine.org/what-is-bitcoin/
Instead of wasting your time using this shady app you can set up an automatic monthly withdrawal from your account using Swan Bitcoin. I’ve had a great experience with their company and would much rather NOT waste time on this faulty app and just purchase Bitcoin directly.
