Good morning (or whatever time of the day you read this)

Around 7 months ago I posted my first entry on the blog, talking openingly about mental health issues that had resulted from an extended period of work related stress, and my venture into the crypto-sphere..

Well, a very recent (ongoing) incident has made me want to post an update, if only to release my frustration (problem shared, and all that..).

It has to be said that all has been going reasonably well for months, I have not made a fortune, but enough to ensure that my family and I get by. I reached the point where my family was content to place our money into a crypto debit card, enabling us to earn some of the great crypto-back offers on daily purchases. This was in theory a great plan, and I then hoped to document that it was possible to effectively 'live on crypto' through one of these cards.

However, then Saturday 30th January came along and one decision has led to 24 hours of stress, family fights and no foreseeable way to resolve the issue. It was not a bad trade decision, it was not a bad bet, it was the choice of using Wirex to convert all my fiat currency to ethereum for the month ahead.

I had used Wirex before to purchase and transfer ethereum and, with a current offer of zero purchase fees, I had no hesitation using it to convert my fiat to ethereum.. then my issues commenced..

The initial purchase worked as expected, quickly and efficiently.. my fiat was now ethereum. Great, the first step complete, now I will transfer the Eth out of Wirex to an external wallet and distribute as needed around the couple of crypto debit cards I use.

Simple, a few minutes and that's my family set up for the month of 'living on crypto', while earning some cash back... It would seem not..

The transfer of Eth from Wirex usually takes around 30 minutes, when after an hour passed I followed their advise and contacted customer service.. and the fun really started.

Initially I was reassured the network was simply busy and it would take longer than usual. Fine, I can understand that. I can wait a few hours and then do the weekly shop for the family..

Then an hour passed.. then another.. and another.. you get the idea. Transaction is still pending and not visible on the blockchain. The onset of fear starts to develop. I now have to explain things to the family, that there seems to be an issue, and we have to hold of on spending anything for another hour or two. It was an interesting discussion.

I thought I'd reach out to Wirex customer support again, and explain that I really needed access to my funds, if they could speed up the transaction or even cancel it. I got no reply, despite several messages on live chat, twitter, and their community forum. Eventually I got copy and paste replies telling me 'I just have to wait', and various other generic drivel to get me to leave the chat.

A few more hours went by, at this stage further conversations at home have taken place.. 'How do we get our shopping'.. 'I need diesel for the car to get to work on Monday'.. 'What can we do...' Again, I'm sure you can imagine the conversation.

Another few live chat messages, and again 'nothing we can do', 'please just wait'. 

Here we our 24 hours after the transaction to transfer Eth from my Wirex account, to my wallet, and nothing but stress and a lack of care and support from 'customer support'. No platform I've used (live chat, support ticket, forum, LinkedIn, twitter, facebook) has taken my concerns seriously and, in this day and time, that is extremely disappointing.

I'm sharing this, as I feel it's important that the true service a company provides is highlighted, and how it impacts real people, in real life situations... I think I speak for the entire community, we want crypto to become adopted by the masses.. but then we have to suffer this..

Post / Email ignored by multiple Wirex media platforms, support and CEO

Dave1280

I’m at the end of my patience… And don’t know what to do, I just want to say that in a time when mental health issues are a serious concern, the way I’m being treated is a disgrace.

Around 20 hours ago I sent an ethereum transfer to an external wallet. The funds in the transaction are all the funds I have for the next two weeks… Literally that is it! The funds should have transferred in no more than 30 minutes, and I could then do what was needed with them to live, feed my family, etc for the next two weeks.
At the moment I cannot. I could not go on the weekly food shop today, if the funds don’t transfer soon I will not be able to get petrol in my wife’s car and as a key worker during this pandemic, she will not be able to travel to work on Monday. My electricity meter runs out on Monday morning, and I am unable to top it up. My gas will follow on Tuesday.
I hope I’m making it clear that this is my life, that is my money that my family will need to live of, and we need it urgently.

I have tried all day to find out what can be done to cancel, or push through the transaction. I have been ignored, lied to, and left feeling like I am nothing more than a nuisance by trying to obtain my own funds to live from.

It seems to me that the company has no concern for their clients mental health, well being, or ability to live. As a financial organisation, I find it beyond belief that when I’m being for help, or details about what is happening, I’m simply told to wait.

As the matter is having an extreme and immediate impact on myself, and my family, through no fault of my own. Actually through your failure to address any concern I’ve had for the last day, and unwillingness to give me any indication of what is happening, I will have to ask for a resolution, or detailed update, within the next few hours.

If my family, or my health, continue to be impacted by the approach currently being taken to my life - impacting issue, I will have to look into taking this matter to external bodies.

If this can be escalated, do so now. If someone can actually take a couple of minutes to ensure my family can go about their normal life tomorrow, please do so now.
If their is a senior representative of the company that handles escalations, please advise on how I can reach them.

I hope I’ve put across the fact that this issue is critical to me, it’s not just ‘some funds’… It’s ‘all my funds’.

Live chat fun

So, as I click on post.. 25 hours have passed since I first submitted the transaction.. it is yet to even appear on the blockchain.. No one at Wirex seems to care, despite me explaining my current situation.

I'm still hopeful that the situation will magically resolve (as that's what they seem to be hoping) and I can 'live on crypto'. Should I have left some emergency fiat.. probably, in hindsight.. but the worst I expected was some price volatility throughout the month.. This i did not expect in 2021!