i guess I was spoiled. Back in the day, I would get a sweet little surprise in the mail once a month - two $64 bart tickets, paid for before-tax.. Easy Peasy... cha cha cha. Firm Implosion. New Firm. Money is still taken out of my check pre-tax, but I don't get my tickets mailed to me anymore, I still have to buy them. And, I missed the part where I had to mail in receipts to get that money back, so BRI has a few hundred of my dollars banked... Mail-in receipts? Really? No pdf via email? I can fax my receipts in, but that goes on my *personal account* and I don't care to incur those fees. So I scramble in the morning trying to catch the early train, hitting up my bank or credit card for yet another bart ticket, hoping the machine prints a receipt, grabbing the receipt, actually holding onto it, making a copy of it along with all the others, and mailing the copies to Rochester NY, praying that all my submissions are *accepted* so I get my own money back. We're far too advanced for all that. Boo. read more

They don't give the money back whatever amount you have on your account. I have a lot and the only way to "claim" that is by buying mass transport tickets. What if I'm not even in the country?!? Ah, and they also charge a monthly fee of $5,75. I wish I could sue them. read more

I turned in receipts for structural therapy, like PT, which had a code that had been accepted before. They kept writing back saying they needed more info, which I kept giving them and then they said I had missed the deadline. This was January 6th. They stole my $1800. This was a legit injury which I was getting help for. They had already reimbursed for the same code. They kept jerking me around until it was too late and they could keep the money. I think that's why they exist - to keep your money. Stay away from these schysters! read more

we submitted a claim with doctor signed form, and it was denied with no good reason, so chatted with the customer service, waited 20mins, after all the waiting she still didn't know which claim i was talking about after i copy and pasted the claim information, and still didn't know what question i was asking about after i explained over 3 times, not sure how this company got business, glad we are walking away from this company next year... read more

I love this company. You as a participant should get a copy of your Plan Highlights and review what you signed up for. It's not the company if you lack your ability to educate yourself on what you have chosen that is completely your fault not the company. read more

BEWARE! If your Employment ends, and you don't use mass transit any longer, you WILL lose any accumulated Beniversal Card CBP (mass transit) $$. They, BRI, will debit any remaining balance $5/month "maintenance fee" for as long as it takes to run your balance to $0.00. They line their pocket with your money! JUST DON'T DO IT!! read more

I end up my employee , and submitted my last claim over 200 Dlls , I paid from my pocket and then submitted the receipt, I had a hard time trying to submit the receipt on my phone app , when I finally did it I've been waiting for my check to arrive, it's been more than 15 business days already and I have not received anything, every time that I called to ask for this matter they have the worst customer service, rude and stupid,and they yelled at you like if you were asking them to send you the money from their pocket!!! I hope I'm able to receive my money this week if not I will race hell!! read more

It's a mess!! My employer recently switched to Benefit Resource to administrate HSA accounts. It's a mess. First, some employees didn't receive notification/welcome emails from them, and some were told they had to fax/email/mail some kind of proof to verify their SSN??? My company has been through several different HSA providers, but nobody had to send in some kind of proof to verify SSN. When you finally log on, it will ask you a bunch of verification questions which consist of previous addresses, etc.. you know, the type of questions you would get if you order a credit report from credit bureau on line. Again, never had to do that for previous HSA providers either. They also asked you to fill in some form/signature card... Finally, their website is constantly "temporally unavailable". All in all, this has been a really weird process to begin with. why can't you do your signature/appoint beneficiaries online instead of having to mail in some kind of form with your SSN and signature. it's designed to have your identity stolen. Honestly, wonder if this is some kind of shady company that is set up to steal your identity, and it's ironic that BRI's website emphasis on identity protection.. wonder why there it's necessary for BRI to find info that's only available via credit bureau or a possible credit check? read more

Customer Service is horrible! The company uses "per IRS regulations" as a scare tactic. Asking questions is liking speaking to a brick wall. Switching to this company was a very bad move, Sometimes going the cheap route means it there will be inefficiencies in other areas. Definitely, the feedback from others using this company will force my employer to discontinue the contract. Change occurs with numbers. read more

Once again, this company is horrible. I have to go to the doctor for a strange looking mole on my head that needs to be removed and tested for cancer. I have the procedure done and thankfully it was not cancerous. My insurance covered the claim and the lab work for the biopsy, but Benefit Resource denies my claim for my copay. I contact them to inquire as to why my payment to the doctor has been denied and I have an online chat with Stephen (no last name) He tells me that the physician is not a eligible medical merchant) When he tells me this, it is clearly a canned answer. He then tells me that my doctor is not "coded" to provide this type of care. I inform him that I have had the same procedure in the past, prior to Benefit Resource becoming our claim administrator. I receive several canned answers, none of which are satisfactory. I am told that I have to pay the claim and I can submit paperwork for them to review to determine if the claim is valid. Here is our chat: Daniel B has entered chat. Stephen has entered chat. Stephen (09:57:49): Hello, how may I help you today? Daniel B (09:58:25): I am trying to figure out why a credit card purchase was denied for me yesterday Daniel Burlingame (10:00:47): Hello ? Stephen (10:04:30): I see that the the provider was not coded as an eligible medical merchant Stephen (10:04:55): if this service was an eligible medical service you can submit a claim for reimbursement Daniel B (10:05:24): I had a mole removed and checked for cancer. What needs to be done to have it paid Stephen (10:06:04): you can submit a claim and we will review this to reimburse you Daniel B (10:06:15): I would like to know who decides if the medical doctor is a eligible medical merchant. Specifically who makes that decision? Stephen (10:06:18): To submit a claim go online under "FSA/HRA plan" tab and select "Submit an online claim" from there you will be able to enter your claim info and upload the itemized receipt Daniel Burlingame (10:08:12): Are you there? Stephen (10:09:04): The provider is the one who decides how to code themselves Daniel B (10:11:20): I want to know who determines that they are ineligible. I have had similar procedures with the same physician prior to Benefit Resource being involved and there has never been a problem. I specifically want to know how Benefit Resource determine what they are going to pay? Daniel B (10:12:37): Cancer Screening is a covered expense. Stephen (10:12:40): The provider is the one who decides how to code themselves, they set their merchant codes and we respect their decisions Stephen (10:13:11): You can discuss this with the provider or you can submit a claim so we can approve this Daniel B (10:15:02): PLease provide me with the merchant code that is being denied so I can discuss that with the doctor. Daniel B (10:20:06): I would like and correspondence that you have received as far as billing regarding this claim. I have spoken to the billing department for Dr. Potenza and they have informed me that the portion of the claim was paid by BCBS, and only the co pay portion of the claim was denied. I would specifically like to know why Blue Cross Blue Shield qualifies the expense, but Benefit Resource does not. I would also like to know if the billing codes are different from BCBS and Benefit resource Daniel B (10:20:45): If you are unable to provide me with this information, I would like the name and contact information of your supervisor that can provide me with the information. Stephen (10:21:10): The reason this was denied was that the provider was not coded as an eligible medical merchant Stephen (10:21:39): In order for the card to work the provider would need to update their codes properly Daniel B (10:21:48): I would like the code. AS I said, BCBS accepted the merchant code because they paid the claim. Stephen (10:22:01): If they are unwilling to do this you can still submit a claim and we can reimburse you Stephen (10:22:54): BCBS is not a preloaded card, their billing is completely different Daniel (10:23:23): That is not the point. In June, Benefit withheld several hundred dollars from medical claims for over a month. I have $1500. in my account and I can not use it. Daniel B (10:24:31): The point is that my insurance company recognizes the claim as valid. The Co-pay should be part of the claim. Stephen (10:27:27): you can use the account funds Stephen (10:27:38): you can submit a claim to use these funds Stephen (10:50:40): Are there any other questions I may assist you with? Stephen (10:52:20): If you need any further assistance please click back on the chat icon. Thank you for Chatting. Stephen has left chat. Needless to say, Stephen was no help at all and never answered my questions. This company is useless and it seems that they hope you give up. read more

My husband's company switched to this ridiculous excuse for a business last year. We are constantly asked for proof that payments made with the card to doctors and dentists are legit. Even after providing proof that the money was, indeed, spent on perfectly reasonable medical expenditures, they want MORE proof. What do they think we're doing? Having periodontal surgery for the fun of it??? We're currently on about the fourth go-around, having already provided documentation that we indeed paid the amount in question to a legitimate, licensed provider for a service that was approved by our insurance company. Now they want the statements from before these procedures, though they had already processed and approved the expenses on those. They clearly exist to annoy and harass customers. Awful company. read more

Our company ($1.5 billion revenue/yr.) switched to Benefit Resource, Inc. to manage our HSA plans this year, and they have consistently withheld employee HSA contribution deposits for a much longer period of time than promised (which was 3-4 days). For example, on our most recent paycheck, our deposit is being delayed by 13 days. Are they intentionally withholding our money to earn more interest? Are they plagued by technical problems? Either way, it has not been a positive experience. read more

Absolute garbage customer service. Company switched to BRI in June and it's been a complete mess.

useless. my company uses BRI and I used it to take out money from my paycheck to pay for a monthly subway pass. They suck!! It takes 5 weeks after you "cancel" your benefit car for the payments to stop. they also dont let you add money directly. customer service was friendly but pretty dumb and totally useless. read more

This company is horrible. They demand constant receipts for almost every charge claiming "the IRS needs it". (In fifteen + years of Flex spending, I've never once been contacted by the IRS). What's the point of a credit card if you need to keep sending them receipts after the fact? I wish we had the old system back- that vendor was excellent. Yes it took 30-45 days but at least you knew what you were dealing with. I would urge all employers to not use this company. In fairness, their CSRs are very polite. read more

My husband's employer just changed over to this company in January, and they have been nothing but a problem in the constant request for receipts for things like our yearly eye exams, the glasses for the family, etc. In the past several years that a different company was used, NEVER did I have to provide receipts for such routine things. They put a hold on our card ( which is thievery in my mind as it's OUR money) even after we faxed every single thing requested to them. Their explanation is that we were missing a couple of the receipts. Well, we faxed everything they told us to, so either they added stuff and didn't notify us or are too incompetent to give the correct information the first time. Many employees have been complaining about this company, so I really, really hope that this is a one year commitment and then we can go back to a more professional provider. This place has been nothing but obstructive. read more

I have to say I am extremely disappointed in the customer service of this company. I am sure they will know me from my post, and that is OK. But I'd prefer to warn other consumers not to enroll in their voluntary programs. My previous employer moved forward with their services for their 2016 benefit options. I could choose to enroll in their Parking program. I would allot a certain percentage of my income to this fund, and then apply it directly to my parking fees. It was explained to me to be pre-tax and a rollover fund. There were no terms of agreement. Simply a box with a light description; this could be our benefits departments discrepancy however. With that said, I chose to leave the company and immediately called the Benefit Resource company and spoke with a woman who said she showed no sign of deductions and would mark my account cancelled. I asked her to confirm again, which she did. I hung up and thought nothing more. On 2/10, 5 days before I leave my company, I receive a notification that the deduction has been made and that my card was mailed. I wait, because maybe this is a mistake? I contact the company and I receive a sterile response that the card should be received on 2/17. On 2/22 I email the company that I never received it. I wait. I received it the first week of March. They said I had to call to replace the card at no cost but by the time I received it, it was too late. Due to federal regulations they would mail me the new card and deduct their service fee. The person I spoke with on email kept giving one sterile response after the other and then sent me the terms of cancellation that my previous employer had signed. I then called them to resolve and was met with another person who was incredibly unhelpful and the "solutions" he provided were elementary. 0 compassion. I am now waiting on the card less that their service fee. It is now 4/18. So if the card expires as of 3/31 I am wondering how it takes so incredibly long to receive the new card and by the time the new card is received, given such a short period of time before the next fee deduction on the 12th, do they expect you will utilize the card. It's a sham. And it seems by the posts at the side of this column suspect the same shady business as I do. I have asked for the terms I signed and while at this point it is not the lost money that is bothersome but the complete lack of sensibility and assistance on the part of that company that is driving me insane. As an employee do not enroll in their services, be wary of the consequences. As an employer, I would look for another service to work with. If this is how they treat your employees than I can't quite imagine how they treat their partners. read more