U S Direct Express

Review: U S Direct Express is the card issuer for the pre paid debit card that my social security disability benifits are direct deposited on from the social security admin. My funds were deposited on the card this month then Direct express suspened my card. I can't access my money, I have called several times and I'm unable to get any info from them as to what is going on. I faxed in copies verifying my identification. And still can't get any help. They told me it would take 3 to 5 business days to process the fax. I am disabled, I have doctors to pay, bills to pay, children to feed, and I only get paid once a month. I can't go without my money. They are holding my funds and will not even tell me why.Desired Settlement: I want my money released to me. It is my benefits and they have no right to hold it.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

I am in receipt of the complaint submitted to your agency by [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] concern involves his Direct Express Card.

Direct Express suspended access to his card due to call on 03/18/14. A person (appears to be a woman) called the Direct Express Call Center not knowing the account information and not passing the verification process. The caller was informed to fax two forms of identification to have the suspension lifted.

On 04/04/2014 Mr. [redacted] provided two valid forms of identification and the suspension was removed. Mr. [redacted] was informed why his card was suspended; he stated he does not know this person; therefore, an alert was placed on the account.

Please encourage Mr. [redacted] to contact me directly if he has any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

I am in receipt of the complaint submitted to your agency by [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] concern involves his Direct Express Card.

Direct Express suspended access to his card due to call on 03/18/14. A person (appears to be a woman) called the Direct Express Call Center not knowing the account information and not passing the verification process. The caller was informed to fax two forms of identification to have the suspension lifted.

On 04/04/2014 Mr. [redacted] provided two valid forms of identification and the suspension was removed. Mr. [redacted] was informed why his card was suspended; he stated he does not know this person; therefore, an alert was placed on the account.

Please encourage Mr. [redacted] to contact me directly if he has any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Review: I applied for debit card to receive my Social Security Benefits, on the Website the advertising state the you can use there card WORLD WIDE that is not TRUE, after I called 22 times,(very expensive) I don't be able tu get my money, please see if you can help, the SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS ARE THE ONLY INCOME I HAVE.THANKS [redacted]Desired Settlement: I Just would like to have my money

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,I am in receipt of the complaint submitted to your agency by [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] is concerned about his Direct Express card. I have escalated his complaint to management at Direct Express to review and Mr. [redacted] will be contacted with the outcome.Sincerely,[redacted]Comerica Incorporated[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: my card doesn't work where I live, I'm at moment in USA where the card work, but when I go back to Bulgaria will not be able to use it, which prove the there statement (THE CARD WORKS WORLD WIDE IS NOT TRUE )and I won' like to know how I get my social security benefits? When I applied for the card I told them my address wich is in BULGARIA where the send the card! And no body told me the card don't works in Bulgaria, maby the do not thing,

Regards,

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,Direct Express management has spoken with Mr. [redacted] and provided the summary below:03/03/2015: Research shows Mr. [redacted] received his first benefit deposit. 03/03/2015: Mr. [redacted] called Direct Express and said he was unable to use his card in Bulgaria. He was advised that due to the foreign address on file the card would have to be suspended and that he must fax in two forms of ID in order to be assisted with his request. (Note: The card should not have been suspended; this was an isolated issue). On 03/05/2015: Mr. [redacted] called and was verified and the suspension on the Account was removed. The CH was added to the list to allow international transactions and was advised to wait 24-48 hours before attempting to use his card again. On 03/11/2015: Direct Express spoke with Mr. [redacted] and advised him that he would be unable to use his card in Bulgaria as Direct Express does not allow card activity in Bulgaria Mr. [redacted] stated when he enrolled in the Direct Express Program he was unaware that he could not use his card in Bulgaria. He said that he will be traveling back to the United States on 03/12/15 and he’ll access his funds at that time and also contact the Social Security Administration to further explore his options for benefit payment. In addition, Mr. [redacted] also inquired about wanting to make his wife his Representative Payee; he was advised to contact Social Security for assistance in this matter. In summary, unfortunately, Bulgaria is a "restricted" country for Direct Express card users. Please express my apology to Mr. [redacted] for the inconvenience he has experienced. Sincerely,[redacted]Comerica Incorporated[redacted]

Review: Long story short my account was compromised so they blocked all credit purchases with my debit card. NO LETTER NO NOTIFICATION NO NOTHING. finally called after I kept getting denied purchases. Called many times got hung up on they could not tell me how my account was compromised. They assured me they would send my new card ........WELL NEVER GOT ONE. So i

deactivated this account and chose to put my direct deposit into my personal checking account when I called to cancel I also said you need to also cancel my paper statements. WELL THEY NEVER DID AND I CALLED BACK YET AGAIN AND WAS ASSURED A CREDIT AND TO STOP SENDING STATEMENTS ON AN INACTIVE ACCOUNT. They claimed that I shouldnt get any more and now today I got charged another fee and received yet another statement. I want this to stop and I want my these charges refunded and I want a check in the amount that is left on my closed account. I also have [redacted] on a recording from a previous call so I have proof of all of these occurrences. Today im on the phone with a csp by the name of [redacted] at 5:21 pm. She transferred me to a level 2 representative.Desired Settlement: I want the fees reversed from the day I closed this account and I want a check sent to me for my remaining balance.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,I am in receipt of the complaint submitted to your agency by [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] is concerned about fees she has been assessed to her Direct Express card. I have escalated her complaint to management at Direct Express to review and contact Ms. [redacted].Please encourage Ms. [redacted] to contact me if she has any questions.Sincerely,[redacted]Comerica Incorporated313.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

You need to reopen this case. Nothing has been solved from Direct Express. I have been speaking with a gentlman by the name of brian said he would stop the statements but I got one today. and he was supposed to send me a new card with my total of 5.65 on it and that was 2 weeks ago havent got a thing but more charges.

Regards,

Catherine Shafer

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,I have been advised by Direct Express management that Ms. [redacted]'s concerns with receiving Direct Express paper statements and fees for the statements are being actively addressed. Below is a summary of the action steps taken by Direct Express management.02/13: Research shows that Ms. [redacted] did not sign up to receive monthly paper statement; therefore, a refund was requested to be credited to Ms. [redacted]'s card. Unfortunately it ed. It appears to be a system issue that the statements have not stopped.02/13, 17 & 18:: Direct Express management made multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach Ms. [redacted]; however, with every call they left a voicemail message requesting she return their call.02/18/15: A letter was also sent to the Ms. [redacted] requesting she contact the Direct Express Customer Advocacy Group for assistance. 03/10/15: Direct Express received the follow-up email by Ms. [redacted] advising that her issue is still not resolved. Direct Express is currently investigating the issue and working on a resolution.Please encourage Ms. [redacted] to contact me directly if she has any questions or concerns. And her card will be reimbursed for all statement fees.Sincerely,[redacted]Comerica Incorporated313[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:I was supposed to get a new card with the amount that was wrongly charged to my account. That was almost a month ago and no card ,no refund , just more statements taking the fee from the amount. How hard can this possibly be to fix?????? You should be embarrassed by this whole incidence of incompetence.

Regards,

Review: I receive benefits from Social Security Disability to a Debit Mastercard with a Comerica Bank logo on it, yet Comerica states all they do is print the cards. They say direct express is not a bank at all just a payment processing center. Mastercard claims not to have even heard of this company and does not know why there logo is associated with them. The Mastercard protection for cards displaying their logo is not in affect on these CARDS AND CUSTOMER ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSSES BY FRAUDULENT CHARGES UNLESS NOTIFIED WITHIN 2 DAYS. How often does a person not know about fraud until sometimes months later.

Even though I have read a lot of complaint history on this company, my complaint has to do with not being notified of a potential card compromise until I called after I was trying to make a purchase back on Oct 6, 2014. After waiting online for 40 minutes I finally spoke to a young man who told me, my card was being limited to pin only transactions do to the possibility of the card being compromised. They refused to tell me how or why they deemed it compromised, so I could avoid the situation again. To date I have not received a letter, an email or a text telling me about this supposed compromised situation. The consumer should have to be notified by law if there is a problem with their account, not be embarrassed when trying to use it.

This company is only interested in collecting $13.50 before they will send you a replacement card. A month later I am still waiting for the replacement cARD because I refused to pay for expedited service. They said instead it was going to take 10 business days. I called again to day and they never processed a replacement card and even though they admitted it was their mistake told me it would be another 10 days before I will get it unless I paid the $13.50. I don't believe once again I will receive this card. This makes 4 requests where I refused to pay their expedited fee and it seems every time the order for a replacement doesn't get processed.. The longer they don't give you access to your funds the more interest they make and the more inconvenienced you are. I believe the Social Security Administration, Comerica Bank, Mastercard and Us direct express should all be called out on this tangled web of baloney. All of them have an interest in what is happening with this company aND MY MONEY and all the others experiencing this same thing. I can't pay bills I normally pay on line, so I am incurring late charges, can't shop online because it is easier for a handicapped person to do so., all because this company won't send out a card until they get me to pay the $13.50 expedited fee. They have a thousand excuses, but don't have one good one as to why my use of the card was cut off to begin with. I can't believe a company can just claim a card is potentially compromised without telling you how or why. It seems like a great way to limit money going out of there company and into the disabled persons hands who lives on it.

I am extremely disappointed in the level of service I received during an event where I was told my debit card was potentially compromised.On Oct 6 I went to use my card and it was declined. x2. I knew there was money in account so I called Direct Express. After 40 minutes waiting to speak to someone I was told, that I could use my card with a pin, but not as a charge card. They told me they would be sending me a new card, but until I received it using an ATM was the only way to access money. The next day I called again to verify card was sent out and Ii was told, it wasn't but it would be now that I requested it. Why I would even have to request a card for a compromised account seems dangerous. It should have been handled internally immediately. I was told I could pay $13.50 to have it expedited or wait 10 business days. I was not going to spend $13.50 when the bank I am dealing with never even had the courtesy to notify me of a potential issue. I had to wait till I tried to pay for something and was mortified, when told my transaction was declined to find out about it. That should never have happened, especially in this day an age with email and texting. I called a few days later to check on whether I could still use the existing card for ATM withdrawals and was told they never ordered a replacement card the the last time I spoke to them. Today I called a fourth time to see where the card was and was told again, it was never ordered. But if I wanted it in 2 days I could pay $13.50. Is this some kind of a scam. It seems because I refuse to pay $13.50 for expedited service my card is not getting re-issued. Today, they said it would be ordered again and that it woud take another ten days for me to receive it. I said since once again, Direct Express did not follow through with the re-issue why should I again be required to pay $13.50 for expedited service. By the time I actually get this card, if it actually gets ordered it will be over a month trying to obtain a card that does everything it is supposed to do.

The customer service gents which are part of your bank I imagine are not helpful at all. I have had three of them drop the ball in re-ordering my debit card and again they requested for me to pay that $13.50 expedited fee. I have a funny feeling I will never see a replacement card until I agree to pay that fee. It sure seems that way since, I have asked for the card to be sent three times, not agreed to pay the expedited fee and my re-issued card never arrives. Taking over a month to receive a new debit card is outrageous. I had to change any automated payments to another method and I couldn't shop online as I usually do.This is a necessity in many cases for a handicapped person. It is very sad that direct express customers are treated like second class citizens.

[redacted]Desired Settlement: This company should be held accountable for anyone who incurs late fees etc for their excessive slowness inn getting a replacement CARD TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. THEY NEED TO FULLY DISCLOSE HOW AND BY WHAT MEANS THE ACCOUNTS WERE COMPROMISED. ANYONE INCLUDING MYSELF WHO PAID OR DIDN'T PAY FOR EXPEDITED SERVICE SHOULD RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY CREDIT FOR THE TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR NOT NOTIFYING THEIR CUSTOMERS. Furthermore, they should not have a person give their whole social security number to an agent on the phone for identity purposes. Whether they call me or I call them, they want your whole social security number. I have been the victim of fraud before and giving out your social to anyone on the other end of the phone is bad business. Every other company asks for the last 4 for identity purposes then maybe a security question. No wonder accounts are getting compromised. I think they need to update their security protocol and inform customers of the whys and why nots of an incident. Just asking for your whole social screams scam company. I don't care if they are a agent of Social Security. They need to be investigated top to bottom.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

I am in receipt of the complaint submitted to your agency by [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] in concerned about her Direct Express card. I have escalated her complaint at Direct Express management for investigation. I have also asked that a manager reach out to Ms. [redacted] and discuss her concerns.

Sincerely,

Comerica Incorporated

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I sent an email to Comerica a week ago and got absolutely no response. I spoke to someone there and they told me that Comerica only printed the cards and had nothing to do with Us Direct Express. Although, I am rejecting there message,because I doubt I will ever hear from anyone, I will anxiously await to see if anyone does actually call. US Direct Express will ring the phone once hang up and then claim they tried. This happened before when there was an issue signing on to my online account. Nothing gets resolved, just excuses made.

Since October 6, 2014 I have not had access to my US Direct Express Debit Card, on October 22, 2014 when trying to find out my balance, I received a message on their automated line, that the card number was invalid and that they issued me a new card and I would be receiving it in 5-10 business days. Again, they do something without any warning to the customer. So now, I not only don't have use of the card as a Debit card, but they cancelled the card so I can't even use it at an ATM to access funds if I wanted to do so. Still throughout this whole ordeal, I have not received one email or text message notifying me of any problem, any actions taken on their part or information on even how my card was compromised.

I don't understand what the big secret is. I have never had a credit card or debit card issuer refuse to tell a customer how or why a problem occurred. Like I said in my original complaint, it feels like either a lot of damage control protecting themselves or they found a new way to keep peoples funds in their bank accounts by coming up with an excuse why we can't use the card, but no ready solution or facts forthcoming. Unless of course I wanted to pay $13.50 for expedited service, for their problem and ineptitude in resolving the issue fairly and quickly, notifying the customer to avoid embarrassment and waving any fees from the get go, instead of making customers literally have to beg to obtain a new card.

So they finally shipped out the card according to their message and it will take 5-10 business days to arrive. That makes the date I receive it approximately November 5, 2014. That is one heck of a float using other peoples money. A more than one month delay in having full access to an account many people need to survive.

I do want to commend the Revdex.com in your speedy handling of this complaint. Nothing is resolved as of yet, but thanks to your help we are moving in one direction or another instead of treading water. Thank you

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

I have been informed by Direct Express management that on 10/28/14, the Customer Advocacy Group spoke to her and expedited a new card and waived the fee.

Ms. [redacted] was advised the card will be delivered in two business days. On 10/30/14, records show Ms. [redacted] registered her new card and has been

successfully conducting transactions.

I also left a voice message for Ms. [redacted] today to contact me. I want to assure her that her service concerns have been addressed.

Sincerely,

Comerica Incorporated

Review: I had a dispute of an unauthorized withdrawal from my SSI Debit card. I was told that it could take up to 45 days to get my money back which I understood that. They also issued me a new card at the expense of $13.00 to me which I received no problem. They were also suppose to send me paperwork to fill out and send back. I have made many attempts to find out about missing paperwork and money and they keep saying times not up about the money part of it and as far as the paperwork they say it keeps getting sent back and I know that is not true. Plz. help me to figure this out as I am on a very tight budget and already owe people because of this mess.Desired Settlement: would like this straightened out they said they know where the money was taken out am willing to press charges!

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

[redacted] Direct Express claim was denied. I spoke with Ms. [redacted] and she asked that her case be re-opened and reviewed.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:I am waiting for this to be reviewed.

Regards,