Direct Express

I called them or called the card company several times. Six to be exact. And they keep on sending me to a number that nobody answers and right now it's like I'm getting screwed out of my money that I'm supposed to be paying my rent with and they don't they don't want to give it to me for some reason and that's not just one check. It's two checks so $2,000 I don't have access to. I'm telling you this card is the worst card in the world. Please do not get this card. Direct express is the worst. The customer service sucks. They tell you the same thing even though you told them that the company had hung up on you several times. Six to be exact. They turn around and they do the exact same thing to s** people up and sending them to this number that nobody answers and screwing you out of your money. Please do not get this card. It is the worst card ever.

I just stated the problem I was having, which was my card being declined even though there was funds on the account and I just used it without issue shortly before the repeated declines. She told me that she fixed the problem and that I would be able to use my card in 2 hours. Here I am 17 hours later with my card still not working and 100s of attempted calls resulting in being hung up on by the recording. I sure wish I could just access my money and handle my responsibilities but I'm being held hostage by Direct Express yet again. If you have any other options, do yourself a favor and go with anyone other than Direct Express. The 5 star reviews given to this trash company have to be fake. The nightmares you read about on here are real. If you're stuck using Direct Express than good luck and God bless you, you're gonna need it.

Do not use direct express if you have any other choice. Any issue at all they lock your card. And it’s takes weeks for them to unlock it. They side with business most the time so even if you have all the proof in the world you won’t get your money back. Social Security does not recommend using direct express and there have been many class action lawsuits since the start of of 2020. I contacted social security and asked who I should go with and they AVID. I am now with avid and happier than ever. Do not use direct express unless you like losing access to your money.

-First call, over 4 hours to get a person…my father was on the phone and because he didn’t answer fast enough when asked for his address, the representative said…”sir if you don’t know your address, I can’t help you” and hung up.

-At least 18 calls later, a woman says a replacement card will be mailed out and you should have it within 5-10 days, never received a card.

-Over 26 calls later, a man says we can pay $13.50 for a card to be delivered in 2 days, never received a card.

-Call 37, a male says “oh, I’m sorry, we entered your address incorrectly and sent the 2 day card to Minnesota instead of New Mexico.” “Now, you need to email a copy, front and back of his NM ID, to id@usdirectexpress.com., when you receive an email stating “it’s verifiable”, call back again. *remember, you can’t get a person on the phone immediately, as I did call back and was told I had to start over.

-Call 42, was told I had to email his ID to id@congruent.com ***this wasn’t even a valid email, even though I repeated it phonetically several times as it didn’t make sense. Of course we never got a return email.

-Call 50 something…was told to start over again using the first email…that was 12/4/22, they say they will respond in 3-5 business hours!!! It’s now 12/6/22.

Direct Express has all the control, power and use of my Father’s benefits. They even suspended the online account I had set up. I do have a picture of it before they suspended it. They did take out the $4.00 fee that I was told we would not have to pay and the $13.50 for the 2 day for which a card was never received. They can access his funds, he cannot. They can at will just suspend his account without any notification; they can access his account, he cannot. They can make up and change the rules as they go, he cannot. He cannot pay his mortgage nor pick up his heart medication. We are helping him with this.

Today I called and spoke to a man at US Treasury, his ID number is **. I was shocked when he stated “…we just contract with Direct Express, we don’t oversee them or assist in matters such as yours.” I told him, “so sorry to bother you, I thought that since Timothy Gribben, the Commissioner came up with this program, someone there would be able to help. In all these United States, is there not one ethical human being who can help us???

I see this as elder abuse as Direct Express is withholding a benefit that is legally and rightfully his. What can you do to help us? *This has been sent to Social Security as well. I have pictures of his account before suspension and all the emails I’ve sent. I can send them to a representative that contacts me as I no longer want to send his personal information blindly.

I will have to go with something else because my social security is endlessly being held hostage and I literally can't buy groceries or pay bills. I'm not one to sue but am letting Better Business Bureau know that Comerica is still not doing well in their contract with the government, including a wide variety of timelines and stories about "why my card wasn't working yet" from Tier 2 customer support. I encourage government benefit recipients to try and find another workaround if possible.

I have tried to transfer funds to my checking account from the website and each transfer failed. You are charged $1.50 for each transaction, so I don't know why they say "basic" use is "free". There's no real purchase security. The card allowed multiple purchases from a website even though the website kept rejecting the purchases, so I had to have the card terminated. Yes, every time you have a transaction dispute, they will force you to close your card.

If you want to change your deposit method, you'll be on hold forever with the other agency. Customer service is non-existent and you will be hung up on before you even get to a person. If you have a checking or savings account, do yourself a favor and don't even start with this card. Just know, you have been warned. You'll notice the overwhelming amount of reviews are negative...for a reason.

Today, after a 20 minute wait, the agent told me I had chosen the wrong option and call back and make the correct choice, would not even listen or tell me the right choice and cut me off. On the second attempt to a different choice, the recording said they are too busy, call back later and hung up. Initially I had reported the fraudulent charge when it was still pending and they told me I had to wait till it cleared, they would not stop it. Now the reversal has been charged twice and I can't even get through to try to keep my money. It is pretty much the last straw!

DE has so many pissed customers that it had to change banks and does not resolve issues protected by the FDIC. They are flighty about deposits and you could get your check on time or not it's basically a roll dice whether you get your check on time or even at all as they have many disputes about lost total Social Security checks being lost or stolen. DE resolution for all customer complaints is to cancel your card even though you do not give them permission to do so. This has happened to me now three times when trying to dispute a transaction. Now my deposits are being held prisoner by the company even though Social Security has cleared your checks they sit up to 3 to 5 days each month in DE's holding accounts drawing thousands of not millions of interest off Social Security Funds and not passing that interest to the account holders of debit cards through Direct Express.

I am asking for a total audit of this company by legislation either through signatures or local government to assure the general public of transparency to their customers. This company has been involved in several lawsuits for mishandling of government funds and can Not Be Trusted As they self proclamate to be safe and secure with your Social Security Funds..My suggestion to find another Debit Company as Direct Express Debit Card has too many shady accountants and shady business tactics and it's a Big -0- when it comes to customer resolution.

Today is the first day I spoke with a supervisor and they still had to switch me to another department. They wanted to tell me the money was used for expediting me the card but at the time I had $1300 on the card which I had no access to. Now they're stating I have to wait another 10 business days and a review before the money will be reimbursed. No one is going to help me with the late fees I accumulated during that time. Camerica has no interest in this card.

To make someone on a fixed income wait a 1/3 of a month to access their funds. I received my insurance cards within 3 days how is it that it takes 13 days for D.E. to mail a card within the U.S. I was charged the $4 fee for replacement even though 1st was to be free. The 1st time I paid $13.50 to get card replaced so this one should have been waived. When I complained they denied the return of the $4. Called to speak to supervisor and was hung up on 3 times. Monies that were taken by theft have not been returned and I was verbally threatened that if I did not get paperwork back within 10 days I most likely would not.

Paperwork arrived today with date of 7/26... I put back into the mail today 8.5...that is 10 days...so NOW WHAT.... I won't receive $ stolen from me. I think the U.S. Government needs to find a more customer service based company to deal with it's elderly clientele as Direct Express MasterCard is not the one. They nickel and dime fixed income customers which in my book is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. For this reason I am cancelling my account and opening an account with someone who knows how to treat it's customers. Beware Social Security recipients Direct Express MasterCard is a disreputable company and will not give you good service. Take your business to a regular bank you will be better served.

I fell asleep, tried to get an Uber to work. Card don't work still!! Wtf!? Now to many callers, call back later, been getting this all day. I had to call out of work. My first freaking day! Dude wtf is wrong with these people. I don't understand. So I found a solution. I walked to a bank and did a directexpress withdrawal with the clerk, I just withdrew all money and got a prepaid Netspend/Western Union card. No more problems. It sucks to have to do, but it's better then dealing with incompatent screwups and wasting my days even trying with these people. Seriously. Not worth it.

8th, DE Reps and Fraud Division personnel are arrogant, inexperienced and should be working elsewhere, like Dollar General or Cicis Pizza.

My card has been compromised 2X and funds not returned; despite sending all documentation. This Parasite of a Financial Institution has taken advantage of the Disabled and Mentally Challenged customers that are not able to hold and wait for two hours or the elderly customers that just plain give up. A Class Action Law Suit Must be initiated, so that, the customers whom have been taken advantage of/ have their funds rightfully returned and the Culprits from DE be exposed and spend the next millennium behind bars while making the DE Debit Cards!!

On 7/8/2022 I called the Direct Express number to activate the new card - after over 5 hours on hold - my call was transferred to the Fraud Dept. Direct Express Fraud Dept REFUSED activate the new card. Direct express agent (and a "supervisor") Demanded front and back copies of my driver license, birth certificate and social security card. <<-- ALL THE ID THAT THEY KNEW WAS STOLEN BEFORE THEY SENT A NEW CARD. They refused to accept a copy of the police report. They refused to verify me using any security questions. They refused to verify me using the same email verification code method they've been using for the 3 years I've had DirectExpress. MY ABUSER/ID THEIF COULD HAVE FAXED ALL MY STOLEN DOCS IN AS THE "PROOF" THEY WERE DEMANDING. ONLY MY EMAIL IS SECURE OR SAFE!

They have KNOWINGLY left a domestic abuse victim stranded, with no access to my own money, food or shelter, and KNOWING my phone would be shut off any minute. I can not even call for help if my abuser finds me. Direct Express "supervisor" told me: "Too bad. It's not my problem. If you don't like it have your money deposited somewhere else." When I informed her I absolutely intended to make that happen, the Direct Express "supervisor" said: "Go ahead but if you cancel Direct Express, we're keeping the money in your account and there's nothing you can do about it."

I tried calling back two days later on 7/10/2022. Direct Express has voided the card number they sent me and removed my social security number from their system. I now have no way to contact them and no way to get the money they've stolen from my account. Even after Direct Express has taken my money and locked me out of my account, they keep giving my personal info to my abuser. Direct Express has given an abusive stalker my mom's address and phone number - enabling him to Harass and Threaten an 80 Year Old Lady. And I have no way to make Direct Express Stop endangering us or make them refund my money.

This happens all the time. And my remaining balance from old card became a negative on new card listed as card replacement fee. The same amount? They had already charged me a card rep. Fee. Now my balance is negative. Fee#2. I am posting this to bring awareness to a company that is doing underhanded business, that is ripping off the public, quite convincingly. If you have a refund credit transaction of $50 and they charge you $50 fee, they wash each other out, that’s where they’re good at it. One other incident has to be told. It was last year, Jan1st, 21. Bought Bamboo from Home Depot $160 and paid with direct express debit card. It was delivered a few days later, it was deducted from my card - Done Deal.

On last day of Jan, I get a text from Home Depot saying they’ll be delivering to my house soon. I thought to myself, ”boy they’re on the ball”. I already got it around the 1st. But I did not call, I figured they‘d figure it out. Couple hours later another text. I call Home Depot and no one can find or admit the mistake. I call Direct express and find my account is in the negative for $160. They approved it, without my knowing it. The way it works… if you don’t have money to pay for something, you don’t get it. Your card will never work if there’s no funds available. That’s it.

When trying to get to the bottom of this, I had written down the last 10 transactions (I often do this). It’s by phone automated and that was the only proof I had to show I was double charged. When they said or double talked their way around it, they said I’d have to fix it with Home Depot. No one would admit they should not have approved that second charge. So Home Depot is more than happy to help but when calling to verify the debit card second charge, Direct Express deleted all transactions pending and final total $160 right off the books. They told him there was no other charge whatsoever at the 1st of Jan. For $160 or anywhere. They deleted it away. There was nothing I could do. I told them to come out and look at my fence. It’s already done.

It’s been done for almost a month. I couldn’t have put it up in a day. But proof on paper didn’t have. I fought this until I just gave up. They know how to do it so no one’s the wiser. They work for the Federal government or with them. Nothing surprises me anymore. I can’t believe they’re doing this and getting away with it. Wake up people, Hello.. I’ve vented, I’m done, thanks for your time.

They lied and were improfessional as always, you can never understand them or vice versa, when you call to fix one problem it is like a revolving door. They start messing with other crap that has nothing to do with the actual card at hand. "For instance whitelisting her other benefit card that had no problem whatsoever." See what I mean!! So long story short every day since the 3rd we have been on with dispute from that to ordering a new card to not being told we can't just activate it when it comes that we will have to go through a whole new security measure again.

"It is way after the 3rd and we can not still after 3 different calls finding out the previous rep did not put in the correct dates caused another huge delay, me on the verge of eviction, and still I am unable to use my card. We just found out over 48 hours ago that they had to take off that whitelist that was on 3 times ago and might I mention it is past 48 hours for it to be lifted even if it does or does not work after 2 hour mark," per direct express.

Now we're going into almost the middle of the month and still only was about to just use at pos only. Now it won't even do that again so I'm calling direct express and their phone lines are so high from there bull crap that it hangs up when you attempt to prompt to speak to a rep! Which by the way only offers to you if you wish to dispute a problem! We should not have to beg to obtain funds we went through to get fixed numerous times before it is like noone takes their time to read do their job and be considerate to anyone unless it happens to them or their loved ones! A

There's a lot of cardholders call in their cards as lost or stolen when they try to get out of a recurrent charge or a 3 day introductory charge that rolled over into some exorbitantly charged adult websites and date sites mostly. You can get out of these charges for a little while this way but soon enough you will find the entire amount of funds on your card disappear because you ran out on a network of high risk processors and didn't properly end your contract with them. This card features a courtesy roll over to new card numbers for expired cards, lost or stolen cards so you wont have to go through updating vendors with your new card numbers. This is largely for the vendors benefit not yours however.

It's easy to predict and guess what someone's new card number is if you know a little bit about how card numbers are generated. That hasn't changed since the 1980s and shady vendors are onto it. It's really risky using a debit card and most users of the DE card will at some point see the entire amount of funds on their card disappear usually when its freshly loaded. Its next to impossible to talk to live customer service and if you happen to get lucky enough to talk to someone they will hang up on you because they give themselves 45 days to resolve complaints. I switched to bank deposits which seem safer and less hassle to receive SSD benefits.