Consumer complaint received 11-11-2015 about Prepaid card (Government benefit payment card) with Comerica (MI).
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint: I signed up to have my Social Security check deposited onto the Direct Express card with my first deposit on XXXX XXXX 2015. I had received no card in the mail and on XX/XX/XXXX called them and found out that my information had been used fraudulently. Someone had ordered a card and it was caught shortly after by their fraud dept and cancelled and my account frozen. They never contacted me and admitted that they were at fault for not doing so. I was told I needed to go the Social Security office and file an MOU. I did, and was helped by XXXX XXXX who contacted Direct Express. She spoke with XXXX who agreed to send me a new card via XXXX expedited and that I would n't be charged for the shipping. I was told to call them back later that day and answer the security questions again to remove the freeze. I had already done the questions two times earlier that day and passed but did it again when I got home. I did get the card in two days and was able to pay my bills however, I was charged the shipping. I called back on XXXX XXXX and was told they were requesting a refund. As of today, it was not posted. I called again and was told that they had called me and I answered but hung up therefore they closed the ticket and I would n't receive the refund. That is a lie. If they had called me I would not have hung up. It is possible that a call came through where they were completely silent and I hung up after saying Hello, Hello with no response. I do n't remember that happening in past week but it 's possible. But, why would that cancel my refund for something that was never to be charged in the first place? Preposterous! I asked to speak to a supervisor and she told me I was wasting her time and being argumentative. I asked to speak to someone above her, she said NO. I asked to file an official complaint, she said NO. She was the antithesis of helpful. There are no other avenues for me to file a complaint. I have found out since XX/XX/XXXX, that there are a huge number of people who have had the exact same thing happen. Online, there are XXXX complaints of people having their information stolen, cards requested fraudulently and the maddening response from Direct Express who seem to find glee in treating us terribly. They never gave me a concrete answer if they were going to investigate the criminals who were attempting to steal my identity and money. From the number and similarity of stories of people just like me along with the comments from Social Security that this card has had a massive surge in fraud complaints, I think a thorough investigation of Direct Express needs to be done as there seems to be a high probability of an inside job. I also want a refund of the shipping charges. I also want to know what is being done to find the perpetrators of my fraud. I told them multiple times that the phone number and email address they had on file for me prior to XXXX XXXX belonged to the criminals. I verified my information and passed all security tests several times. This entire situation is beyond a nightmare!

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief