Consumer complaint received 2025-04-11 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — Government benefit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer — Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card
Company: Comerica
State: HI

Complaint narrative:
I write to open two complaints about two incidences of XXXX bank fraud. 

The first instance is their Service Request # XXXX. I reported XXXX consecutive charges ( posted against my XXXX social security benefits debit card ) on XX/XX/year>, the day they appeared in my account online. The charges are all for the same amount : {$28.00}, made within minutes of each other, ostensibly from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX online. I immediately contacted XXXX, both online CS & in store. They confirmed they did not make the charges, have no record of them, & declared them fraudulent charges made by a bad actor in the guise of a XXXX charge. 

On the same day, I reported this to USDirectExpress through their purposefully inefficient automated voice answering process, was disconnected repeatedly as per usual, & in total, spent 4 hours to open this complaint. They assured me they'd send me a physical form by snail mail ( ^^!? ) for me to complete & return to them, also by snail mail in order to open their investigation. 

They never sent the form. I called repeatedly, went through the interminable phone process again & again, & finally spoke to someone who read me the information from the form that needed to be filled out, & a fax # to send the necessary information back to their Fraud Department.

The fax # turned out to be bogus. This is a common, ongoing, regular practice of this bank : 1 ) long telephone customer service wait times with multiple disconnects, often with a message after an hour+ on hold that says, 'Call back later, goodbye ' & hangs up ; 2 ) promises to send needed paperwork, which must be sent by snail mail, that must be filled out in order to go forward with an investigation -- that is never sent ; 3 ) after many more hours waiting to speak to someone, I receive a bogus fax # to send that info to. Then eventually, months later, a letter ( dated XX/XX/year> ) telling me their investigation determined there was an error on my part, & therefore, these were legitimate charges. 

Though with no information from me as that mythical form never arrived, & could not be returned to them, what did they base their 'investigation ' on? 

They did not receive any info regarding this from me, as they never sent the paperwork to open the investigation, & then gave me a false fax # to send the info to when I followed up. So what did they use to investigate this? 

According to their letter of XX/XX/year>, they conducted a 'thorough review ' of the information I provided ( but this is a lie, as no info was provided because of their inability to provide a means to report it ). They concluded that the 'transactions were not unauthorized, therefore no error occurred '. They list XXXX reasons, which are all bogus & present no evidence to support their conclusion for any of the reasons. 

The letter tells me I can request a copy of the documents they relied on to make this decision, but then refers me to their general-run-around automated voice system. When an actual person is reached there, I am routed to another department & disconnected. Again. 

According to XXXX 's XXXX office, XXXX has had multiple problems with hacked accounts, & never resolve them in favor of the account holder. They purposely make it impossible for defrauded customers to access a proper, legitimate system to investigate their disputes. 

This cycle is repeated again, & again, & again, until customers, denied their rights, finally give up. Their system is purposely designed to defraud. This is just another instance of that. But not the most egregious one, that dishonor goes to their refusal to return the money in my husband 's SS account. He died XXXX years ago, & XXXX repeatedly promised to send forms via snail mail, but as always, they didn't. 

This second fraudulent practice complaint I'd like to open, involves my husband 's XXXX benefit which was direct deposited into his XXXX debit account. He died, I sent all requisite info to have the {$1600.00} in his account transferred to his probate account, but ran into the brick wall of XXXX 's deliberately designed process of refusing ( by providing incorrect information, denying receipt of paperwork they did receive, simply ignoring information provided, & pretending they are not refusing to deliver client 's rights when they are systematically blocking their clients ' access to ethical procedure & accountable practice. I have for XXXX years been refused resolution, by their simple process of ignoring me by running me around. Robbery by red tape & false declarations. 

I followed up for years, this is my final attempt to receive the money XXXX refuses to release. My husband died destitute, this is HIS money in HIS SS direct deposit account ( which could have been used to bury him, but instead I had to let the mortuary cremate him & refuse to return his ashes to me until I could pay for them, which I still have not been able to do in full ). 

Yet XXXX has still not returned this money or opened a legitimate, accountable resolution process to do so. They just continue giving false fax numbers, empty promises to open & investigate the issue, but either not sending the paperwork to do that, or pretending they didn't receive the paperwork back, though proveably, they did ; then finally sending various declarations that the case is closed because I didn't respond, even though I did, repeatedly. 

I spoke to every supervisor I could, & made literally dozens of phone calls ( many of them recorded ) regarding their theft of his money. I sent probate papers, my executor 's paperwork & his death certificate multiple times to the XXXX listed on the site, as all fax numbers they gave over the years have been bogus numbers which can not receive faxes. It's not possible to send mail to a POB that's registered, return receipt requires a signature, so I sent copies XXXX overnight delivery, with trackable shipping, & confirmed with the XXXX that the mail was received. 

But XXXX has never confirmed they have ever rec 'd anything from me, although I can prove through the XXXX that they did. They simply write, months after my latest request for resolution, to say they never received the needed paperwork from me, so they're closing the case. 

I would ask that these be opened as XXXX separate issues, the fraudulent charges as XXXX, & the release of XXXX XXXX XXXX 's money to his probate account as the other. 

The first is straight forward, they never investigated these fraudulent charges. They didn't receive the information to do so, because they made the receipt of that information impossible. They didn't contact the merchant ( though say they might have ). They declare the merchant as 'pre-authorized ' & it isn't. Then they state the transactions 'showed no signs of compromise, & are similar to other transactions that were authorized '. Though XXXX charges in the exact amount consecutively made over a matter of minutes is completely XXXX to any other transaction I have EVER made! 

What they do not say is anything pertaining to XXXX 's denial that the charges were not made by them. Which is the case. I want to see them reverse their bogus decision of this dispute, & do it in a timely manner ( a week, 10 days NOT months later ), & promptly return that money to my account. 

The second issue, their refusal to release money in my husband 's account after he passed, I realize is a completely separate issue. I will happily & promptly send all necessary documents needed to release the funds to wherever accountable place XXXX bank needs to receive it, so they can promptly make payment they've blocked for a decade. Please advise on how to follow up. 

I greatly appreciate your agency, & all the fine work you do against increasingly difficult odds. I am grateful.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation