Direct Express
Reviews and Complaints

i have been trying to purchase tickets to an event for a birthday. the transaction is denied saying my card is declined. i have adequate funds and the promoter of the event takes MASTERCARD. I have called in the morning, afternoon and evening and CANNOT get through to anyone. i keep getting the message that there is a high call volume and to call back.

this issue and another one that has gone unresolved has prompted me to take my money out of the direct express card and open a checking account elsewhere. i have had nothing but problems with direct express - i know this doesn't matter to them bUT FOR ANYONE ELSE THINKING OF USING THEM DON'T DO IT! OPEN A CHECKING ACCOUNT (WELLS FARGO, BOFA, CHIME, CHASE, BANK OF THE WEST) WITH SOMEONE OTHER THAN DIRECT EXPRESS...THIS IS THE WORST SERVICE EVER!

On 12/3/2021 my debit card was " eaten" by the local Bank of America atm. I came home and order an EXPEDITED CARD at the cost of 17.50. I did not receive the card in the 2 day express mailing period and after REVIEWING OUR SECURITY CAMERAS ( which I can provide a copy of the tape) UPS did not deliver on our street that day ( which was 12/7/2021). I called UPS and they advised I wait 24 hours before filing a claim with them. The card did not show up on the 7th or 8th so on 12/9/2021 I reordered a new card EXPEDITED. On 12/10/2021 there was a UPS package on my front door step. It had a handwritten note : THIS WAS DELIVERED TO 2728 ESTRADA - my address is 2728 Barcelona. My card was delivered to the wrong address and on 12/9 not 12/7. I contacted UPS and they gave me the link to file a claim. After numerous calls to UPS & DIRECT EXPRESS AND not being able to file a claim with UPS I was informed ( by a UPS supervisor) that I COULD NOT FILE A CLAIM ONLY THE SENDER HAD THAT permission. I have tried to work through the customer service and dispute unit on 3 occassions and the first charge to my account have never been credited. I have had 2 deliveries deducted from my account when only one should have been. WHAT KIND OF IDIOT WOULD WANT A CHARGE FOR 17.50 TAKEN 2 times and they are on a fixed income? ACCORDING TO UPS I CANNOT file a claim only THE SENDER CAN AND I HAVE TO obtain the charge for the wrongly delivered card up with them - DIRECT EXPRESS IS THE SENDER AND I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THIS ISSUE. EXCESSIVE HOLD TIMES AND customer service reps that cannot see beyond the script they read from... I have had to call back 2 times only to be told this was denied. I CANT GET THE MONEY BACK FROM UPS ONLY DIRECT EXPRESS BUT THERE IS NO ONE WHO CAN THINK BEYOND A SCRIPT TO UNDERSTAND THIS ISSUE. I HAVE WORKED in a call center and in claims for many years and this is the most horribly trained staff that I have experienced. SO I AM OUT 35, 00 AND WAITED 13 DAYS FOR MY CARD... thanks direct express your service is WORTHLESS!

[protected] i left early to go on a trip this day, 80 miles had to turn around couse my card didnt work thier computer went down and i was stranded i want 100$ reembersment for canceling my trip and haveing to drive all the back home, and i was on the custumer service line they hung up on me when i asked for superviser TWICE! unbealivable im calling banking comision at once, calling SSA office, calling any regulatory agency i can and charging my time to Derect Express and then if only option file small claims for all costs inclueding time lost and time spent they are neglagent im on ssi i dont need this! owe calling mastercard two going to copy all i wright including this and get all documents sue them in a court and post on every soscail medei main thing is ssa.gov maybe they will cancel contract i will talk to my congress rep .thank you David wilkerson

I contacted Direct Express' fraud department on October 12, 2021 to report an unauthorized transaction in the amount of $179.99 that had posted to my account as a cash purchase on 10/01/2021. I cancelled my debit card, which had not been out of my possession. I mailed a written statement to Direct Express with the few details I knew about the fraudulent activity. I sent the statement by priority mail, to assure it was received by Direct Express within the 10 days of reporting the fraudulent transaction, as specified in Direct Express' terms and conditions of card use, Sections VII, VIII & IX, in order that the disputed amount be provisionally credited to my account during an investigation.
At the end of October, I began trying to find out the status of my dispute by calling Direct Express repeatedly, without success. I have spent as many as 3 hours on hold on a single call and in excess of 20 hours on hold to date.
On November 17, 2021 Direct Express' Fraud Representative, Jose, confirmed that my written statement had been received within the 10 day period, that I qualified for and had been approved for a provisional credit, but the funds had not been issued to my account. He went over several days of my account balance to confirm the funds had not been returned and assured me that the provisional funds would be credited to my account. On November 19, 2021, a different representative told me that the provisional credit had been applied to my account on October 26, 2021, but had been immediately withdrawn. Her only explanation was that the merchant had refused the chargeback. I was told the investigation had not been completed. According to Direct Express' terms if the investigation into the disputed transaction took longer than 10 days, the amount in dispute would be credited to my account until the investigation was complete. I have not been notified that Direct Express has concluded it's investigation. I have been told by their representative they expect the investigation to be complete by December 12, 2021. I have not received the provisional credit for $179.99, which has caused considerable hardship and led to even more financial loss, as well as an inordinate amount of wasted time.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

My card has several fraudulent changes and I need to talk to a human!?

My 1400 stimulus was stolen and they keep letting someone change the address for me and sends it to them. I have over 7 replacement and expedited charges not initiated by me also I reported illegal charges on my card and they failed to help or refund the money taken in cash advance and charges I did not do

i was on hold for an hour and 35 mins just to b hung up on, the card has blocked all payments even though i have funds, i cant make any purchases and no one at direct express will answer the phone so i can figure this out.this happens every month, this company needs to be shut down, i have direct express because im disabled but cant even go pay for my medication because the card blocks every payment no matter how many times you tell them it was you that made the purchase,

I just tried to make a purchase from Walmart online, and they locked my card for placing too many orders with them. I then tried to order from Amazon.com, and the same thing happened! If you do business with a vendor that charges your card when the item ships, it's easy to go over the number of transactions allowed per merchant. Of course, they still hold on to your money, even if you have no way to spend it.

My 4 year old and I got sick with Covid on Friday 10/1. We have no family to help. I tried to use my card that night online to order us food and it was declined. I called customer service and got a message due to high call volume they couldn't take my call. I tried all night long. Nothing. Saturday 10/2 I again tried all day long to get help. My card would not work anywhere I tried. I finally got through to someone in the dispute office on Sunday 10/3. They said I had to be transferred. I sat on hold 6 more hours and nobody ever picked up. The dispute department refused to help me saying they couldn't. Monday 10/4 at 12 pm, I've been transferred and sitting on hold for 2 hours. I finally got someone in the dispute department. They transferred me to a supervisor who was extremely rude. She said Direct Express blocks cards from being able to be used online due to fraud. They could temporarily allow me to use my card online but it would only be for 3 days, and take 24 hours for the request to be put through. I told her they have put me in an emergency situation, and how important it was for me to be able to use my card now, and I can't go to the atm and go to the store to get supplies. She said "nobody is asking you to go to the atm" and she hung up on me. I am now sitting on hold to try to get back through to someone to help me. I am out of toilet paper, water, food, cat food, and cannot get medicine for my 4 year old or I. My husband is in critical care in the hospital. I explained this to her also and she just hung up on me. This is unbelievable. I don't know what needs to happen, but you better believe I will be looking into how to file a formal complaint against this company, and changing my direct deposit information today.

Update 10/6 at 1 pm. Finally spoke to someone helpful who said my card was locked due to fraud and she would help unlock it and put in the white lust request which will take another 24-48 hours to be able to get food online. She unlocked my card after verifying declined transactions and put in the request.

7 pm: Card has been locked again for fraud when I tried to take money out of the atm. I give up.

10/27. Card keeps being locked for fraud. They make me verify all the same information over to unlock it. It's a joke at this point.

This is to HELP those who cannot get live help with directexpress via their phone system. If you are calling from a private number you must push *82 to unblock your number before calling. If you are calling from a number that is not associated with your account you will be placed on hold forever. Update your phone info..if it changed. Good luck!

I have NEVER been able to establish any communications with Direct Express. I have NEVER been able to establish any communications with Direct Express via their website.
I have NEVER been able to establish any communications with Direct Express via their app.
MY CARD IS NO LONGER RECOGNIZED VIA ANY ATM nor any sales or financial transaction in any manner, anywhere, ever...

DIRECT EXPRESS HAS NEVER EVER ANSWERED ANY TELEPHONE CALL EVER!

Look y'all had plenty of time to get my card here. Now im loosing my patience with y'all [censored]ers. I want my money. Why in the [censored] would you [censored]es charge me twice the first time you
charged me it was ups fault because they sent the card back to you. Then you charge me again. I got bills to pay but no i'm sitting here waiting for you [censored]es

My online Amazon account was hacked and 5 unauthorized purchases were made using my Direct Express card, as it was a saved payment method on my Amazon account. Amazon immediately suspended the account, confirming the account was hacked and requested for me to file a dispute with Direct Express, along with a police report, which I did. Direct Express cancelled the card and filed the complaint. I received the packet in the mail from Direct Express, requesting the same information I provided over the phone, but I completed and returned the next day. After several days and several attempts (phone cue is always busy) I was able to get in contact with Direct Express and had to request a replacement card, which you would think they would automatically send once they cancelled the prior card. I was also told they would not issue a provisional credit while the complaint is under investigation as the packet they mailed was not received within 10 days. Based on the dates they provided, the packet was received in my mailbox the day it was due. The CSR was rude and said she could not control the mail and there was nothing she could do. After several days of requesting a call back from a manger, the manager was able to issue me a provisional credit on my account while the investigation was ongoing. Several weeks later, the credit was reversed and I received a letter in the mail stating the documentation they received from the merchant indicates 3 of the 5 transactions were authorized and not an error (other 2 transactions still pending). I called Direct Express and the CSR was not helpful. I requested the documentation they received from Amazon, as well as a return call from a manager. 2 weeks later, I still have not received the documentation in the mail or a phone call from a manager and have now been on hold for over 3 hours and counting. I don't see how this company is still the bank of choice for the Social Security Administration.

John your employee was very rude and unprofessional! If I could rate my experience it would be one.

I attempted to make a cash purchase on 9/3/2021. There was apparently an error with the Direct Express debit card and the purchase could not go through, so it is listed as "PENDING CASH PURCHASE, " but now I no longer have access to the amount I made the purchase with and neither was the vendor paid. This same error occurred in August 2021 when I attempted to make a withdrawal from a bank using the Direct Express debit card but has since been resolved.
I have been trying to contact Direct Express for over a week but cannot get through. The automated message says there is a heavy call volume, sometimes due to stimulus check payments, but the stimulus checks were months ago (it seems they don't even update their recordings), and I get disconnected.

I called because I thought I had been scammed by an insurance company. She told me she would have to cancel my card instead of just dispute so I asked if I could get money off my card first, as soon as I asked she said yes I'll transfer you to the proper department. I was on hold for over an hour at 1:00am because of abundance of call's. BS I don't understand why customer service in many companies treat people so disrespectfully.

on June 18, 2021, I was a victim of a home invasion robbery. I was hogtied and the robbers held an AK47 pistol to my head and demanded my pin numbers to all my accounts. They stole all my cards, including my direct express card. Later that morning, the robbers stole $1, 000 from my disability funds.

I notified your office and spoke with a representative that told me she would file a dispute and credit the funds to my account, within 10 days.

Apparently, a dispute form needed to be filed, but I wasn't told that, to the best memory. I am suffering with PTSD and if I was told, I have no recollection of it; However, when I called to see why the money wasn't credited, I was told a written statement was needed from me. I issued the statement within 5 minutes after requested, which I think shows that I would have done it initially if I'd been told.

I then was told I was a denied and that the decision was final and there was nothing she could do. I spoke with a manger that told me she would not credit back the funds under and circumstances and that I had zero recourse.

I think considering the details and extenuating circumstancesz this case warrants a refund of my money. My Chase bank account is insured and they credited back the funds without question because the funds are insured. I have a hard time believing its not the same for my disability account. Regardless, I am pleading with you to reverse this decision and credit back the funds to my account.

The $1000 was set aside out of my stimulus money for dental work that I desperately need and can't afford now without the $1000. refund.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I am hoping that you understanding what i have been through and will revise the decision and credit the funds to me.

Sincerely, Melissa Hodshon

i get my ssd money on direct express card and every 3 months they lock it i need my card and they dnt answer the phone ever

I'm trying to activate my card and customer service keeps hanging up on me, literally have hours and hours on hold which is verifiable and ill will use against them, I have SSI atty, I can't buy medication I need and it's been a week. I've called every number possible to try to get help activating my card, and constantly on hold or hung up on. I am going to sue the [censored] out of them for endangering my health.

I had two fraudulent charges from Uganda for almost $500 that emptied my account on the same day my benefits were deposited leaving me with $0.03 in my account. Because it takes 45 to 60 days for Direct Express to resolve fraudulent charges, I won't have any money until my next benefits payment. No money for upcoming bills or medicine. Because Direct express is considered a prepaid debit card, there is no recourse and I'm powerless to do anything. The person I spoke to at SSA said you should only use DE as a last resort. Please take her advice.