A Comerica Bank sign on a building in Walnut Creek, California, March 30, 2023.
Smith Collection/gado | Archive photos | Getty Images
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a complaint against it on Friday Comerica Bankand accuses the regional bank of failing to administer a federal benefits program that uses prepaid debit cards.
The lawsuit alleges that Comerica Bank “intentionally abandoned” more than 24 million customer service calls, charged more than a million cardholders ATM fees they did not owe, and mishandled fraud complaints, all while denying federal benefits through prepaid -Debit card program Direct Express.
“By intentionally disconnecting millions of calls and charging illegal junk fees, Comerica increased its profits at the expense of Americans living on fixed incomes,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
The Direct Express program is a prepaid card that recipients of Social Security and other federal programs can use to pay for expenses such as groceries and gas. Comerica has had a contract with the Treasury Department since 2008 to administer the program and provide customer service to the millions of Americans who use the prepaid card, many of whom are disabled, elderly and unbanked.
While the Direct Express website touts 24/7 customer service, the CFPB claims that “when people had problems with their accounts, it was often impossible to speak to someone who could help them.”
The CFPB has taken action against banks for misusing benefits in the past, including in 2022, when the bureau fined Bank of America $100 million for misusing federal unemployment benefits in 2020 and 2021 in a separate case Sequence.
Representatives for Comerica Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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