By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: AaronP / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images / Getty Images
https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1865064738306089367
“The CFPB is suing Comerica Bank for illegally harming disabled and older Americans who count on Social Security and other federal benefits,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a release.
The lawsuit claims Comerica Bank “intentionally terminated” more than 24 million customer service calls, changed more than one million cardholders’ ATM feeds they didn’t owe, and mishandled fraud complaints.
The Direct Express program provides beneficiaries, many of whom are older and disabled, with a prepaid card that they can use to pay for expenses, including groceries and gas.
The CFPB said it sought judicial relief “to address and remedy Comerica’s unlawful conduct, redress and damages for injured consumers” and a civil money penalty.
Some of the things included in the lawsuit are the following:
– Comerica and its vendors intentionally terminated almost 25 million customer service calls
– Comerica frequently told consumers who’d complained about fraudulent enrollment in Direct Express that “no error occurred,”
– Comerica refused to honor timely stop-payment requests, sometimes requiring cardholders to request a new debit card instead.
Through the vendors, Comerica forced Direct Express cardholders to pay ATM fees to access their government benefits in situations where they were entitled to free withdrawals.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com
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