Direct Express Debit Card...World's Biggest Nightmare
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Does anyone have a working phone number where one can actually speak to a live body?
None of the numbers on the website work. The customer service phone number is nothing but a phone tree that goes nowhere. All I can get is recorded balance and last few deposits.
I have somehow locked myself out of my online account. I need to create a new password. There is simply no button that I can see to do this.
Years ago I had Direct Express and there were so many fees I cancelled it and went to getting the SS check in the mail. Then when they threatened to do away with checks in the mail, I went back to Direct Express and it's gone smoothly for several years. Now, this huge snafu that I can't get out of. It's impossible and hopeless. Quite frankly, it makes me sick to my stomach that something that should be so simple is so incredibly difficult. Your government at work, folks!
If anyone can give me a direct phone number or instructions on resetting my password, I would be deeply appreciative.
Oh, and I tried the "setting up account" page and got a message that there was no "biographical" match. I triple checked my numbers and they were typed correctly. I'm lost!
I had one of those "no human will ever answer" numbers one day and finally got frustrated and screamed at the telephone and suddenly there was a human on the other end. LOL.
Many people don't have a bank account and can't get one.
Surprised so many of you were unaware of that fact .
Quote:
Originally Posted by moved
This is true. My ex next door neighbors didn't trust banks at all. She still receives a paper check in the mail for her deceased husband's retirement benefits, and cashes it at a liquor store.
Two separate aspects of not having a bank account are addressed by the two posters above. First not being able to get a bank account, and second, not wanting to have one.
In the first case I have no reason to doubt that "some people" can't get a bank account, but I do doubt that "many people" cannot. I have never known any adult who did not have a bank account. It's simply the normal way business is done in our society.
In the second case, as for someone who doesn't "trust banks at all", that is an irrational belief. It is far more likely that money will be stolen from your home, purse, or wallet, in which case there is no recourse, than for there to be a problem with a bank, for which there is recourse. Because some people choose to live in a paranoid time warp doesn't make it a rational choice.
Two separate aspects of not having a bank account are addressed by the two posters above. First not being able to get a bank account, and second, not wanting to have one.
In the first case I have no reason to doubt that "some people" can't get a bank account, but I do doubt that "many people" cannot. I have never known any adult who did not have a bank account. It's simply the normal way business is done in our society.
In the second case, as for someone who doesn't "trust banks at all", that is an irrational belief. It is far more likely that money will be stolen from your home, purse, or wallet, in which case there is no recourse, than for there to be a problem with a bank, for which there is recourse. Because some people choose to live in a paranoid time warp doesn't make it a rational choice.
Actually there are tons of people who do not have a bank account. The homeless would be a good place to start. Then there are illegal residents , people with judgements against them and creditors looking to attach your account, which they can do at any credit union and not tell you they are doing it. With banks it's a little harder but still get away with it. People that use PayDay Loans on a regular basis go there to get their paycheck cashed payoff last weeks pay day loan .
What you're wrong about is how Government contracts work. I've written RFPs and I've been the COTR on many government contracts, so I think I know just a little about such matters. The Government sets broad parameters and requires specific milestones to be met during the course of a contractual period, but they do not get into the day-to-day nuts and bolts on how the private entity goes about its business in fulfilling its government contract requirements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dale Cooper
I'm sorry you fail to understand the difference between private business and government contracts. Of course the government doesn't care how the bank does its private business. Good God and Lord help us all! And God Bless America. We need all the help we can get.
Are you being intentially obtuse or could you really not discern what the last sentence of my post above was in reference to? Let me try again. I've added six words that should make this even easier for you to understand.
Although based on your previous posts, I'm not so sure.
Two separate aspects of not having a bank account are addressed by the two posters above. First not being able to get a bank account, and second, not wanting to have one.
In the first case I have no reason to doubt that "some people" can't get a bank account, but I do doubt that "many people" cannot. I have never known any adult who did not have a bank account. It's simply the normal way business is done in our society.
In the second case, as for someone who doesn't "trust banks at all", that is an irrational belief. It is far more likely that money will be stolen from your home, purse, or wallet, in which case there is no recourse, than for there to be a problem with a bank, for which there is recourse. Because some people choose to live in a paranoid time warp doesn't make it a rational choice.
The origins of the Direct Express card, started with two issues: The government wanting to get out of the paper check in the mail business, and a sizable number of benefit recipients that are ineligible for traditional bank accounts. Keep in mind that recipients aren't all SS retirees firmly grounded in the middle class with mid-4 figure monthly incomes. A large portion are SSDI and SSI recipients at or below the $1k per month level. Such a meager existence often leads to check kiting and other activities that blackball the recipient from participation in the banking system. Therefore, the treasury department had to come up with a way to electronically transfer funds to these individuals. Hence, the Direct Express Card.
The image of the timid elderly person afraid of banks, that the SSA likes to put forth in press releases, is just a facade. The real reason is the unbankable recipient. It's fairly easy to comprehend when one considers that in conjunction with the introduction of the card, rulemaking was implemented by the treasury department, that puts funds held on the card out of the reach of creditors holding civil judgments.
Are you being intentially obtuse or could you really not discern what the last sentence of my post above was in reference to? Let me try again. I've added six words that should make this even easier for you to understand.
Although based on your previous posts, I'm not so sure.
No, dear. You're the one being obtuse. If you would read Post 2 where I explained (for the benefit of others) how to actually talk to a live person and what the result of that conversation will be, you would realize it's not even remotely normal. On the other hand, if you go to Comerica's website as though you were a regular banking customer as opposed to a Direct Express customer (again, it's the government that's their customer and not the SS recipient), you'll see the process is MUCH different.
You're just going to have to suck up the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about and shouldn't have responded since you couldn't answer my question or add anything constructive to the conversation.
Oh, and by the way........the lady put in the ticket for someone to call me within 5 days to reset the password (again: the customer can't do this; it must be done by someone within the bowels of the bank), and so far, as expected, I've received no call back. It no longer matters since well toward the top of this thread, I changed to direct deposit (another little detail that seems to have flown over a lot of heads), but it will be fun to see how this customer service snafu plays out.
I really hate having to repeat myself, so let me offer some solid advice: In the future, if all you want to do is pile on the person asking a question instead of actually answering the question based on your personal knowledge, do everybody a favor and move on. You have done nothing to help my situation, nor will any of your responses help anyone in the future. Whatever you choose, it won't matter to me. I won't see any of your future BS.
Hopefully, my experience will help someone else decide whether to use Direct Express.
No, dear. You're the one being obtuse. If you would read Post 2 where I explained (for the benefit of others) how to actually talk to a live person and what the result of that conversation will be, you would realize it's not even remotely normal. On the other hand, if you go to Comerica's website as though you were a regular banking customer as opposed to a Direct Express customer (again, it's the government that's their customer and not the SS recipient), you'll see the process is MUCH different.
You're just going to have to suck up the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about and shouldn't have responded since you couldn't answer my question or add anything constructive to the conversation.
Oh, and by the way........the lady put in the ticket for someone to call me within 5 days to reset the password (again: the customer can't do this; it must be done by someone within the bowels of the bank), and so far, as expected, I've received no call back. It no longer matters since well toward the top of this thread, I changed to direct deposit (another little detail that seems to have flown over a lot of heads), but it will be fun to see how this customer service snafu plays out.
I really hate having to repeat myself, so let me offer some solid advice: In the future, if all you want to do is pile on the person asking a question instead of actually answering the question based on your personal knowledge, do everybody a favor and move on. You have done nothing to help my situation, nor will any of your responses help anyone in the future. Whatever you choose, it won't matter to me. I won't see any of your future BS.
Hopefully, my experience will help someone else decide whether to use Direct Express.
Its possible you may have gone over the top too.... Not everyone or every scenario is the same , sometimes when we use words , as definitive s the paint brush can grow very wide....Here is my story.
I have been using Direct Express for years , no problem , in fact , I had forgot I even had that set up. What prompted me years ago to go this route was working with a Credit Union , thinking my deposits were as safe as could possibly be . One day , along came a "creditor" who I was having a dispute with over a corporate business account purchase , separate from my personal account, but had me as signer on file. Up and behold , the Credit Union went into my personal account that I was using as a depository for my SS checks , and took out 10,000 for the benefit of the corporate creditor.! Of coarse , now had I no leverage with the dispute on the business side. I demanded the Credit Union return my SS money to my personal account. They said NO , Credit Unions treat all deposits regardless business or personal , corporate or personal wherever the checks come from , as all personal ..... Hence , I went to Direct Express , where my SS money was secure. That was MY reason , it worked, no more problems. O' I left the Credit Union for good, including our Corporate account which was depositing over 100,000 a month in its checking account., and went to a local hometown real Bank with all our business.
I really hate having to repeat myself, so let me offer some solid advice: In the future, if all you want to do is pile on the person asking a question instead of actually answering the question based on your personal knowledge, do everybody a favor and move on. You have done nothing to help my situation, nor will any of your responses help anyone in the future. Whatever you choose, it won't matter to me. I won't see any of your future BS.
Although you were responding above not to me, but to MadManofBethesda, I cannot resist pointing out the hypocrisy of your post. You criticize MadMan for getting off topic, but you were the one who first added to your own topic with the anti-government rant. Once that occurred, it should not surprise you that someone who disagrees with the rant would rebut it. YOU enlarged the topic, not MadMan.
Although you were responding above not to me, but to MadManofBethesda, I cannot resist pointing out the hypocrisy of your post. You criticize MadMan for getting off topic, but you were the one who first added to your own topic with the anti-government rant. Once that occurred, it should not surprise you that someone who disagrees with the rant would rebut it. YOU enlarged the topic, not MadMan.
I guess you're too blind to see that his post was edited. For being off topic. Post 6. Oh, well, blindness is bliss.
And generally, when one starts a thread, the topic is set by that person.
After that, several people made assumptions about my intelligence (IQ 135), my creditworthiness (823), my gender (assumptions are always amusing), and so forth. Not a single one of them offered a solution, which didn't matter as it had already been resolved and I posted the resolution. BTW, I'm still waiting for the people to call me back to reset my password. I'm finished with them, so it matters not one whit to me if they call back, but just information for anyone who might have a future problem, don't hold your breath.
It should also be noted that this thread was originally started in the Retirement forum and involves retirement SOCIAL SECURITY benefits. For the impaired, Social Security involves............surprise! The government! Anyone who thinks the contract isn't made by the government has never seen a government contract.
But do keep piling on. Makes no difference to me. The problem was resolved and the solution posted. Have fun!
Last edited by Dale Cooper; 11-08-2013 at 05:30 AM..
This totally works!! Got a live person within 1 minute of pressing 3 as an option!
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