May 15, 2026
Thomas Koeppen thought he was all set to chill in his new home in Palmyra, Wisconsin. But when the time came to claim the $70K he needed to finalize the purchase, he hit a roadblock.
Even though this money was from years of saving Social Security benefits, Koeppen's prepaid debit card wasn't cooperating. As he told FOX6 News Milwaukee (1), "It's mine. But I couldn't get it. I was in limbo. What the heck do I do?"
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The particular card in this case was Direct Express, which the federal government offers as an option to distribute Social Security and other benefit payments. In practice, recipients like Koeppen shouldn't have any issues using that money for any purchase or transfer. But even after Koeppen and his two daughters repeatedly called Direct Express, the Social Security Administration and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for two months, they got nowhere.
Stayce Koeppen, one of Thomas' daughters, told FOX6 that they "weren't getting any response" from these agencies. In fact, they "would get hung up on" after making most of these calls. Koeppen and his daughters thought they'd have to withdraw the money bit by bit at different ATMs each day. That strategy, however, would likely take weeks due to ATM withdrawal caps.
Before driving around to local ATMs, the Koeppens reached out to FOX6's Contact 6 investigative team as a last resort, and everything worked out smoothly from there (2). In fact, it only took a few weeks for Contact 6 to get hold of Direct Express and fix the situation.
Fifth Third Bank, the financial agent now in charge of the Direct Express program, claimed security and fraud-prevention protocols were necessary (3), but then confirmed the Koeppen family's situation was "satisfactorily resolved."
Apparently, this two-month ordeal was all due to a minor error: Koeppen didn't add an extra zero before his bank account number to properly process the Direct Express transfer. But nobody told Koeppen about this requirement before FOX6 got involved.
Direct Express, indirect access
Judging by the latest news and reviews surrounding Direct Express, Koeppen's experience isn't an outlier. Currently, this service has an average rating of one star on the Better Business Bureau's website, with over 70 formal complaints filed in the past 12 months (4).
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Reviews also aren't pretty on sites like Trustpilot (5) and ComplaintsBoard.com (6), where Direct Express has hundreds of horror stories and an average rating in the one-star range.
This program's reputation is so bad that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit in 2024 against Comerica Bank (which handled this program before Fifth Third Bank took over). Federal regulators alleged Comerica failed millions of Social Security and disability recipients by disconnecting more than 25 million customer service calls and charging illegal ATM withdrawal fees, among other issues (7).
In 2025, the CFPB dismissed this Biden-era case as the Trump administration gained power. However, the case ended "without prejudice," so the CFPB could potentially refile it in the future (8).
Even with all this bad press, many of the most vulnerable Americans need Direct Express to cover their daily expenses. Fifth Third Bank estimates that 3.4 million people have Direct Express cards, 57% of whom live solely on government benefits (9).
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Avoiding Direct Express drama
Although Koeppen didn't do anything wrong in this case, his experience — plus the hundreds of negative online reviews — should give people using Direct Express pause.
Direct Express provides FDIC protection for your funds (10), but it may not be the most convenient option for large amounts, given its dubious reputation for customer service.
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As a precaution, consider transferring any money you want to save or use for large purchases from your Direct Express card to a bank account each month. That way you can reach out to your bank's customer support line or visit a local branch if you have any issues.
Not only would this move likely have saved Koeppen many sleepless nights, the money could have been earning interest in a high-yield savings account before spending those funds.
For any issues with Direct Express, start with their phone number at 1-888-741-1115. If Direct Express isn't helpful, the next step is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which oversees the program (11). You could also reach out to your local Social Security Administration office or the CFPB to flag issues.
Whoever you contact, be sure to document everything (like call times and agents' names) so that you have a record to hopefully push this process along.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Fox 6 (1),(3); FOX6 News Milwaukee/YouTube (2); Better Business Bureau (4); Trustpilot (5); ComplaintsBoard (6); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (7),(8); Fifth Third Bank (9); Direct Express (10); U.S. Department of the Treasury (11).
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise who loves making financial topics accessible and understandable to readers. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found in publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk.
