Thomas Koeppen thought he was ready to relax in his new home in Palmyra, Wisconsin. But when it came time to claim the $70,000 he needed to finalize the purchase, he hit a roadblock.
Although this money came from years of saving Social Security benefits, Koeppen’s prepaid debit card was not cooperating. As he told FOX6 News Milwaukee (1), “It’s mine. But I couldn’t get it. I was in limbo. What the hell do I do?”
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The particular card in this case was Direct Express, which the federal government offers as an option for distributing Social Security and other benefit payments. In practice, recipients like Koeppen should have no problem using that money for any purchases or transfers. But even after Koeppen and her two daughters repeatedly called Direct Express, the Social Security Administration and the IRS for two months, they got nowhere.
Stayce Koeppen, one of Thomas’ daughters, told FOX6 that they “didn’t receive any response” from these agencies. In fact, they would “hang” after making most of these calls. Koeppen and her daughters thought they would have to withdraw the money little by little at different ATMs each day. However, that strategy would likely take weeks due to ATM withdrawal limits.
Before heading to the local ATMs, the Koeppens contacted FOX6’s Contact 6 investigative team as a last resort, and everything went well from there (2). In fact, it only took a few weeks for Contact 6 to take over Direct Express and resolve the situation.
Fifth Third Bank, the financial agent now in charge of the Direct Express program, stated that security and fraud prevention protocols were necessary (3), but later confirmed that the Koeppen family’s situation was “satisfactorily resolved.”
Apparently, this two-month ordeal was due to a minor mistake: Koeppen didn’t add an extra zero before his bank account number to properly process the Direct Express transfer. But no one told Koeppen about this requirement before FOX6 got involved.
Direct Express, indirect access
Judging by the latest news and reviews on Direct Express, Koeppen’s experience is not an outlier. This service currently has an average rating of one star on the Better Business Bureau website, with more than 70 formal complaints filed in the last 12 months (4).
Reviews are also not pleasant 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.
The reputation of this program is so bad that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit in 2024 against Comerica Bank (which ran this program before Fifth Third Bank took over). Federal regulators alleged that Comerica failed millions of Social Security and disability beneficiaries by disconnecting more than 25 million customer service calls and charging illegal fees for ATM withdrawals, among other issues (7).
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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 refile it in the future (8).
Even with all this bad press, many of the most vulnerable Americans need Direct Express to cover their everyday expenses. Fifth Third Bank estimates that 3.4 million people have Direct Express cards, of which 57% live solely on government benefits (9).
Avoid Direct Express drama
Although Koeppen didn’t do anything wrong in this case, his experience (plus the hundreds of negative reviews online) should give people who use Direct Express pause.
Direct Express provides FDIC protection for your funds (10), but may not be the most convenient option for large amounts, given its dubious reputation for customer service.
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 contact your bank’s customer service line or visit a local branch if you have any problems.
Not only would this move likely have saved Koeppen many sleepless nights, but 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 doesn’t help, the next step is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which oversees the program (11). You can also contact your local Social Security Administration office or the CFPB to report problems.
Whoever you contact, be sure to document everything (like call times and agent names) so you have a record that can hopefully jump-start this process.
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Article sources
We rely only on verified sources and credible third-party reports. For more details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Fox 6 (1), (3); FOX6 News Milwaukee/YouTube (2); Better Business Bureau (4); Trusted Pilot (5); Complaints Board (6); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (7), (8); Fifth Third Bank (9); Direct Express (10); United States Department of the Treasury (11).
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com with the title: ‘I was in limbo’: Wisconsin man says he couldn’t access $70,000 of his own Social Security funds for 2 months
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
