The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has sued Comerica Bank, alleging the bank charged illegal fees, mishandled fraud complaints, and deliberately disconnected service calls. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeks a judge’s order to halt these alleged practices and provide refunds to affected customers.
Comerica Bank, one of the largest bank holding companies in the country, is accused of exploiting its 3.4 million Direct Express cardholders who mostly don’t have bank accounts and are receiving federal benefits. The CFPB claims Comerica intentionally disconnected 24 million customer service calls, charged illegal ATM fees to over 1 million cardholders, and impeded customers from exercising their rights under the law.
Comerica Bank disputes the allegations, calling them “regulatory overreach” and saying it cooperated with the CFPB’s investigation. However, the bureau alleges Comerica cut corners to boost its bottom line by not having sufficient customer service staff to handle calls, resulting in millions of purposefully disconnected calls and leaving customers waiting several hours.
The CFPB also accuses Comerica of charging cardholders ATM fees in situations where they were entitled to free withdrawals and misleading fraud victims. The bureau is seeking refunds for affected customers and civil penalties into its victim relief fund.
Source: https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/business/2024/12/06/comerica-bank-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-lawsuit-fraud-social-security-direct-express/76825061007