AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

2017-12-29

E Atlantc Bch, NY

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-29

Durham, NC

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-29

Forge Village, MA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-28

GA

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: I am a frequent XXXX customer and a relative high credit card user. I received a promotional offer via email in XX/XX/XXXX to sign up for a XXXX American Express credit card. The promotion stated that I would receive XXXX bonus points and XXXX XXXX if I spent {$3000.00} within the first three months. I spent the required {$3000.00} within 2 weeks of receiving the card and I called XXXX twice in XXXX to inquire about when I would receive the promotional points. Both times that I called, I was told that XXXX would have have to look into why my points had not posted. I called again today, XX/XX/XXXX, and was told that an investigation had taken place after my previous calls and it was determined on XX/XX/XXXX that I was ineligible to receive the promotion because I had the credit card back in XX/XX/XXXX. Not only do I do not remember having this card, but I was shocked at how rude and disrespectful the customer service rep was being on the phone. I do n't understand why I would receive a targeted promotional offer for a credit card I was ineligible to receive the advertised promotion. To make matters worse, XXXX should have contacted me once they determined I was ineligible. I would not have continued to purchase items with that credit had I known I was ineligible. Now I have spent over {$5000.00} on this card and missed out on points with other cards that I would have used if XXXX XXXX had not been deceptive and misleading in their targeted offer. I am writing because I do n't want anyone else to have the same negative experience that I have had. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-28

Pacific City, OR

Closing your account

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Can't close your account
Complaint: XXXX This is the complaints against American Express XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card. I closed my account and canceled the credit card on XXXX. I cleared all the debts and they agreed to close my account. Then I got payment reminder from XXXX in XXXX for some unpaid balance. I called them to inquire about it and they fixed the issue and confirmed they will close the account. It happened again in XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX of XXXX. I had to call XXXX all these months and spent lot of time talking to Representatives. In XXXX XXXX it happened again, then I called and clearly told XXXX reps that I will file complaints and shall my lawyers include in this matter. They fixed the issue in XXXX over the phone and confirmed it will not happen again. I still receive an Emails and Mails regarding unsettled balance again from XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Now I am receiving an Mail from XXXX XXXX XXXX to pay the debts which I do not own at all. Now my credit score is getting affected. who is responsible for this? It is very disturbing for me. how many times I should settle this issue with them? it is total harassment and mental stress to keep calling XXXX for same issue again and again. I do not have time for all of this every month and I already wasted enough time this year for same issue. It is very frustrating that they do not take critical steps for this kind of situation Attached one PDF regarding XXXX payment reminder recently.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-28

Las Vegas, NV

Incorrect information on your report

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting

Personal information incorrect
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-28

Trouble using the card

Credit card or prepaid card: Gift card

Trouble using the card to spend money in a store or online
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-28

Las Vegas, NV

Incorrect information on your report

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting

Information belongs to someone else
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Nyc, NY

Getting a credit card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem getting a working replacement card
Complaint: American Express wrote me a letter that if I paid my balance in full, they would reinstate my card. They have not done so despite my requests.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Fort Worth, TX

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: American Express offered a 0 % on balance transfers until XXXX XXXX on balances that were transferred before XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. Submitted an application and approved for a balance transfer of {$1500.00} that was processed on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. Considering that I only submitted an application for the 0 % balance transfer to take advantage of their offer to save money from paying interest on another credit card, I had applied and had gotten approved as that is what American Express had advertised. I have never used the card for any purchases as the sole intent was to utilize the 0 % to payoff a previous credit card. When the first billing cycle closed, I was charged interest of {$8.00} for the balance. I have reached out to American Express via their Mobile App on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and asked as to why I was being charged interest as that is NOT what they had advertised to get me to apply for their credit card. I received the response from their representative CONFIRMING that my introductory APR on Balance Transfers posted to my account by XXXX/XXXX/XXXX is a variable rate of 0.00 % through my billing period ending in XXXX XXXX. After that, my APR will be a variable rate of the Prime Rate + 14.74 %, currently 18.99 %. So when I asked why was I charged interest, there response to me was as follows. I would like to share that there is a KNOWN issue and our team is working on resolving it. Let me open a request for your account. I have raised a request for your account once the inquiry gets completed, the finance charge will be reversed. I had then asked to file an official complaint as this was a deceptive act as they did not honor their advertised program of 0 % interest on balance transfers and had I not reached out, they would have not submitted for the issue to be corrected. I did advise to them that since this was a KNOWN issue, that this may also be impacting several other customers that have opened an account with them and I should n't have even had to reach out to them for them to correct it. It is now XXXX XXXX, XXXX and the Finance charge still has YET to be reversed off of my account. When I reached back out to them again on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, their response was that they still had to investigate and will receive an answer within 6-8 weeks. AFTER they have admitted that there was a known issue on their system, and that it would be corrected. So now another billing cycle has ended, and am now charged with more interest of now {$25.00}. I still have yet to use the card to make an actual purchase but am being charged interest either way. I have noticed on the statement that they have submitted my balance transfer as a " purchase '' rather than a balance transfer. I have attached both of my statements to show that it clearly shows that there was a balance transfer, and it was wrongfully inputted as a purchase. American Express still has not submitted the correction and have now resulted in me having to file an official complaint with CFPB as this is a deceptive act as they offered me 0.00 % interest, and the are not honoring it.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Lowell, MA

Attempts to collect debt not owed

Debt collection: Credit card debt

Debt was result of identity theft
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Charlotte, NC

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: The issue is about Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express. On XXXX, I called customer service and asked if my charges from XXXX XXXX XXXX would qualify for the airline fee credit. They answered yes because although the airline I selected was XXXX, XXXX acquired XXXX XXXX and they did not have " XXXX XXXX '' in the drop down list. The charges were on XXXX. I called several times after then and every time the representative said I need to wait longer because it takes up to 8 weeks. On XXXX, I called again because both my husband and I have the card, so I want to cancel mine to avoid paying annual fee twice.The representative said I need to wait another week or two if I want to get the airline fee credit and she also promised that they would refund me the annual fee. On XXXX, I contacted them again and was told that the charges from XXXX XXXX did not qualify for the airline fee credit and I can not get refund on annual fee because it passed certain period. Apparently they can not deliver what they have promised.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Garden City, NY

Struggling to pay your bill

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Getting a credit card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Application denied
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-27

Hampton, VA

Fees or interest

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Charged too much interest
Complaint: I have a Delta Skymiles Gold American Express. In XX/XX/XXXX I used a new feature with the card called " plan it ''. I created a {$1000.00} plan, which had no interest and a small monthly fee. The fee was projected to be around {$85.00}, which is less than the interest that would have accrued. I selected a 6 month plan and my monthly payment for the plan would have been about {$180.00} a month. In XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I used the card several times and had charged over {$2000.00} on the card. In XX/XX/XXXX I had a {$100.00} credit applied to the account and then I made a {$800.00} payment on XX/XX/XXXX. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I paid my attorney bar fee in Illinois for {$390.00} and bought two {$100.00} gift cards. Knowing I still owed money and had just charged these amounts, I made a {$1000.00} payment on XX/XX/XXXX. It should be noted that next to every charge that was under {$100.00} on my American Express app, there was a box next to it that said " pay it ''. Next to the other amounts was a box named " plan it ''. Thus according to my account, it appeared I could make payments to " pay it '' to lower my interest accruing account. After I made the {$1000.00} payment I thought I would owe {$660.00} on the revolving credit in XX/XX/XXXX and {$870.00} on the plan with 5 more payments to go, interest free. Instead, American Express took {$470.00} of the payment ( which was the over payment of my current adjusted balance ) and prepaid the " plan it '' feature instead of paying on the revolving account. The reason they did this is due to the fact that my " adjusted balance '' from my previous bill was showing {$0.00} even though I had charged a significant amount since the last bill. The end result of this is, my " plan it '' is now down to {$400.00} with 3 monthly payments left rather than {$870.00} with 5 monthly payments left, and I have an adjusted balance due in XX/XX/XXXX of {$1100.00} rather than {$660.00}. I had intended to pay the {$660.00} off easily in XX/XX/XXXX and not incur any interest on the charges. But now the only way for me to do so is to pay {$1100.00}. 26 which I am not sure I will be able to do, plus the monthly plan it of {$130.00}. Thus, instead of paying {$830.00} next month, I will have to pay approx {$1200.00} to avoid interest. Clearly, this is not what I intended. No consumer would willingly prepay non-interest bearing accounts prior to paying interest bearing accounts. I spent 1 hour and 1/2 on the phone on XX/XX/XXXX with three separate agents, the last one being a manager. I explained to them that this practice is deceiving and in my mind it is illegal. I informed them I am a XXXX. They informed me there was nothing they could do. They were willing to refund my over payment of {$470.00} but the " plan it '' feature could not be brought back to 5 months and I would then owe {$870.00} over 3 months instead of 5, which would double my monthly payment. I read the information that was provided to me when I set up the Plan it feature. I did not see anywhere in that literature that clearly stated if I had no adjusted balance showing, any payments for pending or new charges would go toward the Plan it account rather than the revolving account. My point is this, it is highly confusing and deceptive to a consumer for American Express to list next to each charge on the consumer 's account, under {$100.00}, that they can in fact " pay it '' when, if they do try to pay it ( when there is no adjusted balance showing ), the payment will not go to new or pending charges but instead will go to the Plan it feature thus paying off the non-interest account early. This is deceptive because an average consumer is being invited by American Express to make " pay it '' payments when in fact the company is aware that any payment made will not pay interest accruing charges but instead pay non interest accruing plan it account. Now I am facing either paying interest on the {$470.00} or making a much larger payment in XX/XX/XXXX than I had budgeted. In addition, American Express informed me that " their system '' was not set up to adjust the Plan back to 5 months once the over payment was received. I said several times that since this practice is deceptive, they need to find a way to program their system so that it can reverse situations like this. But they were not interested in fixing the system. Instead they wanted to " educate '' me so that in the future I would not make this mistake. In addition, I suggested that they do away with the Pay it feature all together since that feature is what is causing the confusion. Moreover, since the pay it feature does not actually go to any specific transaction, why even have a pay it feature. All it is really, is a small payment made each time you purchase something. You can do that by just making a payment as well. There is no benefit to the pay it feature, yet there is a great deal of confusion surrounding the pay it feature because it invites consumers to make payments for specific transactions when they are not able to actually pay off that transaction in certain circumstances, like the one I described above. Furthermore, American Express told me that all this is fully explained in the terms and conditions online for the plan it feature. I did read over the terms and conditions and I disagree that it is clearly stated. You apparently have to go to another document called Card member Agreement to see additional information to learn how they apply over payments. Nevertheless, the law is very clear that a business can not bury information in small print in a consumer contract that allegedly says how the credit works, yet provide a very distinctive payment button next to every charge on the mobile app, encouraging the consumer to pay small payments on their account. This is very problematic when, as in my case, there is no adjusted balance because the consumer can not make the very payment that the credit card company is inviting them to make. That is the definition of deceptive practice.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Phila, PA

Getting a credit card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Application denied
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Utica, NY

Managing an account

Checking or savings account: CD (Certificate of Deposit)

Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Complaint: I was XXXX from XXXX XXXX, XXXX to XXXX XXXX, XXXX. On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I wrote American express serve and advised them that a man picked my property up at the jail and did not bring it to the person he said he would, instead he took my banking card and withdrew XXXX. Upon my release I filed a claim and it has been denied. Even after asking them to shut the card off. Im out the XXXX bucks
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Lafayette, CA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Other problem
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Other problem
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Garrett Park, MD

Problem with a purchase or transfer

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose prepaid card

Card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase or transfer
Complaint: I bought an American Express Gift card to use generally and on more than one occassion XXXX has refused a return credit from a merchant. The first time this happened a merchant refunded me after I returned an item totaling over {$400.00}. XXXX did not notify that they were rejecting the refunded credit. When I tried to use the card later, it was frozen and I had to call customer service to find out what was going on. XXXX forced me to contact the merchant to request a new refund. Most recently, this happened again for a {$300.00} return. XXXX refused the return because the amounts didnt match. I bought an item in NY and returned it in MD, the merchant chose to refund a different sales tax amount. XXXX did not notify me that they refused the refund, and I only found out after my card was declined at the grocery store. I contacted XXXX, waited the long hold time for their off-shore customer service, and ended the call with no help as XXXX said I would have to contact the merchant in a couple days to request a new refund. XXXX has no intention of changing their policy to notify a cardmember that their expected refund has been refused. I currently have to hope that the merchant is willing to assist me in getting this resolved. I have also requested multiple times that XXXX send me a check for the balance of the prepaid gift card so I can avoid any more unfortunate experiences trying to use their card. They have flatly refused each time.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Atlanta, GA

Took or threatened to take negative or legal action

Debt collection: Credit card debt

Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I submitted a complaint about American Express regarding my credit card account to the CFPB. This was a last ditch effort after over a month of trying to start a payment plan with Amex. American Express had threatened to ruin my credit. In that complaint, I proposed a simple repayment schedule - see Complaint Detail ( attached ). I have called and asked for assistance, payment plans, structures, etc. many times. I even wrote the president of the company. ( attached ) on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. After I contacted the CFPB, American Express sent me a response. Part of it is as follows : " We have not reported this account to the consumer credit reporting agencies We sent the enclosed letter to you XXXX XXXX, XXXX explaining that we will defer placement of your account with a collection agency providing that you contact us to agree upon an acceptable payment plan. Because this is a Small Business account, we have not yet reported this account to the consumer credit reporting agencies. '' Obviously, I have tried multiple times to contact American Express. This response does contain a bold face lie. American Express did, in fact, report this account to the credit reporting agencies causing my credit score to drop over 100 points. Please see attached screen shot from XXXX. American Express did follow through on their promise to ruin my credit even though I have done everything in my power to resolve the situation. This is the kind of bullying and bad faith business practices that should be no part of our financial system. I simply want to repay this debt over several months and have no negative credit due to this issue.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-26

Eagle Mountain, UT

Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting

Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-12-25

Tampa, FL

Trouble using your card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Can't use card to make purchases
Complaint: Have had my card turned off due to improper trasactions on card and have a new one on the way. However in the meantime have run out of cash to live. Food etc. But when i ask XXXX to temporarily turn my existing card on to access my funds so i can eat during XXXX they deny me several times. I am XXXX XXXX no car and cant walk and im being denied my own funds
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-25

San Antonio, TX

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-12-25

Sierra Madre, CA

False statements or representation

Debt collection: Credit card debt

Attempted to collect wrong amount
Complaint: This complaint is against American Express ( hereinafter AE ) regarding their repeated attempts to collect an amount that is inaccurate, and based on a breech of agreement on their part, whereby, the AE that dates back to XXXX 2014. The account agreement interest rate on the account should be 18.24 %, and is now being billed at over 29 % in violation of their own agreement. The account in question is being overcharged, and and shoped around to various credit reporting agencies in an effort to mar my credit and reputation, and causing me to be unable to obtain other credit. In addition, the AE account in question and appearing on my personal credit report as a negative item is a business account for XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX and should not be on my personal credit report. I first tried to resolve this matter with AE, and later disputed the negative item on my personal credit report with all three major credit reporting agencies, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX all to no avail, and with no response that my disputes with their perspective firms were investigated. To date, I none of the aforementioned have provided sustaining documents to validate the information all have placed on my personal account as negative.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response