AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

2019-08-28

Houston, TX

Trouble using your card

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

Can't use card to make purchases
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-28

Chester, NY

Closing your account

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

Company closed your account
Complaint: I have had multiple personal and business accounts with american express for nearly ten years. I have never once not paid the balance in full before the due date. Given my flawless account history I have over a {$300000.00} line of credit with them. They have recently locked my accounts to do a risk review. I provided my tax returns showing healthy income and offered to submit my business returns which show 10 million plus in revenue. They said they only want the personal returns. 12 days later they permanently canceled all of my cards. They did not give me a suitable explanation besides that I was linked to another card holder who had a delinquent account. This additional card holder works for me a few hours a week, and I got him a card to purchase some basic office supplies once a week. I was not aware this account holder ever had financial issues with american express. As a result of this all of my accounts were shut down. American express refused to issue my points that were on the most recent statements which totaled over 200,000 points, in addition they refused to refund all of my membership fees totaling over {$1000.00}, and they demanded I transfer all of my points out of my account same day with resulted in a major financial loss. In addition I relied on this card for all of my business spending and now my business is crippled and can not be repaired for many months. I believe this level of bullying from corporate America is unjust and unfair to a small business owner. All assistance it appreciated.
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-28

Alpharetta, GA

Fees or interest

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

Charged too much interest
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-28

Elmwood Park, IL

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 explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-28

Scottsdale, AZ

Fees or interest

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

Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Watkins, CO

Attempts to collect debt not owed

Debt collection: Credit card debt

Debt was result of identity theft
Complaint: I recently applied for a home loan and was denied do to fraudulent activities. I have never applied for AMEX or have I used this credit card. I have recently tried to dispute this directly with the bureaus and asked for an Itemized bill, they verified as accurate. The reason why I asked for this is because I was served in XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX and hired an Attorney XXXX XXXX. We were able to prove I never used it and my signature from the one on the application was different. They also showed me an itemized bill There were charges to flights to XXXX, AZ and other places. I showed my passport to show proof that this was never me who took these vacations or that I used it. There was no stamp of indication that I have ever flown out of Colorado, it was plain. They came to the conclusion it was not me and dismissed it. I proved that this was not me who took this CC out but my EX- Husband. We showed the divorce papers to show that we had divorced in XX/XX/XXXX and he would be the only person that could have done this since he would have had my personal information. I am willing to do the same thing for AMEX. I have never applied nor used their CC.
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Alta, CA

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 requesting that American Express honor the XXXX XXXX XXXX sign up bonus for spending {$3000.00} in 3 months that was advertised when I signed up for this credit card. I spent over {$3000.00} in a month. I was told I was denied this sign up bonus due to opening and closing too many AMEX cards. That is absolutely incorrect as I only have 2 credit cards from American Express, both which are still active. I have credit cards from different issuers and use them depending on the situation ( travel card for travel expenses ). I have not and had no intention of closing these credit cards. I have spoken to representatives on the phone who said a " popup '' should have appeared when I applied for the card which would have told me I would not be eligible for this sign up bonus. A popup did NOT pop up stating so and if it did, I would not have submitted the application. This is a classic case of bait and switch and is false advertisement.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Key Biscayne, FL

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 received email and physical correspondence from AMEX about a new program called Pay It / Plan It. The program allows a creditor to bunch up large purchases and create a payment plan specifically for only those purchases. After seeing this offer on both my AMEX App, Email and Physical advertisements I decided to take advantage of the offer. There was no need to sign up nor any credit check of any sort it was included within my card. I then made a large purchase and when I tried to complete the Pay It / Plan it program I was prompted by the app and the website that I can not use the Pay It / Plan It program. I then reached out to Amex both via chat and via phone and I was told that my specific card product does not allow this due to the minimum payment calculation or what have you. Yet I referred my fiance to use this card and she is in fact being able to take advantage of this program. In my 6 years with AMEX I have never missed a payment and I have had a high credit score. I provided proof to AMEX that I received an e-mail with a photo of my Blue Card and the last 5 digits of the card on the e-mail and the first link within the e-mail is the Pay It / Plan it program. When I spoke to a representative they apologized saying that this is not an offer that I am eligible for. I advised the agent that this is predatory lending and false advertisement by AMEX because I made this large purchase with this card on purpose. Mind you, AMEX has the highest interest rates and due to the program I could avoid such fee 's but apparently AMEX has boxed me in and now I have no choice but either pay my balance in full or incur their OUTRAGEOUS interest rates. I have proof of the email I received from AMEX and read all of the fine print and I should be eligible for this program. I am disgusted to be an AMEX member for over 6 years and not be able to take advantage of a program that was offered to me.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Atl, GA

Problem with a purchase or transfer

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose prepaid card

Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Hillsdale, NJ

Trouble using the card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose prepaid card

Trouble using the card to spend money in a store or online
Complaint: Purchased an American Express Serve " prepaid '' card from XXXX on XX/XX/2019. Paid {$100.00} in cash plus {$2.00} for the card to charge it. Tried to use it the next day and it was turned down by XXXX, where I had purchased it. The company had additional fees of {$8.00} per month, starting from registration, plus I had to wait several weeks for the actual card to arrive if I wanted to use it ( this is a card I had purchased to travel ). I tried to get a refund from XXXX and American Express. XXXX sent a nice letter saying they would refer my complaint to another department. American Express never replied. This card is completely useless for any purchases, online or otherwise. I could provide all sorts of personal information to the company and pay {$8.00} per month to get a " real '' card maybe sent to me, and maybe not, with no guarantee the card would arrive within one month ; but they do not seem trustworthy enough to provide any more information than they already have.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Yukon, OK

Attempts to collect debt not owed

Debt collection: Credit card debt

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

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Itasca, IL

Fees or interest

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

Problem with fees
Complaint: I made payment to american express card but due to some error it got declined and my bank charged me {$30.00} and AMEX charged me XXXX XXXX then I chat with AMEX and tell them about it and they returned my fee. I also call my bank and tell them about it and due to my good history they gave my money back and asked me to call AMEX to inform that do not try to pull payment again ( generally institution pull amount for three time incase it get declined ). So, I chat with amex and they assured me that their institution won't try to pull the payment but still they did next day back to back two times. Then I called amex again and discuss about it for half an hour and they were trying to manipulate. Then I told them that I have written proof that your agent gave me and I will go legally against this. Then representative agreed to give {$60.00} fees back to my account. But when statement was generated I didn't get that amount and when I called again they changed their word and they said we will call you after we look into it, still they did not call me back. I called them on XX/XX/2019 around between XXXX to XXXX, you can check call recording and they agree to pay that amount but now they change their word. I have case id : XXXX which was given to me on XX/XX/XXXX by representative who assured me for that {$60.00} amount.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-27

Jamaica, NY

Incorrect information on your report

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

Account information incorrect
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

East Rockaway, NY

Incorrect information on your report

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

Information belongs to someone else
Complaint: when checking my credit report there was some fraudulent accounts on my credit report I will like for these items to be removed asap!!!!
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-27

FL

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

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

Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Complaint: Received targeted mailing offer from American Express for Delta Skymiles Platinum card. No terms and conditions listed on mailer about credit hard or soft pulls required for approval. Called Amex on XX/XX/XXXX and spent over an hour talking and being transferred to 5 different people with NO ONE being able to give any clarification on a credit pull being done or not done for applying for the card. I believe this to be a FCRA violation as the consumer has no way to know if credit will be pulled or not during the application process until after approval or denial.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Wrentham, MA

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

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

Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Complaint: I was shocked when I reviewed my credit report and found late payment on the dates below : 30 Days Late Mark Dated XX/XX/2019 I am not sure how this happened, I believe that I had made my payments to you when I received my statements. My only thought is that my monthly statement did not get to me.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-26

CA

Trouble using the card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose prepaid card

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

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Discovery Bay, CA

Other features, terms, or problems

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

Problem with customer service
Complaint: Today I've received an email alert from American Express informing me that one of my American Express accounts credit limit has decreased. I've reached the customer service portal to further investigate the reason behind this as all of my AMEX accounts are in good standing. Upon speaking with one of the Representative, who is unhelpful and not to mention not able to answer any of my questions instead, he was reading off a " SCRIPT '' while trying to answering these questions. I then requested to speak with a Supervisor after my many attempts of trying to get to the root cause of WHY AMEX REDUCED MY CREDIT LINE LIMIT WHEN ALL OF MY ACCOUNTS WITH AMEX IS IN GOOD STANDING ( I NEVER CARRY A BALANCE ON THESE ACCOUNTS AND EVERYTHING IS PAID IN FULL AND ON TIME. ) Well, perhaps, the Supervisor is just as helpless as the Representative. One of the reasons that the Supervisor mentioned to me as to why AMEX decreased my credit line limit was due to their routine credit profile review on my profile. And recently, my score have dropped due to a few reasons, BUT this is RECENTLY! Recently, there seem to be a lot of new inquiries on my credit report and also my debt to income ratio to seem to be a bit high and due to those reasons, AMEX decided to take precautious by decreasing their " RISK '' of taking on a customer like myself. The Supervisor offered to proceed with TRYING TO HELP me by filing for reconsideration on my account so that I can get back my " {$1600.00} '' credit line limit that AMEX reduced to {$800.00} ''. During the filing process, the Supervisor asked me for my income info, then my asset info and so on. Right when I thought the process was finished, the Supervisor responded by saying, " I am going to send you an email along with a list of documentation that you have to submit as proof '' in order for us to reconsider your credit line limit. You will have to provide us with either one of these proofs, indicating your income and asset balance, given what you provided over the phone is TRUE. '' Are you serious? Why would I go through the trouble by submitting all of my PERSONAL income and asset information for a credit line of {$800.00} or should I say {$1600.00}. I've mentioned to the Supervisor that he can clearly see on my credit report that it shows I have two mortgages with two different private lenders for two properties, that alone exceeded {$1.00} XXXX dollars, now if I have to submit proof for my 401k and checking/saving accounts, that is absurd! Not to mention, while my other credit creditors who offer me higher credit line limits ( $ XXXX, $ XXXX and so on ) did not even bother to reduce my credit line limit when my credit scores dropped a few points. It's very shocking to find out who these creditors are only in the business to make money off of the consumers with their RIDICULOUS and ABSURD poor customer service. It is unfortunate that I can't ( well I can, but it will impact my credit score ) to close all my accounts with AMEX ....
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Washington, DC

Trouble using your card

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

Can't use card to make purchases
Complaint: XX/XX/2020 : American Express Credit Cards : American Express XXXX XXXX, American Express Delta Platinum, American Express Platinum I tried to charge {$20.00} for a XXXX Metro Card to refill my card. I saw the transactions kept getting denied. I then used my XXXX XXXX Debit card and the transaction immediately went through. I then called American Express and inquired why the transactions on my Amex cards were denied. I was told that there was a late payment, my one day, on my business credit card. I said ok, well we did not receive a statement for that account, nor a bill, or any notice of past due or upcoming bill. I said to suspend my personal account is not acceptable as my company is a Corporation with it's one FEIN. It's an entirely separate entity and to suspend all of my personal cards with them, available credit in excess of $ 16K was absolutely because of a clerical error and ailing to notify me properly was obscene. They did not issue any late fees or penalties, I paid the amount on the company card needed to re-activate my personal cards. I only had my amex cards during this trip and my debit card, which put me in a very precarious position. This practice is utterly unacceptable.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Hialeah, FL

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

2019-08-26

CA

Fees or interest

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

Problem with fees
Complaint: I have a Delta Airline American Express Card, I used the card last year and was charged {$95.00} Fee, I have not made any purchases since last year and made payments every month. I was charged {$95.00} fee again this month. I called they told me I will not get any millage credit, I cancelled my credit card and asked to get credit for {$95.00} fee, they said it will take 45 days to get credit. I am a senior citizen, I don't think I should pay over 21 % interest rate on membership fees. I will contact congresswomen XXXX XXXX if I don't get credited right away.
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Seligman, AZ

Managing an account

Checking or savings account: Other banking product or service

Deposits and withdrawals
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Ridley Park, PA

Improper use of your report

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

Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2019-08-26

Atlanta, GA

Problem with a purchase shown on your statement

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

Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Complaint: On or before XX/XX/2019, I made a reservation for two rooms with a Sea view at the XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. I prepaid for my rooms at a cost of {$5200.00} via my American Express card that ends in XXXX. Our rooms were supposed to be air conditioned, clean, with a working refrigerator, views of the XXXX, a bidet and executive lounge access. That is not what we got from the XXXX XXXX. I have attached a copy of the letter that I drafted to American Express, when I placed the hotel charges into dispute. The letter clearly outlines the deficient services that we received in addition to deceptive billing practices. I contacted Amex on XX/XX/XXXX to place {$7100.00} into dispute from the XXXX XXXX. This amount includes deceptive charges, services that we did not receive and faulty rooms that did not have working air conditioning, power outages, broken refrigerator, laundry charges etc. When I spoke with the representative at Amex, I explained that I had all of the supporting documentation for the aforementioned claims and I asked her, how to send them. She sent me an email link for document uploads and told me to send it after she submitted the dispute. After the call, I went to the link and it would not allow me to upload my documents. It showed that the dispute was closed and settled in my favor with a credit to my account in the amount of {$7100.00}. On or after XX/XX/XXXX, I made multiple payments to Amex, in an effort to make sure that my balance stayed at {$0.00}, because I was traveling to XXXX on XX/XX/2019 and I planned on using my card for hotel stays. On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid {$1900.00} and my balance was XXXX. The very next day, my balance increased to nearly {$3600.00}, but there were not any charges to the account. I contacted Amex and a rep told me that they were old charges that finally posted, which was completely inaccurate, but at this point, I am in XXXX checking into the XXXX XXXX and my card is being denied. So I made another payment of {$2900.00}, so that I could use my card. The day after that, my balance increased again to {$7300.00}. I contacted Amex and they informed me that all of the charges from the XXXX XXXX were reposted back to my account. I thought that this was egregious and without merit. I did not have any warning and I was never given the opportunity to present my documentation, when the original dispute was filed. So I asked them to place all of the charges back into dispute. The rep assured me that all of charges were in dispute and that I was not responsible for paying anything, while it was in dispute. He went on to state that the disputed charges would not be posted to my credit bureau reports. He said and I quote that the only charges that would report to my credit bureaus is the remaining balance that I owed minus the disputed charges. So I paid an additional {$800.00} to make sure that it reported a XXXX balance. Lastly, I uploaded all of the documentation for my claim, yet Amex keeps asking for me to resubmit the same documentation. On of after XX/XX/XXXX, I was alerted by my credit monitoring service that Amex had reported me over the limit with a credit utilization of 254 %. My score literally went from XXXX to XXXX! I am in the middle of purchasing a commercial property for my new XXXX XXXX and the mortgage lenders are now telling me that if my score doesnt come up to at least XXXX, I will not be able to close on my property. Additionally, I have had this card since XXXX of 2019 and I OVER PAY my bill every month, just to have enough funds to use my card. I have applied multiple times for a limit increase and each time I am DENIED, even though my point score is high, my credit utilization is low, my income is high enough and I have minimum inquires. Every time that I ask for a line increase, they send me a denial letter, which states different reasons each time. They alleged that I had a payment returned for Non-Sufficient funds and that is an outright lie. I had a payment that was rejected because my bank thought that it was fraud. They sent Amex a letter, which stated that. Thereafter, they claim that I have too many inquires, or not enough credit, or not enough time with them and the list goes on. I am starting to suspect that there is something on my internal file with them that states to not increase my credit lines on my cards. Its discriminatory and unfair. Lastly, when I was in XXXX, the front desk insisted on me signing the credit card charge slips, even though I was disputing the charges. They told me that if I didnt sign, it would be the same as not paying my bill. He went on to say that XXXX has become somewhat of a XXXX country based upon the new president and his policies and that I did not want it to become a police matter. I felt bullied and scared at that moment. My daughters were with me and I just wanted to get back to the states. I have stayed at multiple XXXX XXXX locations and I have never had an experience like I did at the XXXX location.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2019-08-25

CA

Trouble using your card

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

Can't use card to make purchases
Complaint: Charging privileges suspended by American Express. Absolutely NO warning, and no explanation. Account fully current with no balance due. NO explanation given. 30 year customer. When I call American Express, they can not understand why this has been done and advise me I " will be called back '' when they figure out the issue. It has been 6 weeks and I have received NO response. This card is FULLY current., no balance is owed and they appear to have taken away thousands of awards points without explanation.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response