Complaint Rating:

AMEX card holder since 1974. Always paid off the entire balance every month. Used it three times Sunday night, Nov 9, 2008, for about $200 total. Less than 24 hours later, a $50+ was denied at a grocery store BECAUSE I HAD NEVER SHOPPED THERE BEFORE! Don't ever recall being declined before.

First, that's bull. It had been two years since I shopped in one of those stores, but I had shopped with them before.

Second, TRY and get a believable answer by calling one of their "service" numbers. You end up talking to someone in India who obviously has no idea what standing in a grocery line is about and told me I should have called them on the spot to clear up the matter! Next time, I'm leaving the groceries and walking out.

Third, even if it WAS a fraudulent charge, it was just above $50. Technically, I'm responsible for teh first $50 of fraudulent activity and they cover the rest. So why decline a charge that's so small? Seems more like harassment than protection to me!