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2.4 448 Reviews

American Express Complaints Summary

145 Resolved
283 Unresolved
Our verdict: Engaging with American Express, which has a below-average resolution rate, demands caution. Thoroughly assess their service reviews and explore how they handle unresolved complaints. If you encounter issues, document your experiences meticulously and be persistent in seeking resolutions.
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American Express reviews & complaints 448

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1:19 am EST
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American Express card activation

I bought a $50 American Express gift card from CVS in Diamond Bar for my brother-in-laws birthday. Three days later he tried using the card and it was declined at three places. Turns out although the receipt claimed the card was activated it was not and contained a balance of $0 not $50 that was charged as well as a fee of $4.95. I called AMEX customer service, they told me to fax over copies of the receipt of purchase, front and back of card, it's packaging and my state issued ID. I had this problem happen months ago and CVS called AMEX and resolved the problem within minutes and CVS issued me a new card in store. Now CVS has a "new policy" with AMEX and customers MUST go through AMEX exclusively. I think I'm getting the run around as I've read has happened to MANY other unsuspecting customers. I think a class action lawsuit may be in order! As well, if I don't get satisfaction from AMEX I will see if the local Los Angeles TV news stations want to hear the story of the big card company AGAIN ripping off the hard working consumers!

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DontBuyAmexCards
Los Angeles, US
Mar 16, 2011 11:33 pm EDT
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I bought $2000 worth of American Express in 8 gift cards to give to customers to create goodwill. 1 card I had not yet given out. One customer called me to tell me her card was not working. I had Amex check the other card I still had and found out that one also was not activated, even though I have the activation receipt! The Gift Card Resolution team was willing to send me a replacement for the 2 non-working cards I had in my possession. Now I am left with going back to my customers and asking for those cards back. More than likely, they tried to use the cards, said a few choice words about me and just discarded the non-working cards. Now to replace them and try and minimize the bad-will this has created, I will be taking a loss of another $1600. Amex won't replace the cards from the receipt or even credit me back the processing fee unless I can produce the non-working cards from my customers. DO NOT BUY Amex gift cards to give to anyone you actually like, or you could have your gift blow up in your face like this has for me!

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workenstiffer
Orange, US
Oct 09, 2010 7:55 pm EDT
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I just bought a $25.00 Amex gift card for my daughter so she could buy a game online five dollar change. The Web sight had a picture of the Amex card on its page. The card would not work and when I called the help desk I got some Indian guy with plenty of excuses. After waiting two hours and trying repeatability still no game. Now I have to wait until Monday after 7AM to call them back and my daughter is crying she wants to play her game. I want a full refund and I have Monday off so I have all day to spend on the phone. I will never buy a AMEX gift card again and I will tell everyone I know to stay away too. Who else can we call to complain about them?

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jonnydanger
San Diego, US
Aug 02, 2009 2:59 pm EDT

I have $100 X 3 American express gift cards( $300 total) not activated. When I called American express, I got an Indian call center that implied that I stole the cards and said I was lying when I said they had a problem with their computer system.

When the activation instruction were followed, the balance on the cards were check online before they were fully activated which caused their system never to active the cards.

Now, it has been days since the activation and the cards have zero balance on them.

Why can't American express fix their computer systems? My guess is because it is run by these Indian call centers who are like mindless robots which follow a script and have no ability to look into problems that fall outside their script.

Stay far far away from these cards or else American express will end up stealing your money.

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Jackie
Portland, US
Jun 10, 2009 11:17 am EDT

We opened an American Express Costco Card 2 months ago. It was cancelled 2 months later, due to our 'credit report'. How much could it have changed in 2 months? We have no late fees, no problem areas and no understanding of what happened. I am relieved to hear this is a pervasive problem as I have been searching for what happened. And their closure of our account will do more to hurt our credit than anything they could have found. A class action suit is in order. Portland, Oregon

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scarlett185
Atlanta, US
May 11, 2009 12:15 pm EDT

Same thine happened to me. I think it would be a good idea to have a class action suit. Please contact me scarlett185@mac.com

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Miss Clover
New York, US
Jan 05, 2009 2:20 pm EST

Steer clear of Amex prepaid gift cards. Gift cash instead and save yourself the headaches.

I was given 3 Amex prepaid gift cards as a holiday present ($500, $50, $25). First, I called the toll-free number on the back of the Amex card to verify the full amounts were available - - they were.

Surprisingly, few retail stores in my NYC area would accept Amex gift cards. I should have gotten the hint then, but I forged on innocently.

A Nordstrom department store accepted my Amex gift cards, however the clerk was having such a hard time exchanging the Amex cards for Nordstrom gift cards (standard procedure?), that she became frustrated.

After 5 minutes of trying without success, the clerk asked me how I was going to pay, then dismissed me and told me to go to customer service. At that point, I started getting very embarrassed.

Next, I discovered that when the clerk swiped my cards to then cancelled my purchase, the cards were showing $0 balance.

No merchandise. No money on my Amex gift cards, and no Nordstrom gift card.

Nightmare.

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American Express credit limit reduction

I recently returned from Afghanistan.

After inacting the federally mandated Service Members Civil Relief Act American Express told me thay had recieved negative cret information from Equifax and had to reduce my available credit.

I pulled my credit report and discovered my credit is super-clean without a single mark with a credit score is "excellent". My American Express account has always been paid in full and I have A+ credit. After years of trusting AMEX I find that I have no faith in the company. Who knows if the card will be accepted or declined when used. American Express FIRST lowers the available credit THEN sends out a notification letter. I guess they have better things to do than make money off of my business. Good riddence!

AMEX reduced my credit limit as an act of revenge for my enactment of the Service Members Civil Relief Act. How do I know? This is the second time they reduced my available credit and both times it was within days of either enacting the Service Members Civil Relief Act or days of renewing the Service Members Civil Relief Act. Coincidence? Nope!

I will be looking elsewhere for my financial requirements. American Express can no longer be trusted. Beware: they are beginning to show signs of financial collapse.

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CanAmex
3000 20th st n, US
Dec 18, 2008 3:20 pm EST

Welcome to the club! AMEX took away 70k of our available credit with no warning. No lates, 700+ score. What they are doing should be against the law. I wrote a blog with some things I did to fight back:

http://amexcreditreduction.blogspot.com/

The funny part is they are also asking for BILLIONS from the bailout bill. The same bill that was passed by congress to INCREASE lending!

Once again, they little people get the shaft, while corporate america gets a bailout. Shameful. Shameful Shameful.

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Laurie
Haslet, US
Dec 17, 2008 3:20 pm EST
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They lied - it was American Express's decision to cut your limit - YOUR CREDIT RATING had nothing to do with it. IT WAS PURELY A BUSINESS DECISION. ALL THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE DOING IT!

Its the economy - they are claiming it was your credit rather than admit it was a company decision They ARE DOING IT TO EVERYONE!

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8:14 am EST
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American Express refund

*Theft of $10, 000 Amex Travelers Cheques in Africa*

On July 14, 2008 I was robbed of $10, 000.00 in Amex Travelers Cheques in Africa. During the very short and violent struggle my companion was injured and the criminals ran off with my bag and its contents. Traumatized we picked ourselves up and went back to the hotel where I immediately made a call to the USA to my friend and asked him to contact Amex immediately to cancel the cheques. It is a matter of record that he did exactly as I had requested immediately. He provided to Amex the serial numbers of all the stolen checks and additional pertinent information. Please note that thereafter I also made contact with Amex, but due to the poor cellular network in Africa I was not able to complete the call and decided it was best to handle the matter in more precise detail upon my return to the USA. Upon my return this began the difficult task of obtaining a refund of my $10, 000. I submitted a mountain of documents..The following is a list of the documents and information provided to Amex

1)Claims reimbursement forms

2)Receipts of all Travelers cheques(all were signed at the time of purchase

3)USA valid passport

4)USA valid Drivers License

5)Bank statement showing withdrawl from checking account to purchase cheques

6)Legal document from Government in Africa showing business venture there

7)Airline tickets showing travel to and from Africa

8)2 Business references

9)Phone numbers to 3 cell phones that were stolen in the robbery

10)Numerous emails and probing phone interviews by the claims dept

11)MEETING IN MY PRIVATE RESIDENCE WITH AMEX SECURITY AGENT

12)5 page letter summarizing my meeting with the Amex Security Agent

When I purchased the American Express Travelers Cheques I did so with the understanding that in the case that they are lost or stolen that they would be refunded to me with 24 hours by contacting Amex immediately and provide the serial numbers to the stolen cheques and valid identification. Never did I think that I would be put on trial and I had to prove without any doubt in order to regain what is rightfully mine.

The refund of my $10, 000 came on December 08, 2008 after much work and the Amex Security Agent visit to my home..

****CONSUMER ALERT***

THE PRINT ADS AND TV ADVERTISEMENT PROMISES IF YOUR AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVELERS CHEQUES ARE LOST OR STOLEN YOU CAN OBTAIN A REFUND WITHIN 24 HOURS WORLD WIDE!

**Is there a violation of FTC laws?

**Is this a case of exaggerated, false advertisement?

**Does cosumers have the right to know the truth about the refund process?

This should not have happened to me a good law abiding USA citizen who as a consumer trusted a product based on their consumer advertisement and learned a hard lesson and the truth in a time of need.

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American Express travelers cheques refund claim

*update to my 11/16/08 complaint report
*****consumer warning*****
Amex travel related services, co. inc. travelers cheques print ads and television commercials suggest "do not leave home without them"...
The company also states that the cheques can be refunded within 24 hours worldwide if lost or stolen..
In my previous submitted complaint i was robbed on july 14, 2008 and after informing the company immediately, i returned home to start submitting a mountain of documents

1) claims reimbursement forms
2) receipt of all travelers cheques(all were signed prior to theft!)
3) usa valid passport and drivers license
4)bank statement showing money withdrawl to purchase checks!
5) police report
6) police report payment receipt
7) medical note from police dept given to the other victim
8) legal document from govt of the country where theft occured to show what i was doing there!
9) airline ticket showing travel to and from africa
10) 2 business references
11) phone numbers to the cell phones that were stolen
12) numerous emails and probing phone interviews by the claims department
13) meeting with american express security agent in my home!
14) 5 page letter summarizing my meeting with the american express security agent

After much work, being shocked and humiliated and feeling violated a check in the amount of $10, 000.00 was received by me on dec 08, 2008. if you are in a foreign country and your cheques are lost or stolen how is it possible for a customer to do this type of shameful hard work to recover what is rightfully theirs especially when you have bought the cheques with the understanding that if they are lost/stolen they will be replaced anywhere worldwide within a short period of time usually 24 hours!

The questions that arises in my mind are
1) does the company discriminate refunds geographically?
2) are there any violations of ftc laws?
3) is this a case of exaggerated false advertisement?
4) should the ftc investigate this company's practices in regards to the print ads/commercial ads based on travelers cheques refund?

Having to give american express so much private information i now know what it must feel like to be on trial in a criminal court!..i feel insulted and violated.. this should never happen to a law abiding citizen of the united states who as a consumer purchased a product with the understanding of what the company advises, only to learn a very hard and sad lesson about the truth, in a great time of need.
Fyi: atm machines are now well equipped all over the world to take cash in the local currency of the country
There are a number of websites with reports on the american express travelers cheques eg. consumeraffairs.com, complaints.com, /link removed/ amexsux.com

Should you leave home without them?

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American Express wrongfully sent to collections

My husband has been a member with American Express since 1993. In the last two years we have spent $3, 000 a month on the card and before for that more like $800.00 to $1, 000.00. Of course we would pay it off each month. In May 2008 my husband was laid off. We were still making the payments. When August came and he'd still had no luck getting a job so we'd called up American express and spoke with them about how we'd reached hard times right now. They set us up in their CARE Program and the agreement was to pay $410.00 each month for a year till it was paid off and our account would be reinstated. That was August 14th. We than paid the bill each month after - Sept. 11th, Oct. 10th and Nov. 10th.

Come November 15th we'd received a letter from AMEX stating that we hadn't paid our bill and if we didn't it would be sent to collections. We called American Express and the rep stated that it was a system error but that we would have to make another $410 payment. The rep also stated that the payment would drop when he re-enrolled us in it again it would be about $200. We would still have paid the $410 though. We told the rep we did not have the money to make another $410 payment since we'd just made one. Rep stated that it was OK to make the payment come December. November 18th comes and we get a call from a collections agency stating that our acct had been sent to them.

My husband called AMEX and they cold transfered him right over to collections. On 12/03/08 he called again and they stated that they were unable to assist him because his acct was in collections that they would transfer him to collections. My husband refused to be transfered and the rep was unwilling to help so my husband hung up the phone. So I immediately called AMEX. I spoke with rep id# 85970 in Manila and immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. Rep stated that I would have to tell her whats going on, so I told her the story. The Rep then proceeded to tell me that her supervisor refused to speak with me. I also heard her floor supervisor speaking to her in Filipino which I know is NOT OK. She than tried to warm transfer me to Account Services but she got back on the line stating that Account Services refused to speak to us as well. Finally after over an hour of being on the phone she transfered me to a Supervisor (I'm assuming). Supervisor became very agitated when I asked for her name and rep id; trying to ignore the question. Her rep id# NOVB815 which I have reason to think that is not even her id#. Oh and she is also in Manila. She placed me on hold for 15 minutes right after she'd received my call than came back on acted like she couldn't hear me than stated "oh, just a sec, just a sec" and placed me back on hold. Then came back on and quickly mumbled something. I asked her to slow down and she stopped and asked to speak to my husband. I put him on the line and she told him that they saw where we had been making our payments and that some one will give us a call back later that day (Dec 3rd, 2008). I told my husband to ask for a case# or a commitment date and she said there was no such thing. No one ever called us back!

We've wrongfully been sent to collections! We spoke with a gentleman from the 3rd party Collections Agency and he'd stated we're not the only ones this has happened to. He said that it was showing our account was flagged to be able to get another credit card with them after we paid this one off. Does that even make sense? That they would want to give us another card if we weren't paying our bill and "had" to be sent to collections? THERE IS NO WAY I'M GETTING ANOTHER CARD WITH THEM! They will either fix this and allow us to keep THIS account OR nothing at all. Our credit is immaculate and there is no way I'm OK with wrongfully being sent to a COLLECTIONS AGENCY!

I'm at a complete loss... I don't know what to do. Maybe I will take it up with the media. They talk about things that aren't even news and this to me is more news than many stories I've seen lately.

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J106
Nashua, US
Jan 25, 2009 7:02 pm EST

Same thing happened to me. They screwed up, admitted they screwed up and said "sorry, you're in collections we can't do anything". I had never made a late payment. Matter of fact, I was paying more than the minimum. I have contacted the BBB and now the State Attorney general. I told the debt collectors that I will not pay as long as I am in collections, but I will pay AMEX if they fix this. I made the charges I will pay them. Luckily my ex-husband destroyed my credit so this is really doing anythiny MORE to it, but the principle of it is jsut ridiculous. At least I have a divorce decree stating I wasn't responsible for his things, but this AMEX was in my name! Not happy, but they're going to be a lot unhappier when I'm done. They should learn the cardinal rule of customer service. Apologize early, because the longer your mistakes go on and people get harassed and pissed off, the more your mistakes cost you. Good luck on your end!

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American Express would not replace empty gift card box

My husband and I received 2 American Express gift cards for our wedding from his boss at work. Both were $100 in value and purchased at a local Wawa.

The very evening we received them, my husband opened one of the gift cards up to find that the box had been slit on the side and the gift card was missing. He immediately called American Express to inform them of the missing card in order to have it replaced. They said they would note the complaint and we would receive a phone call within 5 business days. After a week passes, we still never received a call.

My husband calls a second time and discovers that they have NO RECORD of the first call. He gives them the information again, and once more they tell him that American Express will call him within 5 business days.

We got married and went away on our honeymoon for almost 2 weeks without hearing a thing from American Express. My husband calls a third time, and the employee on the other end tells him that he needs to send in the receipt for the gift card purchase. This was GIFT! We didn't buy the card, it was given to us. My husband is not tactless enough to ask his boss for the receipt for our wedding gift because the card had been stolen in the store. If American Express was competent enough to have recorded the first complaint, hours after the card had been purchased, perhaps we could have had it replaced. Instead, we spent a month trying to resolve the issue and got nowhere.

I feel terrible that my husband's boss gave us a gift that went to waste because American Express lacks proper customer service.

We did not receive a replacement card and $100 was probably spent by the thief who stole it in the first place. We will never purchase American Express gift cards for this very reason and I canceled the credit card I had with them.

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Dan W. Bridges
Dan W. Bridges
Humble, US
Nov 14, 2011 5:48 pm EST
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American Express Gift Card Promotion Is a scam. They tell you that they are going to send you a $10.00 Gift card after you refill the card 2 times @75 dollars.
Then they dont send the card. Customer service is in Some country where They dont have the first clue about the english lanquage.

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American Express Gift cards scam

Don't reward your customers with AMEX gift cards. They will curse you for it.

I had 2 amex gift cards which expired and AMEX isnot willing to re-activate my AMEX GC. Each time I got a new 800 number to call. Basically I am out of $50.

I am a happy customer with their Credit Cards but their Gift Cards suck.

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American Express awful experience

I am wondering if anyone else has had the following issue. Every month, when paying my first of the month bills, I schedule my payments for my green card and optima online on the american express website. For years I have never had an issue. Then a couple of months ago for some reason my payments didn't post and American Express claimed no record of the payments. I was able to call to immediately pay and since this was my first 'late' payment in 15 years, they were willing to remove the late fees and the 14% increase in my optima interest rate. For the next couple of months out of sheer fear of the same thing happening again, I didn't schedule payments and instead went ahead and paid until the month of October. I scheduled payments to be paid on the due dates for both of the cards at the beginning of the month. In the middle of the month I decided to pay my green card off in full, so I deleted the scheduled payment for my greencard and paid the balance in full that day which posted just fine. I did not touch the optima scheduled payment which was due to pay on the 21st.

When I went online to check today on my new statement, I saw that no payment had ever posted for my optima card and the rate had again been increased 14%. A call to customer service promptly allowed me to pay off the balance in full, and remove the late fee, but they were unwilling to drop the interest rate. (which doesn't technically matter since I paid the account in full but still it is irritating). The customer service rep asked if I had the confirmation number from the scheduled payment (I do not) so I asked him back if it was possible to look it up, he said he could not. It seems odd that he could find it if I have it but if I don't have it they can't look it up to find out if what I am saying is the truth. That seems improbable since these records would seem to be something you would want to be able to prove in either direction.

So I am wondering if anyone else has had this issue and if it is possible that AMEX is either ignorantly or even maliciously losing scheduled payments. I do wonder if they would dig for my lost scheduled payment transaction if I had a lawyer asking for it.

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saleks
Germantown, US
Aug 11, 2014 11:13 am EDT
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I can swear that happened to me too.
First, about 8-9 months with Amex Blue and I thought perhaps it was my fault so did nothing and paid late fee. Now it happened again! I always schedule a payment as soon as I get statement for all my cards and have not missed any of my credit card payments except for Amex. Seems a strange way of going crazy if it affects just one of several credit cards that I have. Also, why can't Amex have a normal autopay function that allows to pay on due date? I bet they chose to make it difficult on purpose by making customers
choose "# of days after statement".

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becket
Montréal, CA
Jan 12, 2011 9:33 pm EST

They absolutely do not recognize any business with them beyond the previous month. I had been an American Express blue, then gold and also a corporate card member for 20 years. One month I missed paying my balance that coincided with the company I was working for shutting their doors. Suddenly I had to speak to their collection department who were very rude. They had actually sent my file to a collection agency. The representative from the collection agency was extremely aggressive using various tactics and threats. I won’t even mention his name since he was [censor]. When this happened I called American Express and spoke to a Mr. Fernandez. After I gave him a piece of my mind from 20 years of loyalty, he called the collection agency to cool them down. An agreement was made to pay in installments over a period of time. The collection agency representative couldn't believe it and asked me "who are you and how did you manage that". Well, since he was [censor], he had no idea how the business world worked, he was puzzled. Now Mr.Fernandez also promised me to re-activate my card once the balance was paid. When I completed the payments, I called back Mr. Fernandez and no one knew where he was in the company. He mysteriously disappeared and my request to re-instate my card was completely refused. What they don't know is that I record all my telephone conversations when dealing with over the telephone promises. One day, when time permits, someone at American Express will re-instate my card when they listen to the conversation.

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lb88
Staten Island, US
Nov 05, 2010 1:57 pm EDT

I have had the same issue just today. This is definitely a scam. I schedule my payments online. I check my bank balance daily and have noticed that my pmt due Nov 2nd was not getting processed. The money was still in the bank. So I log into Amex this morning, and guess what? No record of the payment.
The rep said they have no record of it either. The supervisor waived the late fee of $25. But I am still upset. You can't trust a business like that. I used to have autopay. I guess since I removed it, they screwed something up and just deleted my manually set up payment. Who knows...

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Hughjs
Butzville, US
Sep 30, 2010 6:48 pm EDT
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I have had trouble w/ online payments as well. They now send you a confirmation email, but they changed my bill closing date from what was posted on the website when I made my payment vs. what was paid on my bill.

When I have tried to talk to the 'drones' that work in AMEX customer service, they refuse to listen...

I used to love AMEX... Now I despise them... I have been w/ them since 1995...

The other thing this situation demonstrates is that to AMEX, cardholders are only as good as their last payment. A long past history with a card does not mean a thing to them...

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Mac
, US
Apr 11, 2009 11:53 am EDT

Hi,

I'm so glad I found this post, which confirms mine isn't an isolated case. They charged me a late fee plus a 75% reduction in my credit line. I told the CSR the situation and she said she's never heard of prescheduled payments disappearing before. I'm sure it's some sort of scheme to charge late fees and get rid of people who pay the whole balance on time all the time. They only make the real money with those who carry a balance. I'm going to say bye bye to AE and try someone else.

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Jon
,
Nov 30, 2008 6:37 pm EST

I thought I was the only one or that I was going crazy. I distinctly remember scheduling a payment for my Blue card at the beginning of the month only to look today and see that it had not posted. The result was a $38 late fee. A call to AMEX and the charge was removed, but I know I had made the payment. I like the cash back, but this company isn't being run properly. Add to that the fact that their retailer rates gouge small businesses and I'm seriously considering canceling my card.

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11:51 pm EST

American Express Credit line reduction

While am on a business trip in Africa. Amex reduced my line of credit by $25000 to less than the balance on my account; rendering my card useless and causing me embarrassment and costing me money. Amex sent me an email that you had reduced my credit line. I am appalled at the way Amex treated a loyal customer like me. In 2007 I spend over $100000 on their card yearly. My average monthly balance in 2007 was over $8000. Thus, setting my credit line to $4000 would certainly disable my card. It would seem that they may have checked these simple facts before they made my card unusable while I am on an international business trip. In addition, I had wait for many minutes for a supervisor to increase my credit line (temporarily) so I could continue to use my card. The reasons Amex gave for reducing my credit line are not consistent with my credit report. Amex representatives tell me that I have to provide data to refute their reasons for reducing my credit line. Our data sources are the same. The credit report I have from Experian says I am a good credit risk and more importantly, has not changed in the last six months. I can only conclude that Amex choice to reduce my credit line by $25000 was either an error or intentional based on some other criteria. The fact that it takes 40 minutes on hold to speak with Amex credit line help desk indicates that they may have done the same thing to many or their customers. Either way Amex have maltreated and disappointed one of your better customers. I plan to get my credit elsewhere unless they decide to restore my credit line and reimburse me for the trouble and expense they have caused me.

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DÉSIRÉ MARCHAND
VILLE ST CATHERINE, CA
Jan 27, 2011 7:36 am EST
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LA TRANSATION A PASSÉ DANS MON COMPTE AMEX 30.32 US LE 20.01.2011. AMEX PHONE 1.800.3016.

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voice1
Jersey City, US
Oct 29, 2009 2:40 pm EDT

I agree. I have a very similar story. After being a card member since 97, with impeccable payment history and a total line of $90, 000, my LOC was reduced overnight to $4500 last October! Further, they sent me a letter stating it was due to new issues on my credit report (and there were none) and because I shop in stores where people do not pay their bills! Have you heard of something so preposterous? I am a New Yorker, shop at Bloomingdales and go out for dinners. What is that supposed to mean? I feel so insulted. After having complained for ayear, I have gotten nowhere. As a result, I have lost Delta Platinum status for flying and no longer support Delta as an airline though it was my first choice. I feel like Amex is misleading withtheir marketing campaigns as they have treated their customers like common criminals rather than loyal clients.

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11:12 am EST
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American Express scam billing

I recently reserved a vehicle while on a business trip. The rental company placed a reservation for the total vehicle rental amount on my American Express card. During this time American Express lowered the limit on my credit card with absolutely no reason and no prior notice. They completely disregarded the amount of the reservation that the rental car company had placed on my account.

I tried for over 24 hours to reach American Express regarding this. When I was finally able to contact someone I was told to just pay off the card and then I could use the card to pay for the rental car. After explaining just how ridiculous this statement was and 'talking' to this representative a little longer she agreed to give me a temporary credit line increase. However, this increase would have put me over my limit and I would have been charged with over limit fees. I am quite sure that my 0% interest rate would have disappeared also. Not to mention the impact that would have had on my credit score.

I have NEVER been late on a payment on ANY of my credit cards nor have I ever been over any of my credit limits. Not that it is anyone's business but the balances on my credit cards come from financing a business start up and not frivolous purchases. If it were not for that I would not be carrying balances. Additionally I always make more than the minimum payment on all of my credit cards.

In short American Express was of absolutely no help to me with this problem that they had caused through unethical business practices. I know that American Express is experiencing financial difficulty and that is the reason that they did this, however, I am an accountant that specializes in helping small businesses get through rough times. I can tell you that one thing that you do not do is turn your good clients away. After researching this on the internet I found that American Express is doing this to a multitude of their account holders with credit scores over 700. These are good clients.

When I first started noticing the problems with the economy I did some financial planning for my own business. Not knowing how bad things were going to get, I made of list of the creditors that I would stay current and in good standing with if the economical situation became so bad that I could not pay everyone. American Express was at the top of this list. Needless to say, they are not there anymore. Additionally, I have consistently paid $100.00 to $250.00 per month more than my minimum payment and I still have a few months left with a 0% interest rate. I really hope that my $15.00 monthly minimum payment helps their cash flow situation. It makes a lot more sense to give this amount to a creditor that is still treating their good customers with respect. I will also reduce the balances on other cards faster, which is necessary, as now my credit report will show that I am using over 50% of my allowable credit with American Express which will cause my credit score to decrease.

This letter was addressed and submitted to American Express but is in a third party format as I intend to post it on every web site that will allow me to do so. American Express may not feel that it is important to notify their customers prior to taking an action that could place them in a horrible and embarrassing situation and have a negative effect on their interest rates, credit scores, etc. but my business is taking care of small businesses and individuals with financial problems and I do think that it is important.

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NYLisa
, US
Nov 16, 2009 2:30 pm EST

They can and will get away with whatever they can. Why don't u just pay off all your cards and get rid of them, just use your debit card as a credit card and use only what u have in your acct. If you don't have the money then u don't need it. I don't make much money at all(less than $400 a week) and I don't have a business and if I can pay off my 26, 000 debt and stop using credit so can everyone.
People have become too dependent on credit and overspend, remember credit is not your money, it is their money that u borrow temporarily on THEIR terms. Unfair as it may seem, when u deal with these people you get what u deserve. You think this is bad, just wait til the new credit laws go into effect next February, then you will see just how they can REALLY screw you. The new laws were meant to protect us the consumers BUT since the credit card companies will be losing money(so they say) because of the new laws they will be punishing us. I for one will not be one. Im done with credit.

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7:58 am EST
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American Express refund claims are deceptive

Consumers be aware!.. Do leave home without the amex travelers cheques...
In july 2008, I was robbed of $10, 000.00 in amex tc along with numerous other items (3 cell phones, camera, local currency etc) although traumatized I contacted my friend in usa who called amex immediately to cancel the cheques.
Upon my return I started to send amex numerous documents to prove my identity and that the checks were purchased by me at my local bank here in the usa
Here are some of the docs I sent
1) receipts of all tc's
2) all pages of my passport
3) drivers license
4) bank statement!
5) legal document from govt of country where theft occured
To show what I was doing there!
6) 2 business references
7) phone numbers to stolen cell phones
8) police report was requested.. I gave phone# to station where reported was made
Etc etc..
In addition the numerous phone interviews left me feeling more traumatized than the actual violent event of the robbery

To date (Mid nov 2008) my phone calls and emails requesting the status of this claim are ignored.
I became suspicious as I believed this was an easy claim and started researching on the internet and discovered that many other persons have suffered the same faith.. Amex is denying claims for refund of lost/stolen travelers cheques and thus making large profits from this unethical behaviour..
I am still waiting for refund of all monies owed to me.. I am
Hoping that a law firm will review the following websites to see that many persons are involved in this scam by amex
1) [redacted]s.com
2) consumeraffairs.com
3) amexsux.com
4) complaints.com
5) complaintsboard.com

Please feel free to contact me via phone/email for additional information in order to get this issue in the court of law and
Also national/international attention..
This must be exposed immediately before other unsuspecting consumers are taken advantage of and destroyed financially.

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Sun Ra
,
Nov 16, 2008 2:29 pm EST

American Express is also one of the owners of those 'payday' loans in Illinois! I was stunned to hear this on TV from one of those investigative reporters. And now, American Express is getting approval to become a bank . . . consumers, watch your backs, credit cards, and your cheques!

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7:58 pm EST

American Express charge denied for no reason

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!

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10:35 am EST

American Express shoddy customer relations

I wrote the following two letters to American Express following what I regard as extremely shoddy customer relations.

Below is the letter sent on 11/04/08 to credit services expressing both our disappointment and frankly, anger at your treatment of our account.

However, just when we thought American Express had reached the bottom rung of our expectations, it has gotten worse. After earning legitimate point rewards from our "account in good standing, " your firm now has removed them not allowing us to even walk away after 10 years with our rightfully earned reward.

Frankly I think the whole episode smacks of a lawsuit, which I plan to promote in Letters to the Editor as well as to anyone who will listen. Shame on you and your shoddy attitude towards what you once regarded as your customers.

And to indicate your totally disregard for any feedback, sending an email is impossible through your website - how absolutely typical of your practices over the past few weeks.

Congratulations - we are truly amazed.

(Text of letter referred to above)
To Whom It May Concern:

Recently your department saw fit to cancel the above referenced card. A few thoughts on the topic . . .

1. We have held this card since 1999 and have always paid our outstanding balance monthly.
2. Yes - our credit is not good at the moment. However, we also realize the importance of having a credit card to use in case of emergency, etc. and have made certain to keep this card in good "working order" (for nearly 10 years). In our naiveté, we thought this might mean something to your firm.
3. And to completely destroy our confidence in this firm, you opted to cancel this card and then let us know five days later. How embarrassing for us to have to find this out by having the card turned down. And how totally reflective of shoddy business practices on your part.

In short, we have obviously mistaken this company for a reputable, upstanding firm that valued its customers. While your decision is no doubt based on our present bad credit rating, I can assure you of this - we will pay our bills and recover from this situation. Further, I can also assure you we will never again speak well of American Express.

Unfortunately, our situation is not unusual in this bleak economic climate. That will change. Our view and that of anyone willing to listen or read our account of your handling of our account will not change for your firm.

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fussywussy
Phoenix, US
Aug 10, 2011 8:21 am EDT

Why on earth did you post your credit card number on here. you are asking for credit card fraud to happen! You don't want to do that!

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fussywussy
Phoenix, US
Aug 10, 2011 8:18 am EDT

That's not very smart to post ALL your information on here. HELLOOOOO ID THEFT!

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Clyde L. Colbrn
Vacaville, US
Aug 03, 2011 3:47 am EDT

I am as I have said 83 years old with no typing lessons, I have done the best I can but I am also not computer literate please try to understand my attempt.

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Clyde L. Colbrn
Vacaville, US
Aug 03, 2011 3:43 am EDT

I recently received and began using an American Express Card conected to my Costco membership. Since reseiving the card I had a medical emergency, durring that time I was in and out of my wallet (my wife was a patient at David Grant Medicaj Center, Travis Air Force Base) Somewhere my card fell out of my wallet and was lost.
I called American Express with the help of Costco Personnel and answered all the questions asked totally honestley and was told a replacement card would be sent, few minuets later I was called back and informed I had not answered srcurity quetions correctly. I was asked the name of relatives over the age os 18 I replied with the names of the only living close relatives I have, my Brother Raymond L. Colburn and my sister Shirley Feilder, I was then asked about deceased relatives and I gave My Fathers name Custer L. Colburn and My mothers name Margret Guy Colburn (I have two brothers deceased I did not mention, Harold R. Colburn and Robert H. Colburn) Iwas asked my date of birth August 13, 1928. I was asked where I had lived, I lived in Lebenon, New Hampshire until I was 20 years Old when I joined the Army. I served in Austria, Korea, Germany, and Vietnam as well as the U>S. When I returned to the U.S on my last assignment I was stationed at Fort Ord California wher I retired from the Army at that time I owned a home in Marina California, address 3058 Sunrise Circle Marina CA 93933. I moved from there in November 1973 when I purchase the home I have lived in since thst time, 441 Edgewood Drive, Vacaville, CA [protected].
I have received my first Bill from American Express and have scheduled it to be paid on August 4 through my on line bank. Travis Credit Union.
I was told my wife's card would remain valid but that my card would not be renewed, we can survive on one card but it makes no sense. I forgot to mention I was asked for my full Social Security no which although I hesitated I gave your represenative.

I would like an answer and Know what they say is not correct because if someone is using my name and number I need to know, much of the information is about small towns and my Social Security Card was issued about 1945.

Sincerely

Clyde L. Colburn

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Kathleen F. Toole
Rochester, US
Feb 23, 2011 2:08 pm EST
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Booked flight on Air Trans Air Line from Rochester N.Y. to Sarasota Florida on Jan 18th 2011-trip I.D.#[protected]-using 23, 239($232.39) American Express reward membership miles for departure on Feb 23rd at 7:00 AM from Rochester Inrenational Airport. Received confirmation of Feb. 23rd departure on Jan 18.th from AE-no Air Trans confirmation number was included. I called AE on Feb, 22nd, early evening, to get Air Trans confirmation # of flight leaving on the morning of Feb. 23rd from Rochester. The Air Trans Confirmation was LFF37U. I arrived at the RIAirport at 5:30 AM today, went to Air Trans kiosk, gave confirmation number, received from AX agent last night and was told that I was not listed on today's flight-the flight to Sarasota booked by AX agent was for MAR 23rd departure. I came back home and called AX Travel. I have re-booked fight to Sarasota on USAir fro Feb 24th. I asked agent If it would be possible to retrieve reward miles from the booked flight that was made in error for March 23rd departure. I did not ask for a March 23rd departure to Sarasota-I specifically requested a Feb 23rd departure from Rochester-seeing that I booked a re turn flight with AX for a March 4th departure from Sarasota.
I have been a faithful member of AX since 1984. I have never had a problem using my reward miles for a trip-on contrary, your agents have been more than wonderful in assistance. The error was inadvertently made by the agent. I am requesting consideration in having the 23, 239 reward miles for the March 23rd ticket from Air Trans returned into my AE Reward Mile Program. I did not make the error.
I thank you for reading this. Sincerely, Kathleen F.Toole
American Express card #[protected]

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Pamela Pfeiffer
Oyster Bay, US
Dec 30, 2008 5:40 pm EST

American Express has become a sub-standard card. During the holiday season numerous places of business denied the card complaining that they are charging retail vendors too much. It was also turned down by several restaurants, one of which I was lucky enough to have just enough cashto pay the check and had to apologize to the waitress for stiffing her.

I also booked a flight the beginning of Dec. to the Dominican Republic using my membership rewards points. The Am Ex operator directed me to go online and use 67, 239 points...the equivilent of what she said was a $672.39 ticket. Now, I found out that I could have transfered 25, 000 miles to Jet Blue and booked it through them. So basically, Am Ex screwed me out of 42, 239 points! I called to complain and when I couldn't get anyone on the phone from Am Ex that spoke clear english, I finally asked, "Where are you located?"

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Phil Rowlinson
,
Nov 07, 2008 11:31 am EST

I have had something of a similar nature. With 6 years of financial responsibility and always promptly clearing my balance, I was suddenly faced with a reduced credit limit (becuase there was a small overdue balance on another card that I had overlooked). Amex is the only card that I travel with, and to my dismay it was rejected when trying to check into a Hotel. No amount of calls were of any help. My long standing credit history with AMEX appears to be of no account. Membership? Well here is one person now extremely disenchanted, and to think I had recommended it to a number of friends.

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6:28 am EST
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American Express canceled card with no notice

I have had my gold card for 9 years. I have always paid my balances, even through a bad period, 6 years ago, when I let other cards balances be delinquent due to medical bills.

The one thing I always appreciated with AMEX was their awesome customer service. The about 3 years ago, I noticed they had begun outsourcing customer service and billing questions to a call center in India. There were more instances of what I would term poor communication: speaking with a rep in India, being assured that a payment would post... and then finding out it had not.

I never had a pre-set credit limit, and always paid off my card every month. However, about a year ago I had a family emergency and was unable to pay off the entire $2500.00 balance in one month. I called customer service, and they helped me set up a three-month pay off plan. I followed through, and did not miss a payment.

It wasn't until the last four months, that I ever again carried over a balance, but they never complained.

Then last week I paid off the entire balance to zero. I was thrilled that I was finally caught up.

Yesterday, a small charge with Amazon.com was denied. Curious, I called AMEX. The rep told me that my card had been canceled. I asked why in the world would they cancel my card when I had just paid them in full last week. I even talked to them on the phone last Friday to make sure my online payment went through.

The rep told me he didn't know, but that if I wanted my card "re-instated" I would have to pay $45.00.

I told him that was perfectly ridiculous and asked to speak to a supervisor. The rep cut me off.

I called back again, and then, after telling the same story to another rep, she said she would transfer me to a supervisor.

I waited for 30 minutes (timed it on my cell) until a person reading from a script (obviously not in the US), with a very heavy accent, told me that because I had something unfavorable in my credit report from the past, which was noted by a credit reporting agency, my card had been canceled.

She then offered to reinstate the card for a charge of $25.00.

When I asked to speak to her supervisor, I was told that he would not be able to do anything else for me. I told her to go ahead and transfer me anyway. She then cut me off.

At first I was mad. Then I felt hurt. I have used this card ethically for 9 years, and always paid my bills. My credit score is not perfect, it is 658.

But I have been striving to make it better every year.

My sense is that AMEX will be doing this to hundreds of us Americans over the coming months, and as they lay-off thousands of employees, those trying to communicate with them will be waiting for hours on the phone, and never be able to resolve problems.

I, like many Americans, needed my credit card for making reservations for business travel, shopping at Costco, and purchasing business supplies.

We are going to see greater repercussions; other businesses rely on us using our credit cards online, and during holidays. It will be interesting to see what happens to this "house of interconnected cards" as the months roll on.

We taxpayers may have bailed out the banks, but the banks are holding us up with threats of cancellations, higher fees, and trumped up charges.

Beware of American Express. With my husband's advice, I took the scissors to the gold card last night, and I look forward to a class action suit against them!

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Levik
, US
Jun 29, 2017 6:01 pm EDT

AMEX is the worst CC company ever in the world! Beware! Do not ever apply for any AMEX CC- you will eventually be burnt!
They cancelled my 3 cards, they cancelled my Dad's amex, my wife's Amex. You will never be given a logical explanation as to why they cancelled your account. One other thing; if you reach to $2, 000, 00 of balance on the card they automatically suspend your account untill you provide them with your tax return. The ANEX cards are designed for small to large business corporations and filthy rich people!

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saurabh ashish
, IN
Dec 30, 2008 11:32 am EST

Hi I am Saurabh and this is a letter that was sent by me to the SBI Credit card department. This contains my bad experience with this bank. i have been victimised for showing being honest to the bank and the debt taken. Kindly go through the following:

To,
American Express Bank
Delhi-110001

Subject: Surrender of Credit Card No.[protected]

Dear Sir,

This is in regards to the conversation I had with your Customer Care Executive, who confirmed me that I am liable to pay an amount of Rs.15000 (approx.) to your bank.
Which includes Credit Card’s costing (Rs.2500), which was earlier told to be free of cost.

I would also like to tell you that in the previous days, I was been harassed by your recovery agent on phone, the person tend to nasty on phone which included abusive words also. The confirmation of which can be done by conversation’s recording
That I have made.
I shall inform you that I was eligible enough to take your services to a full stretch after this evidence, and bring it in the eyes of law. Its not that I was not willing to repay the money, but was not in a position to do so.

Also, I was been cheated in respect to the Card limit. It was told to me that the Card limit is Rs.50000, but this was changed to 13000 without a prior intimidation to me.
I am really disappointed with the lethargic and careless services being provided to your customers.

Finally, I must inform you that the actual amount that I am supposed to pay is Rs.8100 only, on which your Bank has levied card costing (I was told its free of cost) and some other charges that are fictional to me.
To which I am attaching a cheque that contains the amount that I am actually supposed to pay i.e. Rs 8100, further to which I am surrendering my card also.

Hope you work better at least in this respect.

Thanks & Regards,

Saurabh Kumar Ashish

E-84, Ground Floor,
Sector-20,
Noida.
Mob: [protected]

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chers
, US
Apr 26, 2012 10:09 pm EDT

They have awful customer service. They took me on hold for 30 minutes first time. Second time was almost the same. Only on third call they answered me after 20 minutes of calling. And it took 5 minutes to rebook flight.

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Wintertoo
Port Townsend, US
Aug 24, 2009 6:08 pm EDT

Recieved an e mail from Delta airlines that our old visa with NW no longer good for airmiles and had to switch to American Express for skymiles. Did this. Tried a balance trancsfer which took wells fargo a month to process. In the meantime I inquired about making a payment. told I had to wait until a statement was mailed. As soon as it was recieved i returned a check promptly. In the meantime I was reported to the credit bureau for $50 over limit (due to the interest charge which info was not avail to me) .This lowered my excellent credit score and affected my mortgage refi interest. I in good faith did what I was told and waited for a statement and was not allowed to make a first payment until then..I do not recommend getting American Express and Delta goofed. Very few merchants honor AE anyway.

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abdul9197
, US
Oct 11, 2013 7:06 pm EDT
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Dear AMEX,

I do not appreciate you blocking my credit limit for no reason, why would you check on my credit without any reason and lower it.
An agent confirmed I could make another transaction of $3000 but now with the new restriction I can barely spend few more hundreds.

Is it because Jason got into an argument with me? I am very disappointed and have taken out the card from my wallet.
I have already reached out to CHASE - Sapphire and gotten approved. I shall start building credit with them instead.

For now, I plan to stop using your card and pay off the full debt over time and cancel the card eventually.
I do not have a problem sharing my latest paychecks or other financial documents but this is not the way to ask for it.

If you do not put my card back to the way it was, I am sorry to say but I have no choice and say goodbye.
I will miss using AMEX but don't want to play this game of egos with Jason or any other representative who does not care how a customer feels end of the day. Just saying you care is not enough, actions speak louder.

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penny park
el cajon, US
May 20, 2011 8:32 pm EDT

I paid my account off which was over 4K and thought I was paid in full however there was a bill in-transit of $49.15. They sent me a letter cancelling the account without reason or any money due on the account. I got a call from a collection agency say I was three months behind and owed $110.29. The difference was in penalties and interest.
I called American Express ask where did this charge come from on a cancelled account. They said we cannot tell you it has all been turned over to a collection agency and they have the records. They refused to talk to me and I ask for a supervisor to call me as one was not available and they said one would in 48 hours, none did.

Bottom line I call agency they said they only got the money due and they could not tell me anything American Express had too. This left me in the well known circle. I finally called after the 48 hours and got Philip, a supervisor, and he was very rude and just said you did not pay on time you owe the fee so just pay it. He said the agency could reduce the charge but as it had all been turn over to them he could not see any part of the account. I told him that was not true and both he and I knew it. He just kept saying the charge was this and I had to pay it or stay in collection.

I understood the cancelation due to two properties we have in fraud law suits which show on our credit report They will come off when they finalize the suit but after 30 years with American Express and a good payer they did not even call to ask why, they just cancelled two of our cards which were paid off.

The customer service was terrible from American Express and great from the collection agency they said do not expect the supervisor to call and they completely understood me.

I had to pay a debt I think was outrageous and believe me when the two properties come off of our credit report we will never do business with American Express again.

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Julieta Seur Garcia
, MX
Dec 08, 2012 2:59 pm EST

CLEVERBRIDGE AG KOELN, Stuart, Florida Complaints & Reviews - Unauthorized charge
Review all CLEVERBRIDGE AG KOELN, Stuart, Florida complaints
CLEVERBRIDGE AG KOELN
Posted: 2012-12-08 by Julieta Seur García
Unauthorized charge

I just found a charge on my American Express Gold Card for an amount of 31.40 which I did not authorize. Such charge appears dated on November 2nd 2012, as Cleverbridge AG Koeln and, I do not know who this company is and I also do not want their service. I want this money back into my account immediately... I am careful about where I enter my account information so it concerns me how you got my information...

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Dambress
, US
Jun 05, 2012 5:01 am EDT

I have been a cardholder for about 25 years. I have always paid my bill in full every month. In I had financial difficulties for the first time in my life. My AMEX statement came...it was $5, 000...I sent them $1, 000 and called them immediately to let them know I would get it settled ASAP. They asked me to commit to paying them $350 a month. I said I would...but told them that my intentions were to pay them much sooner. They insisted that I agree to have the $350 a month automatically drafted from my checking account...and I refused. Over the next 100 days I paid them in full...plus paid their outrageous late fees of about $700...and did not use the card any more during this period. As soon as the bill was paid in full...they cancelled my account and took away 175, 000 rewards points without any warning to me. I called them to discuss the situation...jumped through a million hoops...wrote letters...etc...and they have absolutely refused to return my points or reactivate my account. I know they have a right to do business with whomever they choose...but morally speaking...I think they are low class. I am 42 years old...have always paid my bills on time if not early...have maintained a 790-810 credit score...and the first time I have a problem they treated me like a career criminal. I am not asking anyone to pat me on the back for doing what I am supposed to do...but I don't think this was any way to treat someone who has been a good customer for so long.

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bb247
Republic, US
Aug 23, 2011 9:29 pm EDT

American Express sent me an offer of a "free Kindle" if I charge so much within a certain period of time. WHICH I DID! It would be sent out 10 to 12 weeks after the purchase was made. It has now been 14 weeks and 3 phone calls later and I find out that all that can be done is customer service will sent a complaint to the marketing department and that department has up to 2 billing cycles to look into it. My friends all laughed when I told them I received this offer they said "let me know how that turns out" WOW was I the FOOL! You can bet that my friends will know how it turned out.

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ca.comsoftware
Seneca Falls, US
Aug 24, 2016 7:28 am EDT
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I have a charge of $43.19 on my American Express card and have no idea what this software might be. I checked my compurter and have no ca.com software on it. Would like to kow what to do next to get a refund from this charge. Thank you.

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7:46 pm EST

American Express poor service

Excited at first to acquire the AMEX Platinum Card despite the $400/yr fee. All kinds of promised perks for having the card, which never materialized as portrayed. 1) Tried to use the companion travel benefit and within a month, the program abruptly "ended"., 2) Platinum travel benefits include airline lounge access - tried using it 3 different times in clubs they said were applicable and was denied. Was told by airline clubs that the website is incorrect., 3) Never missed a payment and have good credit but received a letter without any notice that they were restricting "sign and travel" benefit based on credit ? - Just called them and canceled The Card. Far more trouble than what it was worth.

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simon de lao
,
Nov 23, 2008 11:47 am EST

AmEx and American Airlines are partners in a total SCAM. I have had the same trouble with them gaining access. On top of that. AmEx just charted itself as a "BANK" so it can go to the Feds and try to steal some of that 700 billion dollars Congress stole from us and gave to the crooks

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4:51 pm EST

American Express penalty for paying bill early

Beware of paying amex bill early. Three times in this last year I paid my amrican express bill early. What you need to know and be aware of is that if you pay your bill after the previous due date, but before the closing date, amex will apply that payment to the previous billing cycle. Example: if your due date is the 21st and the closing date is the 1st and you pay your bill during that period the payment is considered to have been made prior to the 21st regardless of when it was received. Don't beleive me? Try it! I did it 3 times in last year and each time I did it I was credited with 2 payments in one month and none in the next, assessed a late fee, and subject to an apr increase.
My company prefers we all have an amex card and so I brought this to the attention of some of my colleages and told them to watch out. Of the 4 pesons I informed, one looked back and found that the same thing had happened to him - twice!

If you call them on it they'll back out the late fee but if they bump the rate you won't know until the next bill and then you really have to work hard to get the rate back because the calcualtors are working daily on your balance (And you never really figure out if they got it right or not).

How's I get there?: i've tried for years to get amex to change my due dates to on or after the first of the month (Because I get paid on the 1st) and I wanted to pay all my bills at the same time. They refused for years until this last march when a representative said to me "no problem" and supposedly change the date to the 1st. What really happened? They skipped my next bill - just never created one - then hit me hard with a triple whammy: apr increase, late fee, larger interest accrued (Becasue the number of days in the billing cycle essentially doubled) and - ready for this? - moved the due date from the 27th to the 21st!

So after 15 years with amex I had enough and cancelled my card. I'll have the balance paid of in a few months and be putting they in my rearview mirror.

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joesmoe
xfghb, US
Aug 25, 2009 4:31 pm EDT

I do it all the time and that has never happened to me. I take that back. You comment about it being on the previous billing statement is true, but I have never gotten a late fee. I agree you are right to flip out.

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1:02 pm EDT

American Express cut my credit limit

We were asked by AMEX to buy a higher level of credit card with Costco which costs $100. a year so we can have better priveledges. We then a few months later got a letter in the mail saying our credit limit has been reduced to $800. due to a couple of reports on our credit report. We have a zero balance with American Express...have never been late...always paid on time...but they say they do not take that into consideration even though we have been members for approximatly 8 years. I did get a copy of my report btw and to me it looked excellent. There was one bad report due to a service that was cancelled by me and is currently in dispute but being taken care of...but other than that everything has been in good standing. Oh excuse me..5 years ago i was late on my mortgage payment ONCE. This is very bad businees especially for COSTCO since I do my business with them and this will be limiting how much I will be spending with them. This is so very insulting to be treated like this. I would like an attorney to take this on.

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epaaaaa
elizabeth, US
Sep 04, 2009 2:01 am EDT

thats something u have to take with AMEX. Costco has no fault on this. becoming an executive member does give you more benefits with amex but they shouldn't run any other reports on your credit card. i would advise you to get a credit report to make sure noone is using ur ss# and ruining your credit.

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7:48 am EDT

American Express american express blue cash rebate

I started using the American Express Blue Credit Card thinking I was getting the advertised rebate of 5% everytime I used the card at my local grocery store. WRONG! Apparently, AMX Blue doesn't consider my local grocery store, a grocery store. So they don't pay the 5% rebate. What a CROCK!

If you think you're getting your rebate everytime your use your AMX Blue credit card or any other rebate card, don't believe it. Double check and if your card company isn't doing what it advertises, change cards.

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cptnjck101
Williamsburg, US
May 12, 2009 3:09 am EDT

You don't receive a 5% rebate until you spend $6, 500 on the card. The problem is not AMEX or your grocery store. The problem is you are a ### who doesn't read the terms of his credit card agreement.

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3:42 pm EDT

American Express cancellation of cards

Hi,

I hope someone can give me contacts (people), addresses and telephone numbers to resolve my problem and re-instate my cards.

On Tuesday, October 28, 2008. I received a call from my accounts manager (never knew I even had one) at American Express asking why $56, 000 had been run through my merchant account machine my companies' Platinum Card.

I explained that I had a customer in the Bahamas whose card that would not work (to pay for a printing job) and that I swiped my own card to see if my machine was broken. I know a "REALLY DUMB" thing to do... and I did it 3 times) ANOTHER DUMB THING... but you can see I am telling the TRUTH... and I thought I was putting in $18.00 NOT $18, 000. So I told the guy, "Hey I'm sorry, won't do it again, it was a mistake"! So he says well isn't not that simple.. "this is fraud (none of the swipes went through), and it's a serious violation and ALL your cards are CANCELLED.

He further went on to say, that the CANCELLATION of ALL my cards will be reported to ALL CREDIT Reporting Agencies (Closed Due to Fraud) which will lower your FICO score, and upon review we may ask ALL OUTSTANDING balances be PAID IN FULL immediately (approximately $86, 000) and ALL your points 161, 396 have been forfeited / taken away.

Does anyone who I can contact who can take care of this? Any and all help appreciated.

Read full review of American Express and 2 comments
Update by Hal
Oct 31, 2008 3:38 pm EDT

Hi,

I hope someone can give me contacts ( people ), addresses and telephone numbers to resolve my problem and re-instate my cards.

On Tuesday, October 28, 2008. I received a call from my accounts manager ( never knew I even had one) at American Express asking why $56, 000 had been run through my merchant account machine my companies' Platinum Card.

I explained that I had a customer in the Bahamas whose card that would not work ( to pay for a printing job) and that I swiped my own card to see if my machine was broken. I know a " REALLY DUMB " thing to do ... and I did it 3 times ) ANOTHER DUMB THING ... but you can see I am telling the TRUTH ... and I thought I was putting in $18.00 NOT $18, 000. So I told the guy, " Hey I'm sorry, won't do it again, it was a mistake" ! So he says well isn't not that simple .. "this is fraud (none of the swipes went through), and it's a serious violation and ALL your cards are CANCELLED.

He further went on to say, that the CANCELLATION of ALL my cards will be reported to ALL CREDIT Reporting Agencies (Closed Due to Fraud) which will lower your FICO score, and upon review we may ask ALL OUTSTANDING balances be PAID IN FULL immediately (approximately $86, 000) and ALL your points 161, 396 have been forfeited / taken away.

Does anyone who I can contact who can take care of this ? Any and all help appreciated.

Update by Hal
Nov 03, 2008 10:25 am EST

Hi Jen,

TY for posting ..well have done hours of research and am awaiting a call as to my fate with this situation. I will keep you posted ..

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Thomas C. Willcox
District of Columbia, US
Feb 16, 2009 3:38 pm EST

I want to sue Amex for these practices. Please contact me asap
tcw19 at columbia.edu

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Jen
,
Nov 01, 2008 2:01 am EDT

I just had a similar situation happen with American Express. I've had my card since 1996, never been late with payments, never been over my limit, never never never. I have been actively paying off my card and was about to make the final payment on the account this month. I received a notice saying that my card was being cancelled.

When I called, they said it was vaguely due to 'fraud' and that it was going on my credit score as 'closed by consumer'. They refused to tell me any more information.

I wish I had advice, but I hope it at least helps to know that you're not the only one that amex is sticking it to.

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7:03 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

American Express scam

Warning! amex will with no reason, justification or cause take away your credit limits and destroy your credit score! They are currently gutting loyal clients credit lines, and destroying good honest peoples credit scores! By destroying the credit score they are single handed making the credit crisis much worse. By destroying my score, they just caused a loan to my business to be declined and caused it to close, putting several out of work. DONT TRUST YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE TO AMEX> They dont care about their customers and have no loyalty, even to customers of over 20 years! With so many good credit card companies like Chase, B of A etc.. dont let amex screw you like they just did me.

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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

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J106
Nashua, US
Jan 25, 2009 7:23 pm EST

I had a personal card, not business. However, I always paid on time even more than the minimum. Out of the blue, without any notification I started receiving calls from a collection agency. I thought it must be a mistake because I paid everything on time. Oh no, apparently AMEX decided to send me and my perfect credit history to collections. I called them to fix the error and while they looked into it and verified the mistake they said it was too late now that my account was gone (...gone!?!?) they couldn't fix it. After pleading with several different credit agencies over the years and attempting to work out a payment plan (not sure why I should have to!) I gave up and reported them to the BBB. Obviously without a response. I just reported them to the NH Attorney general. We'll see. I am officially very angry. I was married to an abusive man who messed up my credit and I must say that the only other blemishes on my credit are absolved with my divorce decree so AMEX has now crossed a line with me. Nobody should be allowed to take a bailout from the government and tossaway paying cardmembers. What idiots they are.

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CanAmex
3000 20th st n, US
Dec 18, 2008 3:50 pm EST

Welcome to the club! AMEX took away 70k of our available credit with no warning. No lates, 700+ score. What they are doing should be against the law. I wrote a blog with some things I did to fight back:

http://amexcreditreduction.blogspot.com/

The funny part is they are also asking for BILLIONS from the bailout bill. The same bill that was passed by congress to INCREASE lending!

Once again, they little people get the shaft, while corporate america gets a bailout. Shameful. Shameful Shameful.

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