April 2017 Complaints Against American Express

Compiled from Public Data by FairShake

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The US government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) collects complaints against financial companies.

In 2017, the CFPB received 2363 complaints against American Express. American Express ranked Number 15 among all financial companies for the most complaints.


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Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 29, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: CA

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

Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-Issue: Didn’t receive advertised or promotional terms

Full Complaint:
On X/X/17 , I paid for a meal at the restaurant, XXXX XXXX , in the amount of {0.00} located in the XXXX XXXX , XXXX XXXX . I specifically used the XXXX XXXX XXXX American Express card to pay for this meal based on its 10X M embership Rewards for restaurant purchases. When I received my statement, I learned that the charge was coded as ” lodging ” instead of ” restaurant ” and so I did not receive my anticipated bonus Membership Rewards, 10X the amount of the charge, from American Express, but instead just the 1X M embership Rewards. I called American Express in an attempt to amicably resolve the Membership Rewards discrepancy and was prepared to furnish copies of the restaurant receipt to verify that it was a restaurant charge and not a lodging charge. I was informed by American Express that they will be unable to correct the discrepancy and therefore I would not receive the bonus Membership Rewards because the restaurant, XXXX XXXX , coded the charge as lodging. I was also told it was my responsibility to verify with the restaurant beforehand that the charge would code properly under the restaurant category on my credit card statement. This prerequisite is not listed under their XXXX XXXX XXXX Membership Rewards promotional terms.

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 28, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: AZ

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

Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-Issue: Problem with customer service

Full Complaint:
on XXXX / XXXX / XXXX , I was on the phone for hours w ith American Express … .all representatives were ” offshore ” as they put it, and when specifically asked they were in XXXX in the XXXX . They refused to transfer the call to the United States or give me a last name of the person asking for personal information from me. The purpose of the call would have been to use their free transfer service to the bank account from which the card was loaded with {0.00} as a trial to see how hard it was going to be to use an American Express c ard places wher e Visa, Master Card, XXXX , and other general credit cards are accepted. The answer is that American Express is no longer widely accepted in the United States, and therefore, I wanted to get my cash back to my bank account.
The AMEX website clearly explains a free service to transfer the money to a bank account, how ever, there is no way on the website to enter a bank account number, and their chosen method of loading money to thei r Serve credi t card is to do it from a XXXX XXXX XXXX debit card, not the checking account. Copy of page attached. But AMEX wants 5 business days to send a sample deposit and then you have to go back and enter the little deposits before you can make a transfer and then another 5 days for the transfer to post.. So in effect it is at least 10 days to move money back into the bank it came from. Now, if i lived in a city, i could go to one of their ATM.s, but I am 80 miles from the closest one of those. So either I wait 10 days or drive 80 miles.
Had i been able to get to a representative in the USA, I might have been able to speed things up, but i refuse to give my personal information to someone who is not in the United States

Complaint Tags: Older American, Servicemember

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 28, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: TX

Product: Debt collection
Sub-Product: Credit card debt

Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-Issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Full Complaint:
I notifi ed American Express that i have been a victim of Identity theft as soon as I found out. It was on XXXX / XXXX / 2016 when I notified all XXXX credit bureaus with affidavits from my lawyer and a police report. They did n’t remove it from my report which I requested. As of a month ago I sent another affidavit asking for the original contract signed stated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act section 609 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) that they are required by federal law to verify through the PHYSICAL verification of the ORIGINAL SIGNED Consumer contracts. I currently live in TX which by law in order to collect they must be bonded with the Secretary of State in which American Express is not. I am demanding that the credit card of a balance of {00.00} be removed immediately. Thanks.

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with non-monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 30, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: CA

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

Issue: Trouble using your card
Sub-Issue: Credit card company won’t increase or decrease your credit limit

Full Complaint:
TO Make the Story short I was Scammed by XXXX XXXX XXXX previously called XXXX XXXX XXXX located in NEW YORK who ‘s charged my upfront fees to Settle my credit card debit and kept my credit card in their possessions and charged my cards fraudulently and never paid my debit pls see Email attached As a result American express credit cards was charged off under my name and my SSN I kindly SETTLED those ACCOUNT to move forward in life and be happy and when i tried to apply f or american express card s i was disqualified and denied credit for CHARGE AND CREDIT TYPE of cards MY WIFE XXXX XXXX XXXX Add me as an Authorized user on her XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX CREDIT CARD FOR XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Since she add me in XXXX and AMEX has BEEN ALWAYS DENYING CHARGES when i called in to discuss with them last XXXX XXXX about some charges as an authorized USER and i told them she is my WIFE they did the following AFTER they IDENTIFIED ME ( SPOKED WITH XXXX ) from Credit DEPARMTNET Transfe red her account to the Financial REVIEW TEAM within their CREDIT department Who Conducted a very RUDE Financial REVIEW / INVESTIGTION as we call it by XXXX XXXX she asked about the growth income from our TAX RETURN but she DID NOT consider our TAX RETURN DOCUMENT because it SHOWS A HIGH GROWTH INCOME, and she chosen to call my BANK TO VERFY the Balance at that time on tw o accounts we use to PAY AMEX, th en she used the BEGINNING BALANCE of XXXX to put a limit on the account because they have a problem with me previously as XXXX EVEN THOUGH i SETTLED and cleared the issues A devastating Financial REVIEW was conducted asking personal QUESTION of Who ‘s own the COMPANY and the NATURE of Business and WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP TO XXXX XXXX XXXX With me XXXX XXXX XXXX Discrimination TOOK PLACE TOOK PLACE and unfair Decisions causing us inconvenience and XXXX XXXX Supervisors Could not help except by saying your bank account have couple XXXX and not a XXXX the is why we limit you account you are no longer enjoying NO PRE SET LIMIT ANY MORE we STILL CHARGE YOU ANNUAL FEES {0.00} WE CAN CANCEL YOU ANY TIME you CAN CANCEL AND WE GIVE YOU REFUND FOR ANNUAL FEES BUT JUST CANCEL XXXX XXXX

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 27, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: NY

Product: Debt collection
Sub-Product: Credit card debt

Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-Issue: Debt was paid

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with non-monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 30, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: GA

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

Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-Issue: Credit card company isn’t resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Full Complaint:
I purchased a product from XXXX XXXX XXXX, it was one of their specials during their fund-raising season. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX program, should have been booklets, DVDs, etc. Was charged {0.00} by : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX GA XXXX UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ( THE ) XXXX Additional Information : XXXX Reference : XXXX Category : Merchandise & Supplies – Internet Purchase After waiting a while without receiving the kit, I called XXXX XXXX XXXX and asked about it. They said those had been delayed but be patient. Assured me we would eventually get the products ordered. So I was patient. Still did n’t get anything, so finally in XX/XX/XXXX I called back and they said the same thing. Today XX/XX/XXXX I tried to dispute the charge with American Express, and they informed me that they could n’t do that as I was beyond the 60-day dispute limitation. So — first, XXXX XXXX XXXX took {0.00} from me and then encouraged me to be patient. I was. Second, American Express claimed they could not help me since it was beyond the 60-day limit for disputes. Catch-22!!!!! Please help me resolve.

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 28, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: AZ

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

Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-Issue: Account information incorrect

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with non-monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 29, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: IL

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

Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-Issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Full Complaint:
These facts, documents, and information are submitted to refute th e American Express allegation th at I agreed to pay XXXX XXXX {.00}. Attached a re two emails from XXXX XXXX XXXX that were sent to me after I ordered a tactical flashlight for {.00}. One email is an invoice and the other from a XXXX XXXX advising who will do billing for the light. Please note that not one o f these emails permits the usage of my credit card for XXXX XXXX XXXX , edited by XXXX XXXX . Now, whether XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX bills as XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX XXXX , or XXXX XXXX , XXXX , it is merely an alias website for the same entity : possibly XXXX XXXX . In addition, this would include the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reports mentioned in the XXXX XXXX , XXXX email, which is also included. It is possible that someone could have obtained access to the database for the flashlight, and then charged the {.00} to my account, following up with the bogus email. Now, there is very little inference in the information, which I provided. It appears that the {.00} charge on XXXX XXXX , XXXX stems from the purchase of the tactical flashlight, which I did purchase. Please review the email dated XXXX XXXX , XXXX . Said email refers to the purchase of the flashlight. Also, note that the invoice and email from XXXX XXXX also references the flashlight. However, neither of these two emails contain any reference to a {.00} purchase of information from XXXX XXXX , XXXX XXXX , which appears to be a sort of holding company. It is not until XXXX XXXX , XXXX that a XXXX XXXX makes a false allegation that I purchased regular reoccurring issues of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX . Now let me make this perfectly clear. I purchased a flashlight on XXXX XXXX , XXXX . Moreover, I never purchased a XXXX & XXXX XXXX .

Complaint Tags: Older American, Servicemember

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: April 29, 2017

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: AZ

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

Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-Issue: Unexpected increase in interest rate

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


FairShake accessed this complaint from the public archives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can file your own complaint with the CFPB here.

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