Credit pracices and compliancy issues
I lost my card and had to call it in lost or stolen earlier this year. Amex (American Express) closed the account, and the representative advised me I would be receiving a new card in 3 business days by Fedex. I never received the card.
I called Amex about 3 times after that incident, asked why the card was not received, received contradictory information several times, and they finally advised me that despite what the other representative said that a new card was not sent; I needed to bring my account under its credit limit by $1000 before they would issue another card. Since I was told wrong information (it is also recorded) I filed reports with the BBB, AG of Kansas, the FTC, the FDIC, The Consumer Protection Agency, and the OCC. Amex followed up with these complaints in writing, stating that the maximum amount of card numbers had been issued on my account, and that in order for the new account to be established I needed to bring my account under its line of credit by $1000. The letter also stated that if I wanted to continue to use the account, my available credit needed to be at least $1000, or I could close the account and apply for a new one. This letter was sent by K. Martin, Customer Advocate, out of Salt Lake City, on 06/14/2011.
As of September 29th of 2011, I brought my account under its credit line by $1000. I called Amex on October 1st to request the new card be sent. I was assured by the representative I spoke with the card would be sent within three business days, by Fedex. The card never came. I called again on Thursday of the following week, asking where my card was, and this time the representative advised me it was going to take 7-10 business days to receive, and that the previous representative misinformed me. I waited another 7-10 days; the card never came. I called back again, and they cancelled the previous card, and sent me a new one by 3 day UPS. I finally received the card on 10/19/2011, and I called in to confirm. I was informed I was given an $1100 credit limit, not my previous $5700 credit limit, which left a previous balance of approximately $4700 on the old account. This was not what was agreed to by Amex, and this can also be confirmed through the letter they sent on June 14th to myself and the FDIC.
I called and spoke to a supervisor named Suzanne at Amex on the evening of October 19th. She stated she could clearly see they promised the account would be reopened as long as it was $1000 under its credit limit, and that they should have issued another card with a $5700 line of credit. Suzanne called the credit dept, and she spoke to a person named Kathy in Phoenix. Kathy refused to honor what I was verbally told and what was written in the letter to myself and the FDIC in June, simply because she couldn’t find the letter in their system. I’m frankly not sure what is going on with Amex these days, specifically when it comes to communication, but I am frankly getting sick of it. My account is paid as agreed, as well as my other creditors, and they should be required to honor what they have said to me verbally and in writing. Also, since this is technically a new account, with a different credit limit, they never sent me my new credit terms, which I know is required by law. In addition, I’ve received recent correspondence from Amex that was unsealed, as well as mislabeled e-mails, and other major communication breakdowns. I know I am not the only one experiencing these issues with Amex, would have preferred to resolve the matters on my own, but they have made it virtually impossible to resolve anything. So I am left to file complaints, yet again, with all of the prior agencies. Plus I am posting my complaint on Rip Off Report. If you are having the same problems with American Express, or other similar problems, please file reports with the following agencies:
• BBB of El Paso
• Attorney General (your own state)
• FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
• FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
• OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau