Date Received: 2021-05-31
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Subissue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Consumer Complaint: My spouse tried to use the refer a friend link I shared with her to open a new account. Upon opening of this account, I was promised 7,500 Delta SkyMiles. The link was not working properly. We contacted the bank and were told to " delete our cookies and refresh the webpage and reapply ''. We follow these instruction, however the Skymiles were never awarded as promised. I have reached out to the card company many times, however, they are unwilling to resolve this problem and deny any errors on their end. At the end of the day, you have a customer who opened a new credit card, and then several weeks later, his spouse opened a new credit card and these folks refuse to add about {$75.00} worth of airmiles to my account. This company is worth billions and they can't resolve this simple dispute and take no ownership. We did what we were told to do. We deleted the cookies and refreshed the webpage and reapplied for a line of credit and these points should have posted to my account as promised. They got what they wanted - a new customer ... But I didn't get what they promised - 7,500 Delta SkyMiles.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 481XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-31
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-30
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Subissue: Privacy issues
Consumer Complaint: In XX/XX/2020 I created an LLC for liability protection and started the process to transition my existing XXXX XXXX to LLC. I reached out to American Express sales department and shared my priorities : start credit for my LLC and not to commingle personal / business matters ( since I had an existing personal relationship with them ). Please be aware I have worked for XXXX XXXX XXXX my entire life so I understand banking, disclosures, and compliance very well. He recommended a XXXX XXXX XXXX I provided all my business information such as EIN, address, finances, etc. As far as my personal information, the sales rep said theyd be using the existing personal information they had from me. He mentioned my own credit had to be pulled since the business did not have credit history then my personal credit would have to back it up, I agreed. In mid XX/XX/2020, I had already transitioned all my bills, accounts, expenses, accounts, etc to my business. The one rule I was given by my attorney was that in order to avoid corporate veil I must never commingle personal and business affairs so my name should not be used on business transactions. I had noticed that all posted transactions in my business checking account referenced my business name in the transaction detail except for one, the only one that would post transactions using my first and last name was American Express. I immediately called American Express and shared my concern and I was told a case was being opened and to expect to hear from someone in a few days but that did not happen. In XX/XX/2020 I was presented an offer to apply for the American Express XXXX XXXX and since I do a lot of business with XXXX then I called American Express sales department. The rep said that the only way to apply for this specific account is online and she walked me through it. American Express requires a business entity from which it only has 3 selections : XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX. I asked the rep how come LLC was not listed there, and upon reviewing my existing relationship in her system she told me to select XXXX XXXX since I was the only owner of my LLC. When I did that I noticed the question for EIN disappeared and instead it would ask for SSN. She told me not to worry and advised I put my SSN and if approved I should call them back so they can include my EIN. Later that day I received the approval notification so I called to add my EIN, the rep who answered said I should be able to do it but when I get the physical card because they needed the security code. A week after when I received the card I called them and this time they said they are not able to add my EIN because it was not entered in the application, I explained my situation about me completing the application following the guidance of one of their reps, then they had me under the impression a ticket was opened to have someone call me back and help me, that never happened. Also, another important point I brought up was the fact they accepted and approved a XXXX XXXX account for a business that has LLC in its tile and mentioned this is an AML concern and they could not elaborate on this. In the meantime, because I had shared my XXXX Small Businesss account during the application, American Express sends this account to XXXX using my business name with a SSN as a XXXX XXXX. XXXX closed my existing Small Business relationship because they thought American Express was a more reliable source. I reached out to XXXX and they said this error came from American Express and they had to fix it. From XXXX to XXXX, American Express did a terrible job at providing information. A lot of the people that I spoke to told me my old existing Small Business account that I opened in XX/XX/2020 was also a XXXX XXXX using my SSN. After so many cases that were never addressed then one supervisor told me that they information they had given me was a mistake because she was able to see that my old account had my EIN, I shared with her that I thought it was odd how suddenly she found it, I asked her to validate back to me my EIN and she said this is something she does not see in her screen, I questioned her then how she had just told me my EIN was there, and she said it was because that is all it says. I was not happy with that information so I requested for them to send me a copy of the credit card application they took over the phone in XX/XX/2020, she said the only way for me to get that was to type a letter requesting it, send by regular mail and expect an answer in 6 weeks. I was not happy with this answer and then she proposed to help with getting the application followed by asking me for my EIN over the phone, I have to admit I thought it was strange and convenient but I thought if this resolves the issue then I should, and I did. She never called me back After this, every time I would call I could tell she had notated in my account information to avoid addressing my issue, and this assumption comes from the fact that each time I called then their agents wouldnt even let me finish my sentence because they would mention the account is notated my issue was addressed and I had been told this is an LLC, and at this point they even offered to give my EIN over the phone so I can validate they have it, and was not ok with me because I was the one who provided the EIN when supervisor said she would call me. This time I asked to speak to a supervisors manager and this was when XXXX XXXX XXXX gave me a call and he committed to help me with this. I have to say we spoke for almost 2 months because he always missed every appointment that was set by him. At this time I had closed my Amex XXXX card because they were not willing to fix the issue of providing wrong information about my business to XXXX. The only thing I asked XXXX XXXX was that I needed to be given my application for my original card that I opened with them in XX/XX/2020. XXXX XXXX did some research and called me days later to tell me he had a chance to look at my application and confirmed that it was my SSN that had been used and he also confirmed XXXX was selected as my business entity. He also mentioned he could not mail it to me. I was very disappointed because they had lied to me all the time, I asked him what is he going to do and he said there was nothing he can but New Accounts department can, I told him my account is not new and I had already been sent to that department before under the same assumption and this other department had told me they only deal with accounts opened 90 days or less. He assured me they could help me and got a supervisor from that department to call me later, when that supervisor called he told me there was nothing he could do because my account was opened as an XXXX, I asked him to provide me with any proof and he asked me to trust him. I told if I trusted then I would have to think XXXX XXXX was lying, so he offered to have XXXX XXXX call me. XXXX XXXX called me to tell if that is what the other supervisor ( below him ) said then that is the resolution, I asked him then how come he had told me otherwise and he could not elaborate. Last, I told XXXX XXXX that the document they provided for my XXXX year end tax summary had my personal name and my business name did not appear once in this report, I asked him if that was normal? California also had rejected that tax report because it appeared as personal transactions. He said he can notate it in my account but he was not familiar. I shared with him that it did not make sense. I was speaking to an actual manager from Amex Small Business who does not know about this report. I work for a bank so I understand the severity of compliance issues, I did voice my opinion on how this violated Anti-Money Laundry regulations because they had created a business using my LLCs name and my SSN which means I was operating this card using a business that does not exist. I told them my concerns on privacy, CIP errors, and most importantly they were putting my business at risk for not protecting the corporate veil, and not to mention my inability to report my taxes accurately. At the end, all he said he was sorry for the inconvenience
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 91335
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-30
Issue: Improper use of your report
Subissue: Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize
Consumer Complaint: My name is XXXX XXXX and I was incarcerated from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX and I credit and social security was used for them years and I don't recognize any transactions from those years I was in prison
Company Response:
State: AR
Zip: 72209
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-28
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: Last purchase on my Amex was XX/XX/2021 in amount {$3600.00}. At which time I was well within my credit limit of {$11000.00} with a 96.17 % usage. On XX/XX/2021 Amex lowered my credit limit to {$8700.00} thus putting me at 126.72 % usage. On XX/XX/2021. This has unfairly impacted my credit history report by Amex reporting that I am over my credit limit. Once again at the time of purchase I was within my right. Amex did not take this into consideration. I have spoke with Amex on several occasions with the last being XX/XX/2021. I was past around to 4 customer service reps and about to be past to a XXXX. I was given unfair options that could not be guaranteed of the outcome or future reporting. I would bier worst impact to my credit report if Amex declined based of information about my income during the Covid pandemic. I asked for 2 options. ( 1 ) restore my line of credit and freeze the account to insure no future charges will occur as the balance is being paid on time in a timely manner. ( 2 ) give me a deferred interest rate so more of may payment can go to the principle instead of interest. Both my request was denied. This has unfairly and unjustly affected me financially because of losing points on my credit score. I have been with Amex for 25 years and I am sure this is happening to many of their customers. I am asking to resolve this issue fairly as I have asked somewhere within the perimeters of their company without anything from my part other than my agreement. Once again I kept my end of everything from day one so I should not have to go above and beyond.
Company Response:
State: NJ
Zip: 07108
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-29
Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Subissue: Trouble closing card
Consumer Complaint: This concerns the suspension of my Amex Serve account. I had my own money from the stimulus in my account, around {$3300.00}. I also had just received a deposit from the SBA for a XXXX XXXX of {$9000.00} they owed me from XXXX of XXXX. Both deposits were from government agencys. The SBA deposit wasnt even supposed to go on the Serve card account. A mistake was made by the loan officer and disbursement department of the SBA. I will include her contact information. But that money is still rightly mine. And since that deposit was not even supposed to go to that account I technically didnt violate any terms of service. I had provided a voided check and Information from my XXXX XXXX XXXX checking account for the deposit. Someone at the SBA did not update it correctly from over a year ago. I have correspondence with the SBA I can provide as proof if needed. I went though a rigorous approval process for this {$9000.00} advance and waiting more time is risking the closer of my business. I would like to add I did not even realize the money had been deposited in my Serve account until Serve themselves sent me a text with my balance on Friday XX/XX/XXXX. Afterwards I did some research and found that the {$9000.00} XXXX XXXX was actually deposited on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. I had only been checking the XXXX XXXX XXXX account for this deposit as that is where is was supposed to be deposited. I only check the balance of my serve account weekly unless needed otherwise. Loan Officer : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: MD
Zip: 21222
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-29
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-27
Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Subissue: Trouble closing card
Consumer Complaint: Bluebird by American Express permanently suspended by account on XX/XX/2020 with a balance of {$8900.00} in it. When I called customer service to try and close account they would always tell me they had no information and they write a letter and mail it, which I've done several times. They only response I would get is I need a letter of indemnity which I also sent to them. Their own statement on closing account states : You may not close your Bluebird Account, Subaccount ( s ), Goals or XXXX XXXX $ XXXX balance to evade an investigation or a disputed transaction ( s ). You may not close your Bluebird Account or Subaccount if there is a negative balance in your Account or Subaccount,, if one or more pre-authorization codes with respect to Bluebird Checks you have written are unexpired, or if there is an investigation pending or a Dispute related to the Account or Subaccount or associated Bluebird card or Subaccount card, and subject to Applicable Law, we may hold your funds for up to thirty ( 30 ) days or longer to finish conducting the investigation and/or protect us or a third party against the risks of payment reversals, chargebacks, claims, fees, fines, penalties, and other liability. I am not evading an investigation or even being investigated at all. And they even state they should hold funds up to 30 days but now it has been a year and my money is just sitting there when I really need it. Please help me to get my account closed and remaining balance to be sent to me by check.
Company Response:
State: LA
Zip: 712XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-28
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Subissue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Consumer Complaint: Dear Sir or Madam : I am writing on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX in regards to the four ( 4 ) airfare tickets he purchased using his American Express card in XX/XX/XXXX. The airfare was to travel to XXXX, XXXX, departing the US on XX/XX/XXXX. Upon purchase XXXX XXXX understood that if there were restrictions in XXXX due to COVID he would receive a full refund less cancellation fees. XXXX XXXX also understood that if flights changed significantly he would receive a full refund. Both events occurred. At the last minutes, the time of departure was changed by almost 12 hours. This created a conflict due to a previously scheduled doctors appointment. XXXX also announced a strict 14 day quarantine for any arrivals. XXXX XXXX contacted XXXX XXXX and initially had difficulty receiving the refund. He then disputed the charges with his credit card company, American Express. After trying to work with XXXX XXXX he finally received communication from them stating that he would receive a refund if they release the credit card dispute. He did so on XX/XX/XXXX yet American Express has not refunded any of the travel expenses. An email from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX informing XXXX XXXX that they can not process the refund until he provides confirmation from the credit card company that he has withdrawn the disputed charges. It specifically says Once we receive the withdrawal letter is when we can take further action to process the refund. XXXX XXXX removed the dispute, but for almost 2 months XXXX XXXX refused to issue said refunds and also sent the charge back to American Express to be billed. At this point, American Express refused to help any further, even though we told them that XXXX XXXX refused to help us. We think it is unethical of American Express to provide us no protection at all in the time of COVID, and we solemnly request a full refund of {$3300.00} from AMEX back to XXXX XXXX instead of sheltering the unethical company XXXX. Please help us to recover our funds from AMEX. Thank you.
Company Response:
State: NM
Zip: 87144
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-29
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-28
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Subissue: Credit card company forcing arbitration
Consumer Complaint: American Express is refusing to provide the arbitration fees regarding the terms and conditions under the FAA.
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20019
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-28
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Subissue: Debt was result of identity theft
Consumer Complaint: In XX/XX/2020 I discovered my business, my bank accounts and personal identity were compromised, on or about XX/XX/2020 I started to receive various telephone calls from creditors pertaining to past due accounts that were opened in my name without my knowledge and/or consent. My bank account, my credit profile and my personal identity were completely compromised. I've contacted American Express and the Law Firm representing American Express and advised them that I'm a victim of identity theft, I sent them a copy of my Identity Theft Police report which was filed on XX/XX/2020, however American Express has reported this account on my credit report as a charge off in the amount of {$70000.00}, this is devastating.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 90272
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-05-27
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Subissue: Debt is not yours
Consumer Complaint: Someone claiming to be from American Express continually calls my phone number, looking for someone named " XXXX ''. Apparently " XXXX '' owes money on a credit debt. I am not XXXX, and I have never had an American Express card before. Even after I told these people that I am not XXXX and there is no XXXX at my number, they continue to call daily. I block them but they use spoofed numbers over and over to try and trick me into answering. They get very nasty and threatening over the phone and I want this to stop.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 96080
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-05-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A