An unverified complaint against American Express from an obviously unhappy customer:
My husband and I just had a horrible experience with American Express and we found you online as the lawyer who is suing them. My husband applied for a Costco/Amerex card that is both a Costco membership card and an American Express card. He used the standard printed application that Costco provided to apply for the credit card. He got it in the mail last month, called the number on it to validate it, the recording said his card had been validated properly at that time and he started using it right away. After about 3 charges, and within about a week of activating the card he started getting automated phone calls to call American Express that were difficult to even understand. And his card had already been "stopped" which he found out when trying to use it again to buy gas in the middle of the desert on vacation one week after it had been validated and used. The number that American Express gave him to call was 888-800-5234, but it had a recording directing him to call a 900 number (for a fee), 900-622-8000. Instead of calling that number and paying the fee, he called the American Express customer service number on his card, 888-708-8128.
Customer service was worse than useless. Even though he was able to give them his password, security information, social security number and everything else, they refused to discuss his account or re-activate it unless they could talk to him on a landline that was listed in his full name on the billing record. Since we are 300 miles from home, this was not possible. They have a recognition system of some sort that is linked with the billing names on phone number accounts. We had no idea that a particular landline would be involved in our card authorization, so we weren't aware that we should pay attention to what phones we used or listed when applying for the card or calling American Express (the phone account has to be in the person's name, a spouse will not do!) So a person could apply for a card and never end up getting to use it if they don't have a land-line telephone service account in their name. Cell phone accounts won’t work and if a spouses name is on the phone bill it won’t work.) They suggested we have somebody go to our house and pretend to be us –to have them call the American Express validation phone number from the proper phone of ours to make the new validation work. In other words, only by getting a phone call from any person under the sun who had the same name as my husband on the phone bill they were calling from would validate the card. It didn’t matter that it wouldn’t be my husband validating his own card!
When asked why they activated and then de-activated the card, they explained as follows:
1. They can’t discuss anything until the applicant can call them from that one particular phone number at the home where his name is listed on the billing. The said any phone with his name would work, but that’s the only land phone on the planet with his name on it so there were no other options for us.
2. It is common for the company to send out the card based on a person's credit rating, let them activate it, let them use it and then stop the card until they can do another "security check" that is more like "the real security check." They would not divulge if any sort of security flag had popped up on my husband's card. The rep said it happens to the new card owners all the time because they aren't really fully authorizing you to use the card as a regular account when they let you activate by phone, it's just like a courtesy account until they do some sort of additional phone authorization thing which is unexpectedly complex and not along the lines of using the security information they gather from you during the application process.
Obviously, American Express baits people into applying for the card, then sends one and lets customers activate one as if the card/account is fully authorized. After they have you they then start to screw the customer by making them call 900 numbers when their card gets stopped in the middle of their vacation and then refusing to help them even when they give all their security codes over the phone.
I used to have an Amerex Gold Card but cancelled it long ago because of the way they treated me with crap like this, despite being a long-time gold card member! I thought that in this case, being a Costco/American Express partnership,they would have everything worked out to provide decent service, or to just provide what they claim they are going to provide. Apparently not.
Jessie, Central California
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I applied for the traditional Green American Express card prior to going on vacation about 18 months ago. I applied specifically so that I would have it while out of the country. I charged,about $5000, and paid it even before I received the bill. I then proceeded to charge about the same each month, for several months thereafter, always paying on time, or early, and always in full. Then I received the AMEX "Blue" card preapproved. I charged several thousand dollars each month, on it, as well as my green card, but once again, always paid on time, or early, and in full. Six months after receiving my "Blue" card, I was told that Amex had put a limit of $1700 on my Green card, and $2000 on my Blue. The fact that I have always paid on time, and in full was, and still is, irrelevant to these people.
Then, the final insult. They offer me a business platinum car with no pre set spending limit. Like a fool, I accept, and after six months or more of $4-$5000 monthly charges, again, all paid in full, and in a timely manner, American Express sends me, after I was actually declined for a $50 sale, that my Platinum card has had the limit cut to $1700, and my Blue card has had it's limit cut to $500. I guess they think that we are a bunch of sheep. I am very seriously considering cancelling all three of my accounts with American Express. The only thing stopping me is that I read elsewhere on the web where Amex is making retaliatory derogatory remarks on peoples credit files merely for canceling. I am livid. The sad thing is that once again, in reality, the credit issuing agency has too much clout. I also saw where American Express is applying for a government bail out. This is one company that does not deserve the help. I say let them die.
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