Consumer complaint received 2023-11-01
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted American Express with questions regarding personal reward points. I noticed that the balance had not changed from the prior month. It was revealed that because I had paid my card late, American Express forfeited my points. While instant messaging an Agent, I asked where American Express disclosed this to consumers. The Agent sent me the account disclosures, which I had already read, and asked for the section that details this action, as I was unable to find it. After a few minutes, the Agent sent me a completely different document, titled " Welcome Membership Rewards. '' The agent told me that the latter document is available on American Express 's website. I informed the agent that the document must be provided at the account opening to be valid and that American Express did not disclose this practice to me. I requested that all points be reinstated, however, the Agent told me it would be a fee of {$35.00}, which I declined to pay and stated I would report this action to the regulator for failing to disclose this practice. The Agent asked me to speak to his supervisor but left the chat room. 

That same day, I contacted American Express via telephone and spoke to an Agent that the disclosures failed to mention that American Express would forfeit points upon receipt of a late payment and that I am requesting all my points back from my most recent card change ( XXXX of 2023 ). I was on hold for XXXX minutes and the Agent stated that American Express would reinstate all of my points and that I received this disclosure at the account opening. 

Having all the documents in the initial envelope American Express sent me, American Express only sent the terms and conditions ( which was a two-part document, part one consisting of 11 pages and part two consisting of 10 pages ), a benefits document that discusses the attributes of the card, and a page that had the card glued to it, all within a personal envelope. American Express never provided the additional terms regarding the rewards component of the card. 

I am alleging that American Express displays potential violations of the Truth in Lending Act by failing to provide me the additional terms regarding the rewards point system. In addition, in reading the rewards points terms and conditions, the document states, If you don't make a timely payment of the minimum amount due on your Card Account, you may forfeit all the points that you earned from that Card Account during the period covered by the billing statement. '' The language used by American Express is weak and does not provide clarity if points will be undoubtedly forfeited or not. Account disclosures fail to provide any mention of a forfeiting act. Account disclosures also failed to mention the fee associated with repurchasing forfeited reward points. A normal consumer would refer to the account disclosures and rely on those disclosures to have a clear understanding of the card. American Express failed to provide accurate disclosures, which misled me in the rewards program process. 

I am alleging that American Express presents a potential violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, Section 5. Truth-in-Lending requires that the financial institution disclose other charges or fees on account statements. The reason I was unable to notice that American Express had deducted my rewards points for late payment is because account statements omitted the incurred fee. In reviewing my most recent statement in which American Express forfeited the points, there is no mention of the act. American Express did, however, disclose it on the interactive statement, which is only available via logging into your account online. 
In addition, since American Express failed to disclose this act and forfeited my points, since points hold a dollar value, this also impacted my ability to repay, causing an irrational payment pattern. 

I am formally requesting that American Express conduct a review of my account and provide all points that were forfeited from my accounts since I became a cardholder, along with all points forfeited on former cards. American Express did provide my points that were forfeited since XXXX of 2023 for my XXXX XXXX only, however, I am requesting a formal account review of all cards, closed, and converted, as part of the review. In addition, since the act impacted my ability to repay, I am requesting that American Express refund all late fees for 2023. Lastly, I am requesting that the CFPB conduct a review of the banks credit card disclosures to determine compliance with federal statutes and that consumers were not hard due to this practice.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief