Consumer complaint received 2020-04-04
Company: 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

Complaint:
My wife and I booked a hotel room in XXXX, XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX through XXXX. We checked in to our hotel on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. However, within hours of checking in, our throats began to become sore and we were coughing uncontrollably. We then realized all of this started as soon as we entered our hotel room. I went to the AC unit, which was mounted to the ceiling directly over our bed, and noticed black mold everywhere. The AC unit was white, the ceilings were white, but inside the AC unit, it was covered with black specs where mold was growing unimpeded. 

At this time, it was about XXXX in XXXX ( which would be XXXX EST in the USA ). I called XXXX customer service, and after sitting on hold for a long time, was transferred to a customer service representative. The representative, XXXX, seemed very concerned about the mold I was reporting and said she would send me an email to which she wanted me to respond with pictures of the mold. I received the email from XXXX and promptly responded with the pictures I had taken ( emailed uploaded ). XXXX told me they would contact the hotel to explore options including cancelling of the reservation and moving us to a different room. XXXX said they would be in touch as soon as they heard from the hotel. 

Around XXXX ( again, his would be XXXX EST ), and after not hearing back from XXXX, I called XXXX again. I was not sleeping as I was very sick from the black mold. XXXX said they had been trying to contact the hotel but that they had been told that the reservations desk was not available. Please keep in mind that we were not calling about a reservation but about black mold in our room. 
I then walked up to the front desk and, as expected, there were several employees in the lobby and at the front desk. I told them who I was and they said yes, we know about your problem and will give you a new room. Again, this is minutes after XXXX was told there was no one to talk to. The hotel was clearly not trying to resolve this issue. 

Around XXXX, we were finally shown to another room. In an attempt to be reasonable, we inspected and accepted the replacement room. Soon after, XXXX emailed me again to let me know they had finally spoken to the hotel and that the hotel would be offering me another room ( which, of course, we already knew ). 
During our phone conversations, XXXX representatives told me the investigation was ongoing and that they would let me know if a refund could be provided for the first night. XXXX never provided a price breakdown for the 5-night charge. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the hotel manager called us, apologized for the mold issue and offered to take both me and my wife to see her doctor. We were not sure if it was a good idea to see a strange doctor in a foreign country so we declined the offer. I am including below a snapshot of our XXXX XXXX review that management responded to and again mentions the doctor. I am providing this to help prove my side of the story.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief