Consumer complaint received 2017-01-12
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: VA
Product: Prepaid card
Sub-product: General purpose card
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing account

Complaint:
I have a problem with American Express Prepaid cards. American Express owes me a refund of {$8000.00} and, while customer service has told me I 'd get a refund, so far I have n't seen one and it 's been over 3 weeks. 

I placed an order for the gift cards on XX/XX/2016 and paid for delivery within XXXX to 4 days. American Express called me on XX/XX/2016 to verify my address and left a message. They said they could n't process the order without the verification and asked me to call back. I called them back 7 minutes later. What they had failed to tell me is that they were closed and I could n't reach them until XXXX. I called American Express XXXX morning XX/XX/2016. I told them I needed the cards immediately and since I paid to have them delivered in that time frame they would have to process them with overnight delivery so I would receive them on XX/XX/2016. They gave me a number and told me to call them and they could handle it. I called this number and they said could not do that and I would get the gift cards on XXXX, at the earliest. They told me the cards were n't even printed and there was no possibility of getting them earlier. 

Since this was far too late for the holiday cards that these cards were meant for, I told them I 'd need to cancel the order. They told me I had to call back after 24 hours to cancel the cards because they could n't cancel it until the order went through. I called back at XXXX on XXXX and was told they could cancel the order and gave me a case ID of XXXX and that I would receive a refund within 15 days. I asked for a written confirmation and they said they could n't do that. And that I could call back if I had a problem. 

On XXXX, I had to purchase gift cards elsewhere so I could meet work obligations. Late on XXXX, the gift cards arrived, even though, according to American Express the order had not even been processed yet. I called on XXXX to tell them that the cards had arrived, I could not use them because of what American Express ' customer service had told me and to confirm the cancellation. They confirmed it, told me to keep the cards and said it could take up to 20 days for a refund. 

Throughout this process, the customer service was poor and I was never allowed to speak to anyone in the United States. They gave me no other options and said there was nothing they could do to help me. 

It has now been over 20 days and I called, waited for 25 minutes to talk to someone. " XXXX '', ID # XXXX, told me for some reason it did n't get processed and he would process it again and it would take 15 days. I asked to speak to someone to expedite it and he said I could wait for his supervisor but it would not change the outcome, that I had to wait another 15 days. 

American Express put a hold on my credit card on XX/XX/2016 so they have effectively had my money for 30 days and, according to them it will take another 15 days to get a refund. American Express ' track record is n't good in telling the truth so it 's debatable whether or not I 'll receive a refund this time. 

I would like American Express to refund the full amount immediately as originally promised on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/2016

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief