Consumer complaint received 2020-11-06
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
I am an American Express XXXX XXXX XXXX cardholder and have been a member since XXXX. American Express is a global financial services company with sophisticated technology for communicating real-time data. However, over the past several months, I have experienced a number of troubling inconsistencies in the data available to me on my customer account page, and over the phone with their customer service department. 

XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, my online balance was shown as {$25000.00} and my account limit was {$26000.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, just before XXXX, I had an {$860.00} charge declined. I checked online and saw that my available balance was {$1300.00}. This was more than ample to cover my charge, since I had recently made a {$1000.00} payment in anticipation charging car repairs and earning points on that charge. At XXXX, I called AmEx about the declined charge and was informed that my credit limit has been reduced to {$25000.00} that morning. They had no reasonable explanation for why I had not been informed that this change had been made, nor for why the change did not appear on my online account. They offered two onerous options to request consideration to have my limit reinstated. However, waiting 7-10 days for a response after sending in a significant amount of paperwork while I was at the mechanic to pick up my car was simply not reasonable. Despite AmExs failure to inform me of the limit change or update my online account, they would not offer a courtesy extension of {$400.00} for me to complete my charge. At XXXX I received an email regarding the account change, which was surely triggered by my call rather than from pre-set internal procedures. At XXXX my online account had still had not changed and had not been updated to reflect the credit limit change. 

The discrepancy between real-time data available to me about my account and how they handled my account behind the scenes without informing me is adjacent to fraud, especially if one considers the number of customers who may have been similarly impacted. At a minimum, such discrepancy lacks the transparency that a financial services firm ( with top tier technology ) should be required ( and is able ) to provide to their customers. 

XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I purchased a pair of sneakers online. Because of the websites technical glitch, 3 holds were placed on my account for the single purchase. Despite numerous calls to the sneaker company, including speaking to the accounting online sales processor who assured me all steps had been taken on their end ( including shipping my order early ), AmEx did not release the excess holds on my account until XX/XX/XXXX. AmEx initially said the holds needed to be resolved by the merchant, but I now question how they place the blame and am inclined to believe AmEx enforces 7-day holds for their own benefit at the expense of merchant accounts and the customers available credit. 

XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I checked into a hotel. A {$550.00} authorization hold was charged to my AmEx and appeared on my online account within minutes of being processed. I checked out on XXXX. Although a financial firm that processes the volume of transactions AmEx does would have received my closing information overnight ( if not immediately ), the original authorization hold still appeared on my account on XXXX. On XXXX the hold had been replaced by the final hotel charge on my account page ; however, my available credit had not increased by the difference between my final charge XXXX {$410.00} XXXX and the initial hold XXXX {$550.00} XXXX. When I called AmEx about how my account limit, total balance and available credit didnt add up in simple math, I was told that -- especially for hotel/resort charges -- there is a 7-day hold period before the authorization automatically falls off. If I were to contact the hotel about releasing the hold, their screen would likely show the transaction had been processed and the hold had been released when the final transaction was charged on their end. In order to have the hold released early, hotel accounting would need to call AmEx Merchant Services to see the hidden authorization hold and have it released from there. 

If the hotels data shows that they have released the hold but they need to contact AmEx to have a hidden hold released before the end of the 7-day hold period, having AmEx tell me the hold period originates with the hotel seems dubious. Why would a hotel keep its authorization information hidden from its own accounting department and then need to contact a payment company to see this information and have the payment company facilitate releasing the hold? The idea that AmEx requires its hotel/resort partners to accept AmEx 's 7-day hold on its authorizations seems more likely, no matter how AmEx frames its strongarming of its vendors. 

AmEx makes the process of releasing holds before the end of the 7-day period unnecessarily onerous. Had AmEx simply updated the authorization hold with the posting of the final transaction ( as my online account showed it had ), I wouldnt have needed to 1 ) call AmEx about the simple math discrepancy on my account, 2 ) contact the Hotel and Hotel accounting department with my unusual request, 3 ) have the Hotel contact AmEx Merchant Services, 4 ) have the Hotel follow up with me that they ( hopefully ) resolved the issue with AmEx, and 5 ) follow up with AmEx that they have ( hopefully ) processed the release early as they detailed in my 1 ) call to them. 

Creating so many hoops to jump through in order to make available credit actually available is a disservice to customers and merchants alike. 

===== I experienced two earlier instances where AmEx showed bad faith in transparency : = As early as XX/XX/XXXX of this year, AmEx had offered to enroll me in their Financial Relief Program. I qualified for their long term plan but wanted more information to consider it. On XX/XX/XXXX they informed me that they could not provide me with written terms of the program unless and until I am enrolled : That option is not available. I had been told multiple times that I could exit the plan early, but not until much later about the reinstatement review process that would be necessary before being able to use my card again. I was further told that I would not be able to use my reward points while enrolled, which differed from being later told that my points are transferred to my airline for use after being earned. Written terms of the program would have provided accuracy that their customer service reps could not. The lack of access to written terms before enrolling in the program lacks basic transparency and opens the door to potential fraud. 

= Early in the process of contacting AmEx customer service regarding COVID-19 relief options, a representative mentioned having my Annual Fee waived because travel/restaurant/entertainment restrictions had severely curtailed my ability to earn and use my benefits. My annual fee last year was {$190.00}. When I asked about this waiver on XX/XX/XXXX, I was told I needed to request the waiver after the fee had been charged and that it would be applied 8-12 weeks after approval. ( I believe I was also told that related interest charges for the 8-12 week approval period would be reversed as a matter of course so didn't add this to my written notes. ) On a subsequent call to customer service, I was told the Annual Fee wavier was never offered and would not be considered. I told the rep about my prior discussions, the detail about waiting until after the fee had been charged and that the initial suggestion came from an AmEx rep. She implied that I may have misunderstood. 

===== Throughout the COVID pandemic -- and long before -- I have made complete, on-time payments to this account. Although I have taken advantage of one form of relief AmEx has offered, the manner ( timing ) that it was applied actually made little/no difference to my bottom line. However, during this time, Ive experienced numerous instances of AmEx abusing the system in its own favor to deny me access to timely information and available credit that has been, at times, crucial. No matter the health circumstances of the world-wide population, AmEx has been capable of providing transparent, up-to-date information about its customers accounts but has failed to do so in select instances. If a significant change is made to an account, the customer should be apprised before -- at latest, at the time -- the change is made, not after. Transparent account notifications were not invalidated because of the pandemic. Such changes should appear simultaneously on all available outlets when they take effect on the account, not after. 

Further, imposing a 7-day authorization hold that can not be resolved when the merchant issues its final transaction record is unnecessarily punitive to the customer and the merchant. The 7-day hold period is like a bank reversal of floating checks -- it is dubiously withholding approved credit. If the credit company issues real-time holds against an account, it should issue real-time completion of the final transaction as well. 

If AmEx offers a Financial Relief debt program, they should be able to provide complete written terms, including how it affects the related existing account, BEFORE enrollment. Providing only verbal information about an enrollment program offered to customers under financial duress makes it highly possible for the consumer to become liable for requirements that s/he may have known they would not be able to meet ( or simply found objectionable ) had they been given the opportunity to review them before entering the agreement. This practice is adjacent to fraud. 

Finally, if a relief benefit is offered ( especially in response to a broadly affected, recognized emergency ) AmEx should follow-through with the offer, even after the program is closed to new inquiries. The fact that I had been given detailed instructions on the timing of my proposed request and completion of the waiver should be ample evidence that I should be included in the Annual Fee Waiver benefit.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation