Consumer complaint received 2020-05-23
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
American Express advertised a " Plan it '' feature, where I could take up to 10 charges on my credit card that are each over {$100.00}, and I could group them into a repayment plan that has a fixed fee instead of paying interest. While I was logged in to my American Express credit card account, they advertised a calculator so that you can know the available repayment terms before you make your purchases. I entered in various amounts around {$10000.00} to the calculator, and was always shown a 24 month repayment term as an available option. For me, this was advertised as a great deal, and I decided to take advantage of it. 

Within the next month, I had made my 10 purchases that totaled {$10000.00}. This was an approximate number that I had entered into the calculator 1 month previously, where it advertised to me a 24 month repayment plan. I selected the 10 purchases to create the plan, and was only offered me a max of a 12 month repayment term. I changed the number and amount of my purchases I tried to enter into the plan, to keep the total amount between {$9000.00} and the {$10000.00}. Every time, what I am actually offered is a max of a 12 month repayment term. I exit out of creating my plan, and while still logged in to my credit card account, I went back to the calculator. I entered amounts into the calculator that are approximate to the amount of purchases that I am trying to make the plan with, one of them being the exact {$10000.00} that I am trying to enter into the plan. And again, just like one month ago where I decided to make the purchases to enter this plan, American Express advertised to  me a 24 month repayment term as being an available option. This is mere minutes after what they actually offered me was a 12 month repayment term, they are advertising a 24 month repayment term from their calculator, which is advertised as knowing your payment plan options. 

I contact customer service. Ultimately, they are no help. Some of the things they told me : Repayment plan options are based on my credit worthiness at the time of application, my credit limit, my account status, etc. They gave me the run around. My credit score is above 780, I have over 9k still available credit on my amex card alone, and over 100k available throughout all of my credit cards, and I have never in my life had a late payment. I did the run around with them over the course of several days, and talked to a number of supervisors, but every time I got nothing more than a run around. Not one supervisor could tell me how someone would qualify for the 24 month repayment term that was advertised.

One of the main things that the supervisors kept circling back to is that the calculator is only an illustrative tool. And I told them yes, it is an illustrative tool, it was illustrating my repayment options. This is the way they advertise their calculator for the plan, directly from their website, under the learn more tab of the Plan it Calculator : " Know your options before you make a purchase with the Plan it Calculator. '' And the words plan it calculator are a link to the actual calculator. So to me, the way that reads, the calculator is advertised as a way for me to know what my repayment options are before I make my purchases. I have a screen shot of the calculator being advertised in those exact words. 

Ultimately, the " Plan it '' feature offered by American Express utilizes a bait and switch advertising tactic. The calculator is advertised as letting you know your options before making purchases. The calculator advertises a 24 month repayment term. After I make my purchases and I go to enter all my purchases into the plan, I am only offered a 12 month repayment term. Bait and switch. 

I have a screenshot of the calculator being advertised by American Express as a tool to know your repayment options before you make purchases, I have a screenshot of the calculator advertising to me a 24 month repayment term for the exact amount that I actually tried to enter into the repayment plan, and I have a screen shot of the plan of that same amount only offering me a 12 month repayment option.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief