Consumer complaint received 2020-07-27
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card
Sub-issue: Can't use card to make purchases

Complaint:
I filed a recent complaint against American Express so this is a continued, new complaint. American Express is NOT following the acts that were passed due to the Coronavirus pandemic to protect small businesses and consumers! In XXXX, American Express totally SHUT DOWN use of all my credit cards ( both consumer and business ) WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME! So I was stuck at the grocery store trying to check out/pay for my food and my American Express cards were all DECLINED! One of our business accounts is not revolving and an XXXX payment was due. However, I'd called Amex and spoke with a rep who said we could still use all of our cards but just needed to stay within the credit limits. I was lied to then because they were SHUT DOWN. I then called back in and they put me on their ridiculous " Payment Relief Program ''. At that time, they told me that it's unlikely anything will be different on my accounts - but it would benefit me because I'd have lower interest rates, lower payments, no annual fees, etc., and would still have use of my cards within the credit limits given the necessary payments ( per the program ) were being made. I made the payments as required and even paid a bit more. However, when I went to use my cards again, I was DECLINED/SHUT DOWN again! So I called Amex again ( BTW, it takes at least an hour to get a hold of anyone and routed to another country where English is NOT the first language and it's very difficult to understand the reps ). The rep then informed me that even though I'd made my payments, that my cards were declined because Amex had DECREASED MY CREDIT LIMITS WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME! No one told me that as a result of entering into the program that my credit limits would be decreased. I was aware it could be a possibility, but they again lied to me because I later found out it's a MANDATE TO DECREASE CREDIT LIMITS as a result of participating in the program. Amex actually admitted to their mistake here. I then requested to be exited from the program because it was hurting me more than anything! I then exited the program last week and send an email ( one of many ) to their CEO stating exactly what the rep told me and that my accounts were ALL CURRENT and there's was nothing further I needed to do. However, I was SHUT DOWN again last weekend at the grocery store trying to buy food for my family again with NO NOTIFICATION. I called in again and spent another hour of my time and the rep said they put a hold on my accounts because I'd exited the program! LIED TO AGAIN! When will American Express be held accountable for treating their customers this way and during a pandemic! WHEN will XXXX XXXX TAKE OWNERSHIP for what's happening to his customers during this pandemic? WHEN will they stop lying to us, let alone support us?! Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. I expect your involvement with help others experiencing this nightmare as well!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation