Consumer complaint received 2018-07-30
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Can't close your account

Complaint:
I am an Amex card holder for over 10 years. I had 3 cards that ended in account numbers XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. I live at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX FL XXXX which is a FEMA Federal Disaster area after Hurricane Irma. 

Amex cancelled these cards around XX/XX/XXXX in the financial crisis. While others defaulted on their debts I dutifully made payments on my accounts for over 10 years. In XX/XX/XXXX I collectively owed just over {$10000.00} on these 3 accounts. I made payments online to pay these accounts in full at that time. 

I believed that I had paid all 3 accounts in full. 

Unfortunately, there was interest charged on account XXXX that I was not aware of that left a balance of about {$27.00}. What happened next is infuriating and I am asking that American Express resolve this. 

1 ) - I assumed my accounts had been paid in full. 2 of the 3 were. Account XXXX was not. I paid {$5200.00} on XX/XX/XXXX to attempt to pay this account in full. 
2 ) - Amex does not offer the ability to pay more than the balance owed. I would have paid the interest outstanding which was {$27.00} but that option was not allowed 3 ) - I assumed my account was paid in full and cancelled my recurring payments given my pay-off of {$5200.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. 
4 ) - On XX/XX/XXXX I received a credit monitoring alert that an account was past due. I researched this alert and realized it was from American Express account XXXX 5 ) - On XX/XX/XXXX I realized that a {$27.00} balance was left on this account when I paid it off. American Express then charged me late fees in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. {$38.00} each month for {$76.00} in total. I received no phone calls from American Express that my account was past due in this 60+ day time period. 
6 ) - On the note above - any time I previously was a few days late on a payment American Express immediately called me every day to let me know I was late. In this case when I attempted to pay off the account I received no calls from American Express. They apparently would have just charged me {$38.00} a month late fees for perpetuity and gladly taken my money. 
7 ) - On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted American Express customer support and they were worthless with no ability to help 8 ) - On XX/XX/XXXX I went ahead and paid my account in full ( again ) for about {$93.00} which was the {$27.00} in interest that I owed plus the {$76.00} that American Express charged me in late fees. 

I am asking for fairness. I paid the account in full on XX/XX/XXXX. They can see it in my records. I paid my account on time dutifully for over 10 years. My credit report should not be negatively marked because of my mistake which was compounded by American Express not calling me or notifying me that a balance was owed and my account was now late. I would argue vehemently that American Express had set a precedent that if my account was late I would be called daily. I have no idea why I was not called or notified in this situation. 

Please correct the credit report to show my account is paid in full and never late. 

Thank you

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief