Consumer complaint received 2018-12-12
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: DE
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
XXXX I spoke with a supervisor at Am/Ex and she informed me she would share my issues with my card in a complaint but no one would call me back or to follow up. 
This is a new card to me and I have two other cards with Am/Ex, since XXXX. I have a credit score over 800 and have all my credit cards on direct, full payment draft ... Except for this credit card, I have it set to draft {$500.00} on each due cycle. 
I was talked into taking this card over the phone by Am/Ex when I was communicating to them about one of my other cards. 
The short of it, they offered me a card with just minimum payment due until XXXX ; also if I spent {$5000.00} within the next 3 months I would receive XXXX in rewards points. 
Upon receiving the card, the first problem I noticed was the wrong DBA name on my card. 
It took until XXXX for them to correct this issue, I made NUMEROUS phone calls about this ( each time I was promised it would be changed and a new card would be sent to me ). Then when I was signing in online to make a minimum payment on this card, I could NOT do it as the ''primary card '' was a MUST to sign-in and I did not have that card, only had possession of an alternate card, XXXX XXXX ... This allowed charges to go onto the card and yet, American Express had NO WAY to allow me to go online and make a payment ( without the card with my full name, which Am/Ex had NOT even sent out until just before the bill was due ). 
I then went online ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and registered the card in my account with the help of Am/Ex, as each time I went to ''make a payment '' on the online service, under that card, the website of Am/Ex would ''flip '' me to a different card of mine! 
In other words, I would just about press send and then notice the screen reload and show a different card was going to receive that payment - which was {$200.00} ( which was greater than the minimum Am/Ex requested ). 
So, I went to an ''online chat session '' with Am/Ex and explained to them what was going on. While they were attempting to help me, perhaps they did fix something, as I was still attempting to make the payment as I was between the chat response times ... THEN, at one point, it took the payment of {$200.00} to the card which it was due, as I observed NO reloading of web page. 
I then moved on in conversation with the chat, to addressing my card having the wrong name on it and was informed a new card would arrive within 7-10 days, it arrived in XXXX! 
Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX, I had another online chat session and was question why I was seeing a minimum payment due of {$5200.00} and I stated in the chat that this card did NOT have a interest until XXXX and why was I seeing interest charges. This person had a few more comments as I told him I could not verify my card because, the online ''visual request and showing me where security numbers were on the card, that this card did not have them! " ... We went back and forth and then the Am/Ex representative put his supervisor on the chat. I offered to send the supervisor a photo of my card to prove to him no security codes was present as informed to locate. I also informed him of the card billing issues I was having and the amount of requested payment being wrong. 
This supervisor informed me that he was going to ''open a case '' " Here is what I'll do for you, I'll go ahead and open a case on your account so that our team can look into the matter '' We then talked about what is going wrong with my account, he wanted me to call in to work it out and I wanted to resolve it in written form in the chat. 
He confirmed they were waiving the interest fee ( which I thought was in error all along as it was not as I understood the agreement ). 
I understood, only minimum payment due without interest and that they would extend the line of credit as I needed it. NEVER did I understand that anything above {$4000.00} would be required in FULL or I would pay interest and late fees on that amount. 
I contracted with Am/Ex over the phone with an agent that had trouble speaking or understanding English ; as I recall, I had to keep going over answers and issues with her. 
This is the chat Id XXXX from this XX/XX/XXXX conversation. 
Then we moved onto the problem with the card and how could we resolve my issues ( I have screenshots of the entire chat if needed ). 
This supervisor insisted that I call in and speak with someone ... I did that while he was still on the chat and ultimately discontinued the chat with this online chat representative. 
I was also confirming that the minimum we sent to come out each month went from {$200.00} to {$500.00} per month ( this was so I could knock down the balance before the XXXX interest due deadline ). Recall, I believed this card was NOT charging interest until XXXX! 
This is a quote I just saw from the live chat, " Your introductory APR for new purchases posted to your account by XXXX is 0.00 % through your billing period ending in XXXX. After that, your APR will be a variable rate of the Prime Rate + 7.99 %, currently 13.24 %. '' This is how I understood this agreement and not how the last phone call I had with a supervisor explained it to me ... She informed me that, anything OVER {$4000.00} would be due in FULL or interest would be charged and a late fee! 
Please, locate that phone call records, as she informed me phone calls are recorded and told me I would have to take them to court to listen to them ( she said, this in an aggressive way, as the phone call will reveal ) ... 
If, you listen to the phone call, it will be revealed that Am/Ex ''set me up '' on this card ''deal ' that they ALWAYS had BAD INTENSIONS of ''suckering me '' into paying interest and penalty fees. That the limit they gave to me was {$4000.00} YET told me I would only have to make the minimum payment ( please find recordings of the agreement, when card was first agreed to ), at one point in contacting Am/Ex, after I realized that the ''numbers did not make sense '' ... That is, I had to spend {$5000.00} within 3 months but, I only had to make minimum payments on this card! They informed me, that the card does not have a limit and it is okay, and no interest until XXXX, please check the phone recordings during the time I made purchases from a landscape supply house ... that is when I was ''set at ease '' ... 
Fast forward to me and the late fees and I contacted them via chat today informing them that this card has to be fixed ( chat records exist ) ... Then going onto the supervisor on the phone and ONLY TODAY did I realize that anything above $ 4k I will owe in FULL or a later fee and interest would be charged! 
I informed the supervisor that American Express is running a scam, that if I made the minimum payment on $ XXXX ( card limit - which she verified to be {$40.00} per month ) and SO, if, I was to make the minimum payment ( as this card was promoted to me as, only minimum payment, no interest card ... ) that NO way could I EVER get the XXXX XXXX rewards points, as I would NOT be able to get to the minimum {$5000.00} in charges in 3 months WITHOUT going over the limit of {$4000.00} they gave me! 
ALSO, keep in mind, I have an 800 plus credit score! and I was totally shocked over the silly {$4000.00} limit the offered ... BUT, NOW it is clear why they did that, to cause this DRAMA and perhaps it works with a lot of people and maybe only one or two bite back ... 
I am biting back, as I am sure this card was set-up and offered to cause this issue. 
I have NOT to this day, received any written card requirements - all they sent me was a card on a glued paper ... 
I ask the help of CFPB to correct this error on Am/Ex part. 
Please, note, I did ask the supervisor to please give me further access to a higher level supervisor before I would make this complaint and she informed me that all she could give me was a an address in XXXX XXXX Texas to write and complain and that she was writing a formal complaint about my issues but that NO ONE would be contacting me about her written complaint. 
Further, NO ONE, has contacted me about any issues from the promised date, back in XX/XX/XXXX, ( the 6-8 weeks turn around time - has not happened as of yet ). 
This error put a hardship on me as it has caused me MANY hours of communicating with Am/Ex and only today I realized their ''scam '' ... I asked the supervisor tonight to simple allow my auto payment of {$500.00} per month to pay down the card in a timely manner and I would NO longer use the card as it did so. 
The supervisor said, she could remove the late fee and that was all. 
Again, this is not fair to me as consumer and I ask for your help.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief