Consumer complaint received 2023-02-02
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: MD
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Debt settlement
Issue: Unexpected or other fees

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX XXXX  I enrolled in the American Express financial relief program. Agreeing to pay a fee of {$110.00} upon enrollment and then a set payment of {$80.00} on the XXXX of every month for 60 months to repay the balance I owed. The terms of this program stated that they would not report my account any further past due to credit agencies, they would reduce the interest being charged to the account, and not charge any further late fees as long as I was enrolled in the program. I had enrolled in the program when my account had only been reported as 30-59 days late, but on XX/XX/XXXX I received notice that my account had been reported as late by American Express , in both XXXX and XXXX, which should not have been happening because of the program I had enrolled in. 

During my first contact with " American Express XXXX '', as they had identified themselves over the phone, they informed me that upon my enrollment of the financial relief program there was a systematic issue on their end, causing my enrollment to go through on my end but not theirs. I was not given a time-frame for if the issue would be resolved, but reassured that it would be and upon resolution I would receive the benefits of the program. The representative also informed me that they could not tell me if the negative mark on my credit would be removed, despite the fact that she acknowledged that when I enrolled my account was still only considered 30-59 days late. 

I received an email on XX/XX/XXXX from American Express thanking me for scheduling my payment of {$80.00}. On the XXXX of XXXX I realize that American express has taken the {$80.00} payment I agreed to pay, but they completed a second charge to my account for {$32.00}. I immediately called customer service at which point they told me no payment had been processed and they had not taken any money out of my account. Which was false, considering I had my bank statement right in front of me. The representative once again says that there is no timeline for resolution, and that they would not refund me the {$32.00} that was unjustly taken from my account. After speaking to the representative, she transferred me to her supervisor who confirmed that they would not be refunding me the fee and that they had no timeline for this issue being fixed. The supervisor asked me to call back on XX/XX/XXXX to check if there had been any progress in resolving the issue and I agreed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from American Express thanking me for my payment of {$80.00}, confirming that it had been processed successfully. 

Due to my work schedule, I was unable to call on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX however I received a call from them on XX/XX/XXXX. During this call, a representative informed me that they had not received my payment for XXXX and I needed to pay {$80.00} to cover that and reenroll in the program. I informed the representative that I had in fact paid my XXXX balance, as I received email confirmation of it and it was on my bank statement. The representative repeatedly told me I had not paid, and denied the {$32.00} charge that had immediately followed, claiming that if I hadn't authorized that then they couldn't have taken it. Despite the fact that both charges were clearly on my bank statement, with American Express as the company charging. American express had continued to charge me late fees as well as their standard interest through XXXX and XXXX, due to the error on their end, despite being part of this program that should have prevented both of those actions from being taken. My account showed that I owed a minimum payment of about {$660.00}, which was substantially higher than the minimum I owed upon enrolling in the program due to them unfairly charging me. The representative advised me that my best option would be to pay that. Paying the minimum balance due on the account was not a condition of enrolling in this program. We ended the phone call. 

At about XXXX on XXXX XXXX  I call the number back and speak with another representative who tells me that I did not pay my payment in XXXX  and that they tried to process it but it was returned. I inform her that this is proven inaccurate by the charges on my bank statement. I am then told to email the statement to XXXX which I do. I ask when if I should be expecting a call from them or if I should call back. She tells me to call back the next day. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I call American Express around XXXX XXXX to discuss the statement I had emailed. I am told by the representative that she has no update for me but that if I emailed the document then the appropriate department would be reviewing it. I then ask to speak with that department directly, which I am told is not possible. When I ask why, she goes silent and then asks to place me on a hold. After returning to the call she claims that she tried to look for the email that I sent but they never received it. I check my sent mail and confirm the email address, and it had been sent from my email at XXXX on XXXX XXXX She told me to try resending it and contacting them the next day. 

At XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, I receive another call from American Express . This was yet another representative calling to inform me that my XXXX payment had supposedly not been processed and that I needed to pay it right away and reenroll in the program. I inform the representative that I had already been working with other representatives with the company to resolve the issue. She once again states that I needed to pay the {$80.00} due for XXXX. The phone call ends.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation