Consumer complaint received 2020-05-10
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL
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:
On XX/XX/XXXX I was charged a XXXX-dollar renewal fee on an American express reserve card. originally, I thought huh, okay I guess but, that amount just did not sit right with me after thinking about it. on XX/XX/XXXX I called the company to inquire about this charge and whether they would waive the fee which they responded that they could not. I asked what are my options then and the only one I had and was explicitly told was I could cancel the card and the money would come back to me however the perk I got from the renewal would also disappear which was fine. I told them I will have to think about it and asked how long I have to make this decision, they then told me I have to cancel it by XX/XX/XXXX. on that day I called back to cancel the card and the call didnt last very long I already knew what I wanted to do, the customer service rep read me a script as they always do and before I even committed to anything I asked to make sure that I would see a return of that annual fee which they replied yes you will see it on your next billing cycle. it is now XX/XX/XXXX and I have not gotten my return of that annual fee all the while the account was closed and has been closed since then. On XX/XX/XXXX I called back to file a dispute about the charge and informed the service rep who was supposedly typing everything into the computer what happened and they even replied agreeing with me that the situation was unethical especially after confirming dates about the incident as well. I was told that unfortunately they can not give me a quote time as far as how long this investigation can take however, he said he normally sees an 8 week turn time. to me that was long, but it seemed my issues was being resolved. Well after waiting so long I called back on XX/XX/XXXX to check in on this dispute and was unpleased to find out there was not a single claim that was filed and listed on my account, instead there was a input note on XX/XX/XXXX ( not even the day we spoke ) that said nothing regarding what we had talked about. so, I talk to another service rep about this and they basically refused to help me at all. I went over the whole thing again including dates and what was talked about, the service rep said let me speak to my manager, mind you the service rep is working from home, the rep put me on hold and I waited maybe 3 mins. the rep informed me there was nothing that could be done about this, they supposedly went over two separate phone calls ( all calls are recorded ), which totaled more than 10 mins, in about 3 mins to verify what was discussed between myself and the two separate service reps on the two separate calls. I tried to explain to the rep as to why someone would voluntarily pay a XXXX dollar annual fee and cancel their account and not expect a return of that fee when they were told they would be getting one all the while you cant even utilize the services that were already paid for because the account is closed. the rep brushed me off and said I can not help you and the conversation was pretty much ended at that point. I then call back again to get a different rep who listened to what I had to say, and they helped me file a dispute, at least I assume, which I still have not heard back from and still have not seen a return on my account for that annual fee. This entire time I have been forced to pay the fee and all the interest that its accruing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation