Consumer complaint received 2021-01-21
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: NV
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with balance transfer

Complaint:
Hello. In XXXX of XXXX I inquired a balance transfer of {$1500.00} from American Express to go towards my XXXX XXXX  Credit Card which had a high apr. This being my first attempt to ever use a balance transfer I have no idea on how the balance transfer was to be made. When on the phone with the representative from American Express she let me know that the balance transfer would take 6-8 weeks and would show up on my XXXX XXXX  statement and American Express statement. She inquired my current address and asked for previous address because I just moved two weeks prior, she also inquired the address of which XXXX would be receiving the check and set everything up. I waited 6-8 weeks in which I never received the {$1500.00} balance transfer into my XXXX XXXX  account. I make the assumption that its taking more time than usual. The money never shows up and it finally shows up on my American Express statement and I call in XX/XX/XXXX to ask where this money is located, its not in my XXXX account etc. I get transferred to the Balance Transfer team in which they tell me the person who set up my balance transfer had mailed the check to my previous address. I ask why it was sent there I told her I did not live there I dont understand why a check was mailed I thought it was sent to the bank directly. They tell me I need to go to the address the check was mailed to and ask them for it. It was XXXX XXXX apartments and it was mailed to their office. I call the office, and they tell me they never received that check and they have no clue what I am talking about. I then call American Express and let them know that XXXX XXXX apartments does not have this check what do I do now and they tell me they will send XXXX XXXX a fax asking for that check back and call me back in a few weeks. So they send the fax. And obviously it did nothing because they claimed they dont have that money. So I call American Express again because I havent heard anything and honestly this is probably around XXXX XXXX and the balance transfer team tells me this is my fault for telling the person to mail this check to XXXX XXXX apartments address and that they cant help me because now its been over 6 months of trying to fix this. At the time I did not know what filing a dispute was or what the precautions were as far as my next steps and I also was using the card the balance transfer was attached to and had to pay them that money back first before I could figure out the balance transfer problem. Time goes by, Im paying off my card I call about the balance transfer and they just tell me theyll get back to me on it. Ive had 6-7 people trying to help me at this point. Its all in my notes at American Express then can all see it and theyre trying to get in touch with XXXX XXXX and figure out how to get this money back. While Im still paying the card, once I paid what owed ( not the balance transfer because I never got it ) and all that was left remaining on the card was the {$1500.00} balance transfer I called someone again asking if they can help me take this off my account. I got in touch with a representative from American Express in XX/XX/XXXX who spent 3 hours trying to help me figure out what is going on. We called XXXX XXXX  on a joint call in which they explained they never received the {$1500.00} balance transfer. And at the end of the conversation the guy told me hes really sorry he cant figure out how to help me and that I need to continue making payments on this card until the problem is resolved. In which I stopped making payments because I never received this money that I owe them, I lost my job due to a pandemic and no one at AE can help me. So once I stopped making payments I started getting harassment calls about paying them. So I would call and talk to a new representative who would try and help me after I would explain my story. We filed a balance transfer dispute, we filed a missing check dispute, we filed a balance dispute and nothing has worked. I got in touch with a woman in XX/XX/XXXX because I had enough and she was a manager in another department and she promised me she would help me and figure out whats going on. And I havent heard anything since I just keep getting my credit score lowered and bills in the mail. So I wrote American Express a letter. And I tried to dispute with the transition and XXXX and they decided that American Express is correct and I can no longer file another dispute. And American Express still has not got back to me and they closed my account entirely. And they just reported to my credit again. Please can someone help me. I got this a balance transfer to help me out I was XXXX years old and was in debt. I am now XXXX and no one can help me and I lost my job to Covid. I cant pay {$2000.00} to a bank for money that I never received.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation