Consumer complaint received 2020-01-11
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/1919, I received a call from someone who identified himself as an XXXX technician and said that someone had hacked into my computer and was making charges to my accounts. When I opened my computer the official XXXX screen appeared so I thought this was legitimate. He then requested that I let him into my computer to eliminate the fraudulent charges. I did but after a little while I became suspicious when my screen went dark. I called my daughter who said it was a scam and to turn off my computer. I did and then called XXXX Technical Support who looked at my computer and said there were charges and to call my credit card companies immediately. I called American Express and told the represented what had happened and she told me there were several charges for XXXX gift cards. I told her I did not order those, that the charges were fraudulent and should not be paid. I also requested a new credit card. I also called two other credit card companies, reported the same thing and requested new cards. These representatives said they saw no activity. 

American Express issued a new card but did not stop payment from my account. I was not aware of this until a few days later I was alerted on my XXXX that there were multiple charges from XXXX. 

When I called American Express I was asked if I had filed a police report. There was no mention of this in my initial call. I subsequently filed a police report. I talked with a representative in the Fraud Department on XX/XX/XXXX and was told that the issue was being investigated and that the charges would not appear on my bill. 

When I received my bill on XX/XX/XXXX, there were {$20000.00} in charges from XXXX ( 52 charges of {$400.00} each ). I immediately contacted my attorney and went to her office the same day. My attorney called American Express and was told the the investigations can take 30 days. The representative advised that I should check back on XX/XX/XXXX and meanwhile to pay the legitimate charges, which I did. My attorney called the telephone number listed by the charges and discovered that it was a third party that sold gift cards. When she called XXXX, she was told that they had no record since they did not sell those cards and could not track cards without the gift card numbers. Since I had not ordered or received the cards, this was a dead end. 

I waited until XX/XX/XXXX to call American Express again and was again told that the investigation was ongoing. The representative I spoke with, XXXX, had the wrong dates and the total amount of the charges. I corrected him. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from American Express to call the Fraud Department. On XX/XX/XXXX, my attorney and I called this department and kept being put on hold while the representatives had to check into the case. We were not given any information other than we should be " assured that the issue would be resolved. '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I called American Express and told the customer service representative that I did not want to be charged interest on the {$2800.00} charges that were fraudulent. I was told that American Express never charged interest on disputed charges. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving a voice message from the night before that I should again call the Fraud Department, I went to my attorney 's office and we again called American Express. On this call, with XXXX, we were told that the payments for these charges had been put on hold on XXXX XXXXbut paid on XX/XX/XXXX. She said that this was a scam and not fraud and that there was not anything American Express could do about that. She said that I had given the scammers my credit card, and we corrected her by telling her that all I had done was open my computer. My attorney then asked to speak to a supervisor and was told they they were in meetings. XXXX took my phone number and said a supervisor would call me within 24 hours. 

The following day, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from the Fraud department and the first person I talked with had the wrong amount and I was then transferred to another representative who identified himself as XXXX. I told my story again and he told me that the charges had been credited to my account on XX/XX/XXXX and should not be on my statement that closed on XX/XX/XXXX. He gave me a confirmation number of XXXX. 

When I received my XXXX bill on XX/XX/XXXX, both the fraudulent charges and over {$280.00} interest were on my bill. On XX/XX/XXXX, I again went to my attorney and we called to inquire about my XX/XX/XXXX assurance. We were told by XXXX that they had no such record. After informing the representative that I would be reporting the case to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I was transferred to XXXX in the Customer Care Department. She told me that she would eliminate the interest charges and remove the 52 charges of {$400.00} each into dispute. 

I paid the legitimate charges on this bill.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief