Consumer complaint received 2017-12-24
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
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: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On or around the first week of XXXX XXXX, my son needed a credit card in his name as required by the car rental agencies. At that time I had an American Express XXXX credit card with a {$1300.00} credit limit. Therefore, I called American Express and explained the situation my son was in and told the rep that I was considering requesting a card in his name on the low limit XXXX account. However, I wanted to know if there would be any way that the {$1300.00} limit would be increased? I told him that it had happened to me before ( limit increased without my knowledge or authorization ) and I would not even consider getting a card for my son if there was even a remote possibility that the limit could/would be increased. The young man assured me that the limit would not be increased under any circumstances. I asked him if he was certain several times during that conversation and each time he gave me the same assurances. He seemed to know the policies and made me feel comfortable enough to go ahead and request the additional card for my son. At the end of the conversation, I did however, ask that he make a notation on my XXXX acct specifically instructing that the limit was not to be increased for any reason. He agreed and we ended the conversation. 

On XXXX XXXX or XXXX, XXXX I tried to pay for service that had been completed on my car. The charge was merely {$1400.00} or so and I tried paying the bill with my personal American Express XXXX card. The charge was denied. Our American Express XXXX XXXX cards were also not going through. I called American Express and was told that the reason none of the cards were able to charge much was because of the large amount that was charged over my credit limit on my XXXX card! I checked my XXXX statement and was shocked to find a charge posted on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for {$6800.00}! I immediately contacted American Express to find out why this charge was allowed to go through? Nobody I spoke with from XXXX could understand how such a large amount could be charged over the {$1300.00} limit. I talked to anyone that I believed could explain how this happened. Nobody could give me an answer. I disputed the charge on XX/XX/XXXX. 

To add insult to injury, on my XXXX XXXX statement I found another charge for {$2100.00} had been posted on XX/XX/XXXX ( 5 days after I disputed the first ridiculous charge ). This time it was from XXXX XXXX. Needless to say that I was beyond upset and found myself making those calls to American Express all over again, only to get the same dead silence from the other end of the phone. I filed, yet another, dispute for this new charge on XX/XX/XXXX and cancelled that card. 

Sometime after that ( to be honest, I dont recall the date ) I was contacted by phone from an American Express representative. She was following up on the disputed charges. I explained everything to her emphasizing the initial call I made to XXXX and the assurances that that this would not happen. I stated my case but she explained to me me that the XXXX rep was correct " for the most part '' in that my limit would not be increased UNLESS the charge is from a rental car agency!!! What??? I asked. Why would that be different and WHY didnt anyone know about this exception??? I told the first rep that my son needed the card specifically for that reason. WHY didnt he tell me? I can only assume that he didnt know about this exception to the rule. None of the XXXX phone reps that I spoke with knew about this apparently. I asked her what makes car rentals any different and she told me that because it is a travel related charge, they want to be sure that their cardholders are not stuck without a car in case they are traveling or something like that. At that point I wish that I would have asked her why they didnt authorize payment for the service on my car. ( I could have been left without a car as well. ) Either way, they were denying my dispute and I would be responsible for the charges even though I made it very clear that I did not want an increase. 

At some point I spoke with someone else from XXXX who told me that the rental agency initially requested, and received, authorization for {$350.00} prior to renting the car. My question is - when that {$350.00} is used up, arent the rental agencies required to request another monetary amount? If they are, why didnt someone from XXXX notice that the bill was $ 7000+ over the limit and question it? If the rental agencies are not required to request additional funds when the prior amount is depleted - does this mean that XXXX just gives them carte blanche to run the bill up as high as they can?? How is that fair?? 

While going over my statements in order to prepare for this complaint, I found that i was charged again in XXXX and XXXX by XXXX!! The card was cancelled by those months and I known that no cars were rented as the charges indicate. I was also charged the {$17.00} for those months by XXXX for the car rental insurance that I authorized on my accounts. I disputed the XXXX charges but did not dispute the XXXX charges yet. I will do that though. I would like to know why XXXX is charging for more rentals?? 

Because I specifically notified XXXX that I DID NOT want or would not authorize an increased limit, I believe that I am not responsible for their mistake. Furthermore, I relied upon the information I received from the person that XXXX designated to represent the company and its policies when deciding whether or not to request the additional card. Had I been given the accurate information, I would have never requested that additional card. 

I sincerely hope that those calls are recorded and archived. The initial call I made will confirm what was said between the rep and myself. Thank you for your time.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation