Consumer complaint received 2020-03-20
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: NJ
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:
I have been with American Express since XXXX, but as of recently I have been closing cards, because America Express is no longer what it used to be ; it is no longer an example of quality in the financial services industry ; and the customer service is by far the worst. As a recap of what has transpired, I called on XX/XX/XXXX, to move a credit line from one of my Amex cards ( Hilton Honors ) to the Everyday card, and stated that I want to close the Hilton card after that. Prior to this call, I paid the {$95.00} annual fee on XX/XX/XXXX ( fee was assessed on XX/XX/XXXX ). As I recall, I spoke to three individuals on that day a Representative, Supervisor and a woman from the Credit department. It appeared that no one could provide concrete information on how much of a credit line had to be left in the Hilton account in order to move the rest of the credit line to the Everyday card. One individual stated {$500.00}, another {$1000.00}, and the Amex Credit department Representative who was brought on the call later stated {$3000.00}. The Credit department representative behaved in a very rude and unpleasant manner. From what I understood she initially refused to join the call with the Customer Service Representative and myself. However, after my multiple requests she did join and then provided inaccurate information, which resulted in a formal complaint. Even the Customer Service Representative who was on the call listening said that it was surprising and unacceptable, filing the complaint shortly after. Subsequently, the credit line was moved to my Everyday card ( however, wrong amount ) and the Hilton account was closed. On XX/XX/XXXX, while checking my Amex account in the mobile application, I saw that the {$95.00} fee was not reimbursed. I called American Express again and spoke to another Representative who reviewed the account and stated that the {$95.00} fee was scheduled to be reimbursed on XX/XX/XXXX. This was very puzzling, because I was under the impression that it would have been done within days, if not right away, following the XX/XX/XXXX call. I escalated to her Supervisor ( XXXX ). The Representative stated that the Supervisor may be able to help to adjust the fee and resolve the situation, saying that she was scheduling a call back from XXXX to me on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX ( ET ). Nobody called on XX/XX/XXXX, or the day after, and nothing was done about the fee. I called back on XX/XX/XXXX, and spoke to a Representative who reviewed the account and the notes, and stated that the fee will be reimbursed in two weeks. I raised my concerns that, first, there were credit line issues on XX/XX/XXXX, then no Supervisor call back on XX/XX/XXXX, to make it worse no one could state with certainty when the {$95.00} fee would actually be reimbursed, throwing around random dates that did not make any logical sense ( e.g., XX/XX/XXXX ). The Representative then stated that the account was not even closed. This prompted my letter to XXXX XXXX ( CEO ). Since that letter on XX/XX/XXXX, Amex acknowledged that its Representatives and Supervisors providing misinformation and general misconduct that appears to be of a deceptive and unethical nature. Amex appears to create their policies and procedures with the intention to mislead and deceive consumers. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called again to cancel another card ( Blue Amex ). To date, Amex has not sent a reimbursement check for {$95.00}. With respect to credit line being left on the cancelled account, this appears to be intended to entice consumers to keep that account open, to prevent from losing an earned part of their credit line. Since the credit line amount that needs to be left on closed accounts has increased substantially over past several years from {$0.00} to {$3000.00} for certain accounts, Amex unfairly benefits by showing more accounts still open to compete in the market. Deceptively not closing an account when told is another issue, where they keep their stats up and unfairly keep the money also.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief