Consumer complaint received 2021-03-21
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
This pattern of behavior to the detriment of credit card consumers needs to stop! 

I am discovering a pattern with certain credit card companies, including American Express ( and XXXX XXXX XXXX - see my XX/XX/2021 CFPB complaint ), whereby the company is declining to generate a monthly statement when the only activity on the credit card account is full payoff of the balance owed. 

I have asked American Express twice in the last 30 days to provide my XX/XX/2021 statement, which would reflect a payment made of the full balance after my XX/XX/2021 statement was generated. ( What I can retrieve online in the section purporting to contain my XX/XX/2021 statement is a letter from American Express with " Important Notices '' about ( generic ) changes to my account, something that would be produced in the ordinary course of American Express 's business anyway and is by no means a monthly account statement, nor does it reflect an acknowledgement of my XX/XX/2021 payment. 

My XX/XX/2021 statement issued without any recording of my XX/XX/2021 payment as well. 

I long ago elected electronic ( paperless ) statements so this is not a cost to the company. I need to have a valid, contemporaneous record of my credit card transactions. I should receive a statement regardless of whether I use the credit card in a given month to show my full payment and when it was posted. 

I shouldn't have to request it. It should be available when I log in to American Express to access my account. I am told by an American Express respresentative today that this is a " policy '' of American Express. It is illogical. I should be able to expect a record of my transactions with American Express -- purchases AND payments. This issue unreasonably interferes with smooth booking practices ( using in XXXX ). I shouldn't have to waste my time asking for the obvious, and then be denied the documentation that is a reasonable consumer request. 

Discrepancies like not being able to easily see that I have all credit card statements ( which I save as .pdf files for future reference ) is a time-wasting, frustrating an avoidable problem. 

For the same reason, I don't agree with American Express 's other policy of not producing a monthly statement if there is no activity, including payment activity, when the balance is {$0.00} on the statement issuance date. In essence, I can go for months without a bill generating from American Express. 

I want American Express to do what my bank does and issue monthly statements every month regardless of activity in the account. In a world of optional paperless documents like this -- which I have elected to accept to avoid snail mail, costs of paper, postage, etc., all which benefits American Express 's bottom line -- as with all my other financial accounts, I don't understand why I, and I shouldn't have to, ask for the obvious. I believe my needs as a consumer far outweigh and reason American Express has for choosing to make my account reconciliation and status more complicated. 

I am sure I am not the only consumer who finds this business practice objectionable. I believe it violates the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and needs to be resolved immediately, and not just be American Express, but all companies that have instituted this policy. 

At the very least, a consumer who timely requests for a monthly statement that has not generated should be entitled to expect to receive it. But one shouldn't have to ask.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation