Consumer complaint received 2022-06-09
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL
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:
Before starting this dispute I just want to inform you that I had been in contact with the XXXX XXXX XXXX about a complaint I have with American Express. My complaint ID # was XXXX. Even though I was satisfied with the help the XXXX gave me. I was not satisfied with American Express. I asked the XXXX  what I should do now since American Express was unwilling to help and they informed me to contact you. 

This is what I sent in a dispute letter to American Express and then this same information was sent to the XXXX : In XXXX I received a charge from a merchant called XXXX XXXX for a total of {$150.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX I called American Express to dispute this charge because I did not authorize this charge nor was there any communication from the merchant that I would be charged for anything. The representative opened the dispute and he assured me that everything would be taken care of. He also advised me that there would be a credit applied to the account and if I still saw the initial charge to not pay for it because American Express was taking care of the issue. 
From that point forward I didnt think about the charge anymore. With that being said I was very surprised when in the beginning of XXXX I received a notification from the American Express app saying that I would be paying for this charge. I thought this was weird because four months have passed by and I am being charged for it again. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called American Express to see why I was being charged by this merchant again after I had disputed this charge back in XXXX. I was informed that I wasnt being charged again. I was being charged from the original dispute despite it having been four months. The representative also informed me that the company XXXX XXXX responded to American Express. XXXX XXXX denied returning the money, informed me to email them directly to dispute the charge, as well as they cant cancel my account and I would have to do it myself. The American Express representative informed me to email them about it and if they cancel the charge, no further action is needed but if they dont cancel the charge, contact American Express and we will reopen the dispute. Right after the call I manually canceled my account, as well as began emailing XXXX XXXX. On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX was the last email and on XX/XX/XXXX I called American Express to reopen the dispute. 
Upon calling American Express I explained everything to the representative and he advised me he reopened the dispute. He also advised me that he sent an email with a link that will direct me to where I can upload screenshots of the emails I had with XXXX XXXX. When I got home I opened my email and clicked on the link. When the page opened it said the dispute was closed. So I called American Express again to ask why it was saying it was closed. The representative looked into the issue and she discovered it was closed so quickly because since it has been more that 30 days since the initial dispute, the dispute was automatically closed. She attempted to reopen the dispute and she advised me to immediately upload the documents supporting my claim to see if the dispute reopens. Unfortunately shortly after uploading the documents the dispute was automatically closed for the same reason of it being more that 30 days since the initial dispute. 
This morning XX/XX/XXXX I contacted American Express again to see how we could reopen this dispute. I was transferred to the Dispute Team and I was then informed to write a dispute letter with everything that occurred as well as send any supporting documents. 
It would be greatly appreciated if this dispute could be reopened because I didnt authorize this charge. The information I obtained from the American Express person in XXXX is the reason for the delay from XXXX to XXXX, and it is not due to my inability or unwillingness to act in a timely manner. This is also the first time I've disputed a charge with American Express, and I was unaware that I needed to keep signing in and checking to see if the dispute had been handled. I expected to get an email or a phone call informing me if there was a problem with the dispute or if any additional action was required. I'll state that I've learnt my lesson and that in the future, I'll make a point of logging in to see what's going on and whether any more action is required. 
Attached to this fax will be my email interactions with XXXXXXXX XXXX If there is any other information you need please do not hesitate to call or email me. 

- - - End - - - After being in contact with the XXXX American Express responded with ''we found that we serviced your call professionally and correct information was provided. '' Unfortunately American Express has been everything but professional and keeps neglecting to admit that they are wrong. They responded back to me 34 days after the dispute was opened and the reversed their position from crediting me the amount to recharging me until I contacted the company XXXXXXXX XXXX even though I never authorized the charge. I did all of the work they requested of me but because it passed 30 days from the original opening of the dispute I am now automatically stuck with a charge I never authorized. American Express also claimed I was notified when they communicated about what XXXX XXXX said. That's also not true. There was no e-mail from American Express. You could only see any updates about the dispute if you manually kept logging in on americanexpress.com. and after 34 days I am assumed that it was now resolved being that I have never seen a company take so long to resolve a customer 's issue. Attached are all of the screenshots of me talking to XXXX XXXX after I found out from American Express that I would have to contact them myself. Like I stated before even after doing all of this American Express refused to remove the unauthorized charge but this time it wasn't because I hadn't contacted the company, it was because it had past 30 days. Even though I was told by representative that after I contacted the company a resolution could be found.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief