Consumer complaint received 2021-02-07
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose prepaid card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card

Complaint:
American Express card XXXX was fraudulently used. I have examined the following transactions and further state that the transactions were not incurred by me nor any person with my authority, either expressed, implied, or apparent, and that I have not received and will not receive, directly or indirectly any benefit there from. 

DATE : XX/XX/2020 U.S.AMOUNT : {$170.00} TRANSACTION ID : XXXX ESTABLISHMENT NAME : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MO I submitted three fraud claims with American Express by calling their customer service number as instructed while logged in to my Serve account on their web site. 

I escalated to a supervisor each time my claim was rejected. Each time I reached a supervisor, the person who would only read the rejection letter and refused to answer my questions. I requested an escalation past the supervisor, was placed on hold for almost an hour and hung up on, never having reached a further escalation point.

All calls were answered by obvious English as a second language persons who were in an offshore call center. 

Dates of each fraud claim submitted for this single transaction : XX/XX/2020 XX/XX/2020 Initial claim XX/XX/2020 Fraud claim process followed : 1. Reported card missing on Serve XXXX app 2. Called Serve customer service and reported fraudulent transaction, opened fraud claim, told to await email with further instructions 3. Received email, submitted fraud declaration form via upload function on XXXX web site 4. Received rejection of claim letter via email stating that American Express fraud investigation determined that " No error occurred '' and made no mention of any actual fraud - of course this had nothing to do with error - it had to do with someone stealing my payment card and illegally using it to make a {$170.00} purchase and Serve from American Express refusing to honor any sort of or any level of protection from said fraud. 

AMERICAN EXPRESS HAS THE FOLLOWING TO SAY ABOUT FRAUD PROTECTION : At American Express, we work hard to protect you from fraud, but your active involvement plays a very important role. It is a good idea to regularly monitor your online account and statements for unusual activity. If you find a charge for a merchant with whom you did not conduct any business, then the charge could be fraudulent. Credit card fraud happens when someone makes an unauthorized charge with your account, which may happen when a card is out of your possession, lost or stolen. To learn more about the measures we take to help protect your account, as well as the steps you can take to safeguard yourself, visit our Security Center ... And remember, when you use your American Express Card, you're not liable for fraudulent purchases. 

" And remember, when you use your American Express Card, you're not liable for fraudulent purchases. '' IF THAT ABOVE STATEMENT IS TRUE THEN WHY IS AMERICAN EXPRESS BEHAVING LIKE A XXXX BY NOT HONORING THEIR WORD?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation