Consumer complaint received 2021-12-16
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Traveler's check or cashier's check
Issue: Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing

Complaint:
The office of American Express is in XXXX XXXX and I am looking for legal help. 

I've been on the phone with them since my cheques were lost or stolen, XXXX of this year, I sent them a letter to XXXX XXXX which they probably never read, I tried everything I could to get a refund for my cheques and they are trying to keep my money by avoiding their responsibility of giving me a refund by saying " insufficient information '' and " information provided doesn't match ''. Ridiculous excuses to keep my U {$8000.00} and XXXX. 

After I filled the forms and submitted them they simply sent me a letter to XXXX saying they reject my claim for " insufficient information '', which is not true as I provided all information required. 

Then on the phone they said I should send a letter to XXXX XXXX, which I did, and after that I simply got told they reject my claim as my first call doesn't match the information provided on the claim forms. 


It is useless to keep trying to get any more information on the phone as " nobody knows anything '' regarding my case and refuse to put me on the phone with supervisor. 

Amex has refused to refund my lost/stolen American Express Traveler Cheques with the lonely excuse that my first call doesn't match the information provided on the claim forms. 

FACTS : My cheques GA XXXX to XXXX = XXXX of XXXX, GA XXXX to XXXX = XXXX of XXXX total XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX {$200.00} each total XXXX were in the inner pocket of my backpack traveling with me until I realised on the XXXX XX/XX/XXXX they were not there anymore. 
They could have fallen from that pocket when I took something else or could have been stolen on the XXXX XX/XX/XXXX when my girlfriend 's cellphone and money was stolen from inside our tent. Attached evidence of police report. 
Whether the Cheques fall when I took something else from that pocket, or they were stolen, they were either lost or stolen and American Express should not deny a refund. 

Amex representative " XXXX '', who allegedly is the claim manager, distorted the facts and according to Amex representative " XXXX XXXX wrote in the system that I was in XXXX in XXXX, being this an evidence of unprofessionalism regarding the understanding of my case, as I haven't been in XXXX since XXXX. 

After providing all information asked by " XXXX '' in order to get my refund, he stopped all form of communication with me and I had to talk to someone else in order to know that my claim was denied ; this, showing again the lack of importance " XXXX '' gives to a claim refund. 

" XXXX '' says that claim has been denied by insufficient information provided, a simple arbitrary excuse, as all the information asked was provided but, as explained before, the information was distorted by representative. He even invented that my cheques have been " confiscated '' in order to skip the responsibility of Amex to provide refund. I had my goods Disposed, not confiscated as representative invents. And between the Disposed goods there were no Traveller Cheques. Evidence that my cheques were never confiscated is attached on the Disposal of Goods paper. 

Same representative said that information declared doesn't match although all information provided by written forms matches. 
Then he says that information provided on first phone call doesn't match the information provided afterwards. 
The fact that the information provided on my first phone call while I was " in shock '' right minutes after realising I've lost all that money in traveller cheques doesn't match with the information provided in the forms can't be taken as an excuse to deny the refund of my money. It's proven that we can't remember everything in details when we are in a state of shock. Right after realising my traveller cheques were lost or stolen I called Amex and a representative, for to ask me lots of questions all of a sudden which I had to reply immediately without giving me time to remember details of the facts. After the phone call I started to remember better alm the facts, which I wrote down in the claiming forms to get the refund. 

Denying the refund of my money because the information provided to the surprising questions of representative on the first phone call, while I was in state of shock minutes after realising U {$8000.00} and XXXX in cheques were lost or stolen is a malicious strategy to avoid responsibility of refund and keep the money. 

Representatives of Amex keep a avoiding giving me information on the phone regarding my case. Everytime I call they say that a representative will call me back and then never call, " XXXX '' never talked to me on the phone and representatives won't communicate me with him. They will all refuse to communicate me with supervisor and all refuse to provide full name of " XXXX '' or supervisor. They always end up hanging the phone on me when I ask to talk with supervisor. 

American Express convinced me to buy traveller cheques saying that is the safest for a traveller as if cheques get lost or stolen they'd give me a refund. Now that this happened, they avoid their responsibility and decide to keep the money under ridiculous excuses they can't even explain. For example : Cheques XXXX and XXXX belong to the same pile with cheques XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Only the first two were lost or stolen. If Amex tries to avoid responsibility by saying that the traveller cheques were not traveling with me when they got lost or stolen, Amex will have to invent a story explaining how were those two cheques separated from the pile with the other three cheques, as I can prove those other three cheques were in my power after all other cheques were lost or stolen. Evidence is that I've cashed those three cheques in XXXX between XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

I offer witnesses who have seen those traveller cheques in my power in XX/XX/XXXX in XXXX XXXX. My girlfriend XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, my father XXXX XXXX and my brother XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX. 



Can you help me? Of do you know anyone who can help? I am XXXX. I've just lost all this money and I am not in conditions to pay a lawyer up front. 
Kind regards, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation