Consumer complaint received 2022-09-02
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged

Complaint:
American Express wrongfully charged-off an account. They did not provide me with current monthly statements as required under Regulation Z / TILA from XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at which point they charged the account off. They admit not doing such and being aware of the issue. The debt collection agencies they hired returned the debt to American Express citing my claims of unfair and unlawful practices. Despite the account being charged-off, American Express began reporting the account " pays as agreed. '' to the CRAs from XX/XX/XXXX thru XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX they began to report the account delinquent. I have contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX in-writing on numerous occasions, yet no one has provided me ANY information regarding alleged payment arrangements I've entered into showing that I have agreed to pay the alleged debt on account that was charged-off due to their own contributory negligence. They are continuing to report a status for the account that is inaccurate and unverifiable. And, if they claim under the card agreement that I am liable for the debt, it is not the same as any agreement regarding a charged-off account because they now consider the account to be a loss. Either it is a loss and as such the extent of reporting to the CRAs is limited to the balance and the outstanding amount PER the charge-off. It is not a re-aging of the debt with history that reports future monthly payment obligations or that shows at some point I began paying on the debt circa XX/XX/XXXX. Despite claims by American Express to the CFPB that the account " was charged off XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, '' the information they have been furnishing for the past nine ( 9 ) months indicates the account is closed -- there are no charge-off annotations. That is the epitome of providing false and/or misleading statements to the CFPB, and a charged-off account that American Express is reporting to the CRAs as an account with a simple payment past-due status is a violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ). Since they are collecting on this allegedly charged-off debt using their own in-house collection agency, they have equally violated 15 U.S.C. 1692e & 1692f because they have used false, deceptive, and misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of this alleged debt. It is worth mentioning that American Express has repeatedly rejected my requests for reasonable accommodations under Section 504, and Section 1557 of the ADA. American Express can not claim they were " unaware '' I was considered XXXX because I have provided multiple statements to them attesting both to long-COVID. They have also received odcumentation from me from a XXXX XXXX  that shows a diagnoses of XXXX  with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX, and medical publications explaing how that condition can worsen during periods of long-COVID. Finally, they have been made aware and provided with a copy of the ADA complaint that was filed with the United States Department of Justice. Therefore, they have knowingly and willfully engaged in practices that discriminate against indviduals with documented XXXX, by engaging in unlwful, unfair, and abusive practices that are patently prohibited under federal law.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation