Consumer complaint received 2023-02-23
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: GA
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:
RE : TIME-SENSITIVE MATTER CONCERNING ACCOUNT REVIEW SUBJECT : Suspended Accounts & Closed Accounts Due to Bank Errors ACCOUNT NUMBERS : XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX To Whom it May Concern : My name is XXXX XXXX, and I am XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I have been with XXXX now XXXX since XXXX, and I have never had any problems with them. However, XXXX merged with XXXX earlier last year, and my business accounts have been plagued with problems. The issues concerning the XXXX  merger have been well documented in the news, CFPB, XXXX XXXX XXXX Civil Lawsuits, and the US Treasury Department. 

A litany of fraudulent ACH transfers has come through our accounts, and payments were returned in error. Previously, XXXX offered over-draft protection built into your account services, which would pull from your attached accounts to cover transactions. After the merger, they discontinued the service and replaced it with standard overdraft protection requiring a bank loan. 

They never informed the business clients of the changes! Instead, they kept returning payments and charging outrageous fees, even though there was money in all of the accounts. They have since changed it back, but you must keep clicking on those options daily ; otherwise, it resets itself and returns payments. Its a system glitch that they havent completely worked out. 

All this is challenging to my business because all my accounts are with XXXX. I have merchant processing, operating, client trust, payroll, and savings. It is not an easy task to move all of my accounts to a new bank and start the process of establishing ourselves and our transactional habits. 

I have included complaint letters that were sent to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and The Georgia Attorney Generals Office. They have yet to fix our account along with reimbursements that total over {$9600.00} in fees that we do not owe. 

***American Express Returned Payments*** I personally set up my business XXXX accounts as the payment source for my American Express cards due to using them for personal and business-related purchases. I have been with American Express since XXXX and I have paid my bills every month without late or returned payments. After the XXXX merger went live, I immediately could not access my accounts online, and all of my XXXX debit cards stopped working. 

I tried calling the bank directly but all of the internal branch numbers were non-operable. I then tried calling customer service, and the hold times were over four hours without the option for them to call you back without losing your place in line. I then went directly to the branch, but they did not have available staff to assist me because they did not know what was going on. After three days, I was able to get online, and I discovered the following : 1. There was a litany of unauthorized transactions that were taken from our accounts.

2. Multiple scheduled payments and direct debit-related payments were returned as NSF.

3. Multiple accounts had funding in excess of {$150000.00}, but overdraft protection was XXXX due to the merger, and we were charged excessive overdraft fees. 
4. All of the account debit cards were canceled, and no other cards were issued as replacements.

I immediately tried to reach out to the bank to no avail due to hold times being in excess of six hours. I actually stayed on hold for over five hours, and when the representative answered the phone, she immediately hung up. I called back the next day and I stayed on hold for nearly four hours, when the customer service rep finally answered the phone, I informed her of all of the fraud on our accounts and missing money and she referred me to the fraud department. 

She went on to state that there wasnt anyone in that department to speak with customers and that I had to submit a request in writing and that it would take up to 90 days to investigate and that there was nothing else that she could offer. I mentioned to her the lack of account accessibility due to the debit cards not working, and she said that I would have to wait three to four weeks for new debit cards to be issued.

I then mentioned that our overdraft protection wasnt working and that payments are being returned when we have money in the bank to cover them. She stated that the account transfer overdraft feature was no longer valid and that I would need to apply for a bank loan overdraft account if I wanted overdraft protection. 

Shortly thereafter, our accounts continued to be plagued with fraudulent ACH requests, bogus computer-generated checks, and our payments being returned. At this point, I am being charged fees by XXXX and fees by our creditors for returned payments, in addition to bogus account analysis fees that exceeded hundreds of dollars. 

I was then forced to go to the XXXX branch in XXXX and speak with a branch manager. I told her all of the issues that I was experiencing and that I did not have any debit cards. She assured me that the problems I was facing were widespread and that the merger was a nightmare. 

She then looked into the XXXX banking system and noted that there wasnt a request for new cards and that the fraud department had not reviewed nor processed any of the claims that I submitted. She then ordered me new cards. After receiving the cards, they were immediately deactivated due to system errors, and new cards were ordered again that also did not work. To date, I do not have valid working cards, and fraudulent debits continue to come into the accounts. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I went to the bank and spoke with the branch manager XXXX XXXX regarding the fraud, missing money, returned payments, overdraft protection, erroneous bank fees, and the need to close out my accounts. He assured me that XXXX had a lot of merger-related problems and system issues that were still pervasive but that it was being worked out. He closed out our main account ending in # XXXX and opened a new one. 
Shortly after that, we started experiencing fraud in that account, in addition to our merchant account. Operating account and hold over accounts. I then filed complaints against the consumer finance protection bureau against XXXX. To date, the problems still persist, and I have not received a refund for fees and paid fraudulent transactions. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX have an account with XXXX and XXXX for client invoicing and payments. 

Our XXXX account started experiencing XXXX-related fraud transactions. The XXXX bank accounts were attached to XXXX for the purposes of accounts receivables from clients and for payroll. The thieves that were operating via XXXX, started putting through debits to XXXX. 

I have filed fraud complaints with XXXX regarding this matter, but because they came through as ACH-related transactions, they were paid. I then switched over all American Express payments and all other personal creditors to my personal XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account. I thought that this would stop the fraud, but I was wrong. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was also attached to our XXXX account and thieves started sending debits from the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX accounts through XXXX. XXXX was no longer linked to send or receive payments via XXXX, so it defaulted to my personal XXXX account. At that point, I had fraud at XXXX, XXXX, and now XXXX. 
This resulted in return fees from XXXX XXXX, and a few payments were returned until they were notified about the fraud. 

We have since removed XXXX from all of my personal banks, and I only use it to process client payments, and the money is then transferred to a deposit-only account with another bank. XXXX XXXX has not returned any payments after they were alerted to the fraud, and they returned all fees that they charged my account. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX Transactions XXXX XXXX XXXX I have a XXXX XXXX XXXX that I have regularly used for years. I also am a XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have used and paid for this card for years without problems until the fraud started with the XXXX merger. Someone has used my XXXX account for over two years with XXXX in the monthly amount of $ XXXX {$29.00}. I have disputed this multiple times, and I requested for a block to be placed on my account to stop the fraudulent transactions. 

I also reached out to XXXX, but they would not provide me with any information because they did not see a membership account under my name. To date, I have not received a full refund for those fraud charges, and my request for a replacement card with a new account number has never been honored.

***American Express Delta Reserve Card*** I have held this account since XXXX, and I have overpaid it on many occasions, and I have never been late. I am a platinum Medallion member of XXXX XXXX, and I use this card and my Delta Medallion benefits on a regular basis. I travel extensively for work and have used the aforementioned card globally. Losing this card would directly affect my platinum medallion status and work-related travel. 

I applied for the card, and I agreed to pay the annual fee of {$550.00} because it benefits my work-related travel, it offers services and protection that I need, and I am a loyal customer. I would never jeopardize my benefits by not paying my bills in a timely matter or using deceptive means to delay paying my bills. 

I am stating empathically that XXXX has caused a division between us, and they should be held accountable. Additionally, I filed a dispute against a Delta charge that was made in XXXX of XXXX. The ticket was booked in error by a Delta customer service representative for an itinerary that I did not choose. I filed complaints with Deltas Office of the President, the Department of Transportation, and Delta customer service. 

I was supposed to receive a refund and mileage credits from XXXX XXXX, per a medallion customer service agent, but they were never applied to my account. American Express issued a provisional credit and instructed me to supply supporting documentation. I complied with all requests, and shortly thereafter, the provisional credit was removed without notice, and my account was placed in an over the limit status. 

My accounts are now in jeopardy of being closed or canceled due to XXXX 's negligence in returning payments when there was money in the accounts to cover them. I would further add that XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX suffered from a continuation of XXXX fraud. Additionally, I encouraged my daughter XXXX XXXX XXXX to apply for two American Express Cards, the Platinum American Express and the Delta Gold Sky miles account. 

She added me as an additional cardholder to both accounts, and I used the XXXX account as the payment account for both of her cards in addition to my own. XXXX has XXXX and XXXX XXXX, and although she is completely functional and coherent, she requires me to facilitate the paying of her bills. XXXX works for the family law firm as a paralegal, and I pay her portion of the bill directly from her payroll deductions. In addition, XXXX travels for the business and she uses the card for meals and entertainment, and other expenses. 
I also have her POA for financial-related matters due to her not being comfortable with speaking to people. Due to the fraud at XXXX, both of XXXX 's American Express cards have been canceled without the opportunity to show proof that we are the victims of fraud. This act will ruin her credit and prevent her from ever having an American Express card in the future. I reached out to account review, and they said that they did not care about the fraud and that her account would remain closed. I have provided a breakdown in the chart below : ***American Express Account Review*** XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I was notified being email that both of my American Express Accounts are under account review due to being over the credit limit and return payments. I also received two separate emails from XXXX stating that both of her American express accounts were canceled. I immediately reached out to American Express, and the agent instructed me to send over two months of bank statements, and they would then decide if they would unblock my account. 

At this point, it seems like there is a concerted effort to shut down and close all of our accounts due to the XXXX fraud that resulted in returned payments alone and customer services ' lack of understanding as to what really happened, and denial from American Express to provide proof of what has happened. I would like to formally go on record by stating that there have been returned payments that are reflected on my XXXX XXXX statements along with NSF charges. 

Delta was alerted to the fraud and supplied supporting documentation. They have refunded all of the overdraft fees and I have requested a letter from them that states my account was affected by fraud which resulted in returned payments. I am explaining all of this, so that account review will not decide to close out my account when they see return payments on my statements.

***In Closing*** I am requesting that all of the aforementioned accounts remain open and non-suspended. I am asking for all return check fees that were assessed to the accounts to be removed and a guarantee that XXXX will not face American Express sanctions or be labeled in their system for NSF activity and/or fraud. I have enclosed all of the account numbers and XXXX contact information if you need to get authorization to speak with me on her behalf. 

As always, please do not hesitate to reach us directly by phone at ( XXXX ) XXXX for any questions or concerns that you may have. Again, thank you for your time in resolving this matter, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation