Consumer complaint received 2024-09-05
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY (NC)

On XX/XX/year> I submitted a complaint to the CFPB regarding the revocation of a 0 % APR offer from American Express without appropriate notice. Below are the details of my complaint : " My Amex Business Blue Card, ending in XXXX, had an active 0 % APR offer. Unexpectedly, the offer was revoked when my auto-pay attempted to draft payment from a closed account. The credit card AND payment account were BOTH OWNED BY AMEX, and alternative payment accounts were already connected and authorized. I assumed the system would remove the closed account, considering the company was aware of its status. This situation caused numerous financial disruptions, but I trust Amex will rectify it. The company did not notify me of the change in offer status before the end of my billing cycle, triggering a penalty APR and interest charge. The company claims theyre not obligated to inform customers, which I find surprising as a loyal 9-year customer with 10 of their credit/lending products. However, they DID notify me when the intro APR term ended on a previous card with an identical offer, so I reasonably expected the same communication. I would have paid the entire balance and avoided the interest charges if I had been notified. Given this additional context of historical precedent, the company 's failure to notify appears opportunistic and malicious. I contacted a support agent via the online chat, who denied my interest waiver request. I then worked with a subsequent agent to close all of my credit cards, business checking, and Business Line of Credit. This agent suggested I reconnect with a support agent to find an alternative solution " based on my account status and membership. '' So, I did. It turns out that the second agent grossly overestimated American Expresss loyalty because subsequent agents could not have cared less about my membership history. No one attempted an alternative solution, and every agent I spoke with tried to end the chat quickly. This isnt the level of customer service I expected when opening three platinum credit card accounts. I expect the intro offer to be reinstated and the interest charge refunded. '' American Express stated in their response " We notify you when the 0 % APR offer is ended so that you can make the payments in full to avoid getting charged with late fee, interest charges. We notify you through monthly billing statement when the 0 % APR offer is revoked. '' This information is patently false. I received no notification about the 0 % APR offer and/or revocation. Based on their response, it's clear they only sent a notice relating to the returned payment. I was unaware of the change until I contacted the company. Even if they had provided notice ( which they did not ), it would not be possible to avoid the late fee and interest charges ( as the company stated ) if the notice is provided in the proceeding billing statement. 

In summary, American Express did not take the actions described in their response to my complaint to inform me of the change in APR. More broadly, the policy American Express describes in their response ( which they did not follow in my situation ) is unfair to consumers. The company intentionally alerts customers *after* the APR change has taken effect and the consumer has already incurred charges, which would have been otherwise avoidable.