Consumer complaint received 2015-12-30
Product: Bank account or service — Savings account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY (NJ)

On XXXX XXXX, 2015, American Express Bank , FSB violated their own banking rules by restricting access to my account without consulting or even informing me. Then on XXXX XXXX, they incorrectly told me that they would remove the restriction ; they did n't, and I suffered bounced check, transfer, and credit card payment fees. Then, as if that were n't enough, on XXXX XXXX, they promised to file an internal complaint about this and get back to me -- but I never heard from them. 
In XXXX 2015, I was traveling overseas. I became aware that someone from the payroll department at my former employer had shared my personal banking information with other employees. I asked my father to call American Express, where I had my savings account, and ask them a few general questions. Instead, my father asked American Express to freeze my account. He thought that this would help me, but in fact it was a huge problem because I needed the funds in that account to pay credit card bills, etc., while overseas. American Express froze my account at my father 's request. This should never, ever have happened because my father is not named on the account, and he has no power of attorney for me. 
On XXXX XXXX, I called American Express myself. This took considerable effort, since I was in XXXX, XXXX, at the time, and American Express only has a XXXX number, which is not usable from XXXX. I said that I did n't want my account to be restricted, and I asked the bank to remove it. The representative that I spoke to said that he would request that the restriction be removed. A few weeks later, thinking that the restriction had been removed, I submitted online credit card payments and tried to transfer money to my checking account. I was hit with fees totaling {$55.00} from XXXX and XXXX. 
I called back on XXXX XXXX, and it was only on this date that I was informed that American Express would only lift the restriction on my account if they received a notarized letter from me. I explained that I was in XXXX and could not get a letter notarized, but it did n't make a difference. I additionally explained that my account should never have been restricted in the first place -- but the representative said that there was nothing he could do. This was stunning and outrageous, given that the entire problem was caused by the bank, and they were placing all the burden on me to fix it. 
When I returned to the United States, I called American Express again on XXXX XXXX, and I sent in the notarized letter asking for the restriction to be removed. On XXXX XXXX, I told an American Express representative that I planned to file an external complaint. This representative confirmed to me that the bank should never have placed the restriction on my account. She said that instead of filing an external complaint, I should first try an internal complaint. I was given the impression that if I did this, I would receive a response. And yet, after I filed the internal complaint, I never heard back. 
I called yet again on XXXX XXXX to say that I had never received a response to my complaint. The representative that I spoke to said that she would ask for follow-up for me. But again, no response. 
Finally, many months later, on XXXX XXXX, I called once more to follow up on my complaint. I was then informed by the representative I spoke to that internal complaints filed by customers do not generate responses. 
The conduct of American Express bank has been shockingly bad throughout this whole ordeal. It was a huge problem for my account to be restricted while I was traveling overseas. I had to borrow money to pay for my expenses. The bank screwed up, and they then placed all the burden on me to correct their screw-up. They also compounded this big mistake by feeding me misinformation over and over. Throughout, they showed a callous disregard for my rights as an account holder.