Consumer complaint received 2026-02-16 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this formal complaint against American Express ( AMEX ) for continuing to furnish inaccurate, inconsistent, and misleading information regarding a charged-off credit card account, while failing to issue the legally required IRS Form 1099-C after treating the debt as a bad-debt loss. 

This conduct violates 26 U.S.C. 6050P, Treasury Regulation 1.6050P-1, and multiple provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). 

Account Information Creditor : American Express Account Number : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Type : Credit Card Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Closed Date : XX/XX/XXXX High Balance : {$1400.00} Balance Reported : {$1400.00} ( XXXX / XXXX ) Bureau Reporting : XXXX XXXX XXXX  AMEX Is Reporting Mutually Exclusive Legal Statuses AMEX is furnishing contradictory account statuses across consumer reporting agencies, including : XXXX : Closed Collection/Chargeoff Charged off as bad debt XXXX : Closed Collection/Chargeoff Charged off account XXXX : Open Unknown Account in dispute An account can not be both OPEN and CHARGED OFF simultaneously. 
This alone constitutes materially misleading furnishing under the FCRA. 

Charge-Off as Bad Debt Triggers 1099-C Obligations AMEX explicitly reports this account as : Charged off as bad debt A charge-off classified as bad debt is an identifiable cancellation-of-debt event under : 26 U.S.C. 6050P ( a ) Treasury Regulation 1.6050P-1 ( b ) ( 2 ) Federal law requires issuance of IRS Form 1099-C when a creditor cancels or discharges {$600.00} or more of indebtedness. 
This accounts high balance exceeded {$600.00}, and AMEXs own reporting reflects abandonment and loss treatment. 

To date : No IRS Form 1099-C has been issued or provided No documentation has been produced proving the debt remains legally enforceable AMEX can not lawfully treat the account as a loss for accounting purposes while simultaneously reporting it as a valid derogatory tradeline. 

Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations AMEXs conduct violates, at minimum : 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) Furnishing information that is inaccurate or materially misleading.

15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ) Failure to conduct a reasonable investigation and verify the legal status of the debt.

15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ) Failure to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy. 

Conflicting open, closed, and charged off statuses across bureaus demonstrate a complete failure to ensure accuracy. 

Demand for Relief I hereby demand that American Express : Immediately delete this tradeline from all consumer reporting agencies, including XXXX XXXX, and XXXX. 

Provide a copy of the IRS Form 1099-C issued for this account ; Provide written documentation establishing that no cancellation-of-debt event occurred and explaining the legal basis for continued reporting ; Absent production of legally required documentation, continued reporting constitutes willful noncompliance with federal law. 

This complaint is being submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) for regulatory review and enforcement. 

Please provide a written response within the CFPB-mandated response timeframe.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation