Consumer complaint received 2024-05-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I am a cardholder with American Express. My use of my Amex card on XXXX XX/XX/2024 was to hire an attorney on XXXX, a website. I hired an attorney to file one XXXX  for me at the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The attorney name given as XXXX XXXX, charged {$100.00} and XXXX added {$17.00} to make a total of {$120.00}. The attorney requested my card details to pay the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX the {$250.00} fee to examine the XXXX application, the examination to be sure no one else had filed same or similar. 
I became concerned that the attorney XXXX XXXX ' seemed not to know how to do the XXXX  application in an efficient manner, so I requested to cancel the work. The attorney refused to cancel the work and so I had to let her proceed per terms on XXXX website. Nevertheless, as soon as the attorney had finished, I telephoned American Express on a recorded line and asked American Express to cancel my card and issue a new number. I explained that I had an uncomfortable feeling about the attorney and did not want to risk fraud on my card. The American Express representative declined to cancel my card but informed me that cancelling the card was not needed because at American Express, 'if it is fraud, then the cardholder is never required to pay for it '. 
Unbeknownst to me, the attorney XXXX XXXX ', without my permission or specific authorization, proceeded to use my card details to process an addition 24 charges at the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX over the next several months ( XX/XX/2024 XXXX 2024 ). The money from my card was used to fund XXXX work and applications at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for other persons XXXX and to pay the attorney over and over. 
I became aware of this fraudulent activity when my subsequent American Express statements arrived, and I noted unauthorized {$10000.00} in charges. I reported this to American Express and filed a dispute with American Express. American Express later informed me that they had investigated and had decided to deny my dispute without explanation to me. 
In the meantime, I telephoned the Chargeback coordinator at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, someone I will call 'Ms Chargeback Coordinator ' She informed me that she had recognized this fraud already, and had prepared a spreadsheet on all these fraudulent unauthorized charges. Furthermore, Ms. Chargeback Coordinator informed that she had sent the {$10000.00} back to American Express as chargeback, and then Ms. Chargeback Coordinator of USPTO.gov deleted the relevant accounts in the USPTO.gov computer. 
Unfortunately, the American Express people did not accept the {$10000.00} but instead returned the {$10000.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with an email stating NO DISPUTE EXISTS ON THIS CASE or words to that effect. The fact is that American Express had closed the dispute incorrectly by this time, after an inadequate investigation ( despite seeing the note by Ms. Chargeback Coordinator on the portal, such note representing the merchant USPTO.gov attesting that the charges on my card were unauthorized and fraud by XXXX XXXX The {$10000.00} was thus returned to XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX by American Express in error. 
The result at the time of this report is that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Chargeback Coordinator informs me she can not send me a treasury check directly for this {$10000.00} because her USPTO.gov accounts are closed. Furthermore, although Ms. Chargeback Coordinator and I together have joined in a series of conference calls with American Express, the American Express people tell us they are only Merchant Service people and unable to communicate directly to the Fraud investigators at American Express. 
Thanks to Ms. Chargeback Coordinators persistence however, she obtained a promise from the American Express representative that they would discuss the case with the American Express Investigative team and someone would reach out to me, the cardholder, by Mon ( XXXX XX/XX/2024 ) or Tues ( XXXX XX/XX/2024 ). 
Meanwhile, my XXXX score has begun to drop because American Express has posted the {$10000.00} to my account. Even though my American Express account has a note saying this {$10000.00} is under dispute and not required to be paid by me at this time, the credit reporting company XXXX picked up the over limit listing on my account and reduced my XXXX score XXXX points. 
The file numbers for this case at American Express are : XXXX and XXXX. 
Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation