Consumer complaint received 2025-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: HI

Complaint narrative:
Gentlemen this complaint has been filed with the agency prior. I am not satisfied with the results and choose to file again with further information. Below is a letter I have directed to American Express corporate offices seeking a corporate response rather than that from a supervisor. The letter lays out the sequence of events. 

American Express Company American Express XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, New York XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Re : Interest Dispute/Supervisor XXXX, ID # XXXX To Whom It May Concern : Gentlemen, my situation seems to be rather bazar especially considering American Expresss stance on this matter. This is no small issue. It has needlessly cost me approximately {$5000.00}! 

My name is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Im XXXX XXXX XXXX and I have been a loyal Platinum Card Holder for 40 years ( Card # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ), ever since you came out with the product. I cant stand a hit like this in my retirement! 

THE PROBLEM : On XX/XX/XXXX, I made an online payment of {$1000.00} to my account from your online payment portal, as usual. I have enclosed a copy of the Bank Statement from where I made the Payment. As you can see the funds to cover the payment were clearly in the bank. This bank account is apparently the origin of the problem. According to American Express, on XXXX XXXX XXXX  the bank denied payment stating there was no such account. According to the bank that is impossible. Nothing had changed before or after the payment and the payment information was taken from your payment portal. This is quite strange because its the same account American Express has used for years to accept payments. I didnt know the payment was denied but I noticed on XX/XX/XXXX, the payment to American Express had not been debited from my bank account. I questioned the Bank and was told they were not aware the payment had been denied. I then called American Express to straighten the mess out. According to American Express, the denied payment automatically caused your system to delete my banks information from your payment portal triggering the penalty of increasing my interest rate to 29.99 % for the following 12 months. I gave the lady the same information that had been deleted and the payment apparently went through. I was not given any notice of this increase yet I was told that the notice of increase was on my cover sheet statement.

THIS IS THE ONLY WARNING ON THE COVER SHEET OF MY STATEMENT : If we do not receive your Minimum Payment Due by the Payment Due Date of XX/XX/XXXX, you may have to pay a late fee of up to {$39.00} and your APRs may be increased to the Penalty APR of 29.99 %. 

This brings up another major concern. After all the misunderstanding and confusion, the payment issue was rectified in a few days, submitted and accepted on XX/XX/XXXX, 3 days prior to the due date of XX/XX/XXXX. 

So, Im being blamed for my oversight. Im told American Express does not have to provide me with a notice advising me my interest rate has increasedthat the increase is stated on my statement, but as you can see, technically it is not! The only thing it tells me is, Im Good as long as payment is made by the due date of XX/XX/XXXX. I was told if its not American Expresss fault my request wont be honored. Under these circumstances, Im just not going to believe that!

We have been partners for a long time. I cant find any legal authority for American Express to raise interest rate due to a denied payment that was corrected no mater the reason. Out of trust, I just made my payments and didnt question that American Express would do anything as unfair as this. Yes, the oversight went on for the entire year until I noticed my interest payment was virtually cut in half, it went back to 17.49 %. Then I knew something was BIG WRONG. Just as XXXX said, if I had noticed the rate increase in XX/XX/XXXX, this would have never happened. It would have been resolved right then. That said, in my opinion there is no legitimate reason for it to happen now. If it could have been resolved then, it can clearly be resolved now. 

I was in business for 46 years before retiring. Im a firm believer in rules but rules have to keep moral fairness in mind! American Express has not been injured or harmed one bit because of this. I am the only injured party. This is not being fair or reasonable!

I have not received an official determination to my request in writingonly what I was told by your supervisor. Before I go any further with this, I respectfully ask that the powers-to-be reconsider this preliminary determination and refund the overpayment of interest as a credit to my account.

Gentlemen, this entire fiasco is extremely confusing and difficult to explain, but the bottom line is, a payment was denied yet rectified immediately prior to the due date and like before things have been running smoothly since.

Your immediate attention and favorable consideration would be greatly appreciated! 

Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation