Consumer complaint received 2025-11-14 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year> American Express closed my XXXX XXXX in retaliation after multiple American Express representatives admitted, on recorded calls, that the returned payments being used as the basis for closure were caused entirely by fraud restrictions that American Express placed on my account during a fraud dispute that I initiated and won.

I discovered fraudulent charges earlier in the year and initiated fraud disputes. American Express completed its investigation and credited back approximately {$8000.00} in fraudulent charges. During the dispute investigation, American Express restricted my Rewards Checking account ( which is the autopay source for my XXXX XXXX ). These restrictions caused several autopay attempts to return, even though funds were available and I made the required payments manually. 

On XX/XX/year>, multiple American Express agents read the internal notes to me, stating : returned payments were due to restrictions on account due to fraud claim and dispute investigation. The Amex representative also confirmed that American Express received and processed XXXX manual payments of {$1000.00} and {$1000.00}. 

The American Express Credit Reporting team confirmed that my Platinum Card was reported as paid as agreed and current in XXXX, current in XXXX, and current in XXXX. My account showed a {$0.00} balance due. This contradicts XXXX representatives who claimed no payments were received since XXXX and attempted to classify my account for closure based on non-payment or delinquency. Those statements conflict with the credit bureau reporting. 

The checking account tied to autopay was a customer-initiated closure request. I was told to wait until the fraud dispute was resolved before closing it. However, after the dispute was resolved in my favor, American Express moved forward with closing the account and cutting a check without honoring my request to pause the closure so I could transfer the funds electronically. 

Call XXXX on XX/XX/year> ( all times approximate ) : XXXXXXXX XXXX ( XXXX min, XXXX ) : The Amex Checking team confirmed the fraud dispute was resolved in my favor, confirmed the checking closure was customer-initiated, and confirmed a check was sent for the credited funds. 

XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ) : A senior supervisor on the XXXX team, identifying as Them with ID XXXX, stated she had authority to close the Platinum Card. I requested multiple times that she pause any closure until the XXXX XXXX reviewed the matter, since internal notes confirmed Amex caused the returned payments. She refused to pause and stated she would go ahead and close the account, initiating closure immediately after I pointed out that the justification was caused by Amexs own restrictions. This appears retaliatory. 

XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) : XXXX XXXX XXXX representative confirmed the same internal notes : Amex imposed restrictions for its fraud review, those restrictions caused the returned payments, and Amex received my manual {$1000.00} + {$1000.00} payments. He initially tried to shift responsibility to me, but after reviewing the notes again, agreed the returned payments were caused by Amex. XXXX XXXX XXXX ID : XXXX was identified as another senior individual tied to the decision. 

Despite acknowledging all of these facts, American Express proceeded with an adverse action closure and refused to pause the closure even though I requested XXXX review. My account had been reported as paid as agreed and current, and the only returned payments occurred because Amex restricted the checking account during the fraud dispute that I initiated and won. 

This sequence of actions, especially the timing of the closure immediately after I pointed out the internal contradictions, appears retaliatory, negligent, and inconsistent with fair credit reporting and adverse-action standards. I am requesting that American Express be required to reverse or remove any adverse coding related to the closure and correct all internal records to reflect that American Expressnot mecaused the returned payments. I also request confirmation that the account will not be reported as closed for non-payment or delinquency.

I believe this matter reflects a broader internal controls issue within American Express. Multiple departments provided contradictory information, denied the existence of standard escalation channels, refused to pause adverse action pending XXXX review, and made statements that conflict with the companys own credit reporting to all three bureaus. The rapid initiation of account closure immediately after I pointed out these discrepancies raises concern about a systemic failure in American Expresss adverse action procedures and potential retaliation toward a consumer asserting their rights during a fraud dispute. I am requesting the CFPB review not only this specific adverse action, but also whether American Express is properly governing its internal communication, escalations, fraud-handling procedures, and adverse action decision pathways.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation