Consumer complaint received 2024-04-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
i attempted to call american express in XXXX to make a payment on my credit card and get it up-to-date as it was past due for a few months, and I did not want it to turn into a collection nor charge off. At that point I did not have any warning of collection by mail and had been in contact with American Express to let them know I would be making a payment beginning in XXXX but when i went to do so the online portal wasnt working or allowing me to add a payment method said i could only use an old saved one that i can not use and have to call to make payments. I was then redirected by their chat system and eventually put on the phone to their collections agency XXXX XXXX XXXX who refused to take a payment but told me they are making a collections attempt once i was transferred to them. they couldnt tell me it made no sense that they couldnt tell me anything about my account to take a payment because i asked them to explain why my account was in collections without any 60 day notice. 

I eventually gave up the call because they refused to take my payment and wouldnt explain why then i tried again at the beginning of XXXX and almost identical situation occurred but this time they told me they wouldnt take my payment bc someone else has the power of attorney of my account. they wouldnt explain why they were saying this and refused to take payment nor discuss the account because they said i dont have the rights and i have to get a company called consumer direct to write to them and allow them to let me pay on the account with them as the collectors. this occurred again in the month of XXXX and multiple times in XXXX and every time I call American Express or XXXX XXXX XXXX to attempt to make a payment and even pay my account in full. No one will accept payment or even entertain a conversation about how they can accept a payment because they say that another company, consumer direct holds the power of attorney over my account which is false information and I have provided an email screenshot where the company is saying they have not had the power of attorney over my account ever, nor do they now. 

I closed my American Express account in XX/XX/2023 because I went through a career change and could not afford the payments at that time. I communicated with American Express through that time that I would be making my payments up-to-date in XXXX and I tried to call in XXXX after the failed attempts online as stated above. The month of XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX continued the same cycle of them refusing to allow me to pay my account and then American Express turning around and calling my account a charge off when it is not charged off, and I have simply been trying to pay it for four months with without any avail as they refused to work with me nor look into the situation. They are acting on a false premise that another company holds a power of attorney on this account when they do not. I have continuously disputed that for the past four months and now we are going into the fifth month of them continuing to operate on a false information about my account and continuing to sabotage my credit. I need this account corrected back to a closed account not a charge off and all of these late payments removed or I need this account removed from all three bureaus in full as it is completely false, and there is record provided to prove that the information they are acting on is not true and theyre purposely providing false information to the credit bureaus on my behalf, which is hurting me as a consumer, when I have simply tried to pay this account and move on with my life they are holding me XXXX as I can not make any progress, and they continue to refuse to accept my payments even though I am the only party with rights to the account as it is my account to pay. 


at one point I was able to get the online portal to attempt a payment through an old account, but it did not fully go through and the online Portal still would not allow me to add a payment method to make my payment. This was not made making payments. This was me simply trying to find a way to get through their system and get a payment to go through as no one will accept my payment and I am stuck owing on this account now four months past when I was supposed to have it handled and caught up-to-date as a simply closed account and not a charge off. 

This is predatory, and XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  need to be stopped, or looked into by American Express rather than overlooked, and illegal refusal to let me pay then continued negative remarks on my credit reports due to unwarranted and false information.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation