Consumer complaint received 2023-04-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed fraudulent ATM withdrawals on XX/XX/XXXX on my Serve American Express debit card that XXXX XXXX partnered with for XXXX Federal/State tax return funding. 

The taxes were funded to my card in late XXXX and all charges up until that XX/XX/XXXX date were made by myself and one permitted card-user, my brother, whom we share rent obligations to. 

Every week I send my brother to the same ATM around the same time when I am at work to withdrawl some of the money to pay our rent. We always keep track of the balance, however when my brother attempted to pull money out on XXXX, he recieved Insufficient funds errors. I checked the account only to see it had {$15.00} left in it's balance. On the transaction history it showed 3 additional withdrawals AFTER my brother 's last trip ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to withdrawal. These withdrawals were not made at an ATM we've ever been to ( another bank across the street from our regular spot ) and we're in odd amounts. 

Someone withdrew {$450.00}, {$450.00}, and {$100.00} from my account in a span of 60-90 seconds, according to time stamps via Serve ( plus {$3.00} per withdrawal and {$3.00} in Serve charges and ATM fees ). 

The total stolen was {$1000.00}. This was all we had and it was all for our rent and bills! 

Serve immediately cancelled the card, expedited replacement of a new card, and opened a fraud claim. I filled out a Declaration of Fraud and it was processed starting XX/XX/XXXX. According to [ conflicting ] policy explanation from Serve reps, the investigation can take up to 45 business days from start of claim. At 10 business days, a provisional credit can/would be introduced to the account if they could not effectively remedy the situation and deemed the investigation fraudulent in nature. They told me I would be receiving email commimunication from the fraud department as it progressed. 

At this point, time was certainly against me as I had multiple bills and rent to pay and no time to wait for policies to run their course. 

I contacted local police and a detective opened an investigation into the matter. She asked questions and inquired card details like : who possessed it, if it was ever lost, if we ever gave someone the pin. 

We never lost, compromised the pin, or gave the card to any other person at any time. 

It's worth noting, Serve amex cards are no more secure than a basic gift card. They have no chip technology and solely rely on magnetic stripe swiping at each location you use it. This presents VERY serious problems vs a skimmer or card reading device someone may have used against me. XXXX XXXX and Serve partnered to place MY government-funded tax money on a card as unsafe as this, with no easy ways to pull all money from it's account once loaded on. Now someone stole right out of my pockets, left me with no financial alternatives, and told me to wait the full 10 days. Local police attempted to contact Serve regarding their insights into it, but Serve reps would not assist or speak to them at all. They told the detective they needed me " in-person '' to give permission, when the day before, I called Serve, explained to them that I wish for them to speak with police regarding this and Serve said we will " phone you in to give permission ''. No call was ever made to me when the detective called, which frustrated both of us. 

The detective called me, explaining that I would need to gain information FOR them, since Serve would not help us. I called Serve and asked for time stamps, location, dates, and amounts for all three fraudulent withdrawals. I relayed that info to the police. 

I sent DL info and photos of both myself and my brother to the police to self-identify and remove both of us from the equation when seeking ATM footage. The detective filed a request with the bank where the ATM fraud occurred ( XXXX XXXX ) and we are still waiting on them to hand over any evidence of ATM transactions at the designated times. 

I called multiple times inquiring updates to the investigation. I was blocked from speaking to supervisors at every turn until the 10th day, when they told me the investigation has concluded, no fraud has occurred, and they will not grant me the provisional credit I desperately needed. At this point, Serve not only was negligent in their due diligence towards my claim, they refused to ask any additional questions to me, refused to work with local authorities who may have provided insights and help onto the matter, and allowed their fraud system to generate a lazy " no ''. I demanded to know why it was deemed " not fraud ''. The rep I spoke with on XX/XX/XXXX told me " we currently do not have any data or information noted here at this time ''. They told me " we can give you an address where you can write a letter to our corporate team ''. 

I have rent and bills due NOW. I am a customer who TRUSTED Serve to do their job and protect the end-user. I was robbed XXXX by a stranger who is still uncaught, and Serve left me out in the cold because their algorithm didn't have enough data given to it to influence a " yes '' on my fraud claim. They told me multiple times " the provisional credit could come any day up to the 10 days '' prompting me to push off landlords and bills as long as possible. They fully intended to let it run the full 10 days, not inform me of anything regarding my claim the entire time, and then tell me they couldn't help me. 

I told the rep I spoke with on XX/XX/XXXX I would stay on the phone all afternoon if I had to until you bring me someone who can answer my question as to why they are denying my claim. I was given a supervisor, named XXXX ( employee # also noted upon request ) and she was at least helpful enough to ask me more questions regarding the initial incident and reponed the claim as of XX/XX/XXXX. At this point, I have resubmitted the declaration of fraud claim and am now BACK in the 10 day/45 day window. The detective said she is currently awaiting bank response on footage but it could take up to 30 days. 

Everyone has time to wait for their policies to run their courses, but guess who doesn't? The person who was robbed. The customers. I'm writing this complain obviously in hopes someone can step in and be an advocate where I feel I have none in this moment. I also want to call out gross mismanagement of customer protection duties where I see it. Someone else could be in a similar situation with Serve and I want to do my part. 

Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation