Consumer complaint received 2026-04-30 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:
Subject : Failure to conduct a reasonable investigation under the Fair Credit Billing Act ( FCBA )/ Regulation Z for Dispute XXXX. I am filing this complaint because American Express has repeatedly failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into a billing error ( Dispute XXXX ) in the amount of {$3300.00}. Amex has continually ruled in favor of the merchant, XXXX XXXX, by ignoring definitive carrier evidence that proves liability rests entirely with the merchant. I returned a high-value item using a prepaid XXXX return label provided by the merchant ( Order XXXX ). Under standard shipping terms, the party that provides the label is the " Shipper of Record '' and bears the risk of loss or damage in transit. I photographed the securely sealed, undamaged box with the readable label immediately prior to dropping it off at XXXX. Upon receipt, the merchant claimed the item was missing and pointed to a tear in the box. Amex has relied on this, and potentially the carrier weight, to deny my claim. However, Amex has completely ignored third-party proof that the package was damaged and tampered with while in the carrier 's custody : XXXX tracking ( XXXX ) explicitly shows a Shipment Exception : " Barcode label unreadable and replaced '' at the XXXX, FL sorting facility. The merchant 's own photos of the received box show a distinct " XXXX XXXX '' sticker placed directly over the tear that was not there when I dropped it off. I verbally confirmed with XXXX that the package was damaged in transit and required relabeling. Furthermore, the merchant 's statements to Amex are mutually exclusive and evolved only after I demanded proof. Initially, the merchant explicitly stated that the package arrived " fully sealed and in acceptable condition, with no indication of shipping-related interference '' and was in " pristine condition, fully sealed, with no signs of damage or tampering ''. Concerns about a box tear were raised only later, after I requested photos and asked about a tear visible in their images. Only then did the merchant change their story, claiming the tear occurred during their unboxing process, before finally admitting the tear was present at delivery and partially covered by the XXXX replacement shipping label. They also admitted they made a business decision to under-insure returns to a maximum of {$100.00}. Because the merchant provided the label, they retain the XXXX carrier relationship and the right to the XXXX investigation records. Amex is allowing the merchant to pass their chosen insurance liability onto me, the consumer, despite clear evidence of transit damage occurring after the package left my control. I am requesting that the CFPB compel American Express to execute a manual executive review of the carrier relabel evidence and permanently credit my account for {$3300.00}.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief