Consumer complaint received 2025-12-15 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this final escalation complaint against American Express National Bank for continued violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), specifically 605B ( identity theft blocking ), 611 ( reasonable investigation ), and 623 ( furnisher accuracy and verification ).

Despite extensive documentation, multiple CFPB complaints, certified mailings, and escalation to American Expresss General Counsel, American Express continues to report a fraudulent account, restrict my legitimate account, and unlawfully shift the burden of proof onto me, in direct violation of federal law. 
In XX/XX/XXXX, the fraudulent American Express account was deleted from my credit reports after I submitted identity theft documentation. In XXXX, American Express illegally reinserted the same fraudulent account. I submitted multiple FCRA 605B identity theft packages, including an FTC Identity Theft Report, sworn statements, and identification. American Express refused to block the account, failed to permanently delete it, and continued furnishing the account to credit bureaus. American Express repeatedly claims the account is mine based solely on the statement that payments were made using a XXXX account. However : American Express has never produced a signed application, authorization, identity verification, or proof of account ownership. They have never identified the alleged XXXX account number used. They have never proven that the XXXX account allegedly used belonged to me. I contacted XXXX XXXX  directly. XXXX explicitly stated they can not verify American Express account numbers, can not confirm ownership of any AmEx account, and can only see merchant-level transactions, not account ownership or destination account numbers. This makes American Expresss position factually and legally impossible : If XXXX can not see or verify American Express account numbers, then American Express can not rely on XXXX  transactions to prove ownership of a specific account. American Express is therefore not verifying the account they are assuming. Instead of meeting their legal obligation, American Express has repeatedly attempted to shift the burden of proof onto me by demanding : XXXX XXXX  statements, Proof of when my XXXX  account was opened, Historical bank records ( including from XXXX ), Additional documentation not required by law. This culminated in a XXXX hour and XXXX minute phone call with an American Express representative in which I was repeatedly placed on hold while the back office searched for justification to continue reporting the account. During that call, the representative : Acknowledged they could not independently verify ownership, Continued demanding XXXX documentation anyway, Ignored that FCRA 605B does not require consumers to prove non-ownership beyond identity theft documentation. This is a clear violation of FCRA 605B, which places the burden on the furnisher, not the consumer. Because American Express refuses to resolve the fraudulent account : My legitimate American Express account was restricted, despite being current, I was denied access to services I paid for, I was forced to dispute a {$700.00} payment due to services not rendered, American Express reversed the payment and backdated the reversal, causing : Increased utilization, interest charges, A credit score drop. This harm was foreseeable and preventable. I sent a certified Final Notice and Opportunity to Cure to American Expresss General Counsel, which was received and signed for. Despite this : No corrective action was taken, No substantive response was provided, The fraudulent account continues to be reported.This demonstrates willful noncompliance.American Express has violated : FCRA 605B, FCRA 611, FCRA 623, FCRA 1681n / 1681o. This matter has been escalated to the highest possible level within American Express. Their continued refusal to comply with federal law, reliance on assumptions instead of verification, and improper burden shifting leave no further internal remedies available. This complaint concerns a fraudulent American Express account ending in XXXX, which was previously deleted from my credit file and later illegally reinserted, as well as my legitimate American Express account ending in XXXX, which was restricted as a result of this unresolved fraud claim. American Express appears to rely on the existence of payments originating from a bank with my name attached, rather than proving authorization or ownership of the disputed account. XXXX XXXX  has confirmed it can not verify recipient account numbers, and American Express has never demonstrated that any payments originated from my current, legitimate XXXX account. This reliance on assumption rather than evidence violates FCRA 605B. This complaint represents my final attempt at administrative resolution.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation