Consumer complaint received 2025-01-04 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: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to formally dispute the current balances on my American Express Gold and Platinum accounts due to a significant number of suspicious, unauthorized, and erroneous charges totaling over {$10000.00}. Despite my minimal and carefully tracked use of these cards, my statements reflect charges I did not recognize or authorize. For example, a {$1400.00} payment to XXXX House and a {$570.00} XXXX charge in XXXX both appeared and then vanished without explanation, and multiple other charges have surfaced, disappeared, or been credited without any clear reasoning. These irregularities make it impossible for me to determine what, if anything, I actually owe. 
To illustrate the severity of these discrepancies, I also want to highlight a specific incident involving XXXX XXXX. I initially authorized only {$37.00} for a food order, yet I was awakened at XXXX XXXX by a notification indicating that my American Express had been charged approximately {$570.00} for XXXX XXXX I never consented to or authorized this larger amount, which strongly suggests fraudulent or erroneous activity on my account. 
These problems are further compounded by the theft of my phone and XXXX earlier this year, which likely exposed my personal and financial data to unauthorized individuals. I have also read about other American Express customers experiencing similar issueserroneous charges, transactions that appear and disappear, and long delays in achieving a clear resolutionindicating there may be a broader systemic problem affecting my accounts as well.

I have repeatedly attempted to resolve these discrepancies by telephone with American Express representatives, yet each conversation ends with requests that I identify each suspicious charge line by line. Given the confusing and contradictory nature of the statements, I can not be expected to parse every transaction in such a manner. Moreover, I have been paying monthly American Express bills under the assumption that my charges were valid, only to discover that much of the activity on my accounts does not align with my true spending habits. I believe I have lost thousands of dollars to these unauthorized or erroneously posted charges. 
I therefore dispute all charges that can not be definitively proven to have been authorized by me, and I request a comprehensive, system-wide fraud and billing investigation. Please identify and remove any unauthorized, fraudulent, or erroneous transactions, provide detailed explanations of how each charge was verified, and outline any corrective measures taken to secure my accounts. Given that my phone and laptop were stolen, I also insist that you update my account credentials and confirm that my information is safeguarded against further compromise. 
Additionally, I noticed annual membership fees for both the Gold and Platinum cards have been charged despite the ongoing turmoil. Since my accounts have not been functioning properly and the legitimacy of numerous transactions remains in dispute, it is unfair and unreasonable to charge these fees. I have been a long-time American Express cardholder , yet this ordeal has placed a significant financial and emotional burden on me. Therefore, I ask that you waive or refund these fees until all disputes are completely resolved, as a matter of fairness and goodwill.

Pursuant to the Fair Credit Billing Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1666 et seq. ) and Truth in Lending Act regulations ( Regulation Z ), American Express must thoroughly investigate disputed charges. Unless you can conclusively show that each
charge is valid and authorized, I deny liability for these amounts, and I similarly refuse to pay related fees, interest, or penalties. Furthermore, I expect you to refrain from reporting any disputed balances as delinquent to the credit bureaus during this investigation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief