Consumer complaint received 2025-06-24 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against American Express regarding a misleading and deceptive repayment arrangement that has resulted in financial harm and a significant loss of trust in the company. 

In XXXX XXXX, American Express contacted me directly and offered a payment plan of $ XXXX for 18 months to resolve the outstanding balance on my closed credit card account. At the time, I had enrolled this account in a debt consolidation program which would have allowed me to resolve the debt for a substantially lower amount. However, based on explicit assurances from American Express that completing their 18-month plan would resolve the account in full and result in reinstatement of the card, I withdrew the account from the debt resolution program and entered into their plan in good faith.
I have now completed all scheduled payments, totaling over {$14000.00}, and was blindsided when American Express informed me that I still owe nearly {$5000.00} due to accruing interest and charges. This was never clearly communicated at the time of enrollment.

American Express is attempting to justify this by referencing vague and noncommittal language in the agreement, such as : There is a possibility that additional interest, late charges, and/or other charges could be assessed... If so, we shall contact you to make arrangements...

This does not clearly state that charges would accrue, nor did American Express ever contact me to inform me of increasing balances during the 18 months I made timely payments. They also failed to indicate this during any correspondence or confirmations of the plan. 

In my most recent call with American Express, a representative admitted that if I had called them, they would have told me that the account would accrue interest. However, it is not the customers responsibility to chase down the terms of a plan that was directly offered by the creditor. It is the creditors responsibility to provide full, transparent, and individualized disclosuresparticularly when the outcome would significantly impact the customers financial decisions. Their failure to communicate this crucial information caused me to exit a legitimate debt resolution program where I would have paid far less, believing that I had a better and more direct deal with American Express. 

Furthermore, I was told the card would be reinstated upon completion of the plan. However, when I called recently, I was told not only that the card would not be reinstated, but that my account would be sent to collections if I did not pay the newly revealed balance. This is a classic bait-and-switch tactic, and I feel I was misled and manipulated out of a better resolution path. 

To summarize : I was led to believe that the payment plan would fully resolve my balance. 

There was no transparent disclosure that interest would continue to accrue. 

I was never contacted about additional charges as stated in their own vague terms. 

I was promised reinstatement of the card upon completion, which is now being denied. 

The result : I paid over {$14000.00} unnecessarily when my original debt resolution program would have cost significantly less. 

This experience has been exploitative, unethical, and in direct violation of the trust I placed in American Express to resolve this account transparently and fairly. I respectfully request your support in addressing this matter and holding American Express accountable.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief