Consumer complaint received 2026-01-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Add-on products and services
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
TRUTH IN LENDING ACT VIOLATION - PAY OVER TIME DEACTIVATION WITHOUT REQUIRED NOTICE I am filing this complaint because XXXX XXXX violated the Truth in Lending Act by deactivating a major account feature without the required XXXX advance notice, causing me direct and substantial financial harm including late payment fees, penalty XXXX, and XXXX XXXX damage. 
BACKGROUND : I hold an XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( account ending XXXX ) opened XX/XX/XXXX. I activated the " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' feature, which allows cardholders to carry a balance with minimum payments of approximately 2 % of the balance per month. 
VIOLATION : Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX deactivated my Pay Over Time feature WITHOUT providing the required XXXX advance written notice mandated by : Truth in Lending Act ( XXXX U.S.C. XXXX ( i ) ) Credit CARD XXXX ( XXXX C.F.R. XXXX ( c ) ) DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE : XX/XX/XXXX statement : Pay Over Time ACTIVE, minimum payment {$44.00} on {$2200.00} balance ( 2 % ) XX/XX/XXXX statement : Pay Over Time INACTIVE, minimum payment {$640.00} on {$720.00} balance ( 90 % - 4,500 % increase ) XX/XX/XXXX statement : Still inactive, minimum payment {$980.00} on {$1000.00} balance ( 96 % ) Screenshot from mobile app showing I had set Pay Over Time to ACTIVE XXXX advance notice received by mail, email, or app notification DIRECT HARM CAUSED BY VIOLATION : I am now LATE on my payment because I could not pay the inflated minimum payment ( {$980.00} vs. expected {$50.00} ) Late payment fee charged : {$40.00} Penalty XXXX triggered : Increased to 29.99 % ( was XXXX % ) XXXX XXXX damage from potential late payment reporting to bureaus Can not reactivate Pay Over Time because account is now past due - a XXXX created entirely by XXXX 's violation This XXXX a textbook TILA violation : XXXX XXXX changed account XXXX XXXX directly affect minimum payment calculation without providing the federally required XXXX advance notice. The late payment is a DIRECT RESULT of their violation- I would have paid on time if proper notice had allowed me to adjust my finances. 
ADDITIONAL VIOLATIONS : UDAAP ( Unfair ) : Caused substantial injury I could not reasonably avoid ( no notice ) and not outweighed by any consumer benefit UDAAP ( Deceptive ) : XXXX 's terms state I control Pay Over Time and " can change your setting at any time. '' Deactivating without my knowledge is deceptive. 
Contract Breach : XXXX 's terms state " If you transfer to a new Card with the same Account number, your Pay Over Time setting at time of transfer will remain in effect. '' If this was triggered by card redesign, they violated their own promise. 
CARD DESIGN CHANGE ISSUE : If this deactivation was triggered by a card design change I requested, XXXX 's own contractual terms state my Pay Over Time setting should " remain in effect on your new Card. '' Either this is a system error or manual deactivation - either way, no advance notice was provided as required by law. 
XXXX 's XX/XX/XXXX CFPB response letter ( Ref : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ) discusses credit limits but does NOT address the Pay Over Time deactivation issue at all. 
XXXX REQUESTED : Immediate reactivation of Pay Over Time on account XXXX Adjustment of minimum payment to appropriate amount ( ~ {$50.00} instead of {$980.00} ) Reversal of late payment fee ( {$40.00} ) Written confirmation that late payment will NOT be reported to credit bureaus Written confirmation that penalty XXXX will not apply to future balances Written explanation of why no XXXX advance notice was provided Investigation of whether other XXXX XXXX customers were XXXX XXXX by unnoticed Pay Over Time deactivations The XXXX advance notice requirement exists precisely to prevent the harm I have suffered - to give consumers time to adjust their finances when account terms change materially. XXXX XXXX 's failure to provide this legally required notice caused direct, avoidable, and substantial financial damage. 
I have also filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission, and I am consulting with a consumer protection attorney regarding potential TILA litigation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation