Consumer complaint received 2026-05-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST AMERICAN EXPRESS NATIONAL BANK Submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Date : XX/XX/XXXX Existing CFPB Complaint Reference : # XXXX I am submitting this as a comprehensive formal complaint against American Express National Bank incorporating all developments in this matter through XX/XX/XXXX. This complaint supersedes and expands upon my prior filing and updates. I. OVERVIEW I am XXXX XXXX, a cardmember of American Express since XXXX nearly twenty years. My account, a XXXX XXXX American Express Card ending in XXXX, carried a {$27000.00} credit limit with a balance of exactly {$4000.00} at the time of cancellation a 14.4 % utilization rate. My FICO score as of XX/XX/XXXX was XXXX, confirmed in American Express 's own cancellation notice. I had no missed payments and no delinquency at any point in my nearly twenty-year history with this company. American Express has engaged in a pattern of conduct that is retaliatory, deceptive, and in violation of multiple federal consumer protection statutes. The specific violations are detailed below. II. AMERICAN EXPRESS NEVER DELIVERED WRITTEN NOTICE TO ME American Express claims to have sent a letter on XX/XX/XXXX initiating a financial review and requesting documents. I never received this letter. No certified mail was used. No tracking number exists. No delivery confirmation was obtained. The first time I saw this letter was when American Express attached it to their XX/XX/XXXX CFPB response more than 30 days after it was allegedly sent and seven days after my account had already been cancelled. To date as of XX/XX/XXXX American Express has never sent me a single piece of physical correspondence via postal mail regarding any of the matters they allege in their CFPB response. Every document they have cited was either sent via standard mail with no proof of delivery or disclosed for the first time in their regulatory response after adverse action had already been taken. American Express also claims to have extended the document submission deadline from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. This extension was never communicated to me in any form. I can not be held to a deadline I was never informed of, for a letter I never received. III. THE ONLY CONTACT I RECEIVED AND AMERICAN EXPRESS 'S RESPONSE TO IT The sole communication I received from American Express regarding this review prior to the account cancellation was a single phone call on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX. At the outset of that call within the first two minutes I clearly stated that I did not wish to speak by phone. I disclosed that I was experiencing a profound personal bereavement : the recent loss of a child through XXXX and the death of my eldest child 's father. I explained that due to these losses I did not have the mental or emotional capacity to manage this matter by telephone and formally requested that all further communication be provided to me in writing. The representative acknowledged this request. American Express sent no written communication following that call. Less than 18 hours later, at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, my account was cancelled. American Express 's XX/XX/XXXX CFPB response states only that call recordings showed " correct information was provided. '' It does not acknowledge my bereavement disclosure. It does not address my explicit request for written communication. It does not explain why, after acknowledging that request, American Express sent nothing in writing and instead cancelled my account the following morning. American Express disregarded the death of my child and the death of my eldest child 's father entirely. The emotional distress this conduct has caused layered on top of already devastating losses is significant and ongoing. IV. RETALIATION FOR EXERCISING FEDERAL CONSUMER RIGHTS I exercised my right under federal law to file complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Better Business Bureau. Following the filing of those complaints, American Express : Refused to reinstate my account Refused to answer my substantive questions about the basis for the account review Refused to provide the contractual language authorizing their document demand Refused to explain the inconsistency in which IRS transcript verification was offered and then rescinded in the same call Issued a form response through the Chairman 's office characterizing all of my documentation requests as requests for proprietary information Cancelled my nearly twenty-year account The sequence of events complaints filed, account cancelled constitutes retaliation against a consumer for exercising federally protected rights. American Express closed my account adversely because I filed regulatory complaints and because I requested written communication rather than submitting to a phone-only process while grieving. V. AMERICAN EXPRESS REFUSED MY PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE VERIFICATION During my communications with American Express, I proactively proposed that American Express obtain my tax records directly as an alternative verification method. This would have been significantly less burdensome than producing years of bank statements, particularly given my personal circumstances at the time. American Express refused this accommodation and refused to acknowledge my proposal. Furthermore, the bank statement request as originally framed was itself unreasonable. American Express specifically requested records from the account I use to make payments to American Express one of several accounts I hold. The request was not limited or specific. Producing years of comprehensive bank statements from the account used to pay American Express, while grieving XXXX deaths, constituted an undue burden that American Express made no effort to accommodate. VI. AMERICAN EXPRESS HAS BLOCKED ME FROM MAKING PAYMENTS Following the cancellation of my account, American Express rendered my account completely inaccessible. My cards were declined. My XXXX XXXX was removed. My online portal reflected a payment amount and minimum payment due of zero. I have an outstanding balance of exactly {$4000.00} on this account and was given no instructions on how, when, or to whom to make payment. American Express created a situation in which I was obligated to pay a balance on an account they made it impossible to access. They have blocked me from making payments while simultaneously holding me responsible for a balance on a cancelled account. VII. AMERICAN EXPRESS HAS DELIBERATELY REPORTED DEROGATORY INFORMATION TO THE CREDIT BUREAUS Following cancellation, American Express reported adverse information to the consumer credit bureaus. My credit score has dropped significantly as a direct result a measurable, concrete, and ongoing harm. Prior to American Express 's actions, my credit score was exceptional. I hold over {$100000.00} in credit lines across other credit cards, none of which reflect any delinquency or adverse history. The derogatory reporting by American Express is the direct consequence of their own conduct : cancelling an account in good standing based on a letter they can not prove I received, blocking me from making payments, and failing to provide proper written notice at any stage of this process. Any adverse credit reporting flowing from these circumstances is itself improper and I am formally disputing it. VIII. INACCURATE INFORMATION SUBMITTED TO THE CFPB In their XX/XX/XXXX CFPB response, American Express referenced my account balance inaccurately. My balance at the time of cancellation was exactly {$4000.00}. American Express 's response cited an imprecise figure. This matters because the accurate figure {$4000.00} against a {$27000.00} credit limit represents a 14.4 % utilization rate, which does not support any legitimate credit risk argument and should be accurately reflected in the regulatory record. IX. FICO SCORE AND CREDIT PROFILE DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ACTION American Express 's own documentation confirms : XXXX score of XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX an excellent score No missed payments No delinquency {$4000.00} balance on a {$27000.00} limit 14.4 % utilization Nearly twenty years of account history Over {$100000.00} in total credit lines across other accounts with no adverse history No legitimate credit risk basis for this cancellation has been articulated. American Express has not explained how any of these metrics justify the adverse action taken. X. ADDITIONAL REPORTING AGENCIES THE WORK NUMBER AND XXXX American Express 's cancellation notice references XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX as sources used in their credit decision. These are employment and income verification databases. I have not been informed of what information these reports contained or how they were used in this decision. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act I am entitled to this information and I am formally requesting it through this complaint. XI. VIOLATIONS ALLEGED Based on the foregoing, I am alleging the following violations : Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( ECOA ) / Regulation B : Failure to provide a legally sufficient adverse action notice ; failure to state specific reasons for adverse action in the notice itself Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) : Failure to disclose specific information obtained from consumer reporting agencies used in the adverse action ; improper adverse reporting Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ( UDAAP ) : Retaliating against a consumer for filing regulatory complaints ; cancelling an account based on non-delivery of a letter sent without proof of delivery ; blocking payment access while holding consumer responsible for a balance ; disregarding a bereavement hardship disclosure Regulation B / ECOA : Failure to consider or offer reasonable alternatives to document submission ; refusal to accommodate a consumer 's proposed alternative verification method XII. RELIEF REQUESTED I am requesting that the CFPB : 1. Require American Express to produce proof of delivery certified mail tracking and delivery confirmation for the XX/XX/XXXX letter 2. Require American Express to provide written payment instructions for the {$4000.00} outstanding balance immediately 3. Require American Express to disclose all information obtained from XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX and used in this decision 4. Require American Express to correct all adverse credit bureau reporting resulting from this matter 5. Require American Express to provide a legally compliant Adverse Action Notice stating specific reasons for cancellation 6. Investigate whether American Express 's conduct constitutes retaliation against a consumer for exercising federal complaint rights 7. Investigate American Express 's failure to accommodate a consumer 's bereavement hardship disclosure and alternative verification request 8. Require American Express to reinstate the account or provide a full accounting of why reinstatement is denied given the documented facts This complaint and all supporting correspondence are being submitted simultaneously to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Respectfully submitted, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX CFPB Complaint # XXXX XXXX Complaint # XXXX Date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation