Consumer complaint received 2024-12-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Overcharged for something you did purchase with the card
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to formally lodge a complaint against American Express regarding a series of fraudulent billing practices associated with our account, stemming from our dealings with XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX. These charges have caused significant financial harm, damaged our XXXX XXXX, and left us facing considerable distress as we work to resolve the matter. 

Background : My husband and I hired XXXX XXXX and her team to assist with the design and purchase of materials for our new construction home in XXXX, Georgia. The project, which began over XXXX years ago, required various design services, including the purchase of lighting fixtures, hardware, and other materials. XXXX XXXX would issue us bills through XXXX, and we would make payments, after which she would place orders for the required items using her accounts with various vendors, including American Express. 

Unbeknownst to us, XXXX XXXX was overcharging, misleading, and defrauding us for her personal gain. She billed us for items that were never ordered, purchased items in incorrect finishes, and caused significant delays, including the inability to install critical fixtures. We later discovered she had been receiving discounts from vendorssuch as our general contractorwhile pocketing the difference without our authorization, a practice which violated the terms of our contract. 

In XXXX of 2024, items started to arrive, in the beginning, she was attempting to fix things, however her attempts to fix things was to have us purchase more things for her mistakes. And that is when the situations escalated. 


XXXX of XXXX : As the project progressed, we began to realize that many of the items we had paid for were either the wrong specifications, incorrectly finished, or simply could not be installed. After further investigation, we found that purchases had been made for locations in the home we had never agreed upon, and items we had ordered were missing or in the wrong state. We also discovered that XXXX XXXX had billed us for hours and services that were never rendered, including hours billed for her assistants at principal rates. Despite requesting receipts and clarifications, she refused to provide them for several months, and when she did, they were incomplete and inconsistent with the charges on our American Express statements. 

First week of XX/XX/2024 I reached out to XXXX to ask about orders, mark ups and missing items, I also asked for full refund, and then contacted vendors directly to ask for all receipts, Hired Attorney XXXX XXXX to demand for invoices from XXXX XXXX. Originally XXXX XXXX obliged, but did not hand over receipts until XXXX of 2024. Our team conducted an audit and found almost XXXX XXXX dollars misused funds. We offered to settle with XXXX XXXX and gave her ample time, but she then disappeared and stopped responding, XX/XX/XXXX I filed a police report with the City of XXXX, Contacted the FTC ( filed a complaint ), contacted the Attorney General and the BBB all on the same day. 

After that, we determined that our funds need to be refunded by the Credit Card companies for them to further investigate. 

Our attempts to resolve : Upon realizing the extent of the fraudulent activities, we attempted to work with American Express to resolve these discrepancies. We filed multiple disputes, providing comprehensive documentation, including emails, receipts, audits, attorney letters, and proof of contact with the merchant. However, American Express informed us that their policy requires disputes to be filed within 60 days, a timeline that was impossible for us to meet. At the time the charges were made, we had not even received some items in question ( discovered they were never ordered ) Items we will never receive because they were never ordered correctly. Moreover, the fraudulent nature of the charges only became apparent after further investigation, as the items were either defective, incorrect, or never delivered. 

Additionally, when we contacted American Express, we were told that they could not act on the dispute because the merchant had denied any complaints. However, we have ample evidence, including emails and written correspondence, that shows we consistently raised concerns with XXXX XXXX long before we ever filed a dispute. It appears that American Express did not adequately review the case, as they failed to verify the merchants claims and ignored the extensive documentation we provided

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief