Getting bent over and raped by American Express - a story. (A Rant)

[Eurodriver]

(This is entirely unrelated to a thread I made a week or so ago about credit cards)

So last month I opened an AMEX Blue cash back card. I only had one credit card and figured I might as well grab another one. When I applied I did NOT ask for a balance transfer or enter any of my old CC info AT ALL

Lo and behold the next day there is an email saying my balance transfer request for $3000 is pending. I don't even have a balance on my other credit card, let alone need to transfer anything. How the hell did they get my CC info? And who put in this $3000 figure? Wtf? So I call....

I got through to the exceptionally polite (but proportionally uneducated) Indian call center and after talking to several different people several different times their answer was all the same "I see your balance transfer request. Please call when you get your card in the mail, we can't cancel it until then."

So I wait. A week later my card arrives and I call them back. I get some guy who sounds like he's walking around a shopping mall, he takes my information and sees the request and says "Alright, I just cancelled it. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
I told him I wanted confirmation of some sort. Email, letter, etc. He said sure I'd have it soon.

Next day, no confirmation. So I call back. "Sure Mr.Euro we'll get it to you in the mail soon"

Today, what do you know. My AMEX account is short $3000 and the balance transfer is approved.

So I call again. "Oh, I'm showing that you called this day and this day and this day but you shoud've been told we don't cancel balance transfers. You should've thought about it before you requested one"

Brodudes - In all my life I have never understood how my drill instructors were able to get so angry. I think I realized the trick this morning - they call AMEX with serious problems and then run into the squad bay.

I had to hang up. I was furious the rest of the day. I sent them a secure message through their webiste (So I would finally have some sort of paper trail) and they said they would credit my account $21.38 (what a random ass number) for the inconvenience but they could do nothing about the $150 balance transfer fee (5% of $3000)

And the worst part? I signed on the dotted line and I can't get an American on the phone to save my life. Dave Ramsey is ****ing right.

So now both of my credit cards are all sorts of ****ed up and I have to:

-Request a $3000 check from my other credit card company.
-Pay $3150 toward my AMEX
-Not profit.

TL;DR
AMEX is a bunch of scumbag dumbasses

[jwfuhrman]

Yup, AMEX is worthless. We have actually STOPPED accepting AMEX and Discover cards at our shop. AMEX charges us 12.5% per transaction, Discover charges us 7%.

[RyanB]

In six years my AMEX has been my best card. It wore out and they overnight end me a new one. I always talk to an American. Love that card.

If I were a vendor I would not take them though...

[tb-av]

Never had anything but first class, on the ball, got you covered, don't worry about a thing, it won't cost you a penny type service.


Having said that.... they do have some some stiff fees if you screw up.

You need to ask for a supervisor because unless you filled out some sort of deal where the cash advance was part of the deal, it sounds illegal. In fact, hearing you describe it I was thinking maybe you were being scammed by a fake "company".

[rjacobs]

My old man had been an AMEX card holder since like 1984 or some crazyness like that, never missed a payment, never paid less than the full bill(at the time that was how AMEX worked until the early 2000's I think), etc.... In 2008(or there abouts, during the credit crisis) he gets a letter saying his APR is being jacked up to 30%(or some crazy ass number). He calls and says "I have been a member for 20+ years, never missed a payment, never paid less than full bill, etc.... and you are raising my interest rate to 30%?" the answer he got was "you were in the group", but the lady didnt know anything else. He said what group, I have an 800+ credit score, a ton of cash in the bank, own my home, cars, etc... outright, blah, blah, blah So he cancelled and said he would never do business with them again. This was a man that used AMEX for literally EVERYTHING and paid his bill every month on time in full.

My buddies that own business's wont take amex anymore either since most have stories about getting screwed out of thousands because AMEX sides with the customer first and not the business and then you as the business owner have to prove the charges were legit. One of my buddies went as far as having the accused person arrested because the bill was about 25k. Cops picked up the guy, figured out he had done this A LOT(bought shit, told amex it was fraud or bad transaction or something) and now the dude is in prison for multiple counts of felony fraud. It was only after the dude was convicted and sentenced(2+ years) that my buddy got his money from AMEX.

[skydivr]

Did you keep a copy of the application/contract you signed and sent to AMEX? If you didn't, you should have, or get another copy. READ IT CAREFULLY. I'll bet you unknowingly did authorize the transfer, or I would call them and demand them to show me in writing where I DID agree to a transfer, or they can take their "fee" and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Lesson learned. Read IN DETAIL any applicaiton you sign, and contract, etc. If you see something you don't like, DO NOT SIGN IT.

I grudingly and on rare Occassions accept AMEX. The charge 2X what VISA/MC/DISCOVER charge in fees.

[Traveshamockery]

Yup, AMEX is worthless. We have actually STOPPED accepting AMEX and Discover cards at our shop. AMEX charges us 12.5% per transaction, Discover charges us 7%.

You are getting royally screwed on credit card fees. Square's payment system lets you swipe cards with an iPhone and charges 2.75%.

[Eurodriver]

I just want to update.

I have been communicating with a "Suprabhat Kundu" via secure messages and he's probably the only person at AMEX who knows WTF is going on.

He was able to rescind the $150 fee (and my AMEX account is showing that he did so) but there is absolutely nothing he could do to cancel the payment this late in the game. He said even if he was able to cancel it, there is no telling when I'd get my $3000 back because they would have to verify that my other CC company didn't deposit it before they could give it back to me.

He did call my other CC company, inform them of the situation, and he told me that they said to call them immediately when the money posts and they'll get a check for the negative balance out ASAP.

A pain in the ass? Yes. Am I still angry? Yes.

But at least I was able to get in contact with someone who knows what they're doing, not waste any of my money, and get the situation rectified (While getting $21.39 for my troubles)

[polydeuces]

AMEN brother!

AMEX, just like most any other financial institution is representative of all that ails this great nation.
Period.

Always paid bills on time, never any issues with them, other than accept their exuberant fees...
Then the "meltdown" hits and I lose a good 75% of my bread and butter accounts, almost overnight, something that took 20+ years to build. Money gets a "bit" lean, basically burn out my (our) retirement in about 2 years time.
Mortgage goes late, twice, 30+ days, then AMEX in their infinite benevolence cancels my card. But not after first charging me their annual fee............WTF!!!!???!!!
Never one to be left behind, VISA then figures that would be an opportune moment to jack up their interest rate....(they are still trying to get my money)
How I really feel? Well, in case they're listening (sure...)..............:
You worthless waste of space parasite scum, all of you banks, hedgefunds, brokers, wallstreet, or whatever other mask you wear you ****ing gangsters, you are all criminals and the lowest life-form on this planet, there is a special place in hell just for you, and I'd love to get the opportunity to send you there!
So there's my rant.

[Alex V]

The first credit card I had ever was an Amex Blue. Got it my first year of college in '00. It only had. $500 limit at the time and I used it for emergencies only. A few years after finishing school I still had it, still with a $500 limit lol. It had a zero balance when I got a letter telling me that my interest was going up to something like 28.33%. So I called and canceled it. **** 'em. Half the places didn't accept it anyway.