Extremely Poor Customer Service from American Express

Posted Thu January 10, 2008 12:00 pm, by Joshua B. written to American Express Credit Cards

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I have a newer AMEX account and was recently advised a spending limit had been placed on the account. I never use the card and recently used it quite a bit in Vegas so it made sense to me they would be leery until I had established a payment history with them. I had no question about the spending limit.

Last night I purchased a hotel room in Portland based on the understanding I was well under my spending limit and had plenty of credit left. After paying for the hotel I attempted to purchase plane tickets. Card declined. I called and spoke to a rep who advised me there were MANY more charges on my account than what I had actually charged. I asked what they were because when I log in online my account only shows what I actually charged and again is well under my limit. She stated she couldn't see the charges and had no idea what they were. I explained to her my situation and that I needed to purchase plane tickets immediately as I had already paid for a hotel. After speaking with her supervisor she stated they (her and the supervisor) had come to the agreement that there should be plenty of credit left on the account to purchase the tickets, and placed an override on the account to allow me to purchase them until we could figure out what these other charges were.

That didn't work so I called back. I spoke to someone who treated me HORRIBLY and refused to assist. He had an incredible attitude toward me and made it seem as if I was bothering him. I asked for a supervisor and was told one would call back in 48 hours. Of course by that time I probably won't be able to find the plane tickets but at this point I'm furious with AMEX. I have not used my available credit and at this point am being told the card is "maxed" but "we cannot tell you why, you just have to wait for the statement". I don't have that kind of time. I keep track of my finances very well and KNOW what I spent on this card and even when I log into amex.com I can see the total (including pending charges) which is a correct total. There is no reason why my plane ticket transaction should be denied.

So I called back and spoke to someone else. Again VERY serious attitude problem. I'm assuming it's the beginning of their day because they seem awfully upset from the beginning of the call. She again advised that she could not see what the charges were that were causing the problem but that I was at my limit. I attempted several times to advise her of the situation and all she kept saying was "we've gone over that and that is ALL we're going over today". I let her know when I look at my balance online it differs from what she is telling me, she stated "I don't know what to tell you but you're at you're limit". I told her what the online balance was and she stated "well I guess you better just go add it up yourself because that isn't right". Well when I add it up it IS right. Now I am unable to purchase plane tickets. I have a hotel I've already paid for and no way to get to it, and all I can find are customer service reps who are rude and very unwilling to assist with anything.

Either fix the problem in enough time to purchase my plane tickets (which would be today or possibly tomorrow and I do not see that happening) or reimburse me for the hotel room charges.

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Re: Extremely Poor Customer Service from American Express by AMEX Rep Posted Thu February 5, 2009 @ 2:02 PM Highly doubt this ever occured...you sound like one of those "I'm entitled to everything because I'm me" people. Blown out of proportion...The CSR was probably rude because you were extra dramatic when you called in. Reply Re: Extremely Poor Customer Service from American Express by Final Score: Boys-3, Girls-1 Posted Fri January 11, 2008 @ 4:26 PM I've never had an AMEX card...and after reading this, I don't think I ever will. Reply I think AMEX may want to screen their employees from now on by Joshua Bryson Sat January 12, 2008 @ 2:15 AM Re: Extremely Poor Customer Service from American Express by petgiraffe Posted Fri January 11, 2008 @ 4:00 PM I always thought AMEX had no preset spending limit. Don't you have another credit card or debit card you can use to purchase your tickets? Or go to a travel agent or directly to the airline and pay with a check or cash? Or have a friend purchase your tickets with their card and you pay them back? Where there's a will there's a way. Reply Correct by Joshua Bryson Fri January 11, 2008 @ 7:54 PM Re: Extremely poor customer service by dulynoted Posted Thu January 10, 2008 @ 6:00 PM You are not alone in this. A different scenario is what happened to one of our local DJ's while he visited his family out in Colorado during the holidays. AMEX declined his card at the restaurant he had taken his family to he evening before he and his wife were to leave. He had another credit card but he wanted to use the AMEX because he knew he was way under his limit. He called them from the restaurant and asked why his card was declined. The customer service rep told him it is well within their rights to decline payment if they suspect any activity that is out of the ordinary. He asked her what was so out of the ordinary when charging dinner...she said it was a large amount and he had never charged that much before at one time so the system picked it up as being questionable. He also asked to speak to a supervisor who told him it was for the security of their customers that this was put into place. He asked her what would happen if he had to charge an extra airline ticket if he wanted his grandson to come back home with him she said it would probably be declined. He told them he wanted to pay off the card and she gave him and amount and he gave her his checking acct number...she ran the transaction and before he got home the next day it was done. AMEX is a strange company and always has been...I had a card from them back in the 80's...had so many billing errors that I finally cancelled it and paid it off. Went to Visa and had no problems until it was stolen. Reply Same plan by Joshua Bryson Fri January 11, 2008 @ 7:58 PM