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Report: #427455

Complaint Review: American Express - New York New York

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Seattle Washington
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
  • Why?
  • American Express 200 Vesey St New York, New York U.S.A.

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A couple of weeks ago, AMEX slashed my AMEX-Costco credit limit from $24,000 to $8,000. They notified me of this via a robo-call on my home phone number commanding me in this steely male voice to call their toll free number by midnight of that day "about an URGENT BUSINESS MATTER." In a panic, I checked the last date of my payment, which had been made only a few days before. When I called, the customer service rep sheepishly admitted I had never made a single late payment, and could not tell me why my credit limit has been suddenly lowered. He urged me to call a different toll free number and ask that my limit be restored. Instead I told him that that very night I was going to use online banking to pay off the outstanding balance, and then for the rest of my live continue to use my AMEX card to charge stuff, get the 1% rebate (or more, when I buy stuff at Costco) and pay off the balance immediately. AMEX will never make another dime on me.

The next day I went online and ordered a free credit report from Experian which revealed that my identity had not been hacked, there was a $0 balance on all my credit cards except my AMEX card, and that the number of late payments on ALL present and past credit cards was in fact zero.

I've since learned that it's not personal--AMEX is jerking around millions of customers. Check out this HuffPost link:

http://www.creditmattersblog.com/2009/02/american-express-wants-to-help-you.html

Fact-checker
Seattle, Washington
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/23/2009 10:52 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/american-express/new-york-new-york-10285/american-express-amex-trashed-my-credit-rating-new-york-new-york-427455. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
15Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#15 Consumer Comment

Cory

AUTHOR: Flynrider - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, May 29, 2009

"The only problem with this IS a/e is a fee card."

And that's where your scheme falls apart. First of all, it does not cost them 5 or 6 dollars to send a bill. It's a highly automated process. The true cost is less than $1.50. The annual fee easily covers this cost, with plenty left over for AMEX.

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#14 Consumer Suggestion

Wrong

AUTHOR: Cory - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, May 21, 2009

"The only way for a/e to lose money is not to use them". WRONG. If you DON'T use them, they don't send you a bill. a/e charges 3 to 5% as their "discount rate. If you were to charge a bag of chips for 99 cents, they'd make 3 to 5 cents on that bag of chips. They would have to send you a bill for that 3 to 5 cents. It would cost them 5 or 6 DOLLARS to send you a bill for that 3 to 5 cents. If YOUR bill for that bag of chips was $1.08, send them a money order for $2. The next month they would send you a statement, that cost them 5 or 6 DOLLARS, showing that YOU have a credit balance of 92 cents. That might go on for another month or two before they send you a check for 92 cents, then you could go out and charge ANOTHER bag of 99 cent chips and start it all over again. The only problem with this IS a/e is a fee card. Years ago it use to be $45 for a green card, $75 for a gold card, don't know what it is now.

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#13 Consumer Comment

Hahaha!

AUTHOR: Flynrider - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

If you were serious, you'd just tear that card up. The only way for Amex to lose money on your account is if you don't use it. Everytime you make a purchase, they get a cut from the merchant. A big cut. Amex is the most expensive card to process.

I dare you to shred that card. You know you should, but you can't, can you?

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#12 Author of original report

Revenge against Amex

AUTHOR: Fact-checker - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Thank you, Robert, for your brilliant suggestion for ways to lash back at exploitive credit card companies.

I declined the Amex customer service representative's suggestion that I call Amex and request to have my credit limit restored. Instead, I paid off the entire balance, and will continue to do so each and every month, charging only a few small, cheap items on my card and forcing Amex to send me a paper bill. Amex actually loses $$ on customers who do this.

I have learned that closing credit card accounts can actually damage one's credit rating. At this point, I only use my Amex card and my credit union Visa Card. I now never chage in excess of $100 on either card in a month, and I diligently make sure I pay off the entire balances well before the due date.

I hope Obama prevails in reining in the credit card industry. But even if he fails, I'm doing all I can to make sure they never screw me again.

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#11 Consumer Comment

To the Photographer...

AUTHOR: Robert - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

"So not only are we no longer using our Amex card period -- I as a photographer will now refuse to accept Amex.

I take all the other cards: Visa, MC, Discover. But as for AMEX, scew them. I won't be taking their card any longer."
-----------------

FYI: It is not just AmEx that is doing this, but just about all cards.
Discover is doing this to it's Card Holders are you going to stop taking Discover?
VISA and MC are through several banks. Some banks are cutting lines, others are not. Are you going to keep a "blacklist" of VISA or MC's you no longer accept?

The fact is that it is not your money to begin with, it is an amount that they were willing to extend to you. Banks were giving outragous limits even up to a few years ago and no one seemed to complain when their limit was increased.

Back to the OP. Would the OP have complained if they only got a 8K credit limit in the beginning saying that it wasn't enough? Or would they have "lived within the limit". Yes people take it personally that THEIR credit line was lowered, when in fact it is really just business.

As to the OP stating that they will never make another dime off of them since they are going to pay off the balance every month. I hope you realize that everytime you use AmEx the merchant pays AmEx a percentage of the transaction. So even if they don't get interest from you, they get the transaction fee every time you use your card.

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#10 Consumer Suggestion

Payback

AUTHOR: Cory - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Don't get mad, get even. These companies need us a heck of alot more then we need them. They can take their credit cards and stick 'em. I get offers from a dozen different credit card companies every week. They go right into the shredder. I keep one for personal use and one for my business and they get paid off every month. I have a couple more no-fee cards, just in case the two that I DO have piss me off and one or two gas cards that I seldom use except for business use. The way I've gotten back at crappy credit card companies is to charge a small item $5 or $10 and send them an EXTRA 40 or 50 cents, whatever it is to round off the bill to the next higher dollar. It really screws up their paperwork. It costs them $5 or $6 to send you a bill each month. They'll send me a statement for a month or two showing a credit balance. After one or two months, they will send me a check for 40 or 50 cents. I'll sit on the check for another month or two, deposit it before the 60 or 90 day expiration date and so out and charge another $5 or $10 item and start the same vicious cycle over again. TRY IT, it works.

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#9 Consumer Comment

Not So...

AUTHOR: JR Marlin - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

When we talked to the Customer Service Department, they gave us a load of crap on the phone regarding the fact that they lowered our credit limit.

So not only are we no longer using our Amex card period -- I as a photographer will now refuse to accept Amex.

I take all the other cards: Visa, MC, Discover. But as for AMEX, scew them. I won't be taking their card any longer.

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#8 Consumer Comment

Absoluetely NO PROBLEMS with AMEX!!!!!

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

I have been an extremely satisfied customer of AMEX for many years!

Whatever they do that I think is wrong, they ALWAYS correct it with NO hassel!

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#7 Consumer Comment

Absoluetely NO PROBLEMS with AMEX!!!!!

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

I have been an extremely satisfied customer of AMEX for many years!

Whatever they do that I think is wrong, they ALWAYS correct it with NO hassel!

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#6 Consumer Comment

Absoluetely NO PROBLEMS with AMEX!!!!!

AUTHOR: Anonymous - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

I have been an extremely satisfied customer of AMEX for many years!

Whatever they do that I think is wrong, they ALWAYS correct it with NO hassel!

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#5 Consumer Comment

ITS THE ECONOMY - STUPID

AUTHOR: Laurie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

Of Course it has nothing to do with you - QUIT WHINING.

All the credit card companies are doing it. GET USED TO IT...

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#4 Consumer Comment

ITS THE ECONOMY - STUPID

AUTHOR: Laurie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

Of Course it has nothing to do with you - QUIT WHINING.

All the credit card companies are doing it. GET USED TO IT...

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#3 Consumer Comment

ITS THE ECONOMY - STUPID

AUTHOR: Laurie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

Of Course it has nothing to do with you - QUIT WHINING.

All the credit card companies are doing it. GET USED TO IT...

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#2 Consumer Comment

ITS THE ECONOMY - STUPID

AUTHOR: Laurie - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

Of Course it has nothing to do with you - QUIT WHINING.

All the credit card companies are doing it. GET USED TO IT...

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#1 Consumer Comment

So what's the ripoff?

AUTHOR: John - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009

How exactly did they 'trash' you credit rating?
Why do you feel extending credit is a right instead of the privilege that it is?
Why do you feel you are above everyone else?

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