American Express billing dispute process is a sham Fort Lauderdale FL

A customer claimed to her merchant bank name Amex that there was a defective on the item she received, which that customer lied to her merchant bank. First, she approved and signed the receipt with 12k total amount then picked up the merchandise at the shop then few weeks later she claimed that it was defective. Would you signed the receipt if you knew it was defective? As the owner, customer picked up the item in a good condition. Anyways, Amex refund the whole amount to the customer and the Customer got all the items and never returned to the vendor and still got the 12k. How that sounds fair to you or just like that Amex will believe all their customers to what they say and get credit right away?their customer committed fraud to get the merchandise free. And now what's the rights for the business owner. If you own a business please say any opinion if this is right?amex didn't even have the investigation before giving the credit to their customer. Please I need more ideas and help!!!

Unfortunately for consumers that actually are ripped off, there are a lot of people that call in saying they received merchandise broken or damaged just because they do not want to pay for it.

A lot of merchants complain because they get charged back for no reason, however we are not there to see exactly what happens.

We have to sort out the real claims from the ones who just don't want to pay.

Therefore, if merchandise is signed for in good condition, it is our policy to rebill. We assume of course that the merchandise was placed in the shipping container in good condition and packaged properly.

If appeared the box arrived damaged, then it would be refused or notated on the proof of delivery. So, I am assuming you signed for the merchandise in good condition or otherwise you would not have been rebilled.

If you were more persistant, you would have received at least partial credit as Amex would rather credit a charge than lose a cardmember. Like you though, many people are not willing to deal with the hassle and would rather just cancel your card.

It's a shame that this could not have been resolved on the first dispute and I probably would have done the same thing. Like the above person said, you could have tried purchase protection (although I think this only works when purchased 100 miles from your home) or tried to dispute again.

Either way, you should have called the number on your card and asked for the number to Establishment Services. They handle the merchants, you can advise them of this merchant and if they receive enough complaints, they may stop doing business with them. I know this won't help you but it might help other people from getting ripped off by the same company in the future.

American Express or any other cards are just a form of payment. The rights of a consumer are the same whether you pay in cash, with a check or with a card. The only advantage that you have by paying with a card is that you can withhold payment while the item is in dispute.

Many people think that the fee they are paying will make a difference in how much the credit card company will fight for them. (Wrong!)The fee has nothing to do with it.

The fee only pertains to the benefits you get with the card. Most probably when you purchased your CPU, the website had a legal disclosure stating their policy regarding the warranty on products and you simply looked at the price you were getting salivating all the while but never looked at the fine print or the disclosure.

All credit card companies have to abide by the return/warranty of the merchant because every merchant that sells goods is free to determine under what conditions they want to do business. Those policies are not regulated by any law. It is the responsibility of the consumer to read and understand under what conditions you are buying something before giving a merchant your business.... that is our right as consumers.
Still have doubts? Make a purchase again from that merchant with your Mastercard and see how much they can help you...

For service businesses it it different. You never have goods in your possession, so card companies can reserve the right to charge them back immediately upon a customer complaining. That works for Mastercard and that works for Amex and for other cards based in the U.S.
Best luck in the future with your other purchases. Hope that Mastercard lives to your expectations.

You say,"To me, this is unacceptable, when I have other cards that bring no yearly fee, unlike this pricey "gem" with a $395 yearly fee, that are accepted by a lot more places, and that actually stand up for you if you get the shaft." This indicates to me you have a Platinum Charge Card. One of the benifits of this card is Purchase Protection. This means, if you purchase and item and within 90 day it is stolen, damaged, or a total loss, American Express will repair, repalce, or refund your money.

As a former American Express customer service representative I have process many of these requests. Disputing the charge is fine, but you did receive the product ordered and you did authorize the charge. The fact that it was damaged is an issue for the Purchase Protection, or the company you ordered it from or the manufacturer.

"To compare, I disputed a charge by an internet company made on my Mastercard after I'd cancelled the service (they tried billing me for months afterward), and they removed teh charges with no problem." The difference here is this service was canceled and the company had no right to charge your card as no service was provided. I had at least 2 of these disputes a day for AOL alone on customers Amex cards.

Therefore, I totally agree with Deb. This wasn't a disputed charge. It should have been handled differently.

Your MasterCard dispute was a billing dispute and Amex would have credited that type of dispute, as well. The Amex dispute you had was a Goods and Services type of dispute and sometimes, depending upon the agreement you originally made at the time of purchase (no refund situations), there is no recourse. I do believe that if you received the merchandise damaged/defective, you should have received a refund or replacement. Then again, it depends on how and who did the delivery. You should have escalated your dispute. If you are a Platinum Cardmember (and it sounds like you were based on the fee you claim to have paid), and the facts were as you stated, I would have a hard tome believing that there was no attempt to "save" you when you cancelled your Card and re-investigate your complaint. Something seems to be missing here...
I am sorry you had that experience and if the facts were as you stated, I would have absolutely handled it differently.

I'm happy to hear that they did what they SHOULD do for you. Was your dispute recent, or a while ago? Apparently their new policy is basically, they charge you no matter what, assuming the merchant will not cooperate with you. (And what crooked merchant would?)
To me, this is unacceptable, when I have other cards that bring no yearly fee, unlike this pricey "gem" with a $395 yearly fee, that are accepted by a lot more places, and that actually stand up for you if you get the shaft. So, I'm an ex-Amex customer, and losing the hassles has been worth it to me. I feel like I gained in the long run by throwing out this card.

AMEX has been great to me in resolving a dispute, and I must say they worked very hard for me.

The dispute was resolved and I received all of my money back.

Thanks, American Express