I have been a loyal client of American Express for over 20 years with a solid track record of paying my bills 100% on time. Amex was my favorite credit card as I felt they were always on my side, providing me with the benefit of the doubt when challenging possible fraudulent charges. Today, I received a call from one of their representatives... in the middle of my busy workday... Advising me that my account was being placed on hold pending a financial review of my account. I thought it was a scam at first as I currently have a $0 balance, and paid my substantial bill 14 days early. I promptly hung up and dialed customer service directly. I was informed that indeed the financial review was legitimate, which surprised me as I actually paid my current bill 100% and 2 wks before the deadline. I provided the information I could pass over the phone and I pleaded with customer service to at least allow me $250 credit for today as I had an important business dinner. The answer I received was that there was nothing they could do until I completed the required paperwork, which will take days for them to process. I cannot believe Amex is taking the "guilty until proven innocent" route with me when I have had nothing but excellent credit history with them. Amex really ruined an otherwise uneventful day for me, hampering my professional work today. I feel like the ignorant spouse in a marriage who finds out one day her partner has been cheating on her all along. The irony is I have several credit card companies soliciting my business so I know another company would gladly welcome me as a client. I am in the market to seek another credit card partner as I wrap up my relationship with American Express. My call-out to their Executive Committee is to not forget the Amex origins of going above and beyond for their customers. They are acting like a company that thinks they are too big to fail by ignoring the relationship aspect of client retention. I am so disappointed by today's experience that I will happily endorse any of their competitors who knows how to treat customers with the respect they are due.
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