Chorlton v Amex (twice) ***WON***

[chorlton1]

Newbie here, so be gentle if I bugger anything up...

 

Starting 1 thread for 2 Amex unfair charges recoveries:

 

1) Amex Credit Card

2) Amex Charge Card

 

Sent SAR 12th December and Amex extremely good with recorded delivery pack of statements, phone logs, original agreements etc within 10 days!

 

(I know its elsewhere on the site but sent them £10 for each account and they returned one cheque)

 

Prelims being sent tomorrow on both accounts

 

Will let you know if they they respond before I send my LBA (which is pre-typed - have even started printing and copying for my court bundle just in case I get there!)

[121o121]

Hi Chorlton1

 

Wow, you are organised!

[chorlton1]

Sent out 8 SAR's on same day so need to keep ahead of the game! (and also want anybody from Amex who is reading this, and manages to work out who I am, to know that I am ready, willing and able to take them all the way)

[chorlton1]

Just a quick update - received 2 letters acknowledging my prelims today saying they would respond within 28 days.

They also enclosed a handy complaints guide which I will certainly not be using as their suggested timetables for dealing with a complaint take up to 5 months and then ends up with the Financial Ombudsman - that is not the route I shall be taking!!

LBA ready for posting and the clock is ticking.....

[chorlton1]

GOGW received from Amex - its about 10% of the total charges I have asked to be refunded -their letter talks about the usual BS and that they now have a new charging tariff of £10 for charge cards and £8 for credit cards - thats great, except some months I was paying them over £200 for the same single infrigement!

 

I will call them tomorrow and, if that doesnt shift them, I will send them an LBA on Saturday.

[chorlton1]

Well, that worked a treat!

 

Called the "Executive Office" today using the number on their letter.

 

Went through their offer with the guy who sent it to me.

 

He said are you happy?

 

I said no

 

He said what you would be happy with?

 

I told him

 

He said will you go the legal route if we dont make you happy?

 

I said yes!

 

He told me OK, that's fine, send them a new letter and they will settle per my request today

 

(I am not claiming for interest as the bulk of my claim is on my charge card and the interest would have been trivial).

 

I have to say they reacted very positively the whole way through this process (5 weeks from SAR request to agreeing a settlement) and I trust them to send me a cheque in a few weeks so could a Mod please change this to *****WON******

 

Donation on its way when I get the cheque, and will fillin survey at same time.

[chorlton1]

bump

[caro]

Congratualtions chorlton. That seems to have been quite painless and quick. Well done.

[chorlton1]

If only they could all be so easy!!

[chorlton1]

Cheque received today - no settlement agreement or conditions

 

Please could a Mod move this to "other institutions sucesses"

 

(and if you can could you also change the name of my Marbles thread to ***won*** and move that too!)

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/other-institutions/59627-chorlton-marbles.html

 

 

I have had a very enjoyable day :D

[caro]

Congratulation Chorlton. It would be a pleasure.

 

Please complete the survey, and a donations would be appreciated too I'm sure.

[soldier girl]

Congrats !

SG X

[vancouver]

Good news on winning, could you let me know the correct address for their data protection team & maybe a name? I want to get my request for info letter off but want to make sure it goes to the right place/person. Thanks

[kippy2]

i have to say amex were one of the best ones to claim back from, as long as you dont make a court claim. somehow they retaliate if you do. coz i have a business (useful) amex card which i spend loads on abroad! (havent claimed on this one as no charges, thank god,) aswell as personal card didnt want to rock the boat with them and it worked. i waited until 28 days and sure enough they paid up without any quibble. and no reduction on the personal card or closure of it. amex are very fair i would say.

[kippy2]

If only they could all be so easy!!

 

 

im going to blow their trumpet as they really were easy to deal with, got over a £1,000 back. abbey with me going to court for £153.00 now how rediculous is that! never mind that £153 will be mine soon

[vancouver]

I had an account with them since 1983 but missed two payments, they handed it to a debt collection Company etc. despite having already offered to pay them in full (I'd been away back & forth on business and forgot to deal with it initially). Finally Amex agreed took full payment from me and closed ALL my accounts despite telling me they would be reactivated on receipt of the monies! now I want my revenge...I even lost nearly 200,000 amex points I had accrued so as you can tell I pretty well hammered the card each & every month (one point is equal to one pound spent!).

[kippy2]

I had an account with them since 1983 but missed two payments, they handed it to a debt collection Company etc. despite having already offered to pay them in full (I'd been away back & forth on business and forgot to deal with it initially). Finally Amex agreed took full payment from me and closed ALL my accounts despite telling me they would be reactivated on receipt of the monies! now I want my revenge...I even lost nearly 200,000 amex points I had accrued so as you can tell I pretty well hammered the card each & every month (one point is equal to one pound spent!).

 

hubby had the same prob in 1987, think amex have learned to wisen up a bit, too many good customers gone, they were so strict, if you missed a payment or paid three days late! 200,000 amex points lost, what a bummer :eek:

[vancouver]

They did this to me only last year, the stupid thing was I was dealing with the dept. which is supposedly set up to sit between Amex & the customer in the areas of dispute. However despite their agreement that my treatment was disgusting and they would get it reversed, after my paying up, they never bothered responding to my letters again! Even more amazing was I'd gone up through the various cards until I was paying £680 per year for honour of carrying one and spent heavily on it. Until then I'd had bank a/c's, credit cards, charge cards & etc. with no problems for 24 years!

[chorlton1]

Good news on winning, could you let me know the correct address for their data protection team & maybe a name? I want to get my request for info letter off but want to make sure it goes to the right place/person. Thanks

 

I sent the SAR to the normal Customer Services Address in Brighton and then I was given a different address after they responded to my SAR . Look at the bottom of this page and there is a link to a sticky with Amex addresses - the last post is their Data Protection Dept and that is the one I would suggest is best to use.

 

Interestingly, although they, like all the others, send a standard letter saying it will take months for anything to happen, they were very fast at every stage I can only guess they have a lot less of these than some of the other banks.

 

I think the key with talking to them on the phone is to know exactly what you want, why you want it, and what you will do if you dont get it. Make sure every call you make has a specific target - you want to complain, you want to know when you will get your SAR, you want to let them know you will go to court if necessary etc etc - dont get sidetracked - then you are clearly in the driving seat and they will realise this.

 

They have definitely changed over the years - I had an amex card back in the mid-80's, was late paying a couple of times and only just escaped my account being moved to a DCA (got a bonus and paid it and they immediately shut the account and, same as Vancouver, erased the membership rewards).

 

About 10 years later I got another Amex, used it a lot for business but moved abroad and was in a country where Amex not universally accepted so I cancelled the card - they practically begged me to have another card (despite the black mark on my records) so a few years back, after they agreed to pay the membership, I got another new card.........

 

When I missed a couple of payments on this one, unlike way back when on the first card, they just called me and politely suggested I pay as soon as possible (they levied a penalty, which they have now given back!!!!!!, but that was it)

 

Will be interesting what they do if I am late paying again though!!

 

For addresses go to:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/other-institutions/4027-american-express-address.html

[chorlton1]

Thanks SG x

[chorlton1]

and thanks Vancouver and Caro too....

 

Donation donated

[vancouver]

Cheers for the link I searched the site but couldn't find it, appreciate your input.

[chorlton1]

Only posting this 'cos then I have the top 4 slots in this forum and I want to take a print and stick it on the wall in my office!

[michmark]

Hi there

I see you have been successful with AMEX and wondered if you could help me... I have done a letter on behalf of my partner and am going to post it... what do you think? I am trying to claim back the PPI too as he doesn’t remember taking this out – is it worth a go?

Thanks v much

Michelle.

 

 

My request

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges which you have levied from my account over the last 6 years. I now understand that the regime of fees which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent consumer regulations. If you say that they are not, then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which you have been put by as a result of my breaches, in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

Additionally, it has now been confirmed that your particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

 

Furthermore, I believe I was mis-sold the credit insurance that is shown on the statements. I do not recall authorising this insurance and if I did, it was never made fully clear to me that the insurance was optional, or indeed that, should I have so wished, I was at liberty to look at other, cheaper or more suitable insurance alternatives, instead of the one that you provided in-house.

Your responsibilities

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them. Your concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

What I require

I calculate that you have taken £15 from me in late payment fees totalling £45 and also a £15 from me for an over-limit fee, detailed below:

£15

22.05.02

late payment fee

£15

21.11.02

late payment fee

£15

25.11.02

over limit fee

£15

 

22.12.02

late payment fee

Total £60 plus 8% interest = £64.80

 

Due to the extensive media coverage of PPI mis-selling, and following the investigations and recommendations made concerning these matters by the FSA, FOS and the OFT, I am entitled to reclaim the full amount of PPI premiums paid on this account, set out below:

Feb 02

2.76

Mar 02

15.27

Apr 02

17.16

May 02

20.35

Jun 02

13.11

Jul 02

15.94

Aug 02

18.21

Sep 02

20.34

Oct 02

22.12

Nov 02

23.69

Dec 02

24.42

Total £193.37 plus 8% interest = £208.84

 

My targets to resolve this matter

I therefore request that you refund the sum of £273.64 forthwith.

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

Yours faithfully

[michmark]

sorry cut and paste doesn't work well. email me and i will PM It to you!