Drew v Amex

[andyford2000]

After everyone,

 

I am looking for a little advice with American Express.

 

I had held an amex card for a number of years, mainly using it for business expenses and the odd personal purchase. like most people i have missed payments and the like or occasions and if i remember right I was paying a payment protection plan with this card (could be wrong though until i find some old statements).

 

I lost my job in March 2005, unfairly dismissed i might add. I was unable to continue paying my card debt off. priorities being food and keeping the roof over the kids heads. I contacted amex and informed them of what had happened. All they were concerned about was there money and nothing else. Anyway after many telephone calls they wouldnt help me out and passed the debt over to a collection agency based in Leeds. I have explained that I was taking my old employer to court for unfair dismissal and i would pay the debt off asap, making a payment of £20 per month in the meantime, but still they passed the debt over to collection. obviously causing the usual stress that comes with it. The debt was paid off eventually when my money came through.

 

since then i have checked my credit report via experian and noticed that it states that it is settled in default or words along those lines.

 

what i really need to know from someone in the know, and what better place to ask than on here, is;

 

what can i do about reclaiming any charges the placed on my account over the period i had the account

 

and, is there anyway i could clear it off my credit report.

 

I know its a lot to ask

 

helpppppppppppppp

 

Andy

[steven4064]

Hi andy

 

You can certainly claim any charges they put on your account for late payments. If the charges were a significant contributer to your having a mark on your credit history, you can request for it to be removed at the same time.

 

If you haven't got your statements, send AMEX an SAR for them. If you have them, calcualte the charges and any interest levied on the charges and send a prelim letter off.

 

Everything you need is in the templates librray and there are folks here to help

[andyford2000]

will certainly be following this one up,

 

question: what do i need to do if I cannot find any old statements with my account details on

 

also, does anyone have the correct address to send the S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) too

[steven4064]

Send SAR to

 

American Express Services Europe Ltd

Data Protection Office

Dept 2007 Amex House

Edward Street

Brighton

East Sussex

BN88 1AH

 

Your name and address(es) should be enough for them to find your account details (they would manage to send you a bill!)

[andyford2000]

many thanks

 

can i ask, has anyone had any luck with amex at all

[steven4064]

Yes - do a site search - search is in the blue bar at the top of the thread

[andyford2000]

would it be worth while asking to see my CCA aswell

 

I also cannot find my account number anywhere, as when we paid the DCA off. we shredded the old correspondance too.

 

if it turns out, that I never had a valid CCA, what can I do, ie can i force them to remove anything off my credit report or possible seek any kind of compensation.

 

thanks

Andy

[andyford2000]

I have sent my

 

S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)

 

off to them today

[andyford2000]

yippee found my account number for amex, at least thats one good thing. noticed they too were taking PPI payments, another one maybe lol.

 

needs some advice regarding this;

 

when i lost my job in 2005, i informed Amex about this and they said i couldnt claim on my PPI. I couldnt remember the reason. But the did infact put my account in default and passed it over to a DCA to pursue. This did leave a nasty mark on my credit report.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pursue this and possible getting the defaulted remarks removed from my credit report at experian

[andyford2000]

bump

 

help please

[steven4064]

they said i couldnt claim on my PPI.

It's funny how no one ever seems to be able to claim on PPI!

 

Two suggestions:

 

1) there is a whole forum dedicated to PPI on the main CAG forum page. Look there and see if you can make a claim for the PPI being mis-sold

 

2) claim back any charges for late payment, etc. If the charges are a substantial proportion of the amount you were defaulted for, then put the demand in all your letters that the default be removed. Don't settle until it is. All the template letters in the library have that option in them.

[andyford2000]

just got my statements sent through from Amex and they have sent my £10 postal order back.

 

they say they have supplied them free of charge as a gesture of good will. But have sent me a form to fill in if i want full disclose.

 

makes me think, what exactly is missing, the statements only go back to 2000, but i thought i had the card well before that.

[steven4064]

Then write and ask them for the rest. Also a statement that there have been no manual interventions on the account

[joesoap]

I'm trying to get EVERYTHING from Amex. So far they've only gone back 6 years but I've insisted on EVERYTHING from 1995; and they said there was no charge, you can have info goodwill. I told them to stick and insisted that they cash my cheque.

[andyford2000]

I sent my request for repayment of charges on the the 31/07 and have just received a letter basically telling me to bog off and that there charges are indeed fair.

 

what should i do.

 

helppppppppppp

[steven4064]

andy

 

Just stick with the programme - did you expect any other sort of reply?! Give them 14 days from your last letter and then on to teh next stage.

[andyford2000]

14 days have now passed, so I believe am I to send a LBA to them.

 

I have also received a copy or my application back, which in fact is a 60second application. the terms are conditions are indeed 2007 lol

 

there is no signature in the Authorised American Express Signature Box or date. Hold on a min, just had a thought I actaully ask for CCA request and have received a copy of a 60 second application, am I right in thinking this is not my CCA agreement.

 

what I what to try and do is get them to remove the defaulted entry on my credit reference with experian. help on this would be most welcomed

 

also when I asked for S.A.R. they only sent then statements and information on it being sent to a DCA , is this right and should they in fact of sent that to me too.

 

I am starting to think there have been a number of breachs here

[andyford2000]

bump

[andyford2000]

bump again

 

help please

[joesoap]

As I said a few posts before hand, I'm trying to get more off Amex than they sent. It's like getting blood out of a stone. My patience snapped on Friday and advised Amex that they have 7 days to advise on the whereabouts of the "missing" bits of my my SAR. If nothing is forthcoming then I will apply to the County Court for an order to enforce compliance, together with damages at the discretion of the court and where information is no longer available, I require a statement confirming how any information has been disposed of, removed, destroyed and the method of doing so, by whom, when and where.

[andyford2000]

some help on what to do next would be welcomed

[steven4064]

What they have sent doesn't comply with CCA - if they have taken more than 12 days they can now be considered to be in default and the account unenforceable. If they let that state of affairs continue for anotehr month they committ an offence.

 

If you want the default removed (and the default consisted mainly of charges aor was caused by charges) then carry on with your claim but don't agree to anything that doesn't include default removal. Just stick to it, they will give in in the end.

[andyford2000]

so even though, what they have sent me is only a credit card application. and if i dont have a proper cca in place at the time of default, then they shouldnt have filed the information with a credit reference agency as they didnt have my authorisation to share any information with 3rd parties, is this right or am I wrong

[Monty2007]

so even though, what they have sent me is only a credit card application. and if i dont have a proper cca in place at the time of default, then they shouldnt have filed the information with a credit reference agency as they didnt have my authorisation to share any information with 3rd parties, is this right or am I wrong

 

Sadly you are wrong. I have the same issue with Amex. They can and will register your payment details and history with the CRA irrespective of the existence of an enforceable cca, this is their right under the Data Protection Act. There will be some people on here who will disagree but I have had confirmation from Amex, Experian and the Information Commissioner. The only scenario that would allow appeal would be fraud or if you can show that you were not responsible for the transactions that will be shown on your monthly statements. The application you signed would have given them permission to process your data but irrespective of this they have rights to show other prospective creditors of your history of payments.

 

Frustrating but true.........

[andyford2000]

bugger,

 

well i suppose I better proceed for the full amount back with interest then, even though they said I aint ontitled to it as their fees are fair