AMEX Issues

[Anonymous]

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cheddar wrote:

Not to beat a dead horse here, KindaCreditWorthy, but are you absolutely sure that you entered the routing number and account number correctly when you set it up on Amex's site?

The fact that it failed on the first payment makes it sound like a data entry error.  Forgive me if I'm mistaken.

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Agreed. I was in the exact same situation about a year ago (Except my bank was Cardinal bank and the CCC was Citibank instead of AmEx), and guess whose fault it was. Mine! I partially blame Citibank for trying to pull funds from the account number with the routing number I listed without verifying it first, but ultimately it was my fault.

AmEx is great. Knocking them for problems due to an isolated incident is poor form.

[Anonymous]

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cheddar wrote:

Not to beat a dead horse here, KindaCreditWorthy, but are you absolutely sure that you entered the routing number and account number correctly when you set it up on Amex's site?

The fact that it failed on the first payment makes it sound like a data entry error.  Forgive me if I'm mistaken.

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Yeah, data entry error seems like the case to me also. I'm surprised that ACH payment systems don't run a verificaiton tool similar to PayPal (if they still do this) where 1-2 small amounts are deposited and the user has to then verify those amounts to authenticate the account.

This would clear up 99% of data entry problems when it comes to payment.

Companies should be doing everything possible to get people to trust and use electronic payment systems. It's more cost effective for the company and more secure for the consumer.

[Anonymous]

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Ishmael109 wrote:

I'm very sorry this happened to you. I have read other posts on the net from folks who have described the EXACT same scenario that happened to them with regards to payment processing. I've been a cardholder since 91, and since they began outsourcing to India, the level of customer service is not the same.

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Shouldn't be taken as gospel. YMMV!

[KindaCreditWorthy]

LOL, slight beating allowed for the first 24, I am about 95% sure that on the first go round (when I set the payment up online) that the number was entered correctly.  When I spoke to the nasty woman the first time, she had me re-confrm my info and then she took my routing and checking number to do a "phone payment".  It very well could have been my error, and I wish at this point it had been, but I am very certain it wasn't.

I have found before when setting up payments that when you enter the routing number, it will pull up the bank name.  AMEX is not set up that way, as they had me enter my bank name in.  Maybe they should start having the institution name come up when the routing number is entered, that way people can tell if it is the right bank or not.

:-)

[Geordi]

KindaCreditWorthy,

I am sorry that you have had this problem. To be completely honest, it seems that problem originated from your BillPay thru the Citibank system.

I personally use Billpay from Bank of America and I use it to pay ALL of my creditors including American Express Costco. Since this is not the first time that I have heard or seen this type of problem with people using their banks BillPay service, I always make my payment at least 4 days in advance of the bill due date.

In my case, Bank of America's Bill Pay system tells me before I submit the scheduled payment when the payment will arrive at the creditor's payment center. Again, luckily for me, American Express payment center is online with Bank of America Bill Pay, thus any payments that I schedule for American Express are always delivered and received the NEXT BUSINESS DAY.

I have set up my American Express accounts to ALERT ME (email) whenever a payment is received.

I go through all this trouble (paying in advance) to give myself time to send Express Mail payment if the Bill Pay system fails. To be honest, I have been reading that most creditors are not understanding when payments from your bank's bill pay system are not delivered on time.

I hope that helps.

[KindaCreditWorthy]

Thanks for the idea.  I am going to set-up bill pay alerts at home tonight.  How do I initiate a BillPay alert from a company I am sending a payment too?  Also, while we are on the subject of billpay, I usually send out my payment 1 week prior to the due date.  We have an Amazon card and received a late payment fee wth them cause the credit union (savings) the we used did not electronically transfer the funds, but mailed out a paper check.  Can you tell whether or not some banks do electronic or paper payments...?

Good idea!  Something I can take home with me tonight

[Geordi]

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@KindaCreditWorthy wrote:

Thanks for the idea. I am going to set-up bill pay alerts at home tonight. How do I initiate a BillPay alert from a company I am sending a payment too? Also, while we are on the subject of billpay, I usually send out my payment 1 week prior to the due date. We have an Amazon card and received a late payment fee wth them cause the credit union (savings) the we used did not electronically transfer the funds, but mailed out a paper check. Can you tell whether or not some banks do electronic or paper payments...?

Good idea! Something I can take home with me tonight

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I can't speak for all of your creditors, but AMEX has an Alert Option for various conditions. One of them is to notify you whenever a payment has been received.

Whenever I get a credit card, the FIRST thing that I do is to log into my account online and review if they have any OPTIONS for email alerts. If they do, I ALWAYS configure their system to notify me whenever a payment is made.

This must come from my military background since I ALWAYS require confirmation that payments have been received by the creditor.

I don't like leaving anything to chance.

Message Edited by Geordi on 08-06-2008 01:49 PM

[MidnightVoice]

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Geordi wrote:

This must come from my military background since I ALWAYS require confirmation that payments have been received by the creditor.

I don't like leaving anything to chance.

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And I check every one of my cards every day for things I havew paid for, possible fraud, and to check that payment has been recieved.  And I check my bank every day to see that payments have been made (or are processing or pending).

In the middle of a credit crunch with ALL CCCs getting twitchy, I believe in dafety first.  Mist of my payments are scheduled to hit a week before the due date.  I often pay the minimum plus the day the statement hits, and the rest later.

A tad cautious, me. 

[Anonymous]

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MidnightVoice wrote:

In the middle of a credit crunch with ALL CCCs getting twitchy, I believe in dafety first.  Mist of my payments are scheduled to hit a week before the due date.  I often pay the minimum plus the day the statement hits, and the rest later.

A tad cautious, me. 

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I PIF the day after the statement cuts.  That way the only thing on the card between statement date and due date are brand new charges.

Yeah, I give up about 24 days of my grace period, but it's worth not having to worry about whether a payment went through.  If a payment doesn't go through for any reason I always have more than three weeks to correct the situation.