@ezdoesit wrote:
@slund5499 wrote:It is truly unfortunate that AMEX maintains their unpublished blacklist. I recently applied for the green card and was turned down due to previous history with AMEX. They even went as far as to pull my credit reports.
I spoke with AMEX and their account rep informed me that I had opened an AMEX account on Dec 6, 1985. Now I do not recall ever having an account with AMEX and they are talking like 30 years ago.
In my defense, I have talked to their Fraud dept and explained that I do not recall opening an AMEX account. They will initiate an investigation and will send me the documentation in the mail.
I suppose I will be banned for life unless I can show that I never applied and received the account they claim to have records on. I would like to own an AMEX card, but I have done ok up to this point in my life without their credit.....
Any advise.....May I did open an account and maybe not.
Should I continue with the investigation or just pay a settlement to get my name cleared?
EX=590 TU=652 Eq=607
Cap 1 - $2000, US bank - $300, WF - $300, Barclay - $500, Cap 1 - $500
OP, I started a new thread for you. Lexie
TBH They might not of had you on their blacklist. That is probably why they ran your report but no offense since 1985 your score is really not good. Had you had 800's across the board I would suspect you might of had a chance to get a card with them. When they ran your CR with all low 600's it was just easier for them to bring up the 1985 issue. JMO
+1 I would not pay if its not your debt. Let them do the investigation. If you pay the debt then you are saying its yours. Plain and simple and that will not necessarily guarantee you an amex card. I don't know if after 30 years paying a debt would restore it to your credit report, but if it did that could be a problem as well. I had a family member who opened a number of cards in my name without my knowledge. I was able to get all those cards removed from my report as a result. I didn't have to deal with amex, but who is to say they even still have the paperwork from 30 years ago showing it was you that applied for the card? If amex doesn't have the proof you opened the card and yet they still insist on blacklisting you then screw'em. Amex is not the end all be all of credit card lenders.
;
@blondy250 wrote:No offense but there is NO way the OP doesn't know if he applied for an AMEX account or not. The OP would have been contacted many times over the years by AMEX trying to collect, if he/she didn't open that account in 85 he would have let AMEX know previously. Sounds like to me the OP was hoping that 30 years would be enough time for AMEX to forgive/forget a debt, its not.
1985 was a long time ago. People move and change numbers. We have no idea what OP has been doing over the past 30 years, but it is possible Amex as been unable to reach them. Maybe OP had a number of credit card accounts in the 80s and since then. Its really not unreasonable for people not to remember which cards they may have had 30 years ago. Of course, if something went into collections and they were getting calls everyday then they would not forget that by a longshot (unless they had multiple accounts in collections). Bottom line is we do not have enough information about OP's life to pass judgements about whether or not its reasonable that he/she does not remember if they applied for an amex card in 1985. 30 years is about double the amount of time of your total credit experience and you have been working at it for a long time!
@blondy250 wrote:Please calm down, everything about how he worded his opening post is fishy, you dont see that, really?. Also let me me 100% clear there is NO WAY that the OP doesn't know if he applied for a AMEX card even if it was 50 years ago, its IMPOSSIBLE. He either did, and he's trying to get over (highly probably) or he didn't and had been contacted by AMEX or a collection agency in the past. This is my opinion feel free to disagree, no need to get sanctimonious.
I'm perfectly calm. I'm not sure why you would think otherwise as I am presenting a reasonable explanation. My use of the exclamation point in the last sentence was more meant as a compliment to you for working on your credit for so long. While its true we don't know if OP is being honest with his/her posts (in fact we never know) I don't think its approrpiate to just assume they are lying which is the point I am getting at. Sure some people come on here and they are dishonest and the result is that they get inaccurate answers to their questions because they providing false data to start with. However, I feel its appropriate to give people the benefit of the doubt and I respectfully disagree with your assertion that its completely impossible for a person to not remember if they applied for an amex. My ex-girlfriend when I asked her if she ever had an amex said no. When we checked her credit report it turned out she had one has an MBA student in 2009. The reality is she had a number of cards in the past and didn't give it much thought since she was not that focused on credit products. That was only 5 years ago let alone 30.
@red259 wrote:
@blondy250 wrote:Please calm down, everything about how he worded his opening post is fishy, you dont see that, really?. Also let me me 100% clear there is NO WAY that the OP doesn't know if he applied for a AMEX card even if it was 50 years ago, its IMPOSSIBLE. He either did, and he's trying to get over (highly probably) or he didn't and had been contacted by AMEX or a collection agency in the past. This is my opinion feel free to disagree, no need to get sanctimonious.
I'm perfectly calm. I'm not sure why you would think otherwise as I am presenting a reasonable explanation. My use of the exclamation point in the last sentence was more meant as a compliment to you for working on your credit for so long. While its true we don't know if OP is being honest with his/her posts (in fact we never know) I don't think its approrpiate to just assume they are lying which is the point I am getting at. Sure some people come on here and they are dishonest and the result is that they get inaccurate answers to their questions because they providing false data to start with. However, I feel its appropriate to give people the benefit of the doubt and I respectfully disagree with your assertion that its completely impossible for a person to not remember if they applied for an amex. My ex-girlfriend when I asked her if she ever had an amex said no. When we checked her credit report it turned out she had one has an MBA student in 2009. The reality is she had a number of cards in the past and didn't give it much thought since she was not that focused on credit products. That was only 5 years ago let alone 30.
+1
Not everybody is on top of their Credit profile or Credit reports and only know you should PIF before Balance is due to avoid interest. Some don't even know that.
@Closingracer99 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@blondy250 wrote:Please calm down, everything about how he worded his opening post is fishy, you dont see that, really?. Also let me me 100% clear there is NO WAY that the OP doesn't know if he applied for a AMEX card even if it was 50 years ago, its IMPOSSIBLE. He either did, and he's trying to get over (highly probably) or he didn't and had been contacted by AMEX or a collection agency in the past. This is my opinion feel free to disagree, no need to get sanctimonious.
I'm perfectly calm. I'm not sure why you would think otherwise as I am presenting a reasonable explanation. My use of the exclamation point in the last sentence was more meant as a compliment to you for working on your credit for so long. While its true we don't know if OP is being honest with his/her posts (in fact we never know) I don't think its approrpiate to just assume they are lying which is the point I am getting at. Sure some people come on here and they are dishonest and the result is that they get inaccurate answers to their questions because they providing false data to start with. However, I feel its appropriate to give people the benefit of the doubt and I respectfully disagree with your assertion that its completely impossible for a person to not remember if they applied for an amex. My ex-girlfriend when I asked her if she ever had an amex said no. When we checked her credit report it turned out she had one has an MBA student in 2009. The reality is she had a number of cards in the past and didn't give it much thought since she was not that focused on credit products. That was only 5 years ago let alone 30.
+1
Not everybody is on top of their Credit profile or Credit reports and only know you should PIF before Balance is due to avoid interest. Some don't even know that.
Up until I started getting serious about my credit a year and a half ago I always thought you had to pay interest on credit card purchases even if you did PIF (I didn't have any of my own credit cards)! This was the reason I did everything with debit for years. I've come across people who think the same way, so its defintely true that people don't necessarily know much about credit.
@ezdoesit wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@Closingracer99 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@blondy250 wrote:Please calm down, everything about how he worded his opening post is fishy, you dont see that, really?. Also let me me 100% clear there is NO WAY that the OP doesn't know if he applied for a AMEX card even if it was 50 years ago, its IMPOSSIBLE. He either did, and he's trying to get over (highly probably) or he didn't and had been contacted by AMEX or a collection agency in the past. This is my opinion feel free to disagree, no need to get sanctimonious.
I'm perfectly calm. I'm not sure why you would think otherwise as I am presenting a reasonable explanation. My use of the exclamation point in the last sentence was more meant as a compliment to you for working on your credit for so long. While its true we don't know if OP is being honest with his/her posts (in fact we never know) I don't think its approrpiate to just assume they are lying which is the point I am getting at. Sure some people come on here and they are dishonest and the result is that they get inaccurate answers to their questions because they providing false data to start with. However, I feel its appropriate to give people the benefit of the doubt and I respectfully disagree with your assertion that its completely impossible for a person to not remember if they applied for an amex. My ex-girlfriend when I asked her if she ever had an amex said no. When we checked her credit report it turned out she had one has an MBA student in 2009. The reality is she had a number of cards in the past and didn't give it much thought since she was not that focused on credit products. That was only 5 years ago let alone 30.
+1
Not everybody is on top of their Credit profile or Credit reports and only know you should PIF before Balance is due to avoid interest. Some don't even know that.
Up until I started getting serious about my credit a year and a half ago I always thought you had to pay interest on credit card purchases even if you did PIF (I didn't have any of my own credit cards)! This was the reason I did everything with debit for years. I've come across people who think the same way, so its defintely true that people don't necessarily know much about credit.
I can't say for sure that whether the OP is not being honest or not. I guess it is hard for me to imagine because I remember the first CC I ever had in 1990 it was thru BTW and a part of me thinks everyone should also. I do find it hard to believe because in 1985 how many products did Amex have? Did they even have revolvers back? I know there was a gold card was there even a Plat? It is certainly not like products now, Amex is their own product. That is like asking me did I ever have a MC/Visa and I say I don't remember.
Plus the OP must of been old enough to have a CC then it is not like they said he had a Amex in 1985 an his response is "how could I I was eight then".
Even if they conclude their investigation and says he had the card in 1985 and he still claims that he didn't does he really have much recourse I would think at that point Amex isn't violating the FRCA because they are not reporting inaccurate info to the CB.
I hope it all works out for him in the end. While he won't get an Amex he can still get another CC with similiar if not superior benefits. Just not with his scores in the low 600's.
We don't know that this was OP's first card. OP could have had a couple of different cards. To be perfectly honest given OP's score and the passage of time they don't strike me as someone who was on top of their finances for the past 30 years. For some amex history it would have been a charge card if OP opened an account. The gold card came out in 1966 and Plat card was released 1984 as invitation only. It wasn't until 1987 when american express issued the Optima card their first credit card .product.
There is no sense making an argument about conditions that we don't know. The OP has not responded. I don't remember all of my initial credit cards from 15 years ago, short of the accounts that are still on my credit reports.
Lets remember to be respectful.
EX:694 TU:744 EQ:777