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New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far

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JeffM
Contributor

New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far

So this is a mini-rant and I just need to get it off my chest...so feel free to skip it Smiley Tongue

 

I was an AU on an AmEx card since 2012 and that's my MSD. I applied for a BCE in January of this year and was approved immediately. However, I couldn't activate the card and tie it to my original online account. It also claimed my MSD was 2014. So I called up AmEx and told them what was happening. They activated the card for me and manually associated it with my online account. Apologized for the issues etc etc.

 

Since the MSD was wrong, they told me they would send a new card (I didn't even ask for it since I cared more about the online access). I wait for 3 weeks and still nothing. So I called them up today and they can't even find any record of the replacement request. They transferred me around a couple of times. I asked if I can get the card shipped to my dorm address and was initially told yes. Now I just got a call saying, they can't verify the dorm address and won't be able to ship it at all. This isn't a big deal either since all my credit reports have my home address but I wish the CSR I spoke with told me about this. I even told him my address on file was different from my dorm address and he assured me this was not a big deal at all.

 

On top of it all, they're cancelling the card with MSD 2014 because the replacement card never arrived (even though they argue they don't even see a request for it in the system...meaning it was never sent) and I can't use that card for a good 2 weeks...

 

Obviously I shouldn't judge the customer service of the company based on my ancedotal experience but honestly I'm pretty upset.

Wells Fargo Cash Back - $2400 || Bank of America Cash Rewards - $5000 || Discover IT - $5000 || American Express BCE - $15000

FICO TU - 769
Message 1 of 20
19 REPLIES 19
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far

Amex, like many other banks and companies, operate using a tiered customer service system. Since you have the BCE, which is a 0AF product that probably falls under one of the lower tiers, it's more likely that you will end up getting stuck with more "incompetent" CSRs.

Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully you get this resolved ASAP.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 2 of 20
JeffM
Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@enharu wrote:
Amex, like many other banks and companies, operate using a tiered customer service system. Since you have the BCE, which is a 0AF product that probably falls under one of the lower tiers, it's more likely that you will end up getting stuck with more "incompetent" CSRs.

Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully you get this resolved ASAP.

That makes sense I guess. But people in these forums generally speak of AmEx CS as the holy grail Smiley Tongue And I was really disappointed since I've consistently received good CS from all my other banks (also 0 AF cards).

 

Thanks for the empathy Smiley Happy A little bummed out my card is deactivated...I was just about to purchase textbooks for the new semester too *sigh*

Wells Fargo Cash Back - $2400 || Bank of America Cash Rewards - $5000 || Discover IT - $5000 || American Express BCE - $15000

FICO TU - 769
Message 3 of 20
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far

Chase did the same to me when one of the cards they sent out got returned. Deactivating cards that were either lost during shipping or returned is normal fraud prevention practice. They can't guarantee no one opened your mail, realized its not theirs, potentially copying down card numbers, and then returned it.

You should ask them to expedite the new card to you and it should be there in 1-2 business days. From my experience, Amex cards arrive in the mail in 2 business days even for normal mail. I'm in Los Angeles, and the cards are sent out from Nebraska.

Getting good / bad customer service sometimes is dependent upon luck. Not every single lower tier customer service employee is a horrible employee, but the odds of getting one is higher. A higher tiered rep isn't going to be good all the time either, as evident from my experiences with Citi, and even chase on one occasion.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 4 of 20
Open123
Super Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@JeffM wrote:

That makes sense I guess. But people in these forums generally speak of AmEx CS as the holy grail Smiley Tongue And I was really disappointed since I've consistently received good CS from all my other banks (also 0 AF cards).


In general, AmEx seems to have better customers service the longer you've been with them and for the fee cards.  When it comes to 0 fee cards, I think think other issuers have better service than AmEx.

 

When you read about excellent AmEx customer service, it's usually associated with their excellent process to resolve cardmember issues, i.e., extended warranty claims, purchase protection, and merchant disputes.

 

Message 5 of 20
JeffM
Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@enharu wrote:
Chase did the same to me when one of the cards they sent out got returned. Deactivating cards that were either lost during shipping or returned is normal fraud prevention practice. They can't guarantee no one opened your mail, realized its not theirs, potentially copying down card numbers, and then returned it.

You should ask them to expedite the new card to you and it should be there in 1-2 business days. From my experience, Amex cards arrive in the mail in 2 business days even for normal mail. I'm in Los Angeles, and the cards are sent out from Nebraska.

Getting good / bad customer service sometimes is dependent upon luck. Not every single lower tier customer service employee is a horrible employee, but the odds of getting one is higher. A higher tiered rep isn't going to be good all the time either, as evident from my experiences with Citi, and even chase on one occasion.

Here's the thing though enharu, they don't even have a record of sending the replacement card. Meaning, they never sent it...

 

Ya they did expedite it.

Wells Fargo Cash Back - $2400 || Bank of America Cash Rewards - $5000 || Discover IT - $5000 || American Express BCE - $15000

FICO TU - 769
Message 6 of 20
Open123
Super Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@enharu wrote:
Chase did the same to me when one of the cards they sent out got returned. Deactivating cards that were either lost during shipping or returned is normal fraud prevention practice. They can't guarantee no one opened your mail, realized its not theirs, potentially copying down card numbers, and then returned it.

Right, few issuers will send a card to a new applicant to an address not verified on the CRs.  Standard precaution these days.

Message 7 of 20
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far

Maybe the first rep that you talked to doesn't speak / understand English well, or god knows what he was doing and telling you.

There's also a possibility that he did requested the card, but it was later cancelled by the department processing it because it didn't match your shipping address.

You can also try asking them for a temporary card number so you can buy those books online now. The CL is usually just a partial amount of your actual CL.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 8 of 20
JeffM
Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@enharu wrote:
Maybe the first rep that you talked to doesn't speak / understand English well, or god knows what he was doing and telling you.

There's also a possibility that he did requested the card, but it was later cancelled by the department processing it because it didn't match your shipping address.

You can also try asking them for a temporary card number so you can buy those books online now. The CL is usually just a partial amount of your actual CL.

No his English was fine. Back then, I had it shipped to the address on file.

 

Hmm maybe I will but I don't mind putting it on another card honestly.

Wells Fargo Cash Back - $2400 || Bank of America Cash Rewards - $5000 || Discover IT - $5000 || American Express BCE - $15000

FICO TU - 769
Message 9 of 20
JeffM
Contributor

Re: New AmEx member...pretty disappointed so far


@Open123 wrote:

@enharu wrote:
Chase did the same to me when one of the cards they sent out got returned. Deactivating cards that were either lost during shipping or returned is normal fraud prevention practice. They can't guarantee no one opened your mail, realized its not theirs, potentially copying down card numbers, and then returned it.

Right, few issuers will send a card to a new applicant to an address not verified on the CRs.  Standard precaution these days.


Yep I'm aware of that which is why I asked him a couple of times. And he assured me as long as I "took responsibility in case something happened" (his words, not mine), they'll ship it to wherever I wanted it.

Wells Fargo Cash Back - $2400 || Bank of America Cash Rewards - $5000 || Discover IT - $5000 || American Express BCE - $15000

FICO TU - 769
Message 10 of 20
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