Being Sued by AMEX

[John060675]

Ah, I meant OASIS program / card, not Optima.  Not sure why I got those confused.  

Concerning your question Hulamatt, my main purpose is to pay them back, especially after they are starting to sue.  However, if I can get into the OASIS program, they give you a credit card with a low credit limit on it.  Not that this is all that important, but they will also wipe out all the negatives from the old account (essentually showing that I have always been in good standing with them).  This will help raise the credit score way up quickly.

[RobertEG]

I am a bit confused about your original scenario.

If you have not officially been served notice by the court, how do you know that legal action has been filed?

Even if suit has been filed, ,there is no CRA account status code that provides for reporting of having initiated a legal action.  To my knowledge, the only way the CRA would be advised of a pending and unajudicated legal action is by way of a simple comment, which itself is not scored by FICO until such time as the suit has been adjudicated, and a judgment entered by the court.  Then they can update account status to reflect the legal judgment.

What they can properly do is to post the actual monthly account delinqencies, then do a charge-off and report that, and then assign or sell the debt to a debt collectior, this permitting the debt collector to additionally post a CA to your CR.  But simple filing of a legal action is not a proven delinquency that can be reported to a CRA,

Maybe they are using this threat as a collection tactic.  If you can find out where this legal action was purportedly filed, you can call the clerk of the court and verify it.

I would first call the OC, and ask them for the full information on their "reported" legal action.

[John060675]

Robert,

I received an alert from my Score Watch product that stated the following:

Suit or Judgment information has been added to or changed on your credit file.

If you were not part of a suit or judgment, contact the court who reported the suit/judgment as this activity may be a sign of fraud. Court/ Case Number: AMEX of (location I left out) Amount:  $11,627 Plaintiff:  Status:  Satisfied Date: // I have not been served by any papers, and this was the first I heard of this.  Of course I knew this was a possibility, but I was just hoping to have 3 to 6 more months before I would be in a better position to contact them with a payment plan.  This is not an option anymore.  I need to get this resolved. I called AMEX yesterday and spoke to two people.  They stated they could not open my account to set up a plan, and then after a little investigation they stated that I needed to contact a "reserve" department.  This department is only open M - F from 8 to 5.  In addition, this location has an area code that is in my area, and where the legal proceedings were listed as being filed on my Score Watch alert. On a good note, the representatives stated that they would be glad to set me up on a payment plan and then give me an OASIS card at the end of my payments.  On a bad note, I have a feeling this is a legal department I am calling and that this is going to be difficult to pull back out of of the court system. I await any thoughts on this.  Thank you to everyone for your help and advise so far.  This is a little nerve racking.

[chasmith]

Amex is a determined creditor, they want their money.  But they are also able to figure cost / benefit and might very well agree to settle.  But since they filed suit, they may want you to consent to a judgement.  The way I would approach that is to include in the consent agreement the amount and terms (nothing says it has to be for 100% of their claim), that so long as you are paying as required they will not file the judgement (so it won't be reported on your CR), and it will be dismissed once your payments are completed.  You could also seek a non-disclosure that bars them from verifying anything to the CRA.  If you get that, then dispute the TL, when they don't respond the negative TL vanishes.

I'm not sure you'll be able to get all I suggest, but you can always tell them that you'd rather pay them than an attorney, but if necessary you will retain one.

[John060675]

I just contacted the number they supplied, and the person on the phone told me that I could definitely set up a payment plan.  She did not mention any court proceedings that are acting against me, which was good (I think).  She is sending me papers concerning our conversation, so I will have some documentation that I am trying to pay if I ever have to go to court.

There is one thing I found interesting concerning this conversation.  I spoke on Saturday with a customer service agent (who could not open my account, thus giving me the number I called this morning) and I asked her about the OASIS program.  She stated that she would be glad to explain it to me as soon as she could open my account (which she could not). 

When I spoke with the lady this morning, she stated that the OASIS program is no longer in existence since the change in credit card laws a few months back.  The only thing they have is a "hardship program", which my account is not eligible for since it is closed.  She said that I would have to reapply for a card once my closed account was paid in full.

Have they really done away with the OASIS program?  I have not read that they did, but I am curious if anyone else has heard this.  I am thinking of calling someone else, but I do not want to rock the boat.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

[JM-AM]

IMO I would just call AMEX CSR and ask. You do not have to give your personal information for general information. I just was reading something about the OASIS program and it was being offered to a few only a few months back. It is possible that was just before the new laws came out I am unsure.

For what it is worth many others have paid off AMEX and reapplied and were approved depending on your credit profile at the time. While nothing is a guaranty the one thing we know is if you owe them money they will not approve you.