topic Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status. in Credit Cards

Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

JohnJohn1995 — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 23:42:32 GMT

Hey guys. So in an embarassing situation, I was approved for 2 Amex cards, and tonight I received a phone call from an uknown number. Cue a woman stating she's from Amex doing a financial review, questions about myself and my employer and income, and that I'l get an email shortly with her name and other details. I got the email, and I need to do the tax form to send to them.

The problem is, I've never filed taxes. The income I stated, $35,000 is a combination of child support income, earned income, self employment, and school grants.

My earned income however is below the tax filing threshold, about $3500. My child support income is about $7500. I can provide bank statements for these 2. Self employment income is actually what I projected I would make by the end of the year. I haven't received my school grants yet, but they're around $5000 for 2014, $5000 for 2015. I'm a college freshman and Amex was provided with my employer and college information. My employer is a family business and my parent deposits checks into my bank for the earned income.

My calculations were off because I counted some things that either happened in 2013, haven't happened in 2014 yet, or will happen in 2015. :X

The woman on the phone gave me a deadline of September 12, or else my accounts will be canceled. For me to fill out the forms, to even send a verification of non-filing, would take 5-10 business days. And I don't even know what else needs to be done and how long that would take because this situation is bizarre and foreign to me.

What is there for me to do? Anyone I can talk to or call to explain my situation so they can have some flexibility? I have a balance on one of my cards already, which I can pay for sure, but I wouldn't want them to randomly close it and have it end up in collections. I've been waiting all week for the charges to post so I can pay them off but I don't even have the option to pay them right now.

Thanks.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

coldnmn — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 11:32:19 GMT

My suggestion is to call them using the number from the backdoor numbers, accounts with issues. Good Luck!

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Backdoor-Numbers/m-p/408066

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

youdontkillmoney — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 13:02:27 GMT

Fill out the forms they are requesting and be truthful (as in your source of income is child support, student loans, etc.) , otherwise it'll be financial fraud. Don't dig yourself into a deeper hole or else it'll get more complicated. Fill out whatever forms you need, they asked for.

By the way, was there anything on your part that triggered a FR, for example, late payment, missed payment, or baddies on your credit report, etc? (I ask since I've had AMEX since 1991 and never had one, in fact, never had a FR from ANY CC issuer ever and I have always paid on time, never late, never missed a payment, no baddies ever. Just curious what triggers a FR)

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

JohnJohn1995 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 19:25:32 GMT

Either that I applied for 2 cards on the same day, or purchased things too quickly after activating my card. I only made about 700 dollars worth on the blue cash everyday, 400 of it was school textbooks. I made a 40 dollar card not present purchase at a bakery yesterday afternoon which I'm guessing triggered the FR at night?

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

pizzadude — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 21:06:31 GMT

moving to Credit Cards forum

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

chalupaman — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 21:10:52 GMT

When I got my first Amex card a few months ago, I was pretty cautious because my first purchase had been for a Macbook Air and I let them know first and nothing bad has ever happened since. So sorry to hear that and I hope you make it out of this okay.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 21:19:33 GMT

@youdontkillmoney wrote:
Fill out the forms they are requesting and be truthful (as in your source of income is child support, student loans, etc.) , otherwise it'll be financial fraud. Don't dig yourself into a deeper hole or else it'll get more complicated. Fill out whatever forms you need, they asked for.

By the way, was there anything on your part that triggered a FR, for example, late payment, missed payment, or baddies on your credit report, etc? (I ask since I've had AMEX since 1991 and never had one, in fact, never had a FR from ANY CC issuer ever and I have always paid on time, never late, never missed a payment, no baddies ever. Just curious what triggers a FR)

The form is just the 4506-T I assume, so no info is really on there. OP, I would fill it in and send. And work on whatever you need to get a statement of non-filing. Sending the form will stop you hitting the Sep 12th deadline.

The form gives the IRS permission to send the tax transcripts to Amex and Amex wants to see whatever you have filed. If there aren't any, then maybe they will listen then, but at least the buys some time to discuss.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

red259 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 23:02:54 GMT

@youdontkillmoney wrote:
Fill out the forms they are requesting and be truthful (as in your source of income is child support, student loans, etc.) , otherwise it'll be financial fraud. Don't dig yourself into a deeper hole or else it'll get more complicated. Fill out whatever forms you need, they asked for.

By the way, was there anything on your part that triggered a FR, for example, late payment, missed payment, or baddies on your credit report, etc? (I ask since I've had AMEX since 1991 and never had one, in fact, never had a FR from ANY CC issuer ever and I have always paid on time, never late, never missed a payment, no baddies ever. Just curious what triggers a FR)

Use the search button there is a ton of threads that discuss this to death, including a few from the last 2-3 days. No need to hijack another thread for something that has been beat into the ground.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

red259 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 23:10:28 GMT

@JohnJohn1995 wrote:
Hey guys. So in an embarassing situation, I was approved for 2 Amex cards, and tonight I received a phone call from an uknown number. Cue a woman stating she's from Amex doing a financial review, questions about myself and my employer and income, and that I'l get an email shortly with her name and other details. I got the email, and I need to do the tax form to send to them.

The problem is, I've never filed taxes. The income I stated, $35,000 is a combination of child support income, earned income, self employment, and school grants.

My earned income however is below the tax filing threshold, about $3500. My child support income is about $15,000. I can provide bank statements for these 2. Self employment income was around $5000 and in cash. I haven't received my school grants yet, but they're around $10,000. I'm a college freshman and Amex was provided with my employer and college information. My employer is a family business and my parent deposits checks into my bank for the earned income.

The woman on the phone gave me a deadline of September 12, or else my accounts will be canceled. For me to fill out the forms, to even send a verification of non-filing, would take 5-10 business days. And I don't even know what else needs to be done and how long that would take because this situation is bizarre and foreign to me.

What is there for me to do? Anyone I can talk to or call to explain my situation so they can have some flexibility? I have a balance on one of my cards already, which I can pay for sure, but I wouldn't want them to randomly close it and have it end up in collections. I've been waiting all week for the charges to post so I can pay them off but I don't even have the option to pay them right now.

Thanks.

I don't know how your card could end up in collections. If you have the money they will just send you a bill for the outstanding amount and you can pay it. Its not like the second they close the account your deemed to be late on your payment. If you were honest with amex with your income and already gave them everything they requested that you have then I don't see an issue with sending in the form so they can check with the IRS. Since the IRS has nothing then Amex won't get anything. If you don't have to file then you don't have to file. If amex has an issue with that I don't know what to tell them. Your not about to start paying taxes you don't owe just so they can have something to look at. I'm fairly certain that other people have been in the same situation and I would hope that Amex would not be soo narrow minded that they close accounts just because a person was not required to file a tax return.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

JohnJohn1995 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 23:29:58 GMT

If they decide to close both accounts, is that what gets reported ultimately to the credit reporting agencies? The 2 open amex accounts haven't hit the credit reports yet, only the inquiries. If they decide to close it can I ask them not to report it all together since they never reported it open yet? They're also backdated to 2008, if that helps. I don't have any baddies or negative marks on my credit reports, just high ultiization on my credit union credit card, and from what I can tell, most lenders don't like even more than 1 inquiries.

Keep in mind if we count income from 2013, I don't have any signifiant enough to file. And I still don't have any signifinant enough to file at the present time, for 2014 when it comes around to it. It could change towards the end of the year, which is why this is stressing me out with amex who doesn't seem like they give any leeway.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

red259 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 23:35:17 GMT

@JohnJohn1995 wrote:
If they decide to close both accounts, is that what gets reported ultimately to the credit reporting agencies? The 2 open amex accounts haven't hit the credit reports yet, only the inquiries. If they decide to close it can I ask them not to report it all together since they never reported it open yet? They're also backdated to 2008, if that helps. I don't have any baddies or negative marks on my credit reports, just high ultiization on my credit union credit card, and from what I can tell, most lenders don't like even more than 1 inquiries.

Keep in mind if we count income from 2013, I don't have any signifiant enough to file. And I still don't have any signifinant enough to file at the present time, for 2014 when it comes around to it. It could change towards the end of the year, which is why this is stressing me out with amex who doesn't seem like they give any leeway.

Well if you were honest with them and they shut you down after giving you the cards shame on them. It would be better if they requested this stuff pre-approval instead of letting people open the cards and then demanding docs after the fact. On the credit report it will just say closed be lender. It won't impact your score and I wouldn't worry about it having long term impact. If you have been issued the cards then they have a legal obligation to report it and so no they will not take it off your report. If the cards are backdated it will give you AAoAs a nice little boost.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

JohnJohn1995 — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 23:53:46 GMT

So essentially I can only fill out the 4506t form with the verificaiton of non filing option, I can't fill out the tax transcript option that amex wants because there is none.

If I complete the form best I can and send it off before the deadline, and in the end they still decide to close it, is it possible for me to reopen the accounts later in the future? When/if I file taxes next year that match the income or close to it, or if they give some wiggle room to update my stated income, since I'm 99% they will FR anything I apply with them. I'd just want to know my chances because for all other aspects, they approved me. I don't know how much this is going to hurt my chances with them.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

sjt — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 15:48:11 GMT

I would fill out the form and send any documention proving your income and a bank statement.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

youngandcreditwrthy — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 16:49:18 GMT

Honestly, I think they will have issues here. It seems like they think you are a college kid randomly racking up cc debt. Given the wideapread irresponsibility of folks our age (24-30 I assume you are as am I) they are prob concerned.

If i were you, I'd get a couple of replacement cards stat, and close Amex yourself. They will NOT be satisfied with your official IRS income being a 1/10th of what you said it was.

Just my .02. I have had pretty high Amex lines for a few years now and have never experienced a FR.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

red259 — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 17:18:08 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Honestly, I think they will have issues here. It seems like they think you are a college kid randomly racking up cc debt. Given the wideapread irresponsibility of folks our age (24-30 I assume you are as am I) they are prob concerned.

If i were you, I'd get a couple of replacement cards stat, and close Amex yourself. They will NOT be satisfied with your official IRS income being a 1/10th of what you said it was.

Just my .02. I have had pretty high Amex lines for a few years now and have never experienced a FR.

While they may or may not be satisfied I don't think there is a real benefit to closing your cards first. If OP was honest about their income at the time of the initial app then I would let it play through and see what Amex says. If they end up closing the accoutns I don't see it as the end of the world. I certainly think jumping the gun and closing the accounts is folly, because what if amex reviewed everything and decides to just do a CLD but keep the accounts open?

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 18:44:24 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Honestly, I think they will have issues here. It seems like they think you are a college kid randomly racking up cc debt. Given the wideapread irresponsibility of folks our age (24-30 I assume you are as am I) they are prob concerned.

If i were you, I'd get a couple of replacement cards stat, and close Amex yourself. They will NOT be satisfied with your official IRS income being a 1/10th of what you said it was.

Just my .02. I have had pretty high Amex lines for a few years now and have never experienced a FR.

With child support income, not a typical college kid. Now whether that is better or worse from Amex's viewpoint, don't know.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

taxi818 — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:08:36 GMT

Well. i will say. i went thru every thread here. and i am suprised that most of the advise is about how to get around the fact that there is no tax information on file. for amex to look at.

I . Being a Taxi driver understand your point as i don't have the w2s and other documents that most people have. i was force to file 3 years in a row in order to get my financial house in order. and ended up oweing the Irs in the process . but im happy.

I don't know what tax person is telling you you should not file because of child support and other items you earned as self employed or otherwise.

Even if you do not owe a cent of federal taxes. you still must file. and especally.. the 1040 se. since you mentioned you earned money from self employment.

maybe amex takes the bank statements. maybe they don't. all you can do is try. and the 4506-t is giving them permission to access your tax records.

maybe you have records from 2012. who knows. but it does not look good either way. I wish you good luck. but if you can. i would be trying to file asap. and even if they cancel your cards.

it may be best to let them. file the forms. reapply. and then they will still ask you for forms. even six months from now. but you will be more prepared to deal with them. This is the worst case i have ever heard other than my self. now oweing the Irs over 20 k. in back fines.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:20:38 GMT

@taxi818 wrote:

Even if you do not owe a cent of federal taxes. you still must file.

Not 100% accurate but you should still file. I too had tax "issues" from not filing. Interest and penalties turned out to be more then the taxes owed! Also found out that I left a lot of money under the table as I was owed much more in refunds then what my penalty was!

Always, always file... Even if you "don't owe anything". taxi818 is right, it is for your protection as this example illustrates.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

taxi818 — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:24:49 GMT

Well only reason I also said that.theu have self employment income. Which means your must file for social security. Hence 1040 se. Not just 1040 c. I wish the op good luck.

Re: Amex Financial Review, Non-Filing status.

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:27:23 GMT

@taxi818 wrote:
Well only reason I also said that.theu have self employment income. Which means your must file for social security. Hence 1040 se. Not just 1040 c. I wish the op good luck.

Haha, yes... That is another slippery slope I don't want to touch due to someone taking the wrong implication. To have self employment income without filing is asking for big trouble.