AMEX Bank Foolishness

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking about opening an AMEX savings acct, should I avoid it?

I have ally and the interest rate has been pretty much the same, I’m very happy w ally in terms of customer service so maybe I should stick with it. Somehow the Amex name makes me feel safer though

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I too opened an account with them because of the AMEX name and because I was pleased with their card service. I'm sure many others will tell you they have no complaints about the bank but I had an issue that I found unacceptable. They refused to honor a withdrawal (without notifying me) because, get this: they could not verify that I am the owner of my phone number. Bear in mind that they took my account opening deposit and subsequent deposits with absolutely no issue. My identity was verified when I opened the account. Apparently they use a "third party service" to match the names of account holders with the phone number they have on file. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. I've had my current number for only about three months but that should not even matter. Holding my money hostage over phone registration records from a "third party service" is nonsense. I closed the account immediately.

[Meanmchine]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking about opening an AMEX savings acct, should I avoid it?

I have ally and the interest rate has been pretty much the same, I’m very happy w ally in terms of customer service so maybe I should stick with it. Somehow the Amex name makes me feel safer though

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I too opened an account with them because of the AMEX name and because I was pleased with their card service. I'm sure many others will tell you they have no complaints about the bank but I had an issue that I found unacceptable. They refused to honor a withdrawal (without notifying me) because, get this: they could not verify that I am the owner of my phone number. Bear in mind that they took my account opening deposit and subsequent deposits with absolutely no issue. My identity was verified when I opened the account. Apparently they use a "third party service" to match the names of account holders with the phone number they have on file. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. I've had my current number for only about three months but that should not even matter. Holding my money hostage over phone registration records from a "third party service" is nonsense. I closed the account immediately.

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If they could not verify your phone number, it means one of the CRAs has an incorrect contact number on file.  Instead of getting angry, pull your reports and clean up the mistake

[pizza1]

Ive had a savings acct with them for over a year now, and haven't had any issues at all. I did a withdrawal a few days ago with no problems, and was in my external act the next morning. They were quick, and painless! Im sorry you had a bad experience with the bank side.

[Anonymous]

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking about opening an AMEX savings acct, should I avoid it?

I have ally and the interest rate has been pretty much the same, I’m very happy w ally in terms of customer service so maybe I should stick with it. Somehow the Amex name makes me feel safer though

---

I too opened an account with them because of the AMEX name and because I was pleased with their card service. I'm sure many others will tell you they have no complaints about the bank but I had an issue that I found unacceptable. They refused to honor a withdrawal (without notifying me) because, get this: they could not verify that I am the owner of my phone number. Bear in mind that they took my account opening deposit and subsequent deposits with absolutely no issue. My identity was verified when I opened the account. Apparently they use a "third party service" to match the names of account holders with the phone number they have on file. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. I've had my current number for only about three months but that should not even matter. Holding my money hostage over phone registration records from a "third party service" is nonsense. I closed the account immediately.

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If they could not verify your phone number, it means one of the CRAs has an incorrect contact number on file.  Instead of getting angry, pull your reports and clean up the mistake

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I have all three of my reports in front of me right now as of January 31. Each one of them correctly displays my current phone number.

[PDXoriginal]

They are among the fastest if not the fastest of the online banks for outgoing transfers.

Never had a problem with them, and will continue to keep a little stashed away.

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking about opening an AMEX savings acct, should I avoid it?

I have ally and the interest rate has been pretty much the same, I’m very happy w ally in terms of customer service so maybe I should stick with it. Somehow the Amex name makes me feel safer though

---

I too opened an account with them because of the AMEX name and because I was pleased with their card service. I'm sure many others will tell you they have no complaints about the bank but I had an issue that I found unacceptable. They refused to honor a withdrawal (without notifying me) because, get this: they could not verify that I am the owner of my phone number. Bear in mind that they took my account opening deposit and subsequent deposits with absolutely no issue. My identity was verified when I opened the account. Apparently they use a "third party service" to match the names of account holders with the phone number they have on file. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. I've had my current number for only about three months but that should not even matter. Holding my money hostage over phone registration records from a "third party service" is nonsense. I closed the account immediately.

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If they could not verify your phone number, it means one of the CRAs has an incorrect contact number on file.  Instead of getting angry, pull your reports and clean up the mistake

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I have all three of my reports in front of me right now as of January 31. Each one of them correctly displays my current phone number.

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Right, but have you checked the other 'alternate' bureaus which could potentially have incorrect information?

[Meanmchine]

Did you check Chex Systems?

[Anonymous]

I've checked with no bureau or agency other than the 3 credit bureaus. I really don't see why I should have to. I think the entire thing is silly. I use this same number for 2-factor auth to get into my account. This number is on my credit reports. My linked bank accounts all have this same phone number. If there was a concern about the phone number why did I only hear about it when I tried to withdraw funds? Suppose I had an actual emergency? I've just been happily depositing funds there thinking all is well. Then they canceled the withdrawal without notifying me in any way then when I inquired told me I need to submit a notarized affidavit of identity form. Suppose I didn't attempt a withdrawal until 2025? It's a very poor way to handle the issue in my opinion. This could have been handled better. I believe I'm a very rational customer and tend to give companies the benefit of the doubt but their blase 'oh well' attitude really incensed me.

That being said, I'm not trying to launch a campaign against them or trying convince anyone not to do business with them. This is one of those YEMV situations. I've seen them get lots of positive reviews and I'm sure they have a great many happy, satisfied customers. I just feel that my situation was handled quite poorly.

[Anonymous]

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@FinStar wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Meanmchine wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking about opening an AMEX savings acct, should I avoid it?

I have ally and the interest rate has been pretty much the same, I’m very happy w ally in terms of customer service so maybe I should stick with it. Somehow the Amex name makes me feel safer though

---

I too opened an account with them because of the AMEX name and because I was pleased with their card service. I'm sure many others will tell you they have no complaints about the bank but I had an issue that I found unacceptable. They refused to honor a withdrawal (without notifying me) because, get this: they could not verify that I am the owner of my phone number. Bear in mind that they took my account opening deposit and subsequent deposits with absolutely no issue. My identity was verified when I opened the account. Apparently they use a "third party service" to match the names of account holders with the phone number they have on file. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have heard in a long time. I've had my current number for only about three months but that should not even matter. Holding my money hostage over phone registration records from a "third party service" is nonsense. I closed the account immediately.

---

If they could not verify your phone number, it means one of the CRAs has an incorrect contact number on file.  Instead of getting angry, pull your reports and clean up the mistake

---

I have all three of my reports in front of me right now as of January 31. Each one of them correctly displays my current phone number.

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Right, but have you checked the other 'alternate' bureaus which could potentially have incorrect information?

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For my edification, what 'alternate' bureaus other than ChexSystems exist?

[Meanmchine]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've checked with no bureau or agency other than the 3 credit bureaus. I really don't see why I should have to

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I rest my case.

Good luck