I have an American Express that I opened in October of 2000 - it was charged off in March 2007 and has been kept internally at American Express.
In August of 2011, I started making payments on this account (and others, see my posting history) to improve my credit profile. Since that time, I have kept records of all conversations, payments, etc.
The original starting balance was in excess of $18,000 - today, it is just over $9,000 and I have a plan in place to pay it off by summer of 2014.
My issue is that I have been contacting the same phone number since 2011 to setup quarterly payments (3 at a time). Upon calling this month to setup October, November, and December 2013, I was told to call another phone number, as the number that I had been calling was no longer in service internally.
Upon calling the new phone number, I discovered that this is the customer service line for existing cardholders, not internal collections. I have now been given another new number to call - this one for their internal collections department (and clearly located in SE Asia).
I have now spoken to the internal collections department twice - on 10/23 and 10/29. Both times, they have been unable to locate my account. Both were recorded conversations and I was promised a call back once they locate my file.
My concern here is this...
- I've been making regular payments, every 30 days, for the past 26 months. Due to these internal issues, it has now been 30+ days since I have been able to make a payment
- I have been working diligently to rectify this situation with a company who I value as a creditor - I would like to fix this and accept the opportunity for an Oasis card, which they have previously offered
How should I proceed? My patience is wearing thin...this is obviously a valid debt, I've acknowledged it and have paid it, but am wondering if I could have them validate, which might prove to be a challenge (or will perhaps speed up their attempt to find my file).
Any advice would be appreciated!
Starting Score (08/22/11): TU: 510 / EQ: 512
Any suggestions on how to escalate and/or contact upper management? The person that I spoke to was very nice, but he did not seem to have the ability to transfer me. His only option was to take my contact info and offer to call me back.
Update:
I sent the following letter to the email & fax numbers that I received for the CEO's office when calling Amex Corporate offices:
email: chairmansoffice@aexp.com
fax: 212-640-0128
10/30/2013
American Express
Corporate offices / ATTN: US Consumer Services
Delivered via email & fax
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing regarding an issue that I have recently encountered while attempting to make a payment on my American Express account.
The account was opened in October 2000 and was charged off by American Express in March 2007. American Express retained the account within its internal collection department.
In August 2011, I spoke with a representative from American Express and began making payments to improve my credit profile. Since that time, I have kept records of all conversations, payments, etc.
On August 18, 2011, I was given the following information by name removed (number & extension):
Account number: removed
Balance: $18,xxx
Since that time, I have continued making regular payments and dealing with various individuals at the above phone number. As of 09/18/13, the balance has been paid down to $9,xxx.
Upon calling the above number this month (October) to set up my next three payments, I was told that the number was no longer in service and that I would now need to contact 1-800-528-4800. Upon calling this new phone number, I was told that this is the customer service number for existing cardholders, not internal collections, and I was given yet another phone number to call – 1-877-354-8148.
I have now called the 8148 phone number on two occasions (on recorded lines), on 10/23/13 and 10/29/13, most recently speaking to name removed, and both times I was told that my account could not be located and that I would receive a phone call back. I have not yet heard from anyone at American Express and would like to escalate this issue to your office in hopes that we can resolve this.
My concerns are the following:
- My balance started at $18,xxx and has been cut down to $9,xxx (~50%) – I have plans to pay the remaining balance off within the next 9-12 months.
- I’ve been making regular payments, every 30 days, for the past 26 months. Due to these internal issues, it has now been 30+ days since I have been able to make a payment.
- I have been working diligently to rectify this situation with American Express, a creditor that I respect and value. I have been offered an opportunity to regain American Express card membership through the Oasis program once this account has been paid in full and would like to take advantage of this offer as soon as possible.
I would appreciate your assistance in locating my file so that I can continue with my existing payment plan in an effort to further improve my FICO score. If you are unable to locate my account, I would like to request that you remove this account as reported on my three major credit bureau files (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax).
Sincerely,
I hope to receive a response in one way or another soon - I will update if/when I hear something.
No response in any way so far...how long should I wait before trying to take another step? Any suggestions on what the next step should be?
Just called the internal collections department again and still no record of my account.
For reference, the timeline is as follows:
10/21/13 - called same # I've been calling for 2+ years and was told to call back in 24-48 hours
10/23/13 - spoke to internal collections, could not locate my file, they told me they would call me back in 24-48 hours
10/29/13 - no response, called and spoke to internal collections, could not locate my files, they told me they would call me back in 24-48 hours
10/30/13 - faxed and emailed the above letter to the Amex Executive offices - have not heard back in any way
11/11/13 - no response, called and spoke to internal collections, could not locate my files, they told me they would call me back when the file is discovered, no timeframe given
I'm stuck here - can't make payments to bring down my utilization.
Is this an appropriate situation for a 623 letter? I'm doing everything I can to fix this situation and Amex has dropped the ball...
It should be noted that the account was closed in August 2007 and is due to fall off of my report in 02/2014 (according to my TU reports).
Robert,
Thanks for your response, but I believe that there was some misunderstanding/miscommunication. Unfortunately, Amex has not failed to update the balance - the balance that they're reporting is accurate, as of 09/18/13, however, since mid-October, they are unable to locate my account. Literally, no record of it in the department that I've been working with for 2+ years.
The only correspondence that I have received as a result of the above efforts is a generic form letter from Amex corporate stating that in order to assist me, they would need the full 16 digit account number. It's safe to say that if I had that, that we wouldn't be having this issue. I've previously identified myself any way that I can, with the exception of the account number, so it appears that I'm in credit purgatory right now with this account.
Due to my most recent conversation, which I confirmed was being recorded, where the rep told me that "once the account is located" they will honor the payment plan that I previously had in place, I'm going to just wait this out. Per my note that this account is due to fall off my credit report in Feb '14, I'm no longer going to burden myself with jumping through hoops to make things right if the creditor is unwilling to put in a similar effort to GET paid.
Thanks for your response, but I believe that there was some misunderstanding/miscommunication. Unfortunately, Amex has not failed to update the balance - the balance that they're reporting is accurate, as of 09/18/13, however, since mid-October, they are unable to locate my account. Literally, no record of it in the department that I've been working with for 2+ years.
The only correspondence that I have received as a result of the above efforts is a generic form letter from Amex corporate stating that in order to assist me, they would need the full 16 digit account number. It's safe to say that if I had that, that we wouldn't be having this issue. I've previously identified myself any way that I can, with the exception of the account number, so it appears that I'm in credit purgatory right now with this account.
Due to my most recent conversation, which I confirmed was being recorded, where the rep told me that "once the account is located" they will honor the payment plan that I previously had in place, I'm going to just wait this out. Per my note that this account is due to fall off my credit report in Feb '14, I'm no longer going to burden myself with jumping through hoops to make things right if the creditor is unwilling to put in a similar effort to GET paid.
