Kudos to the American Express Customer Service dept
You read that subject line correctly, a major credit card company actually got their customer service right. Unfortunately, the reason I had to call is their billing department got it wrong.
Back about three months ago, I found myself in Costco without my working ATM card (Yes, I've had problems before with Costco's policy on not accepting plastic). We were in line with $300+ worth of groceries, and no way to pay for them. After exhausting a list of possibilities, one of the workers there recommended signing up for an American Express card. The card would double as our Costco card, and if I put my first day's worth of groceries on the card, they would reduce the membership fee. Not seeing another option that would let me leave with my groceries, I signed up.
Allow me to digress a moment. I carry one credit card. It's a Mastercard, which is accepted basically anywhere I want to buy something. I use it for most purchases over $50 or so, mainly for expense tracking. At the end of each month, I pay it off. I don't need another credit card, nor do I want to worry about another bill each month. However, it seemed simple enough to just pay off the AmEx when I got the first bill, and then never charge to it again. So I left Costco with a temporary card, and assurances that the new one would be mailed to me within a couple of weeks.
Forward a couple of weeks, our neighbor knocks on the door asking if a soggy wad of letters was ours. Yes, our mail got stolen. I love living in an urban center, but that's another story. One of the soggy letters was the American Express letter with the sticky stuff to which a card would usually be attached. Sigh. Call up Customer Support, and report that our new card has been stolen, to cancel the card and send us another one. The people on the phone were courteous, helpful, and professional. Admittedly, that's a situation where I'd expect it.
Next month arrives, and here's the regular credit card bill I had been expecting, with the following charges:
This week, I got my second (third?) statement from American Express. I knew I hadn't used the card since I paid off the full balance, so of course the total should be zero, right? Old balance $0.00. New balance $2.76. WTF?
Well, at this point, I decided that enough was enough. I was already spending far too much energy dealing with this card. So I call up customer service one more time, this time to cancel the card. After I explained the situation, the CS lady looked over the notes and removed the finance charge. She was very apologetic about the whole thing, and understood completely. She also put up no argument when I explained that I just wanted to cancel the card. Right there on the spot, she marked my AmEx account "inactive", and told me the card would no longer work as a credit card. When I asked why not outright cancel, she pointed out that I could still use the card as my Costco card. Very cool. Did I mention that Costco cut up my old card, once their system had confirmation that I had received the American Express Costco card? Right.
So anyway, American Express Customer Service: 3 for 3. American Express Billing: 0 for 2. Costco: Toying with the Mendoza Line.
Back about three months ago, I found myself in Costco without my working ATM card (Yes, I've had problems before with Costco's policy on not accepting plastic). We were in line with $300+ worth of groceries, and no way to pay for them. After exhausting a list of possibilities, one of the workers there recommended signing up for an American Express card. The card would double as our Costco card, and if I put my first day's worth of groceries on the card, they would reduce the membership fee. Not seeing another option that would let me leave with my groceries, I signed up.
Allow me to digress a moment. I carry one credit card. It's a Mastercard, which is accepted basically anywhere I want to buy something. I use it for most purchases over $50 or so, mainly for expense tracking. At the end of each month, I pay it off. I don't need another credit card, nor do I want to worry about another bill each month. However, it seemed simple enough to just pay off the AmEx when I got the first bill, and then never charge to it again. So I left Costco with a temporary card, and assurances that the new one would be mailed to me within a couple of weeks.
Forward a couple of weeks, our neighbor knocks on the door asking if a soggy wad of letters was ours. Yes, our mail got stolen. I love living in an urban center, but that's another story. One of the soggy letters was the American Express letter with the sticky stuff to which a card would usually be attached. Sigh. Call up Customer Support, and report that our new card has been stolen, to cancel the card and send us another one. The people on the phone were courteous, helpful, and professional. Admittedly, that's a situation where I'd expect it.
Next month arrives, and here's the regular credit card bill I had been expecting, with the following charges:
- Costco: $320.65
- Late Fee: $35.00
This week, I got my second (third?) statement from American Express. I knew I hadn't used the card since I paid off the full balance, so of course the total should be zero, right? Old balance $0.00. New balance $2.76. WTF?
- Finance charge: $2.76
Well, at this point, I decided that enough was enough. I was already spending far too much energy dealing with this card. So I call up customer service one more time, this time to cancel the card. After I explained the situation, the CS lady looked over the notes and removed the finance charge. She was very apologetic about the whole thing, and understood completely. She also put up no argument when I explained that I just wanted to cancel the card. Right there on the spot, she marked my AmEx account "inactive", and told me the card would no longer work as a credit card. When I asked why not outright cancel, she pointed out that I could still use the card as my Costco card. Very cool. Did I mention that Costco cut up my old card, once their system had confirmation that I had received the American Express Costco card? Right.
So anyway, American Express Customer Service: 3 for 3. American Express Billing: 0 for 2. Costco: Toying with the Mendoza Line.