Several points to note, that until January 2017:

At no stage did anyone at AMEX explain that our fraud claim had been downgraded to a dispute with the merchant. At no stage did anyone at AMEX explain to us why the fraud claim had been rejected. When we insisted it was a fraud, no one acknowledged this, nor did anyone put pressure on the Fraud Team to investigate. After the fraud was shunted to the Disputes Team, we were never invited to provide any supporting evidence to back our claim, nor was this ever discussed with us. And yet we were accused by the CS Manager of not providing documentation to support our claim. AMEX had the evidence at their disposal that proved this was fraud from the very outset, and the power to investigate this issue, to put an end to our misery, but they willingly chose to ignore our repeated requests and treat the issue as a dispute between customer and merchant, and were dismissive of our requests to have the issue investigated properly.

Inadequate fraud prevention:

The fraud protection emails that Rob discovered in his gmail spam folder were all in the same format shown below, sent on 27th June 2016, 28th June 2016, and 21st July 2016. Please note the incorrect middle initial, the unprofessional formatting, and the contact number, which is not the same as the number shown on the back of all American Express cards, and which six months did not show any results on Google search that indicated it was a legitimate contact number for American Express.

Screen capture of the Fraud Protection email sent to Rob

This did not appear to be a valid email from AMEX, and we feel any customer with a nose for spam would have also been suspicious.

The reason we include this email is to raise the question that if there was a concern from the Fraud Team at AMEX about a transaction on the supplementary card, why did no one follow up with a courtesy phone call at the time to the supplementary card holder?

Customer Services Manager:

With specific reference to the Customer Services Manager, who dealt with our case in January, while we were grateful at the time that we finally got some answers, it was all through our perseverance rather than her efforts. However, we discovered later that she had fed us misinformation. We found her attitude to be condescending and obstructive. She was often defensive rather than taking the time to listen and understand, always jumping to the defence of the Fraud and Disputes Teams. We never got the feeling that she was actively trying to help us in our quest for justice.

She even went as far as to blame us for everything that had happened, twice saying the issue was final and nothing more could be done, that we’d reached the end of the line because the Fraud team had ruled it was not a fraud, and that we had exhausted our attempts to have the Disputes team examine the case. It’s evident from the final outcome that there was most certainly more that could have been done, she was simply unwilling to do it on our behalf or without our insistence. During three of our four conversations with the CS Manager we asked her to provide more information and for her to listen to the audio recording from 1st July 2016 that was the key to proving our innocence, and she never did this. If she had, she would have had the evidence at her fingertips to end our struggle immediately.

Although she expressed that she understood the difficult position we’d been put in, and she acknowledged the issue had dragged on for 6 unnecessary months, all she was prepared to initially offer us was a miserly 5000 AMEX points based on our credit limit, the equivalent of $28.57. We were absolutely dumbfounded. She also ceased all promised communication prematurely, the moment she was informed the charge was being treated as a fraud, even though the issue for us was not fully resolved. She did not even give us a courtesy call to ensure we were happy with the outcome.

This employee needs to go back to basics of what it means to offer good customer service. If we spoke to our clients or patients the way she spoke to us we would be promptly fired from our jobs. From our experience, she should not be in a customer facing role.

Fair compensation:

Throughout this entire process, American Express representatives have been obstructive towards our requests, and no matter how many times we repeated our pleas for them to use their power as a multinational credit card corporation to figure out who the fraudster was, to remove the fraudulent charge from our account, and to finally give us peace of mind, they were intent on making this a dispute between us and an Energy company we had never heard of until 21st July 2016 when their fee of 517.74 EUR (832.07 NZD) appeared on our statement. Faulty fraud protection processes, poor communication between teams at American Express, and complete lack of communication with their customers (us), allowed this whole mess to ensue. How could the Fraud team, who knew the credit card details were stolen, who had seen all these attempts made on the supplementary card on the same day, ignore our insistence that it was a fraud? And how could the Disputes team accept a blurry, obfuscated transaction record that was completely illegible, as evidence that Rob had purchased gas from a company in Milan on 26th June 2016, without even taking into consideration that we repeatedly insisted it was a fraud?

No one should have to experience what we went through. And no customer should ever be made to feel as if they are wasting a business’ time, or have to deal with Customer Services and Fraud personnel who are borderline helpful and outright dismissive.

Allow us to outline in brief some of the reasons why we believe we are entitled to significant compensation:

Time

All the hours spent:

Calling American Express for updates

Investigating our options

Compiling our case over the past 6 months.

Honesty

From the very beginning we did everything a good customer should do, insisting in every conversation that this was a fraud, and yet the CS and Fraud representatives knowingly dealt with it as a dispute without being upfront with us.

Being given information regarding the case that was ultimately discovered to be untrue.

Exhaustion

Not being able to sleep for days following each phone call because our minds were always occupied with what our next steps might be, trying to get our heads around the situation, and whether we would ever have resolution in our favour.

Emotional harm

Anxiety every time we received a phone call from a private number, expecting to hear more bad news from AMEX, and ongoing uncertainty of the final outcome.

Despair after every phone call, feeling like our struggle was never going to end, and our time and energy was going to waste pursuing justice.

Frustration caused by every phone call with AMEX representatives, which felt like a fight to have someone actually listen to us.

Ongoing stress due to the additional burden of worry over this entire ordeal while simultaneously trying to manage our tight financial situation while travelling overseas and later trying to set up home in New Zealand.

Feeling miserable because we knew we were the innocent party, but constantly treated by AMEX as if we were to blame.

Helpless and hopeless because we were refused access to the teams at AMEX who were making all the decisions regarding our case without our knowledge or involvement.

Relationship harm

The CS Manager incorrectly led Jade to believe that Rob had approved the transactions, causing Jade to have doubts about Rob’s honesty. This led to arguments and blame, all based on the misinformation provided by AMEX.

Disrespect

Our concerns were falling on deaf ears (based on the inaction from AMEX), as reflected in phone calls not being returned, and requests not being followed up and communicated back to us.

Never being called back in the first 5 months that this fight was ongoing, despite promises to call from every CS and Fraud representative.

Our pleas to have the fraud investigated were completely ignored once the Fraud team had made their decision, the details of which were never transparent nor shared with us.

If it weren’t for our insistence and perseverance, this fraud would never have been investigated and we would have been made to pay the charge out of our own pockets for AMEX’s incompetence. Our input was not valued.

For forcing us to fight for fair compensation when it should have been immediately offered to us. Their offer in turn was insulting.

Trivialising what we’ve been through by offering minimal compensation.

Attempting to flatter us with appeals to remain as their valued customers, but their actions have consistently been to the contrary.

Communication

For us having to discover each and every time that something had changed with the status of the transaction, despite being promised phone call updates.

Never being given an opportunity to defend ourselves, or provide evidence, nor being invited to do the same, and a decision being made regarding the fraud without our knowledge.

Nobody at AMEX explaining to us for 5 months the reason why this fraud had been shunted over to the disputes team.

For AMEX not divulging the full details of the fraudulent transaction until January 2017, and leading us to believe the transaction took place on 21st July 2016, when in fact it was on 26th June 2016.

Blame

Inference from several representatives, including the Fraud team and the CS Manager, that we were the guilty party. Statements such as, “The fraud team have made their decision and this is a dispute. They are the experts.” is akin to calling us liars for insisting this was a fraud case. They repeatedly lay the blame on us, the innocent customer.

Obstruction

Towards investigating this fraud, and insisting it wasn’t a dispute, despite how many times we insisted it wasn’t.

Towards us obtaining copies of all audio recordings between AMEX and ourselves. (We have still not received these recordings.)

For being told by the Fraud team in December that it was not a fraud, that the decision was final, and that we were not to call them again, that any further communication was to be with CS as this was a dispute.

Lastly, for American Express dragging this out for 6 months and being entirely responsible for everything stated above.

We felt powerless during this ordeal, sitting in our rented accommodation overseas, isolated, away from our support structure in New Zealand. Repeatedly being told that nothing more could be done, that we had effectively brought this upon ourselves.

We couldn’t afford to pay the 832.07 NZD. The financial stress that was put on us affected our ability to think, our relationship, and consumed all of our emotional energy at times. Jade was unemployed from November, and Rob had only just started working again after completing his medical degree. Money has been extremely tight for us. We were worrying about budgeting for rental deposits, insurance fees, etc. and it brought us to tears knowing how hard we’d been fighting to keep our heads above water and still enjoy a few simple pleasures in life, only to be handed this huge debt by a company who refused to listen to us.

We have been patient. We have been left feeling utterly desperate. We have had enough.

The offer of 49,500 AMEX points, or $280 Air New Zealand Airpoints, is wholly inadequate, and doesn’t come close to fair reparations for the emotional harm that we have suffered due to AMEX’s incompetence and refusal to listen to our pleas for help during these past 6 months.

We would like our relationship with AMEX to be permanently ceased and compensation to acknowledge the harm that they have caused us. Every time we see the name American Express it provokes immediate feelings of distress, panic, and anxiety with lasting depression. The psychological damage they have caused will take months to heal.

In summary, we would like:

A formal written apology from American Express, specifically stating what they are apologising for, not just an acknowledgement of the lack of customer service and distress caused by this issue (see the letter below). Fair compensation in New Zealand dollars credited to the outstanding balance on the credit card (Balance NZD$3592.18 as of 1st February 2017). Reversal of the annual credit card fee (NZD$395). Permanent closure of the account Guarantee that all accumulated Air New Zealand Status AND Airpoints will not be affected by our account closure.

Conclusion:

We have never had a more distressing and unpleasant encounter with any business, not one that has dragged out for 6 months. We were the innocent party in this whole mess, treated like we were wasting AMEX’s time and being difficult customers.

We hope that you will understand how awful this experience has been for us, and that even the name American Express now makes us anxious and upset. We feel bitter about the whole situation.

We have been thanked profusely by two of the Fraud Managers at AMEX for exposing several gaping holes in their business processes, so we know that AMEX has benefited from our misfortune. We find it insulting to know that they have gained something beneficial from this experience, yet we have been left scarred and angry, with nothing of value to show for it.

When we recognised this was fraud in July 2016 we did everything right. We were good customers. The problem started when AMEX decided of their own volition that it wasn’t a fraud and put our case through to the Disputes Team. That is apparently a one way street. Once that decision was made, there was no way back. So we spent 6 months of our precious time and energy trying to convince AMEX that they got it wrong and that it should be a fraud case, not a dispute. And during this entire process all they could say was that the fraud team had made their decision based on their evidence, which implied we were the guilty party. If it weren’t for our ongoing efforts, today we would still owe AMEX $ 832.07, and this fraud would never have been investigated.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely

Dr. Robert de Villiers and Mr. Jade Doel