Without going into too much of a rant about amex - it appears I am not alone in my accts being arbtrarily shut down down and interest raised - I am dealing with a serious problem with a blue card acct. I have been regularly paying on a blue card acct for the past year or so. Today I received a collection letter from an agency saying that they were trying to collect on a "seriously overdue acct" and are asking for the balance in full $6000. In looking at my records, it appears that, in error, I paid $50 less than the minimum payment last month - something I would have easily remedied but I never received any notice about it and have not even received a new statement. I do not have the $$ to pay this or I would. I am struggling as it is with a new business and current the current restricted credit climate and diminshed cash flow. I am looking for a 2nd job in order to shore up debt and keep my business going. In researching I have found that this has become a common tactic with AMEX - people have described nightmares of trying to deal with screaming employees and I don;t want to do the same. Can anyone suggest any of the letters in the letter forum? Has anyone experienced anything like this? Can they demand payment in full? What is my recourse? I plan to stop using amexp as a merchant given these practices (and they're over charging). Any help is greatly appreciated.
cedit cards are unsecured loans.They can demand full payment.Here's what i would do call the corp office and ask for a supervisor explain your problem without losing you water that you misread your statement and you want to resolve this because this was your first time that it happened and you need to have a second chance.It might work and it might not.If it doesn't ask about the oasis program.
American Express - THE loanshark of all loansharks is the most aggressive and unforgiving. Their tactics are just barely on the right side of legality. Would not be surpised if some of their top rulers were the same ones sitting on the boards of the savings and loan outfits that went to hell in the 1980s.
Thank you for the advice. I have NEVER been in a situation like this and have had lots of credit for years. What happens if I don't have the $6000 they are demanding? Geez, it seems like they would be better off getting a monthly payment from me, like they were, than forcing a collection. So, again, what happens if I can't pay in full? And, I assume this will show on my credit as a collection? Again, I have never been in this situation so know nothing about how this will impact me.
Don't think Amex will agree to anything like a payment plan - they want the full $6000. They will probably send your account to one of their scumbag collection associates, who will then hound you. On the other hand then it might become easier for you to negotiate either a payment plan or a settlement.
