Amex customers’ fury over mystery payments as credit cards are frozen and fraud helpline ‘flooded’ with calls
A MAJOR credit card company has been inundated with calls from customers after mystery payments appeared on their accounts.
Customers of American Express said that since Sunday they have been unable to get through to its customer service helpline to query the payments.
American Express has millions of customers in the UK.
Others have said that they have been unable to resolve the issue by using the company’s live chat and have been told to call its helpline.
Many are unable to use credit cards which have been frozen.
Customers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to complain about the tech issue and hundreds of comments have also appeared on Reddit.
One American Express user said: “I’ve been on hold for a call with your fraud alert team for close to two hours following a report of a rejected suspicious payment and 3 small (<£5 total with British Dressage?) pending payments that have appeared on my account.”
Another said: “after waiting 1 hr and 25 minutes to speak to you about fraud, you cut me off!
“As a good card holder I am not happy about this at all!”
The American firm replied to customers on social media and said that its team is “experiencing a high volume of inquiries and is actively looking into the issue”.
Among those affected by the issue is father-of-one Terry Pierce, 37.
The strategy director from Woodford, East London, was travelling to Manchester for work when he began to receive texts asking him to approve transactions he had not made.
Four payments totalling £18.92 were taken from his British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card to Airalo Singapore, a data roaming company.
A further two charges also appeared on his account as “pending”.
When Terry tried to contact American Express he was left on hold for four hours while watching money disappear from his account.
Eventually he was forced to hang up so he could continue working.
Terry tried to use the live chat feature in the company’s app but it simply told him to call the customer service helpline.
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He said: “We all have busy lives and it’s just been so much additional stress.
“My card is frozen so I can’t use it. I have no idea of the source of these transactions or if I’ll be refunded.”
In the meantime, Terry has been forced to use his current account to pay for items, which has left him unable to collect rewards on his card.
This was one of the main reasons why he first applied for the card, which has a £300 annual fee.
Despite being an American Express customer for more than three years Terry is now considering changing credit card provider when he comes to renew later this month.
“This is my first time having an issue with my credit card and it has made me question American Express, which is known for its customer service,” he said.
We asked Amex about its helpline issues and whether it was aware of a bigger issue.
A spokesperson from Amex said: “The privacy and security of our customers is a priority for American Express.
“We have sophisticated monitoring systems and internal safeguards in place to help detect fraudulent and suspicious activity. If we identify unusual activity that may be fraud, we will take protective actions.
“We also recommend customers regularly review and monitor their account activity, and immediately contact us (using the number on the back of their Card) if they detect any suspicious activity.
“Our specialist Fraud Team thoroughly investigates all fraud claims and American Express Cardmembers are not liable for this kind of unauthorised charge on their accounts.”
It’s understood that Amex has added extra resource to its call centre to bring call wait times down.
How to report credit card fraud
If you think your credit card or personal information has been compromised then contact your bank immediately.
Ring the number on the back of your plastic card and explain what has happened.
You should also be able to find your provider’s customer service number in its banking app.
Your provider will be able to freeze your card so no further payments are made.
Usually you will be reimbursed for any charges that you did not make if you report the fraud quickly.
Keep a record of the fraudulent activity such as payments in your banking app and texts asking you to authorise transactions by taking a screenshot.
You can also report the crime to Action Fraud by using its online tool or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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