Alpha-Beta
Communications Group Inc.
Communications Group Inc.
Why we don't support American Express Canada
Below is an exchange of letters between Alpha-Beta Communications Group Inc. of Canada and Amex Bank of Canada regarding issues and a complaint that remains unresolved. It is our position that American Express Canada appears to deliberately employ methods designed to discredit its clients, to embarrass and humiliate its customers and to circumvent basic safeguards that are designed to respect individual rights to privacy. Based on our experience with American Express Canada we also concluded, that the complaint mechanism implemented by Amex Canada is designed to discourage potential complainants from pursuing their grievances and that the Office of the Ombudsman is completely ineffective.
March 26, 2011
Ombudsman
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: Blocked card access
Dear Sir or Madam:
On March 1, 2011 I made purchases for our company at Costco in Kanata, Ontario. The cashier tried three times to get authorization but was refused each time. Finally he proclaimed so that every one in the line up could hear that my American Express card was blocked. I then paid instead by debit card.
I returned to the office and contacted American Express that afternoon. Unfortunately, your telephone system did not work well. In all, I called three times after negotiating repeatedly a voice mail menu, entering credit card numbers and personal information and once I was finally able to talk to an operator, I had to repeat my questions each time again: Why was my card blocked? After spending a total of 45 minutes on the phone with various operators (Mike, David, Laura), the following became evident: American Express had not received payment for its last statement and therefore blocked the account. My repeated requests for a contact name and an e-mail address that I could use to submit my concerns in writing, were refused.
1. My company had been a gold card American Express user for about 15 years until I cancelled the card last year.
2. I have been a platinum Costco card user for years;
3. Your records should show that the credit card amounts were always paid in full, on time using Internet Banking.
4. If indeed any previous payment had ever been late it would have been because I was out of town for an extended period of time, however I don't recall a previous late payment.
5. American Express has my e-mail address on file, business/home phone numbers and cellular;
Not all mail reaches its destination and not all intended mail gets sent. A simple fact of life! I did not get the previous statement, otherwise it would have been paid. Given the above stated facts (good payment record, paying on time, paying full amount) would /should suggest that an unusual event had taken place. As you well know, Amex, like most other banks and credit card organizations track spending and payment habits of their clients. A flag should have gone up and Amex should have sent me a reminder, an e-mail or a phone call to advise me that a payment was past due. This did not take place but rather, American Express willfully and deliberately tried to embarrass and humiliate me in front of a long line-upof people by blocking my account without advising me first. Everyone is entitled to payment on time and so is Amex, but even payment recovery is subject to standards, rules and regulations and I submit that Amex willfully has been in breach of due process and its obligations.
The outstanding amount was paid Saturday afternoon, March 12 via net-banking, when I was advised of this issue by your customer service. I have not used my Amex card since and don't intend using it again until this issue is resolved to my satisfaction.
I am looking forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Roland Reebs
General Manager
Ombudsman
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: Blocked card access
Dear Sir or Madam:
On March 1, 2011 I made purchases for our company at Costco in Kanata, Ontario. The cashier tried three times to get authorization but was refused each time. Finally he proclaimed so that every one in the line up could hear that my American Express card was blocked. I then paid instead by debit card.
I returned to the office and contacted American Express that afternoon. Unfortunately, your telephone system did not work well. In all, I called three times after negotiating repeatedly a voice mail menu, entering credit card numbers and personal information and once I was finally able to talk to an operator, I had to repeat my questions each time again: Why was my card blocked? After spending a total of 45 minutes on the phone with various operators (Mike, David, Laura), the following became evident: American Express had not received payment for its last statement and therefore blocked the account. My repeated requests for a contact name and an e-mail address that I could use to submit my concerns in writing, were refused.
1. My company had been a gold card American Express user for about 15 years until I cancelled the card last year.
2. I have been a platinum Costco card user for years;
3. Your records should show that the credit card amounts were always paid in full, on time using Internet Banking.
4. If indeed any previous payment had ever been late it would have been because I was out of town for an extended period of time, however I don't recall a previous late payment.
5. American Express has my e-mail address on file, business/home phone numbers and cellular;
Not all mail reaches its destination and not all intended mail gets sent. A simple fact of life! I did not get the previous statement, otherwise it would have been paid. Given the above stated facts (good payment record, paying on time, paying full amount) would /should suggest that an unusual event had taken place. As you well know, Amex, like most other banks and credit card organizations track spending and payment habits of their clients. A flag should have gone up and Amex should have sent me a reminder, an e-mail or a phone call to advise me that a payment was past due. This did not take place but rather, American Express willfully and deliberately tried to embarrass and humiliate me in front of a long line-upof people by blocking my account without advising me first. Everyone is entitled to payment on time and so is Amex, but even payment recovery is subject to standards, rules and regulations and I submit that Amex willfully has been in breach of due process and its obligations.
The outstanding amount was paid Saturday afternoon, March 12 via net-banking, when I was advised of this issue by your customer service. I have not used my Amex card since and don't intend using it again until this issue is resolved to my satisfaction.
I am looking forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Roland Reebs
General Manager
Communication Towers - Antenna Systems - Microwave Links- Site Development
Alpha-Beta Communications Group Inc.
945 Pinewood Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario K2B 5Y3
info@alpha-beta.ca
Phone: (613) 596-5880
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
Alpha-Beta Communications Group Inc.
945 Pinewood Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario K2B 5Y3
info@alpha-beta.ca
Phone: (613) 596-5880
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
April 17, 2011
Mr. Kaylan Pasieka
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: Blocked card access and your letter of March 31st
Dear Kaylan Pasieka:
Thank you for your letter of March 31st that was in response to my letter to the Ombudsman of March 26th registering a complaint, and also for your phone call. It is with regret that I must advise you now that your response is unsatisfactory! It is putting into question the purpose of the Ombudsman's Office.
To recap the essence of my previous letter, please provide a written response to the following:
1. If my account was deemed to have been in arrears, why was I not advised by phone, e-mail, facsimile or postal service?
2. Why is AMEX not following a more civil approach that is respectful of its customers?
3. What is the rational, purpose and justification of deliberately blocking an account of a client with an excellent payment record by publicly embarrassing that client the next time the credit card is used? This could also have happened when I might have taken a prospective client out to dinner, only to find out that my credit card was to be declined.
4. Why does your customer service department refuses to provide an e-mail address and the name of a contact person so that a concern/complaint can be registered in writing?
Looking forward to a more specific response,
Sincerely
Roland Reebs
General Manager
Communication Towers - Antenna Systems - Microwave Links- Site Development
Mr. Kaylan Pasieka
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: Blocked card access and your letter of March 31st
Dear Kaylan Pasieka:
Thank you for your letter of March 31st that was in response to my letter to the Ombudsman of March 26th registering a complaint, and also for your phone call. It is with regret that I must advise you now that your response is unsatisfactory! It is putting into question the purpose of the Ombudsman's Office.
To recap the essence of my previous letter, please provide a written response to the following:
1. If my account was deemed to have been in arrears, why was I not advised by phone, e-mail, facsimile or postal service?
2. Why is AMEX not following a more civil approach that is respectful of its customers?
3. What is the rational, purpose and justification of deliberately blocking an account of a client with an excellent payment record by publicly embarrassing that client the next time the credit card is used? This could also have happened when I might have taken a prospective client out to dinner, only to find out that my credit card was to be declined.
4. Why does your customer service department refuses to provide an e-mail address and the name of a contact person so that a concern/complaint can be registered in writing?
Looking forward to a more specific response,
Sincerely
Roland Reebs
General Manager
Communication Towers - Antenna Systems - Microwave Links- Site Development
Alpha-Beta Communications Group Inc.
945 Pinewood Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario K2B 5Y3
info@alpha-beta.ca
Phone: (613) 596-5880
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
Facsimile: (613) 596-3019
May 7, 2011
Mr. Kaylan Pasieka
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: My letter of April 17th
Dear Kaylan Pasieka:
I received your letter of April 26th - Thank you! This letter as much as your previous correspondence did not answer any of the questions raised but rather, responded with platitudes. I must conclude that addressing the Ombudsman's Office with my concerns was a very inefficient use of my time.
American Express Canada has now received elevated prominence on our web-site at http://www.alpha-beta.ca/american_express_canada.html and I will henceforth pursue my grievances through other channels.
Sincerely,
Roland Reebs
General Manager
Mr. Kaylan Pasieka
AMEX Bank of Canada
101 McNabb Street
Markham, Ontario
L3R 4H8
RE: My letter of April 17th
Dear Kaylan Pasieka:
I received your letter of April 26th - Thank you! This letter as much as your previous correspondence did not answer any of the questions raised but rather, responded with platitudes. I must conclude that addressing the Ombudsman's Office with my concerns was a very inefficient use of my time.
American Express Canada has now received elevated prominence on our web-site at http://www.alpha-beta.ca/american_express_canada.html and I will henceforth pursue my grievances through other channels.
Sincerely,
Roland Reebs
General Manager
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