Don't Be Alarmed By Zombie American Express Bills
A system error at American Express led to their computers kicking out bills with $0.00 balances for accounts that were long ago closed...or never activated in the first place. If you receive one, don't be alarmed. Annoyed, maybe.
Erik received one, even though he had never activated his corporate card:
I just got an AMEX bill for a card that 1) I never activated (it was a corporate card, and I was not about to give credit card reward points to one of the most evil companies on the planet) and 2) customer service said the account was closed in July 2007, which is funny, cause it was never opened. The customer service rep said there was a system error that lead to some canceled cards getting bills for 0.00, so other former card holders might get some similar, but there is no need to panic. Other than panic about how much AMEX sucks.
There you have it! Don't panic. Keep calm and carry on. And hope that your former addresses aren't receiving zombie statements.
(Photo: apesara)
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Comments:
Why was he given a corporate card if he never intended to use it? As far as I know, companies don't give out corporate cards like free candy.
I also received some funny math with Amex on their website over the weekend. The "member since" portion was changed from 2007 to 2001. Too bad I was 16 in 2001?!
I am now interested to see which year my new card arriving this week reflects.
"If you find a bustle in your hedgerow, or an AmEx bill for $0.00, don't be alarmed now!"-Stairway To Heaven 2009
"Ya got to shoot 'em in the header!"
sorry, saw the title and this just came out. I'll leave now.
I'm in a good mood today. Amex renewed my card & sent me new one. With all the horror stories I hear & expiry coming up I was concerned that I'd be part of the cull.
Whomever made that mistake must be in hot water. How many of these went out? I am sure it costs a substantial amount of money to send these, I mean postage alone?
Thank you for the info... I got one last week from an old corporate account and was about to give them a call.
You probably saved AmEx from a bunch of support calls!
@pecan 3.14159265: I got one during my orientation for the first real job I ever had, so some actually do.
@Harry Manback: and the only use that I had for said card was to pay for the hotel stay during that orientation trip. I never had any other reason to use it after that.
Here's one of the unforseen deals with AMEX Corporate cards. My first job out of college was a director level position with a non-profit (the title was inflated) but nevertheless, I carried an AMEX corporate card.
I stayed with that job for three years, did not think anything about it. Five years later, I am applying for a mortgage and I get a phone call from the bank during the application process.
Spoco, what about this $240,000 balance on your American Express card? I have an AMEX but it was nothing near that so I immediately called AMEX and they could not tell me anything. The bank then said that they had to count that against me unless I could clear it up, which would make me ineligible for the mortgage.
Could not for the life of me figure it out, then the loan officer noticed that the AMEX in question was opened in 1992, well before I was eligible for any credit. Quickly figured it out and had to call my old boss to write a letter stating that I was not responsible.
Made for a couple of sleepless nights and some worry, but it was cleared up, no thanks to AMEX.
I used to have an installment agreement with the IRS ($100 per month to pay back taxes). There was a computer glitch, and I got a bill showing my total balance due was $68,354,267.43. They still only wanted $100 for my next installment, which would have taken a long time to pay off.
Still have the bill framed in my kitchen.
@Doreen DelPurgatorio: Wow! You're going to give your heirs a heart attack when they go to handle your affairs and see a bill for $68 million from the IRS, framed on the wall no less, as in "cold day in hell when I pay this!"
"He never said anything to me about a Swiss bank account!" or "Okay, we draw straws to see who calls the IRS about this!"
Sweet I wonder if my closed AMEX's zeroed out
@TinkishDelight: Their "member since" includes accounts that you may not have been primary on. If you were an authorized user on your dad's amex, you can have a "member since" year before you were born!
If I get one of these, I'll be tempted to send them a check for the full amount. ;-)
Those American Express corporate cards are a bad deal for employees, anyway. If the company goes under or just fails to pay up, YOU get stuck with the balance.