2009-07-08 webmail to Amex

to Amex

It appears that we will not be able to make the minimum payment on this card this month. We are wondering if there are any "financial hardship" payment arrangements you would be willing to make.

In our case, we have been experiencing repeated delays in trying to arrange residential services for Sandy's autistic son, Josh -- his needs (and the time/effort required to fight the state's mental healthcare bureaucracy) have gradually squashed our income-earning ability down to almost nothing, and Sandy is now very much in a classic "spiraling debt" situation as a result.

I will be happy to provide additional details and answer any questions you might have -- email is best.

Thank you,

Nick Staddon

from Amex (7/9)

Response (Bishal Rai) 07/09/2009 12:46 AM
Dear Sandra Hall,

You recently e-mailed us regarding your American Express account. We recognize that this must be a difficult time for you.

We may have a solution that will help you resolve your debt with American Express. We would like to assist you via-e-mail, but in order to tailor a potential plan to your situation we must speak with you. Please contact our Account Services Group directly at

1-800-230-1284 and/or 1-800-235-1709 (24 hours a day - 7 days a week). From outside the United States, please call collect at 1-336-393-1111.

Thank you again for allowing us to assist you.

Sincerely,

Bishal Rai
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

comments

Oh well, guess that's a dead end. --Woozle 13:06, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

to Amex(7/24)

I have sent in a token payment of $50, as that is all we can spare right now.

Unfortunately, calling you is not really an option for us. We both have severe phone phobia, and this is the sort of call for which I would need a great deal of mental calmness and preparation in order to make, so it's not likely to happen given the current chaos in our lives (which is also the biggest contributor to Sandy's financial mess).

However, if you would be willing to call us, I should be able to talk with you. (This avoids all the phone-tree navigation and having to explain who we are and why we're calling, which is a large part of the phobia.) 919-627-8595 is probably the best number.

Thank you,

Nick Staddon, on behalf of Sandy Hall

comments

The above number is our new Google Voice number, which gives us the option to record conversations when it picks up. (Unfortunately it also announces "recording on" to both parties when we do this, which is required by laws I don't agree with, so it may not be something we can use to keep a record of more casual conversations. Feh.) --Woozle 11:38, 24 July 2009 (EDT)

from Amex (7/25)

Dear Sandra L Hall,

Thank you for your follow up email.

Please be assured that we have received your payment in the amount of $50.00.

Additionally, please note that I contacted our Account Services Department on your behalf today regarding the information provided in your e-mail. However, our Account Services Department needs to speak with you directly regarding this matter, as this will ensure your account privacy and security. Regrettably, they do not communicate through e-mail therefore, I cannot forward your inquiry to them. However, our Account Services Department will be glad to assist you with an immediate resolution regarding this matter.

Therefore, I would request you to contact our Account Services department at 1-800-230-1284 and/or 1-800-235-1709 (24 hours a day - 7 days a week). From outside the United States, please call collect at 1-336-393-1111.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,

Sakshi Datta
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

to Amex (7/26, late)

Someone needs to get your Account Services Department connected via email. I can assure you that our account privacy and security are protected perfectly well by the fact that these messages are being sent via your web server, as evidenced by the fact that I am able to use this same method to communicate with you -- said communications including sensitive information such as account numbers.

I will call if I can, but I very much doubt it will happen anytime soon. As I said, we are both highly averse to difficult phone calls, and this sort of call ranks near the top.

Since you were able to relay to them the information I provided to you earlier, perhaps you can relay to them the information that (a) they really need email, and (b) they do have the option of calling us, but (c) we are probably not going to call them.

Thank you,

Nick Staddon, for Sandy Hall

from Amex (7/27, due date of bill)

I truly understand your concern regarding this matter and however, unfortunately, our Account Services Department do not currently have an email channel to receive or respond to your inquiry, so you would need to telephone them at 1-800-230-1284 (24 hours a day - 7 days a week) so they can immediately assist you. If you are outside the United States, please call collect at 1-336-393-1111.

If there is any other way in which I may be of assistance, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Simmi Bhasin
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

to Amex (7/27)

Is it possible that you could explain to me why the Account Services Department at American Express does not have email? This would seem like a very basic requirement for any component of a large corporation doing significant business electronically.

Thank you,

Nick Staddon, for Sandy Hall

from Amex (7/27)

Response (S.Bhasin) 07/27/2009 02:49 PM
Dear Sandra Hall,

I do agree to your concern regarding this matter and therefore, have forwarded a feedback to the appropriate managers that our Account Services Department should have email capabilities. We may contact you if additional information is required.

I sincerely apologize for all the inconvenience you have experienced so far.

Sincerely,

Simmi Bhasin
Email Servicing Team
American Express Interactive Services

comments

Wow, an actually sensible, non-canned response! My hope for humanity goes up a small notch.

to Amex (8/9)

Hi. We have not yet heard anything from your Account Services Department, and it appears that American Express has suspended charging on both of our American Express accounts (including one which is and was current).

Please inform them that they need to contact us as soon as possible so that we can work out some kind of hardship payment arrangement.

I would be willing to call your Account Services Department if you can give me the direct number and extension of someone who is familiar with the situation, including this message, and is ready to make some kind of offer -- though I would much rather see something in writing, so I can read it at leisure and think before responding.

Please also pass the following information to Account Services --

The circumstance is this: we have been dealing with trying to get services for Sandy's profoundly autistic teenage son, Josh. Caring for him has made it impossible for either of us to hold down a job, and Sandy and her three children are living entirely on $2000/month supplied by her mother. This is just barely sufficient to pay their basic expenses, so all it took was one large expense to start a spiral of debt; the spiral has been going on for several years now and has survived two attempts to solve it with debt-consolidation mortgages. The Amex Blue was the largest balance, so it was the first to reach the point where she could not come up with the monthly minimum.

Once Josh is in a group home and no longer requires so much of our attention, we will have at least a fighting chance of getting caught up, though I do not expect it to be easy A third mortgage refinance at today's rates comes *close* to resolving everything, but still leaves Sandy short by a few hundred per month -- which we could easily fill if we weren't dealing with Josh. Until then, though, I do not see anything that we can do other than keep working towards that group home. (At this point, a new Medicaid application is ready to go in on Monday, and then Medicaid can take up to 45 days to process it -- at which point we resume the search for a placement.)

Although Sandy's debt is continuing to mount, she could continue making payments on the Costco Amex card for many more months and should be able to continue paying some token amount towards the Amex Blue card -- but $850 is simply not available (without, say, transferring cash from some other card at an impractically high rate of interest, thus accelerating the spiral); she has only been able to keep up this far by making use of savings and windfalls, but her mutual funds are now long gone and we seem to have run out of lucky circumstances. I can't see any way to even catch up with last month's minimum, much less the $2100+ minimum on this month's statement.

The only remaining option is to cash in Sandy's HH bonds, which could keep things afloat for another few months but would only take a chunk out of her Amex Blue balance and would barely make a dent in her overall debt -- and in any case cannot be done quickly.

We would very much like to keep this situation from escalating any further, but we need to establish communication with someone who is able to offer some kind of terms because Sandy simply does not have the liquid funds to meet the current minimum on the Amex Blue card..

Thank you,

Nick Staddon, for Sandy Hall