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Problems with Amex
delly38
Posts: 3 Newbie
in Credit cards
Increasingly my Amex card is being blocked especially in supermarkets. This results in long queues with angry customers. Today it was refused. Sainsburys stated they could not call the company as it wasn't asking for authorisation. I have now had to make an official complaint and will have to wait for the investigation and reply. This is the worst credit card I have ever had. It is used in less places than any other card. Even the Post Office/Royal Mail do not accept Amex.
Why are they currently advertising that Amex can be used anywhere. IT CERTAINLY CANNOT.
Why are they currently advertising that Amex can be used anywhere. IT CERTAINLY CANNOT.
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If its giving you that much grief, stop using it.0
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Mine works great at Tesco and Sainbury and at their petrol staions where you pay at the pump by card. I get a higher max fill limit than when I use Visa/Mastercard which means I can brim my tank from empty at current fuel prices.0
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Lots of places have always refused Amex. The company itself is pretty repellent too. Can't imagine why anyone bothers with them.Je suis Charlie.0
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Lots of places have always refused Amex. The company itself is pretty repellent too. Can't imagine why anyone bothers with them.
Have had the LTSB Amex Duo card for years - not the cashback flavour but get airmiles instead. I trade my airmiles in for wine and I get 4 cases of decent wine a year for free
Some places don't accept Amex, IME mostly independent retailers - reason for this is their merchant fee is around 5% when Mastercard/Visa is nearer 2.5%. Other reason is Mastercard/Visa pay the retailer quicker than Amex. One jewellers I put in a financial system with claimed it could take up to a week.
Amex is a card that benefits the consumer, not the retailer. The big boys have already negotiated their merchant fees down so in reality they're not really out of pocket - and even if there is a delay in them receiving the funds from Amex, it's still a quicker turnaround than they pay their suppliers so they're always cashflow rich.
Not sure I agree with your view on Amex customer service - my experience and the general consensus is that they're among the best, basically because they can afford to be
"A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five." - Groucho Marx0 -
Amex is a card that benefits the consumer, not the retailer.
It's not much benefit to the consumer if the retailer you want to buy from doesn't accept it.
I am reminded of Ford Prefect, who was not entitled to use his position with The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy to obtain free goods and services, unless he had first made a bona fide attempt to pay. So he always carried an Amex card, in the certain knowledge that it would be refused everywhere.Not sure I agree with your view on Amex customer service - my experience and the general consensus is that they're among the best, basically because they can afford to be
Try getting on the wrong side of them. I once had an Amex card for business expenses, and when I left the company they were tardy in paying my final Amex bill. Very unpleasant, I assure you.Je suis Charlie.0 -
It's not much benefit to the consumer if the retailer you want to buy from doesn't accept it.
Which is why it's always sensible to carry a non-Amex card to be on the safe side. How many years has Amex been around now? How many years has it been known that not everyone takes Amex? It still amazes me that people post "outrage" threads about it not being accepted universally.I am reminded of Ford Prefect, who was not entitled to use his position with The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy to obtain free goods and services, unless he had first made a bona fide attempt to pay. So he always carried an Amex card, in the certain knowledge that it would be refused everywhere.
Top marks for the Douglas Adams quote First published in 1979, it does give you an idea that there have been known issues about Amex acceptability for some time now Though things are a bit better now than they were when it was published Try getting on the wrong side of them. I once had an Amex card for business expenses, and when I left the company they were tardy in paying my final Amex bill. Very unpleasant, I assure you.
A personal Amex card that you were using for business expenses with an arrangement with your employer to pay? I can see how the employers failure to pay would be treated by the card company as "you" having missed a payment because obviously they wouldn't be responsible for how your payments are made - or am I picking you up wrongly? Presumably you did find some places that accepted it if you've used one Was it the employer's choice of card or was it one you picked yourself for the additional cashback/rewards?
I've had one bad experience with Amex back in 2002 (pre LTSB Amex Duo days) where I paid a bill twice - didn't have a DD setup and couldn't remember making the payment so made a last-minute payment just to be sure. They basically refused to refund the "over-payment" citing money laundering procedures. Lengthy discussions with them proved pointless and at the end of the day, I'd spent the money the following month on business expenses anyway."A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five." - Groucho Marx0 -
Which is why it's always sensible to carry a non-Amex card to be on the safe side. How many years has Amex been around now? How many years has it been known that not everyone takes Amex? It still amazes me that people post "outrage" threads about it not being accepted universally.
I'm not outraged, just saying why I can't be bothered with Amex.Top marks for the Douglas Adams quote First published in 1979, it does give you an idea that there have been known issues about Amex acceptability for some time now
True enough.A personal Amex card that you were using for business expenses with an arrangement with your employer to pay? I can see how the employers failure to pay would be treated by the card company as "you" having missed a payment because obviously they wouldn't be responsible for how your payments are made - or am I picking you up wrongly? Presumably you did find some places that accepted it if you've used one Was it the employer's choice of card or was it one you picked yourself for the additional cashback/rewards?
You understood me correctly. It was the employer's choice of card, and it mostly got used in London restaurants. I'm not claiming that the situation is quite as bad as Douglas Adams' humorous exaggeration!
Nor am I complaining about Amex holding me liable, since it was my name on the agreement. However, what I wasn't happy about was their naked aggression in pursuing me. The employer did pay eventually, BTW.Je suis Charlie.0 -
What annoys me more is that they advertise that it can be used anywhere!0
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Very good! Doesn't mean you have to use the card though!
Err yes........you do have to use it for cashback.
I'm currently using it for over £100 worth of cashback, but it's done on purchases so you do actually have to use it.
Have had no problems with mine, but of course you need a visa/mastercard for the places it isn't accepted.0
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