Can American Express continue to do this?

sourcrates

I defer to my colleagues on this forum with regard to the Amex approach to debt collection.

However, regardless of the company involved, they must follow civil procedure rules which requires them to send a "letter before action" prior to any potential legal action.

The LBA is a document with a 30 day return window, which allows an agreement to be made between you thus negating the need to progress to court.

So assuming your offer is acceptable to them, it may not progress further than that.

saajan_12

cheexy said:

sourcrates said:

Just let it go to debt collection, and deal with whoever writes to you, that`s usually a much simpler solution than trying to contact someone who does not want to be contacted.

I intend to reply the law firm this week following the guide provided in my previous thread but I was thinking I could also put in a formal complaint with American Express because of the lack of response and the additional £2000+ they have added on these past 5 months. It is such an exorbitant amount and I am just wondering what the end goal is with the silence and adding so much interest. How long can they possibly continue doing this? Is there no guideline for responsible lending I can reference considering that other providers responded promptly and went on to freeze interest especially after I was the one who reached out to them.

What difference would their response have made? They could / would still have responded saying the interest / charges stand and will continue as per the terms you agreed to. Its expected for good customer service (albeit not mandatory) to respond.. its not expected that they respond with the answer you want. 

TheAble

saajan_12 said:

cheexy said:

sourcrates said:

Just let it go to debt collection, and deal with whoever writes to you, that`s usually a much simpler solution than trying to contact someone who does not want to be contacted.

I intend to reply the law firm this week following the guide provided in my previous thread but I was thinking I could also put in a formal complaint with American Express because of the lack of response and the additional £2000+ they have added on these past 5 months. It is such an exorbitant amount and I am just wondering what the end goal is with the silence and adding so much interest. How long can they possibly continue doing this? Is there no guideline for responsible lending I can reference considering that other providers responded promptly and went on to freeze interest especially after I was the one who reached out to them.

What difference would their response have made? They could / would still have responded saying the interest / charges stand and will continue as per the terms you agreed to. Its expected for good customer service (albeit not mandatory) to respond.. its not expected that they respond with the answer you want. 

I think the OP is asking whether Amex are making sufficient observation of any statutory consumer protections that may be in place. For example is there some limit to the maximum number of months' interest that can be added? I don't know the answers but it's a reasonable question to ask.

cheexy

TheAble said:

saajan_12 said:

cheexy said:

sourcrates said:

Just let it go to debt collection, and deal with whoever writes to you, that`s usually a much simpler solution than trying to contact someone who does not want to be contacted.

I intend to reply the law firm this week following the guide provided in my previous thread but I was thinking I could also put in a formal complaint with American Express because of the lack of response and the additional £2000+ they have added on these past 5 months. It is such an exorbitant amount and I am just wondering what the end goal is with the silence and adding so much interest. How long can they possibly continue doing this? Is there no guideline for responsible lending I can reference considering that other providers responded promptly and went on to freeze interest especially after I was the one who reached out to them.

What difference would their response have made? They could / would still have responded saying the interest / charges stand and will continue as per the terms you agreed to. Its expected for good customer service (albeit not mandatory) to respond.. its not expected that they respond with the answer you want. 

I think the OP is asking whether Amex are making sufficient observation of any statutory consumer protections that may be in place. For example is there some limit to the maximum number of months' interest that can be added? I don't know the answers but it's a reasonable question to ask.

Yes exactly this

MattMattMattUK

cheexy said:

TheAble said:

saajan_12 said:

cheexy said:

sourcrates said:

Just let it go to debt collection, and deal with whoever writes to you, that`s usually a much simpler solution than trying to contact someone who does not want to be contacted.

I intend to reply the law firm this week following the guide provided in my previous thread but I was thinking I could also put in a formal complaint with American Express because of the lack of response and the additional £2000+ they have added on these past 5 months. It is such an exorbitant amount and I am just wondering what the end goal is with the silence and adding so much interest. How long can they possibly continue doing this? Is there no guideline for responsible lending I can reference considering that other providers responded promptly and went on to freeze interest especially after I was the one who reached out to them.

What difference would their response have made? They could / would still have responded saying the interest / charges stand and will continue as per the terms you agreed to. Its expected for good customer service (albeit not mandatory) to respond.. its not expected that they respond with the answer you want. 

I think the OP is asking whether Amex are making sufficient observation of any statutory consumer protections that may be in place. For example is there some limit to the maximum number of months' interest that can be added? I don't know the answers but it's a reasonable question to ask.

Yes exactly this

If that is your question, then yes, Amex are following the rules.

They will default the debt after 3-6 months (though legally I think they could actually wait up to a year), stop charging contractual interest, go legal and take recovery action. 

Amex are great if you pay in full every month, they are somewhat brutal if you breach your contract.