DRO has been approved but AMEX want information?

grumpyburr

Hello everyone,

I had a DRO approved at the end of June and it seems like there is a trickle of companies being notified of it already. One was super good (acknowledged the DRO and have updated records to show it has defaulted already) but the response I got from American Express has unsettled me and got me worrying that they’re going to be a big problem.

i had an e-mail from them saying they have received information showing that I am entering insolvency which contained the following:

“What you need to do

If you have not already done so, kindly provide us with the name and contact details of the appointed professional handling your insolvency as soon as possible. You can email this information to financialdifficulties@aexp.com or get in touch with us using the contact details below.

What happens next

Once we have the information requested, we will proceed to cancel your Account. This may mean you are sent a Notice of Default which we are legally required to issue to you before we can cancel.

In addition, if you have used your Account for recurring charges, such as subscriptions and/or insurance policies, you will need to make alternative arrangements as these payments will no longer be approved.”

Is the wording of this normal and is it anything to worry about? I’ve read in quite a few places (before I went through with applying for the DRO) that AMEX can be pretty difficult when it comes to people defaulting with them and that they can be extremely hard work dealing with due to them having a low default rate compared to other credit card providers that they want to maintain.

I responded to them saying I’d been given advice from Stepchange and Money Wellness and gave the phone number for them but I’m worried that was a mistake than that they’re going to try and derail the entire DRO to get payment back? The tone of the e-mail has really knocked me for some reason.

I initially thought “surely that wouldn’t be the case” but feel like I’m just fretting over nothing and that I’m working myself up for no reason (and have done since I got the e-mail) but I can’t stop worrying about what might happen. Any insight/help would be amazing, thank you!

MattMattMattUK

grumpyburr said:

Hello everyone,

I had a DRO approved at the end of June and it seems like there is a trickle of companies being notified of it already. One was super good (acknowledged the DRO and have updated records to show it has defaulted already) but the response I got from American Express has unsettled me and got me worrying that they’re going to be a big problem.

i had an e-mail from them saying they have received information showing that I am entering insolvency which contained the following:

“What you need to do

If you have not already done so, kindly provide us with the name and contact details of the appointed professional handling your insolvency as soon as possible. You can email this information to financialdifficulties@aexp.com or get in touch with us using the contact details below.

What happens next

Once we have the information requested, we will proceed to cancel your Account. This may mean you are sent a Notice of Default which we are legally required to issue to you before we can cancel.

In addition, if you have used your Account for recurring charges, such as subscriptions and/or insurance policies, you will need to make alternative arrangements as these payments will no longer be approved.”

Is the wording of this normal and is it anything to worry about?

The wording is perfectly normal and standard, nothing to worry about.

grumpyburr said:
I’ve read in quite a few places (before I went through with applying for the DRO) that AMEX can be pretty difficult when it comes to people defaulting with them and that they can be extremely hard work dealing with due to them having a low default rate compared to other credit card providers that they want to maintain.

They are not difficult because of the low default rate, but because the people they extend to generally have greater incomes and assets, because of that Amex do not sell on debts and take aggressive recovery actions when they have the legal scope to do so. If you obtain a DRO then that is a legal process, Amex will have to follow that, but equally so do you, which includes telling all your creditors, any creditors who you do not correctly inform and who are because of that not included in the DRO can still take debt recovery actions against you after the DRO completes. 

grumpyburr said:
I responded to them saying I’d been given advice from Stepchange and Money Wellness and gave the phone number for them but I’m worried that was a mistake than that they’re going to try and derail the entire DRO to get payment back? The tone of the e-mail has really knocked me for some reason

They are not going to try and derail the DRO, but equally you borrowed money from them, they want that money back, so they are not just going to let you walk away. If you take the DRO route then they will comply with that.

grumpyburr said:
I initially thought “surely that wouldn’t be the case” but feel like I’m just fretting over nothing and that I’m working myself up for no reason (and have done since I got the e-mail) but I can’t stop worrying about what might happen. Any insight/help would be amazing, thank you!

You are working yourself up over nothing. As long as you meet the eligibility requirements for the DRO and complete it correctly there is nothing Amex can do (provided you did not commit fraud) to recover the monies owed). 

grumpyburr

Thank you for replying so quickly. I figured as much but I’ve worried about money for so long that it’s basically become my default mode by this point and needed someone outside of the situation to tell me that was the case.

Thanks again, hopefully they respond/make changes sooner rather than later and I can hopefully stop worrying!

sourcrates

You are legally protected from any further action by your creditors, the letter they sent you is a standard form.

If they want any more information from you, just refer them to the DRO unit.

johnjs88

It's just their legal jargon.

The only way a DRO can really be "derailed" is if you break the rules of the DRO or your financial status improves through income increases, large inheritances etc.