Amex / Brachers

NoTB · 8 December 2018 at 1:54AM

Hello hello hello,

I had two Amex cards - a platinum cash back credit card and a gold rewards charge card.

My credit card had an eventual limit of £26k after combining two cards together over the course of four years. Utilisation was c.£7k.

One random day I get a lovely phone call from Amex Credit department due to suspicious activity on my account.. I thought that was strange as I tended not to use it (I was carrying a balance of ~£7k for various reasons and the fact I had a ridiculously long 0% interest offer).

They asked for -

a) 3 months bank statements
b) 3 months payslips
c) Power of Attorney to contact:
i) my employer to confirm my salary
ii) my bank to confirm my turnover
d) consent to do a Hard Search on my credit file

I sent them the bank statements and payslips and consented to a soft search. I disagreed with the POA as I felt this was excessive and embarrassing even after I provided payslips and bank statements.

I asked what this was a result of and they said 'everybody gets this eventually'. They thanked me for what I had provided and I presumed that was it - no further correspondence until randomly, I receive an email saying my cards are cancelled.

I call them up and they say I've broken the T&C's as I REFUSED to a financial review and that my account will be passed to their 3rd party 'collector', Brachers LLP.

I've never missed a payment with Amex however Brachers have sent me some very strongly worded letters, demanding I fill in a standard financial statement and if I do not, they will take 'further action immediately'. I asked them what they meant by this as this sounded worrisome and they said it was 'just a standard phrase they use' to which I replied 'I have severe anxiety and receiving such 'threats' as that is not good when I've never so much as been a day late in paying Amex'.

With Amex my payment date was the 15th of every month however these clowns demanded payment on the first of every month and since they have taken over collection of the account, 3 late payment indicators have been registered across three different months. I suggested I pay the monies owed in 12 instalments to which they agreed.

I was away with my work for 5 days in November and in this time Brachers phoned me six times. I didn't answer and when I returned home they had sent me yet another letter from them stating they were disappointed I did not stick to the terms of the payment plan despite all payments being made on time and that if I did not reply within 48 hours they will 'be taking further legal action which will begin immediately with no further notification to yourself'.

Freaking out again, I phone them to be told once again this is a standard phrase they use - bully boy b**tards is what it is.

My question is, what can they feasibly do? I have not defaulted on the Amex account and Amex still own it.
Just very worried as I seem to be at the absolute mercy of Brachers now even though I'm fully up to date with my payments with no issues...

Any advice is greatful as I'm freaking out.

Lx

guesswho2000 · 8 December 2018 at 3:24PM

What they could feasibly do is harass you constantly and add negative info to your credit file, which is what they seem to be doing. In terms of what else they could do, I’m not sure they could do much.

It seems a bit strange that Amex have suddenly done this out of nowhere, usually this sort of thing is usually triggered by something, which is probably a bigger worry than what Brachers can do right now. Have you checked your credit file with EX, EQ, CC? Also National Hunter, if nothing shows up on those three. Don’t panic at this stage, as it might be nothing, but equally you could uncover a load of fraudulent accounts you didn’t know you had, or something like that, so that would be the first thing to do, in my opinion.

If Amex suspect money laundering, they can’t tell you or give you any info, so calling them for more info will be a waste of time.

Speak to Brachers and see what they want and when. In terms of the charge card, that’ll fall due monthly anyway, so just pay that off and put it to bed. I would have thought that the credit card would continue on its current terms until paid, providing you’re making monthly payment and not in breach, etc., so also see exactly what they want here too. Bear in mind even Amex can issue the statement each month whenever they want, and as long as you get the amount of time to pay it between statement and due date, they’re not in breach either, so I’d keep making repayments as you have been.

You said you’ve come to an agreement with Brachers to repay in 12 instalments, if you’re happy with this, call and agree the exact details, and get them to confirm in writing (email even), including date each month by which it should be paid, and stick to it.

In summary, my suggestion, without knowing the full background is:
1 - check credit files for something/anything untoward which could explain why Amex have gotten jumpy (further steps, if this materialises, can be determined later, and if there’s nothing then great);
2 - call Brachers and agree a way forward, get it in writing. As a minimum, make sure you’re continuing to stick to the terms of the accounts you hold.

Hope you find a resolution!

Amex / Brachers

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