American Express bank and cards in Germany

THIS IS A MESSAGE TO ANYONE THAT CHOOSES TO USE AMERICAN EXPRESS GERMANY!!! THE SERVICE IN DEUTSCHLAND DOES NOT COMPARE TO OTHER AMEX OPCOs.

When I graduated college and got my first job, My father told me that one of the most important things I need to do is to get an American Express card. I then told him that I did not agree, as I did not see a reason to pay for a card, when so many other banks offer cards for free. I went on to argue that the credit card companies already earn a percentage on my purchases from the fees they charge to merchants, and that there was no reason to for me to give them more money on top of that. My father then explained that American Express is more than a Credit card, rather it is a service that is designed to help you in a wide arrange of situations you will encounter in your life, If I remember the quote correctly, he said “from renting a car to a major incident, AMEX is there�. Trusting my fathers words, At a very young age, I applied and received a AMEX card.

Becoming an international business consultant, I found my fathers advice to be very helpful. Having the American Express Platinum card in my pocket made my traveling life much easier. I received assistance from AMEX from situations like the airlines loosing my luggage, Car Rental accidents, finding hotels in far away cities, to helping me get a new card and some local currency, when my wallet was stolen, within hours. Anytime I had a problem, I would call the International service center and it seemed that someone would do whatever they could to assist me in my time of need. I never doubted that the 500 dollar a year membership fee was not worth it.

In 2002 due to my extensive time in Europe, I set up a second residence in Germany. For the first three years, I relied on my US AMEX card for all of my needs. As time went on, and it became clear that I would live in Germany on a more fixed basis, I decided to apply for an AMEX card in Germany. Due to my good credit status, I was granted a Platinum AMEX card from American Express Germany. Since I traveled mostly within Europe, I began to use this card for more and more things. As with the US based card, I felt I received the same service with this card. As time went on, American Express offered me a line of credit. Being a consultant, who deals with complex, multi currency contracts, a line of credit in Germany, my current home base, seemed like a good idea. From then until now, I used the card and the line of credit often, NEVER missing or being late on any payment.

At the beginning of this week, I went out to a restaurant with a client. At the end of the meal I took out my AMEX card, and gave it to the waiter. He processed it, returned to the table, and then informed me that the card was rejected. After being embarrassed, I pulled out my US based AMEX card and asked him to use that one. He returned with a receipt for me to sign, as the card was happily accepted. Upon returning home that night, I found two separate letters from American Express Germany informing me that for no particular reason they were cancelling both my Platinum card and my line of credit. Fearful that someone had tampered with my account, I wrote a fax and sent it out that night, asking for a call back.

As I expected, following all of the other service I received in the past, I received a call the next morning from a woman called Frau Schallau. She informed me that the accounts had been canceled due to them receiving a letter from the Schufa ,the German credit reporting agency, informing them that there is some kind of bad account that is under my name at a bank that has no affiliation with any branch of American Express. As soon as she said this, I was aware of the issue she was speaking about.

Earlier the prior week, I had received a letter from Barclay Bank Germany, issuers of my local Visa and Master Cards asking me to call them. During my call to them, I was informed of a letter they received from Schufa stating that I had a delinquent account. Knowing that I always pay my bills Barclay Bank told me that this would not affect my account, but I should check into it. The same day I requested a copy of my report, and received it 3 days later. On this report, there appeared some strange entries stating I owed a debt since the year 2003. I acted upon this information by sending the documentation to my lawyer, and having him begin the proper measures to remove this error from the record.

After Frau Schallau finished explaining that since the Schufa sent her a letter, she HAD to close all of my accounts. I then began to inform the woman that I had been a customer for years in the US and for the past years here in Germany. I added that if she would look into her system, she would see that this must be a mistake, as my balance is often in the thousands of Euros, and I have never missed a payment, Period. I then explained the story above. Throughout my dialogue, Frau Schallau, listened carefully, and did not interrupt. I figured that she would look up my file, see the backup to what I was saying, and then open my accounts. When I finished, she repeated her line that she could do nothing, but she told me that when the lawyers do fix the situation, she would be “more than happy� to reinstate my accounts and “even give me a credit for the membership fee� during the “days� this would last.

If you live in Germany, you know that very few things take days, especially when there are lawyers involved. I told the lady that I think that this will last at least some weeks, and that taking my card away now, when I am probably mostly in need of its services, is a huge breach of confidence. I let her know that this IS the reason that I pay 500 Euros a year for the “privilege� of membership. She again listened, apologized, and repeated her promise to refund the membership fee for this period. I thanked her and then hung up.

What it seems like to me is that American Express Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express USA, does not really care to uphold the commitment to card members as the main branch does. This kind of treatment I would have expected if I missed a payment to American Express, which I have not. I was surprised how the extreme difference how I was treated from American Express, a card that costs 500 Euros a year, verses Barclay card, a card that costs 30 Euros per year. Since this has happened I have looked at the possibility to switch to the Barclay Card Platinum product. It seems that they do not abandon their customers for no reasons, and their platinum services seem to match American Express.

With this all said, I write to you all, and urge all expiates to call their local AMEX office and see how they would handle such a situation. What you find may surprise you. Should I upgrade my Barclay card, I promise to write a complete evaluation.

UPDATE: I received a call from Mr DJURIC from American Express collections department. He asked if Frau Schallau has answered all of my questions. I informed him of this article, and also that I have never had an account in collections (from anyone, especially American Express). he did not seem too interested, and when I offered to fax him this letter for comment (I also have faxed it to all partied that corresponded or talked with me in the past) he unenthusiastically said OK. On the cover page I asked for a reply or comment, to which I received nothing.

Update 2: Despite all of these problems with my AMEX Platinum card, I contacted Barclay Card again and asked to upgrade. Though they are aware of this problem with the Schufa, they told me that they value my business, and are sending me a Platinum card, and giving me a free year to "test" it over AMEX. Will keep you posted.

How about writing a book about your experiences?

Well, I thought this was a site for mostly expats that live in Germany to help each other and share experiences. I dont know about you, but finance and financial security is quite important to me. I wrote this so people would understand the situation, and know where they stand if they choose to rely on American Express. If you are a member from the USA, this would never happen.

so was the unpaid debt yours or someone else's' or a mistake?

I'm more amazed that someone would pay 500 dollars a year just for a credit card, I obviously live in a different world.

Allershausen: if you travel a lot, the fee for the Platinum card is earned back fast in the use of it, for instance since it offers a complete set of car insurance for rental cars so that you can skip the expensive extra fees when renting a card which easily run up the same amount as the basic rent. 3-4 times a medium sized car for 2-3 days and you have recuperated the fee already. On top of that if offers all kind of excellent insurance coverage while traveling or when shopping, for instance reimbursment if what you bought with the card is damaged or stolen when transporting home (excellent for china and glass ;-)

Having said that: I totally agree that the German AMEX card corporation is shifting away in recent years from its excellent treatment of clients in the past, even if those clients have a long and very good track record and relationship. I was Platinum member from 1987 to 2005 and quited after a similar incident happening like the one decsribed above. Now I have a far upgraded Mastercard and just keep the simple no-limit gree AMEX card for emergencies...

Many of the insurance packages that come with premium credit cards tend to be a good deal for the insurance company, but not really for the (average) policyholder: The loss ratios (i.e. the percentage of the premiums paid out to cover claims) are usually extremely low because very few people ever make valid claims.

yep, its more a "nice to have" then a "must have", agree with you, tom_a

On the other end of the spectrum I have been an AACitibank MasterCard customer for over 10 years. I used the card for everything to earn miles and paid the balance off every month (If not, they hammer you with 18% interest).

A couple of years ago my payment was not deposited until a few days after the cutoff. I noticed this on my next bill when I was hit for $100 in interest charges. I called up customer service and said there must have been a delay in the post since I mailed it a week prior. I pointed out that a review of my account would show I had paid my balance in full every month for the past 7 years. The customer service representative stated "no problem" and credited my account for the interest charge. I now pay online to avoid any snail mail problems.

Do to the sinking US dollar I was thinking about getting a German credit card, but stories like this post make me pause.

Any advantages to a German credit card besides the ability to pay in Euros?

You save any charges for "foreign" use and don't have to messa bout paying off a card in the US.

As for the OP: banks are a BUSINESS, they aren't cuddly charities.
Sure they should offer good customer service but at the end of the day if there is something dodgy looking on the account they'll close it quicker than you can say "fraud".

Usually, you don't have to worry about "paying them off", because the balance gets debited automatically from your current account once per month. Not sure if that's an advantage or a disadvantage, depends on the point of view I guess.

Being a business consultant, I travel every week within Europe. The AMEX card actually is worth the 500 euros to me, as I have used the insurance and travel services on numerous occasions. As mentioned above, the car rental insurance alone saves money!

I do not expect the AMEX to cuddle me. You have to realize that besides the 500 euros they charge me per year, they also earn revenue on every purchase I make. While I never hold a balance, Amex does charge a percentage of the charge amount to the merchant. As a matter of fact, Amex usually charges the highest amount to merchant out of all major cards. This is usually the reason why smaller merchants usually only accept Master Card / Visa , if they accept cards at all.

Also, You are correct Tom, regarding the Average card holder, regarding the insurance coverage. On the other hand, being an expat, or just traveling, AMEX offers you service and assistance when and where you need it. This is what I relied on most. I know that similar insurances are "protecting" me on my American Platinum Master and Visa cards, but I counted on AMEX for the local services and traveler / expat assistance they have in place (travel offices, etc)

With all of this said, Barclay Bank has already sent me my cards, and I am already impressed with the service tests I have performed. From what happens if I have my wallet stolen, to where can I find assistance in a car accident, they have had pretty good answers. Lastly, THEY ALWAYS HAD ENGLISH SPEAKING OPERATORS AVAILABLE. Mostly the people that answered spoke English, if not I was quickly transferred.

And to answer the question above, it is not my debt, I have no idea where it came from, and I have had to hire a lawyer for assistance.