While reading Webcomics this morning, I happened upon a link to some very interesting information about American Express. Apparently, for at least a year, they've been calling customers with Muslim names and demanding that they provide extensive financial documentation in order to keep their accounts open. Here is the note from one customer that I found; it links to these earlier articles at City Limits, alt.muslim, and ABC News. This looks like a textbook case of unjustifiable racial profiling.
Personally, I'm not at all surprised; my experiences with them have been very negative. I used to accept American Express cards for my business, and was repeatedly sent incorrect or misrouted paperwork, often including sensitive information that was intended for other merchants. At the time I was accepting AmEx, I was also receiving a large volume of fraudulent orders, and dealt with them by asking the card issuers to verify customers' information and/or flag their accounts for fraud. About 80% of the time, AmEx representatives flatly and rudely refused to do anything at all, even to verify the customers' phone number so that I could call and warn them myself.
I strongly recommend that American Express cardholders cancel their cards and find a better company to do business with. It's been a long time since AmEx was the card of the "elite." They're obviously counting more and more on their old reputation, and less on proper or even acceptable business practices.
Posted by jrenken at June 24, 2004 01:50 PM