American Express Reviews 

I have been a loyal customer for years. I recommended Amex to friends and family.

Then last week I got a call from someone saying she's in the fraud team. I told her I cannot speak on the phone and that I have my card and no unusual charges - so no fraud. She hanged up on me. Then I had calls from that same number every night for a week. Having already explained to them I CANNOT SPEAK ON THE PHONE - I didnt answer.

Now I discovered my card has been restricted by the fraud team. I tried to reach them on the chat but was told I have to call the fraud team cos no one can unrestrict my card.

I explained i cannot call. I have a mental disability so if I say I cannot speak on the phone then it means I cannot do it... so they said nothing can be done.

This is DISCRIMINATION. It is ILLEGAL. And obviously very poor customer service.

STAY WELL AWAY from this company.

Amex UK: Failed fraud investigation for USD transaction (Ref: D-92200946)

Review:
I am appalled by the lack of protection from American Express UK regarding an unauthorized transaction on 10 January 2026. A charge for £13.81 (originally processed in USD) appeared from "NordVPN London"—a service I have never used and a transaction I absolutely did not make.

Despite reporting this immediately, Amex UK sent a letter (dated 19 Feb) under Ref: D-92200946 stating their "investigation" concluded I am responsible. They have provided zero proof to back this up. They haven't shown a linked email address, an IP address, or any merchant validation that proves I authorized a USD payment to this company.

It is deeply concerning that a "premium" UK bank would rather force a customer to pay for a fraudulent foreign currency charge than actually perform a transparent investigation. I am now escalating this to the Financial Ombudsman Service as Amex UK has failed in its duty to protect my account.

Update on 5th March 2026

I recently had a very frustrating experience with a transaction dispute (Ref: D-92200946). A charge appeared on my statement as 'NordVPN,' which I knew I hadn't purchased. When I disputed it, Amex 'investigated' and insisted the charge was valid and definitely for NordVPN.

It was only after I did the work myself and contacted the merchant that I discovered the charge was actually for Saily (an eSIM provider). Because Amex uses vague or incorrect merchant descriptors and failed to clarify which specific service was being billed during their investigation, I was completely misled.

Amex’s dispute process lacks the detail necessary to help customers distinguish between sister companies under the same parent brand. I almost filed a formal complaint with the Ombudsman due to the lack of clarity provided by the Amex fraud team.

Horrible Service experience after being with them for over 10 years and paying a premium fee when there is an issue with the card or the service these guys are always non cooperative
Finally decided to leave them - there are plenty of other companies offering better service as fraction of the cost

Was given an offer through the post for a card upgrade , which I was happy to pay for - but by the time I’d contacted them (day after receiving offer) the offer had expired

Asked to ‘verify my information’ after having card for years. Did so on 26th November 25. Heard nothing. Phoned 13 January, told all ok just wait for email. Today, 20 Feb my card suspended!! Phoned and told, once again, all ok, but they will try to clear up. Thank goodness I have a Barclaycard.

AMEX disputes are hopeless. We booked a boat trip that advertised…

🍕 Part 3: Pizza & Drinks Onboard

Enjoy freshly made pizza with 2 drinks per person (beer, wine, cava, soft drinks, or water). This is the perfect moment to recharge, enjoy the scenery, and socialize—or simply relax with your private group.

However when we got on the boat there was no cava and no white wine. There was literally just two small glasses of red wine then they ran out. The company later said that they had run out due to other people drinking but this simply wasn’t true as there were only 7 of us on the trip (2 of which were children) and there was no cava or white wine and very little red wine available from the outset. However AMEX disputes believed them.

The excursion company then said they had only agreed to provide drinks and not alcoholic drinks. Again AMEX believed them despite the above being the narrative for what we booked…!

I won’t use the excursion company again, but am also disappointed in AMEX, having been a customer for a very long time! The online chat isn’t much better!

I spoke with a guy called Dan today ‘just Dan’ lol. He was super helpful and very efficient. Really helped me. Thank you Dan and good luck tonight 🤞 working on v day 🙄 she or he or whatever is out there for you somewhere 🫶 thank you Amex for providing an excellent service for me and now my business. Keep those Avios coming! 💪

Amex statement said issues with companion voucher calculation for months. Told me BA had my voucher. They do not. Complained umpteen times. Each time fobbed off and told I have it! 18 months of 2 years to use it gone and no voucher. No investigation. No response. Utterly disgraceful. If you want to give negative feedback, you can't press submit on the app but if it's positive you can! So flip positive then move to negative and submit.

Im stunned how bad their customer service is. First of all, I can barely read their webchat messages before they've asked if I'm still there, then disconnected the chat. Constantly changing credit card payment deadlines to extort charges for late payments. I honestly don't know how its legal. AVOID!!

I am a former American Express customer and have found it effectively impossible to contact them.

Once my account was closed, my card destroyed, and online/app access removed, all digital contact routes became unavailable. Every online form or help option requires a login or card number, which a former customer no longer has.

This leaves the phone as the only contact option. I attempted to call the international support number while living abroad and was left on hold for over 40 minutes with no answer, eventually having to give up. This resulted in significant call charges, which is unacceptable for simply trying to ask a basic question.

The reason for trying to contact them was an unexplained attempt to collect approximately £50 via Direct Debit. I received no email, no statement, and no explanation. I am not disputing the charge at this stage. I simply want to know what it relates to and, if valid, settle it. However, American Express provides no reasonable or accessible way to do so once an account is closed.

The lack of any written contact method and an unusable phone system means former customers are completely locked out. This is not what should be expected from a financial services provider.

Works ok until you need to contact them. Customer service is from 1996. If you try to use the 'Chat' feature it sends you in an endless loop of logging in - they must know this and have not fixed it. If you phone you speak to an outdated 'bot' who cant understand anything and is just there to make people give up. Then it ignores what you ask for. Then you are in a queue which literally never ends. Basically you cannot contact them in any way - even if there is a security issue on your card. Considering the money they are making this is unacceptable.

Cardholders beware. My wife is the account holder and i am an additional card holder. I registered for the Deliveroo offer which is £10 back a month back if use twice. We noticed not being credited. Contact Amex and say only applies if main card holder adds the reward and must use their card even though same account. Bear in mind a gold card and pay for the privilege feels like a con. When complained just got a £10 credit. They then said reward was on the main card but as we must pay with mine - like that makes a difference? Registered a complaint but I won't hold my breath. I would avoid

Everything I informed Hannah Lewis about has come true.
American Express are grossly incompetent and are being sued by me for £100,000 for unlawfully storing my data received by the merchant of a Hotel.
Nightmare to deal HSBC are the best bank service is amazing advisors are well trained cancel American Express and switch for peace of mind you'll not regret it.

Misleading Cashback and Insurance. No one accepts Amex cards. Waste of time and effort. Closed all my accounts and cards yesterday

Was approved for a gold card and then after 1 week of use they suspend it with no notice pending a “credit review”. After 3 weeks of providing the data the wanted, then phone to tell me they can’t see the uploading data. Appalling service, do your checks first before approving

Why are companies always seeming to be “experiencing a high volume of calls” these days ? Held on the phone for at least 10 mins before giving up. Called again and clicked “1” to join the queue and for someone to call me back. To be fair, I did get a call back some time later and my query was dealt with efficiently.

Live chat on the website just didn’t work. Each time I tried to start a chat I was directed to the log in page.

It’s frustrating trying to contact this company.

Had been a fairly happy and loyal Amex customer for over a decade, having held a mix of their most expensive personal and business cards.

However, when I encountered a serious problem, their customer service was appalling.
After customer service could help no further, they suggested I raise a complaint, which I duly did. Shockingly, the final decision didn’t address any of the issues within my complaint. It’s almost as if the Amex agent who addressed the complaint was responding to a different case. Obviously I contacted Amex about this, including emailing the agent twice, but they didn’t want to know, necessitating a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

It’s such a shame that Amex UK is failing customers by its inability to resolve serious problems.

Amex Platinum travel insurance left me with a broken leg and 3 torn ligaments in spain, without any assistance whatsoever. I was pleading with them for pain relief and x-ray / assistance and after 4 days of getting no help I returned home - but it was my right leg and I had to drive 1200kms in pain. I complained to Amex and they said as they outsource to EuropAssist that it was nothing to do with them and closed my complaint. I’d give Amex Zero Stars if I could. They’re an absolute disgrace and not to be relied upon in an emergency.

Customer Service very poor if you can get hold of them l just keep my card as a back up not even spending 15% of what l used too spend l have switched to a Amazon Barclaycard will see what they are like!

I am extremely disappointed with American Express and how unclear they are about the terms of their companion voucher.

I was told I needed to spend £15,000 within one year to qualify for the voucher. What was never clearly explained is that all transactions must be fully cleared, not just made, by the exact anniversary date.

Today marks exactly one year of my Amex membership. I have £14,958 cleared and £44 pending — spending that was made in good faith before the deadline. Naturally, I believed I had met the requirement.

Only after contacting customer service was I informed that pending transactions do not count, meaning I miss out on the voucher due to a technicality that was never properly highlighted.

This feels misleading and unfair. For a premium financial product, I expect clear, upfront communication, not hidden conditions that customers only discover when it’s too late.

Very disappointing experience, and it has seriously damaged my trust in American Express