American Express & Credit Reporting

[2manybills]

I have not been on the boards for quite some time, but have a question maybe some of the BK Forum Veterans might be able to help with.

I changed jobs after 25 years and have gone to a law firm that I worked at many years ago. I am the Office Manager in my new position. The Manager Partner of the firm contacted American Express to have me be authorized to access the account. In today's mail, we received a letter from American Express stating that they could not grant this request at this time, and that should he want to know why, he can call in.

As you know, my discharge was final more than 3 years ago. My question is, can American Express divulge any information about my BK, or that their debt was discharged in a BK??

It's very strange about 2 months ago, I got a letter from them stating that they were reporting my account to the credit bureaus, whatever that means. It shows that it was discharged in 2009 on my credit report.

Thanks for the help!


2manybills
Discharged: December, 2009

[TBA]

I wish i knew the answer to that. I will saw that i did bk amex for quite a lot of $$. About 8ish months later, i got a secured usaa amex (i thought that was interesting, but not managed by amex directly, so that could be why) and was also added onto a company card with no issues. I even gave them my ssn and dob.

So dont panic just yet.

[2manybills]

I just received a letter today. I am the account manager, but they will not give me a corporate card. I'm going to call them this afternoon. US Bank gave me a corporate Visa. I really don't need a card, except for when I pick up supplies for the firm. I will just use the Visa. I do believe they have a black list.

[AngelinaCat]

I have read on here that Amex does blacklist people. We had our two credit cards with someone else, so have no experience with Amex.

[df04527]

i second the black list with AE. I have heard that before also.

[btbeme]

AmEx likes to think of themselves as the Card for the Elite. Once you earn the privilege of their Unobtanium Card, you are master of the universe and can leverage the national debt.

Just as long as you pay it off every month.

AmEx has a long and storied history about not issuing credit until at least 5 years (7 seems to be the sweet spot) after a Ch 7.

Now, a simple charge card billed to a company account may be different, but unlike many other providers, I do not think that AmEx has such a "rollup" of responsibility, even under a corporate account. Tough and rare to get an AmEx after a Ch 7 while it is still on the credit report...

Experience: I was in a Costco the other day. Almost 4 years post-discharge and my DW and I have credit scores in the low 700's. Applied for an AmEx line of credit with the store...instant turndown. Used cash to pay for the $2300 TV we bought (first new TV in 15 years - old one finally died). Have enough in primary savings to buy a nice car for cash. Have enough in investments to pay for a nice 4 year college for both daughters. Still, AmEx is tightfisted and therefore lost the processing fee that they so adore.

[catleg]

Amex has a lifetime blacklist unless you payoff the discharged debt.
I was able to get a corporate card as an employee of huge national corporation.
But they won't issue one with personal responsibility.
As a side effect they don't sell your debt to a junk debt buyer.
Amex is such a "fair weather friend" company I don't miss them at all.

[spydc]

I have heard of people paying Amex debt that was charged off but how do you go about paying Amex for debt discharged in BK. Isn't it $0 at that point?

[TXskyblue]

I have heard of people paying Amex debt that was charged off but how do you go about paying Amex for debt discharged in BK. Isn't it $0 at that point?

You can pay off any creditor you wish to, even after bankruptcy. One famous example is Dave Ramsey. He filed for BK and once he was re-established, he paid every dollar he had discharged.

Very few people do that, and you are under zero obligation to do so, but some people do.

AMEX is known for their blacklist. If you ever apply for an AMEX card after discharging them in BK, they will decline you because of the BK. You can then voluntarily pay off the amount they lost in discharge and they'll remove you from their blacklist and approve you for a limit AMEX card. I believe the program is called the Optima Oasis, or that's what it used to be called at least. After you've proven yourself on their probationary period, you're then allowed to apply for regular AMEX cards and are treated as a normal consumer.

I don't think it's a good deal for the consumer to do the above, but it's your money.