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Amazon and American Express Issue

presley

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I'll start with the TLDR version:
My Amazon account doesn't have my American Express information
My Digital Downloads in my Amazon account has no charges for $8.99
My American Express has had 2 Amazon charges on it for $8.99, seems to be a monthly charge.
This was not easy to fix.

The long version:
I saw an $8.99 digital download charge on my AmEx in January and even though we use a Chase Prime Visa for Amazon, I thought my husband grabbed my Amex out of my wallet for a purchase. There were no other unrecognized purchases. So, I didn't explore more.

February also had a $8.99 Amazon digital download charge. I looked through my Amazon account and saw no orders or purchases that matched that and that card is not in my payments. I had my husband check his account and he also didn't have any digital orders for $8.99 nor had this card listed in his payments. So, I did an online dispute with American Express. Today I got notice from them that they closed the investigation, I still owe the $8.99 and I need to look through my Amazon orders to see what it was. I was mad enough that if I didn't just order a custom computer with the card, I would have closed my AmEx account.

I had Amazon call me (wasn't easy to get to that) and I explained the situation. They found my credit card in someone else's account, but couldn't say who, only that their phone number ended in 18. I don't know who that is. They said that I needed to take it up with my bank. Here's the follow up email:
"Hello Jodi My name is Sam I'm from Amazon Payment method support and it is a pleasure to assist you with your inquiry. I’ve checked the transactions on your account and couldn't find any charges for $8.99 I was able to find the charge on another customer’s account but, for security purposes, I am unable to share the details with you. If you still do not recognize this charge, please dispute the charge with your bank. To avoid any additional unauthorized charges, I also recommend asking your bank about the possibility of having the card reissued Please be rest assured, we will take each and every action to prevent you from bearing any loss at Amazon.com as we value our customer investment and trust, more than anything else and we’ll continue working hard to ensure that you receive accurate service. Your patience and understanding are highly appreciated in this matterIt was my pleasure to assist you, Enjoy the rest of your day and stay safe."

I went online and reported my card stolen (it isn't stolen). The follow up message said that a new card is coming right away and that my recurring charges will still go through on the new card. Since it's a recurring charge, I called AmEx and explained the situation. At first, he just said he would send another new card. I had to explain my concern about the recurring charge and he said that they blocked the merchant now. It's amazing how much work this whole thing was.

The American Express card has been barely getting used for anything, but had 2 autopayments set up. One was a monthly donation to a church and the other is for a VOIP for my husband's business. Either of those could have had a breach and not told us. In fact, both have changed their systems in the last few months.
 

klpca

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Well that was ridiculous. It sounds like a lot of blame shifting. Hopefully it's resolved now.
 

clifffaith

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I am really surprised Amex didn't handle this better. We just called, prepared for the hassle of canceling the card, to remove Diamond Resorts auto pay and had no issues. We are in Transitions to give up the timeshare and haven't been billed yet for that and in the meantime they are hitting us for maintenance fees.
 

KProuty

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@presley, hmmm.... just had a thought, probably not what happened, but..... A standalone Prime Video subscription is $8.99 a month.

Do you have Prime?
Did you sign into your Prima account while in a timeshare?
Was that timeshare tied to your Amex card?
Do you remember to "zero out" all of your timeshare logins on the TV?
Did you give away an old Alexa device that had a Pandora or other subscription service attached that was paid for by your Amex?

I'm just trying to figure out of there was a legitimate way that some sort of Amazon account was tied to your Amex. (Or, of course, it could be stolen.)
 

MrockStar

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I have the Delta Skymiles Amex card. They have been pretty awesome. Which Amex card do you have ?
 

presley

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I'm just trying to figure out of there was a legitimate way that some sort of Amazon account was tied to your Amex. (Or, of course, it could be stolen.)
It is not a legit charge. The Amazon rep said my card was in someone else's Amazon account.
I have the Delta Skymiles Amex card. They have been pretty awesome. Which Amex card do you have ?
It's the Hilton Card. I recently downgraded from the $450/year version to the lower annual fee version.

AmEx sent me an email yesterday afternoon saying they would reverse the charge.
I was able to stop production on the computer that I recently ordered on that card and it won't be charged to the AmEx now. I am reordering on a different card because I don't want AmEx to get any of the processing fees for the sale. Yes, I am feeling that petty about this.
 
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