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Despite having a long relationship with Amex going bcak to the early 2000’s and using the BA Premium Card as part of everyday spend as collecting Avios points was my real joy – imagine my shock today when a transaction today was declined…..
On returning home i had received an email from the KYC Department which read:
[American Express is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and we are trusted to adhere to specific requirements and governance.
I am writing to inform you of a decision that has been made in relation to the above referenced American Express Card Account.
Following an internal review, we have decided to give two months notice of cancellation to the card account. This decision has been taken in accordance with the rights we reserve under the terms and conditions of our agreement.
Therefore as of 25th December 2022, the account will be cancelled. In the meantime the card account has been blocked .
Please advise any supplementary card holders on the account of this decision.
If you have any queries regarding this request please call our dedicated servicing team, 24 hours a day, on +44 (0) 1273 868900.
Yours sincerely,]Basically without any notice my card had been axed immediately.
The account was on auto payments and had never missed a payment in its history and I had a credit limit which Amex had increased to almost £30,000! My credit score is classed as ‘excellent’ on the credit checks.
So I rang their number and they said they cannot (or rather will not) discuss why but it was an internal business decision. I was asked if there was an appeal process and they said “NO”. That is it. Your account will close on 25th Dec but your card is blocked as of NOW!
I am gutted that I have lost (with immediate effect) my Avios earning ability and 2-4-1 vouchers etc. This also put me at great financial difficulty today as I only had my Amex and my phone cards and had this have been last week, when I was travelling, then I’d have really had an issue. I used the card for everything and when booking things like car rental, they need a credit card.
I have put a lot of spend through the card this year and I am wondering if (despite giving me almost 30k of credit) whether they do not like you actually using the card.
I have filed a complaint to the FCA Ombudsman as to do this for no reason and hiding behind ‘internal’ decisions is not acceptable. We should have the right to fully know the reasons behind the decision. My colleague has not had his account closed so why me?
Has any other HfP reader suffered such appalling conduct from Amex or any other problems like this that have come out of the blue?
I am left with no other options as Barclaycard will not offer their Avios MC service to me as I live in the IOM. Amex do offer cards in the IOM.
Very sorry to hear this.
You mentioned that your colleague had not had their card cancelled in your original post – were you putting business transactions through this card? I’m wondering if they didn’t like this and yours just unluckily flagged for some reason.
If you are using this for business, if Capital on Tap offers a card where you are based, maybe have a look at this.
You can transfer those points to Avios.
@Manxman I responded to your post on the KYC thread. Unfortunately, Amex has the statutory right to close your account without giving you any reason so any complaint to the Ombudsman will be unsuccessful. You also cannot complain to the FOS until you have first complained to Amex and received their Final Decision letter or waited eight weeks. I’m sorry to hear what has happened to you, but there will be some sort of reason like business use, inappropriate referrals, KYC information mismatches etc. Many people here report that they play with fire by upgrading/downgrading with this card, as yet with no sanction so Amex doesn’t do this lightly.
There are many posts on Facebook of people in Isle of Man having their credit card account cancelled.
https://www.gov.im/news/2022/mar/02/six-month-extension-for-tesco-bank-credit-card-customers/
Residing in IOM is likely to be the main issue. Cross-border regulation is a maze so providing retail financial products into a foreign country will only be worth it for the most profitable customers.
Residing in IOM is likely to be the main issue. Cross-border regulation is a maze so providing retail financial products into a foreign country will only be worth it for the most profitable customers.
I’m wondering if there are similar reasons as to why Amex has stopped new applications for its USD and EUR ICC cards in the UK, restricting them only to certain wealth bank account holders.
Residing in IOM is likely to be the main issue. Cross-border regulation is a maze so providing retail financial products into a foreign country will only be worth it for the most profitable customers.
I’m wondering if there are similar reasons as to why Amex has stopped new applications for its USD and EUR ICC cards in the UK, restricting them only to certain wealth bank account holders.
HSBC have removed them as an option for their Premier Expat customers.
I’m wondering if there are similar reasons as to why Amex has stopped new applications for its USD and EUR ICC cards in the UK, restricting them only to certain wealth bank account holders.
Expat had always been the odd one out amongst ICC partner banks – I am pretty sure HSBC PB can still open ICC cards for customers. However, I would not be surprised if Amex would decide to cut off ICC entirely if the regulation gets even tighter.
For both of these changes, cross-border financial promotion regulation is a hard nut to crack since it’s so broad. Activating ATM cash withdrawals, opening supplementary cards, and even just Amex offers can all be considered promotions — and that is assuming the card was offered by a partner bank therefore Amex did not solicit the client to open a new credit agreement.
However, closing IOM residents’ acc with Amex UK could have been communicated a lot better. Especially when Expat was dropped from ICC, everyone got emails and letters explaining what would happen to their card regardless if the acc would be closed or switched to direct management.
American Express has started to close the accounts of Isle of Man Cardholders.
Amex has been criticised for their conduct in the matter as Cardholders say they were given no notice about the changes and that correspondence from the firm stated that cards were blocked immediately pending account closure.
It follows decisions by Lloyds, Tesco and M&S who all withdrew their credit card products from Isle of Man residents.
The financial institutions say that having different laws for the Isle of Man was ‘too complicated’ for them to deal with, given the small number of customers available.
If closure were on the basis of residence in IOM it’s surprising they wouldn’t state that as it is an understandable reason for legal/regulatory reasons rather than leaving the cardholder to wonder if they have done something wrong.
Remember, if you do end up complaining to the FCO – can you do this, if you are an IoM resident? – read up on the last two years of Creation decisions.
You will see one in there where someone got some compo for not being able to use the card when it was cancelled and had a lot of hassle and stress finding alternative means to finance some large purchases in the meantime.
Might only be a couple of hundred quid, so maybe too much hassle. The last thing you want is Alex saying you are a suspected money-launderer!
American Express has started to close the accounts of Isle of Man Cardholders.
Amex has been criticised for their conduct in the matter as Cardholders say they were given no notice about the changes and that correspondence from the firm stated that cards were blocked immediately pending account closure.It follows decisions by Lloyds, Tesco and M&S who all withdrew their credit card products from Isle of Man residents.
The financial institutions say that having different laws for the Isle of Man was ‘too complicated’ for them to deal with, given the small number of customers available.
Manxman – it seems in the above statement by Michael C (link here ), you have your answer 🙁
So in view of these closures, what do the people of Isle of Man do for credit cards – do they just not have them, now? Are there banks specific to the IOM that offer credit cards – I don’t really understand this, so this is a genuine question.
HSBC has its own specific IOM/CI section, which offers the usual cards (inc. World Elite).
Think the private wealth banks (Nedbank, etc.) might do likewise?American Express has started to close the accounts of Isle of Man Cardholders.
Amex has been criticised for their conduct in the matter as Cardholders say they were given no notice about the changes and that correspondence from the firm stated that cards were blocked immediately pending account closure.
It follows decisions by Lloyds, Tesco and M&S who all withdrew their credit card products from Isle of Man residents.The financial institutions say that having different laws for the Isle of Man was ‘too complicated’ for them to deal with, given the small number of customers available.
Manxman – it seems in the above statement by Michael C (link here ), you have your answer 🙁
So in view of these closures, what do the people of Isle of Man do for credit cards – do they just not have them, now? Are there banks specific to the IOM that offer credit cards – I don’t really understand this, so this is a genuine question.
Isle of Man Bank is white label NatWest.
The link I posted earlier said there’s no legal reason to justify the closures
@Manxman The comments above about a general withdrawal of services are likely correct I think, even if in your case it may be a unique set of circumstances that has led to you being singled out now. Certainly Amex are not accepting new card applications from those with a Guernsey address. It appears the same may be true of Virgin. The Barclays Avios and Sainsbury Bank credit cards also do not allow applications from the GY post code. Likewise Curve is not available to us (although at least that probably saved my Creation cards being closed!). I imagine the same is true in the other Crown Dependencies, like IOM.
While it could be said to be a ‘first world problem’ it becomes a real equality issue if ordinary folk are denied access to credit card benefits and protections like Section 75, especially as islanders are more likely than most to need to buy some goods online.
If you want a card that can still earn you Avios then I believe HSBC Premier will still open credit card accounts in the Crown Dependencies (at least they do in Guernsey). Having said that it may not give identical benefits to the UK issued card, as I did not receive the 25% bonus when transferring out to Avios recently and the helpdesk has yet to resolve the issue! In terms of your 2-4-1 vouchers, I believe Barclays Premier accounts can also be opened in the Crown Dependencies, even if the credit card cannot. So you can still do this, sign up to Avios rewards, and earn the ‘upgrade’ voucher annually, albeit that it is rather inferior to the BAPP 2-4-1.
Whatever you do good luck to you and at least you can console yourself with low tax rates and that you live on a beautiful island!
I’ve got Amex Platinum. If it closes I’m not eligible for HSBC premier hence being so pissed off
This is being reported by IOM media
Oh – I live on IOM – I enjoy all the IOM advantages tax-wise & law-wise – now I’m really pissed off the banks don’t want to give me credit cards on the same basis as straightforward UK residents.
The banks know what they are doing and I agree with them.
There’s no equality issue here: IOM residents are not UK residents similar to the rest of us. Not saying that’s fair/ good/ bad – just stating the fact. So if banks don’t want their custom, IOM residents just need to look elsewhere.
You can’t remotely blame the banks here: they don’t (for example) feel the need to offer UK banking products to (say) Argentinian citizens and nobody cares. IOM residents are nothing different, ie UK banks have decided they are Argentinians in product terms 🙂
I still cannot see how an immediate block on a card which has a notice period for changes or closure, can be deemed fair except in case of wrongdoing by the cardholder requiring immediate closure to stop recurrence or continuation of whatever the cardholder is reasonably suspected of having done, that is so urgent as to require immediate suspension by the card issuer..
A chunk of cardholders may really struggle to find an alternative. That’s made worse by not having their card still available for their use during a notice period. If a card can be blocked for use during a required notice period then what, pray tell, is the purpose of legislation or the card agreement requiring a notice period then?
If cardholders were not given proper notice, that’s clearly not fair. Is there any evidence of that, though?
If cardholders were not given proper notice, that’s clearly not fair. Is there any evidence of that, though?
Yes Nigel the issuer of the card has the right to close a cardholder’s card but is required to give notice. My point is that blocking the card contemporaneously with that notice, effectively means no notice is given. And that cannot be fair and should not be allowed.
If cardholders were not given proper notice, that’s clearly not fair. Is there any evidence of that, though?
Yes Nigel the issuer of the card has the right to close a cardholder’s card but is required to give notice. My point is that blocking the card contemporaneously with that notice, effectively means no notice is given. And that cannot be fair and should not be allowed.
What Amex appears to be doing is giving two months notice of closure and at the same time invoking the suspension clause in the terms that require no notice in some circumstances. Does CCA1974 which requires the two months notice apply in IOM??
I don’t think I ever had a card cancelled under me. The worst I had recently was Barclaycard refusing to increase my £200 credit limit, despite a huge amount of evidence showing: give me more. They are idiots, sorry Mr HFP, I know they are among your favourites – but giving me £200 credit limit just meant I took the 50,000 Avios and closed the a/c.
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