American Express Membership Rewards - Amex just froze, then canceled all my accounts.

So last friday i got a call from amex saying my balance on my Plat card was too high (40k) and they wanted me to pay right away. I said I could next week when several payments where going to hit my account. So they froze my account pending that. Over the weekend i put in 15k in payments, and Monday another 2500. So 17.5k paid of the 40 over the weekend. Was going to pay the remainder tomorrow. Just got a call from amex informing me that they were canceling my plat card and my delta reserve card. According to them when they went to my bank to get the funds the last 3 times they (my bank) told Amex there were insufficient funds in my account so they had to wait a day try again and then they were able to get the money.


Now I'm horribly confused and pissed. I'm looking at my bank account showing when the payments were taken out, and each time i have consistently had MANY times more in my account then the amount paid. There was NEVER too low funds in my account. While im about to get on the phone with my banker to try to figure out why they told amex i didnt have the money....do I have any recourse with amex to get my accounts back? Are my MR points gone? I have about 200k sitting there i was trying to figure out how to use.

I believe a few people assumed this was going to be the outcome one way or another when you said you were charging way more than income substantiated on personal cards.

I believe a few people assumed this was going to be the outcome one way or another when you said you were charging way more than income substantiated on personal cards.

lol. well, i had the money. Called the bank and what they said happened was there was a huge check that went in, but was still on 'hold' till it cleared. And when i checked my acct summary it showed my balance including the check even though part of it was on hold, so when i paid amex, they tried taking part of the held funds which didnt go through. Oh hold with amex now while they put through the remainder of the balance, out of the now-open funds and see if they can give me my cards back. We are scaling back the use of my card for business charges as this is a bit more ridiculous then i had envisioned.

If you can get your points out, I would do it now. I assume its going to turn into a sort of FR and when they find out that is was your companies business expenses, risk management probably won't be too content with it.

If you can get your points out, I would do it now. I assume its going to turn into a sort of FR and when they find out that is was your companies business expenses, risk managment probably won't be too content with it.

Yea im moving them to delta now, still able to get onto my acct page online. See they knew they were business charges for the last ~3 months, ive been charging and paying off between 40-60k a month and havent had a problem till this.

It seems you stay on Am Ex's radar. You should probably try and cool your jets a little. You're definitely going to get closed and banned from Am Ex at the rate you're going.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1085474-financial-review-discussion-merged-16.html#post18588195

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1085474-financial-review-discussion-merged-15.html#post18448538

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1085474-financial-review-discussion-merged-15.html#post18448342

... went to my bank to get the funds the last 3 times they (my bank) told Amex there were insufficient funds in my account so they had to wait a day try again...

...check that went in, but was still on 'hold' till it cleared.

For information this is called "uncollected funds" rather than "insufficient funds", and the stories are consistent. I think you have a legitimate grievance with your bank, not for holding the funds, but for showing them as available before they cleared. They should speak with American Express on your behalf.

Nonetheless, American Express has seen that you depend on reimbursements to pay, and may well question why your employer is expecting you to layout money on this scale.

For information this is called "uncollected funds" rather than "insufficient funds", and the stories are consistent. I think you have a legitimate grievance with your bank, not for holding the funds, but for showing them as available before they cleared. They should speak with American Express on your behalf.

Nonetheless, American Express has seen that you depend on reimbursements to pay, and may well question why your employer is expecting you to layout money on this scale.

=/ Well I just got off the phone with amex, paid off the card, moved all my MR points to airline miles. And was told that despite being paid off, they cant re-open my account and i would have to apply for a new one. which i dont think ill do. I've gotten a number of calls from amex over the past couple months asking about my charges, each time ive explained to them that they are business charges, and each time they have been satisfied with me. If they had said not to charge so much, or only use it for personal charges, id have been fine with that. Just seems dumb to me that they would cancel me totally over a snafu with the bank even when they STILL got all their money.

For information this is called "uncollected funds" rather than "insufficient funds", and the stories are consistent. I think you have a legitimate grievance with your bank, not for holding the funds, but for showing them as available before they cleared. They should speak with American Express on your behalf.

Most banks I've dealt with display two types of balances when checking your account online:

Current balance: net of all credits and debits to the account, in full amounts, regardless of what has actually cleared or made available. This can also show your actual balance as of beginning of the current business day (so-called hard-posted balance);
Available balance: net of all credits and debits to the account, showing only actually available funds. Most banks will "hold" a deposit until it clears the issuing bank (about 24hrs) but by law must make the first $100 of any deposit made out of checks (and ALL of cash) available immediately.

Knowing the difference between these will save you from bouncing checks or having your electronic payments returned.

Most banks I've dealt with display two types of balances when checking your account online:

Current balance: net of all credits and debits to the account, in full amounts, regardless of what has actually cleared or made available. This can also show your actual balance as of beginning of the current business day (so-called hard-posted balance);
Available balance: net of all credits and debits to the account, showing only actually available funds. Most banks will "hold" a deposit until it clears the issuing bank (about 24hrs) but by law must make the first $100 of any deposit made out of checks (and ALL of cash) available immediately.

Knowing the difference between these will save you from bouncing checks or having your electronic payments returned.

I feel like a giant idiot because i knew this, I've had funds held before, its nothing new to me. But when i log into my account the home page just shows the total current balance and you have to click into each account to see the available/current, I didnt even think to go in and check pending funds, i was kinda frazzled by having my cards frozen I just wanted to get them paid and re-opened it just slipped my mind.

I feel like a giant idiot because i knew this, I've had funds held before, its nothing new to me. But when i log into my account the home page just shows the total current balance and you have to click into each account to see the available/current, I didnt even think to go in and check pending funds, i was kinda frazzled by having my cards frozen I just wanted to get them paid and re-opened it just slipped my mind.

Quick frankly it was an honest mistake.

Whether you want to regain membership or not, I would contact the Executive Offices and explain the situation. I would also contact your banker and see if he/she can make a call or write to Amex explaining the situation.

Quick frankly it was an honest mistake.

Whether you want to regain membership or not, I would contact the Executive Offices and explain the situation. I would also contact your banker and see if he/she can make a call or write to Amex explaining the situation.

ive been googling around for a higher up contact phone number, not sure how much i trust these websites I'm finding. Honestly if they open my card back up and cut my limit by like 50% id be fine....just sorta stunned they closed it all over a little mix up

ive been googling around for a higher up contact phone number, not sure how much i trust these websites I'm finding. Honestly if they open my card back up and cut my limit by like 50% id be fine....just sorta stunned they closed it all over a little mix up

Here are the numbers:

Executive Office: 1-800-297-6197
Account Services: 1-800-230-1284
Closed Accounts: 1-800-700-7619

Be prepared to explain the following:

The bank account situation
How you handle the account (business expenses)
Know your credit history and be prepared to explain anything that they may question

Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome!

Here are the numbers:

Executive Office: 1-800-297-6197
Account Services: 1-800-230-1284
Closed Accounts: 1-800-700-7619

Be prepared to explain the following:

The bank account situation
How you handle the account (business expenses)
Know your credit history and be prepared to explain anything that they may question

Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome!

thanks for that, any advice on which one to call first? im partial to going as high up as i can, executives

thanks for that, any advice on which one to call first? im partial to going as high up as i can, executives


I would call the Executive Offices. Also get their Fax number and/or an email address. You might want to follow up with a letter as well.

Good Luck and remember to keep us posted.

...stunned they closed it all over a little mix up

Perhaps you missed this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1353527-amex-cancelled-all-my-accounts-without-option-restoration.html

Well i just got off the phone with amex again and according to them it had nothing to do with the amount or use of my card. But it was that my recent payments to the card got returned, granted they all were in such a close time frame (2 days over the weekend) and when they re-presented it to the bank they went through. They are requesting a supervisor or someone higher up call me back in 24-48 hours to discuss it. I still plan on calling some executives office tomorrow

Well i just got off the phone with amex again and according to them it had nothing to do with the amount or use of my card. But it was that my recent payments to the card got returned, granted they all were in such a close time frame (2 days over the weekend) and when they re-presented it to the bank they went through. They are requesting a supervisor or someone higher up call me back in 24-48 hours to discuss it. I still plan on calling some executives office tomorrow

It looks like your making progress.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

It looks like your making progress.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

Just got through to the executive offices and was told they arent the people to talk to inorder to get help, and was told to call regular customer service.....

Just got through to the executive offices and was told they arent the people to talk to inorder to get help, and was told to call regular customer service.....

Well at least you got through to the other department and hopefully everything will be resolved.

Got passed over to another dept, who says that my acct isnt "canceled" like id been told but rather is going for a financial review (this is like the 3rd or 4th in 3 months.....). Only this time they are requesting tax docs where as the past few times they said it was ok to just work off my payment history.

Well i just got a call from Joshua Silverman's assistant thanking me for the email i sent (to every executive i could find) and letting me know that they are assigning a higher up person to contact me shortly who will be helping to maintain my account.

I'm sorry but is it really worth your time to continue to do business with a company like this who clearly doesn't value yours?

I'm sorry but is it really worth your time to continue to do business with a company like this who clearly doesn't value yours?

I think the answer is yes. If they were to dimply drop this without a possible good resolution it can "unanticipated consequences"

I'm sorry but is it really worth your time to continue to do business with a company like this who clearly doesn't value yours?

Honestly, i could just shift back to my visa as a primary card, but i do greatly enjoy the perks from Amex. FHR, MR points, purchase protection, and the significantly higher monthly limit then my visa.

I just got off the phone with the supervisor the executives had call me. She agrees that my account dosent look like it should be closed, just had a few odd charges that needed explaining. Was kinda interesting when I mentioned where i work she already knew the names of both of my bosses, guess they have been doing their homework. Im sending in the 4506T paperwork per their request, so with any luck by next week ill have a answer.

Honestly, i could just shift back to my visa as a primary card, but i do greatly enjoy the perks from Amex. FHR, MR points, purchase protection, and the significantly higher monthly limit then my visa.

I just got off the phone with the supervisor the executives had call me. She agrees that my account dosent look like it should be closed, just had a few odd charges that needed explaining. Was kinda interesting when I mentioned where i work she already knew the names of both of my bosses, guess they have been doing their homework. Im sending in the 4506T paperwork per their request, so with any luck by next week ill have a answer.

good to hear and please keep us informed.

lol. well, i had the money. Called the bank and what they said happened was there was a huge check that went in, but was still on 'hold' till it cleared. And when i checked my acct summary it showed my balance including the check even though part of it was on hold, so when i paid amex, they tried taking part of the held funds which didnt go through. Oh hold with amex now while they put through the remainder of the balance, out of the now-open funds and see if they can give me my cards back. We are scaling back the use of my card for business charges as this is a bit more ridiculous then i had envisioned.

AmEx takes money out of my checking account pretty much within a couple of hours after submitting a payment, the money out of checking account faster than AmEx post the payment.

AmEx takes money out of my checking account pretty much within a couple of hours after submitting a payment, the money out of checking account faster than AmEx post the payment.

As they with mine. I average 25K per month paid directly no issues. Once there was a glitch but they took care of it! Am very happy with AMEX

Well... same here... once i initiate the payment, amex hits it after couple of hours... at least i receive a message from my bank (Wells Fargo). However, except that message, it still shows up on my account via online banking the next day... So Amex IS hitting the account the same day if you do same day payment and then appear the next day...

Well... same here... once i initiate the payment, amex hits it after couple of hours... at least i receive a message from my bank (Wells Fargo). However, except that message, it still shows up on my account via online banking the next day... So Amex IS hitting the account the same day if you do same day payment and then appear the next day...

Wells Fargo does not have ability to show In Process outgoing fund on the same day the fund is going out. You have to wait till next day or even a day later to see the posting. Very annoying.

On the other hand, BofA online does show In Process fund going out - real time no less.

I am hopeful for you. They did something similar to me once, I was resentful about it but I do like their program and when they are not pulling crap like this it is all good.

It all worked out with the tax papers sent in and the explanation that I was buying things for work and rather than use the company cc> I was using mine to get the points. I still do today to the tune of over 1 mil a year. It is a great thing and has paid for several vacations - hang in there. :D

Wells Fargo does not have ability to show In Process outgoing fund on the same day the fund is going out. You have to wait till next day or even a day later to see the posting. Very annoying.

On the other hand, BofA online does show In Process fund going out - real time no less.

Wells Fargo does, if you have their CEO Feature ;) It has a real time notification about ACH/Direct Deposit alerts etc.

I had a similar issue in the past when I had two checking accounts linked to my amex plat.
I was in the process of closing down one of the accounts but accidentally selected it when paying off the Amex (50k+ balance), of course the payment bounced. As soon as I noticed I made the payment from the correct account but they still kept trying 5 times to collect from the other account (resulting in $150 in overdraft fees). They then went ahead and froze my accounts (even after explaining that I simply selected the wrong account) and required a copy of my tax return before reinstating the account.

Out of curiosity, in the instances where AMEX has attempted to collect from the same account several times, do any of you know how far apart in time these collection attempts occur? If I were a business trying to collect, I would wait 24 hrs between attempt one and attempt two - in anticipation of the fact that the account does not typically update that quickly.

Out of curiosity, in the instances where AMEX has attempted to collect from the same account several times, do any of you know how far apart in time these collection attempts occur? If I were a business trying to collect, I would wait 24 hrs between attempt one and attempt two - in anticipation of the fact that the account does not typically update that quickly.

I think they were once a day - however, even though I made the payment from the correct account on day 2, they couldn't stop the collection attempts from the other account, so I kept getting hit with overdrafts

Out of curiosity, in the instances where AMEX has attempted to collect from the same account several times, do any of you know how far apart in time these collection attempts occur? If I were a business trying to collect, I would wait 24 hrs between attempt one and attempt two - in anticipation of the fact that the account does not typically update that quickly.

They told me each attempt was done the following day. What really bugged me was that they never notified me that there was a problem. If i bounced a payment id rather they send me an email instantly informing me of the issue and letting me know what they were doing about it. That way I would have the chance to fix it right away rather then having it happen several more times and causing cancellation (or over draft fees)

I do remember being told that once the payment "pull" was started it would try at least one more time automatically. Something else that needs to be corrected but I am sure some ACH expert will say it can not be done.

I had the opposite experience with my business cent around 5 years ago in a similar situation to the OP. I selected the wrong account when paying online and bounced a $200K+ payment as a result...had someone call me up from AMEX the next day to inquire what was going on. I made payment on the spot from the correct account, no secondary attempt to collect from the first account was made.

...probably the process has changed since then for the worst. A simple phone call from CS could avoid these nightmare scenarios. I can see why they might want to FR since a bounced payment is a likely sign of financial instability more often than the "whops" I selected the wrong account. There are ways of doing a "soft FR" without the customers knowledge and only if that proves suspicious proceed to a full blown FR asking for assets & tax returns. They can look @ exposure on other cards via credit reports, home residence value vs mortgage debt, etc rather easily. "Reimbursed" charges have a funny way of looking like money laundering...probably why they asked to see the OP's taxes.

I had the opposite experience with my business cent around 5 years ago in a similar situation to the OP. I selected the wrong account when paying online and bounced a $200K+ payment as a result...had someone call me up from AMEX the next day to inquire what was going on. I made payment on the spot from the correct account, no secondary attempt to collect from the first account was made.

...probably the process has changed since then for the worst. A simple phone call from CS could avoid these nightmare scenarios. I can see why they might want to FR since a bounced payment is a likely sign of financial instability more often than the "whops" I selected the wrong account. There are ways of doing a "soft FR" without the customers knowledge and only if that proves suspicious proceed to a full blown FR asking for assets & tax returns. They can look @ exposure on other cards via credit reports, home residence value vs mortgage debt, etc rather easily. "Reimbursed" charges have a funny way of looking like money laundering...probably why they asked to see the OP's taxes.

Im guessing though that your card also has a much longer history of large charges then mine. My spending only spiked up over the past ~3 months. I can understand their caution, but going from 0 to Canceled in 2 days is a bit much

Wells Fargo does, if you have their CEO Feature ;) It has a real time notification about ACH/Direct Deposit alerts etc.

ACH in or Fed Fund Wire In always show up real time but not the outgoing fund in the case of our low minimum monthly balance requirement account. It is $1K combined total across all linked products would avoid monthly fee - suits us fine as Wells Fargo is hardly our working account ever since it took over Wachovia. The services has deteriorated so much that we changed a recurring International Wire In to go to Chase account despite Chase account charges $15 while Wells Fargo is free (grandfathered from Wachovia but who knows for how long when most account benefits have term changed after the take over.)

Update time. Got a call back from the FR department saying they have finished their review, and are re-activating all of my cards. My limit on my Delta Reserve card remains unchanged however they are placing a limit of 19.6k on my Plat (19.6? why not 20...seems like that would be easier...) Which works just fine for me, can pay it down quickly after any large charges.

Update time. Got a call back from the FR department saying they have finished their review, and are re-activating all of my cards. My limit on my Delta Reserve card remains unchanged however they are placing a limit of 19.6k on my Plat (19.6? why not 20...seems like that would be easier...) Which works just fine for me, can pay it down quickly after any large charges.

great to hear but I have a question, did they ever say exactly why they took the action in the first place ? Something had to prompt them to.

great to hear but I have a question, did they ever say exactly why they took the action in the first place ? Something had to prompt them to.

Yes, during the initial talk with the higher-ups after my email blasts they explained everything to me fully. A couple months ago we attempted to run a payment through Square, a large payment. Square froze it and demanded a insane amount of documentation to validate the charge (my tax docs, company tax docs, the people we were buying from's tax docs....) and then refunded the charge when we refused. Following that we made a couple purchases through paypal and i had changed the address on it so that the purchases would be shipped to our warehouse vs my home address. Because of this the account went from a verified business to 'unverified' and the sellers we were buying from refused to ship ~10k worth of stuff to unverified. So they then refunded the money and we just wire payed them.

Amex said that my account was first flagged due to a string a high $ returns. Then once it was 'under the microscope' they began to want justifications for my high spend, etc.

Update time. Got a call back from the FR department saying they have finished their review, and are re-activating all of my cards. My limit on my Delta Reserve card remains unchanged however they are placing a limit of 19.6k on my Plat (19.6? why not 20...seems like that would be easier...) Which works just fine for me, can pay it down quickly after any large charges.

Give it about 12 months and you should revert to no pre-set limit as long as nothing weird happens with your account

Give it about 12 months and you should revert to no pre-set limit as long as nothing weird happens with your account

Yea that's what im hoping. Sorta wishing I didn't cash out all my MR points when they first told me I was being canceled now lol

Yes, during the initial talk with the higher-ups after my email blasts they explained everything to me fully. A couple months ago we attempted to run a payment through Square, a large payment. Square froze it and demanded a insane amount of documentation to validate the charge (my tax docs, company tax docs, the people we were buying from's tax docs....) and then refunded the charge when we refused. Following that we made a couple purchases through paypal and i had changed the address on it so that the purchases would be shipped to our warehouse vs my home address. Because of this the account went from a verified business to 'unverified' and the sellers we were buying from refused to ship ~10k worth of stuff to unverified. So they then refunded the money and we just wire payed them.

Amex said that my account was first flagged due to a string a high $ returns. Then once it was 'under the microscope' they began to want justifications for my high spend, etc.

Glad to hear your accounts have been restored. Glad you were given a reason for the FR and shared with us.

Amex is suspicious of Paypal in general. I do *a lot* (hundreds of transactions per month) of purchasing using Amex / Paypal, and I've gone through "mini-FR" numerous times now (they ask for bank records and business tax returns for 2 years-- i've only actually given bank records so far, though). Every time, they ask "We see you are doing a lot of business with paypal. Are you doing <blah>?", trying to guess the nature of my business -- they won't just come right out and ask what I do, so I've never actually told them, but they keep asking various questions.

Their suspicions seem to be along the lines that I am accepting payments from people in one form, and then paying them with another form (paypal) (eg, they think people are giving me cash in exchange for sending them paypal).

Ultimately, they keep releasing the account when I prove that I have ample cash reserves to support my spending, but I'm sure if I weren't as liquid, they would have shut me down similar to your situation.

lol. well, i had the money. Called the bank and what they said happened was there was a huge check that went in, but was still on 'hold' till it cleared.

If you are good customer with your bank and have a long track record, they stop putting holds on your deposits and give you immediate availability to use the funds. At least that is what my bank, SunTrust, does. I've been a SunTrust customer since 1987 and an Amex cardholder since 1979. Never had a problem with either company. Not sure why you have had so many inquiries, holds, and account reviews. Something doesn't quite add up here, but I'm glad the problem with Amex is resolved. You need to ask why your bank is still putting holds on your account (unless you are a new customer).

Every time, they ask "We see you are doing a lot of business with paypal. Are you doing <blah>?", trying to guess the nature of my business -- they won't just come right out and ask what I do, so I've never actually told them, but they keep asking various questions.

Unless you have something to hide, why wouldn't you just let them know? BTW, what do you do to earn a living? Money laundering? :p

Unless you have something to hide, why wouldn't you just let them know? BTW, what do you do to earn a living? Money laundering? :p

OUCH !

Unless you have something to hide, why wouldn't you just let them know? BTW, what do you do to earn a living? Money laundering? :p

Nothing to hide, but when I'm dealing with those mini-FR calls, I just stick to answering the questions asked, as it seems to be the easiest way to get things resolved.

And, as far as what I do -- I own several businesses. The one that has the Paypal transactions, well, I wouldn't mind telling AMEX what I'm doing, but I'm not going to post it to a forum, either :)

No, it's not money laundering, though :)

If you are good customer with your bank and have a long track record, they stop putting holds on your deposits and give you immediate availability to use the funds. At least that is what my bank, SunTrust, does. I've been a SunTrust customer since 1987 and an Amex cardholder since 1979. Never had a problem with either company. Not sure why you have had so many inquiries, holds, and account reviews. Something doesn't quite add up here, but I'm glad the problem with Amex is resolved. You need to ask why your bank is still putting holds on your account (unless you are a new customer).

Well i like to think that im a good customer, never had any problems before with Amex, paid on time etc. However my spending has spiked (~1k a month to 60k a month) so objectively i can understand them being curious whats going on.

Unless you have something to hide, why wouldn't you just let them know? BTW, what do you do to earn a living? Money laundering? :p

Let me guess....you are one of those people who supports the TSA because they "dont have anything to hide"? Personal privacy and civil liberties?

Nothing to hide, but when I'm dealing with those mini-FR calls, I just stick to answering the questions asked, as it seems to be the easiest way to get things resolved.

And, as far as what I do -- I own several businesses. The one that has the Paypal transactions, well, I wouldn't mind telling AMEX what I'm doing, but I'm not going to post it to a forum, either :)

No, it's not money laundering, though :)

Yes i dont mind explaining to Amex what im doing once or twice, but when its every couple weeks i get a call from a new person in the FR department who asks me the same stupid questions, that ive ALREADY ANSWERED on recorded lines before, it just gets on my nerves. One time i got a call from FR 2 days AFTER i got a previous call from FR, asking me the same information, i told them that i spoke with them 2 days ago, they said "oh well i just need to update some information....where do you work?" The same F*ing place ive worked for years and it hasnt changed sense you asked me 2 days ago.......

Bi-weekly FRs are indeed onerous. Are you truly married to AMEX or is there another card you can substitute?

Bi-weekly FRs are indeed onerous. Are you truly married to AMEX or is there another card you can substitute?

I do have 2 Visas (a check card and a cc) that i switched back to. I dont mind using them, but my limit on them isnt quite as high as amex's was. Before this limit was put on my peak i had on at once time was just under 70k. My Visa's limit is a fraction of that....Plus MR points do a lot more for me then the US Bank rewards do....

Well i like to think that im a good customer, never had any problems before with Amex, paid on time etc. However my spending has spiked (~1k a month to 60k a month) so objectively i can understand them being curious whats going on.



Let me guess....you are one of those people who supports the TSA because they "dont have anything to hide"? Personal privacy and civil liberties?



Yes i dont mind explaining to Amex what im doing once or twice, but when its every couple weeks i get a call from a new person in the FR department who asks me the same stupid questions, that ive ALREADY ANSWERED on recorded lines before, it just gets on my nerves. One time i got a call from FR 2 days AFTER i got a previous call from FR, asking me the same information, i told them that i spoke with them 2 days ago, they said "oh well i just need to update some information....where do you work?" The same F*ing place ive worked for years and it hasnt changed sense you asked me 2 days ago.......

I for one think we have beaten this issue to death and the original post really does not pertain to us that use the card normally maybe someone can take this one down !

Nothing to hide, but when I'm dealing with those mini-FR calls, I just stick to answering the questions asked, as it seems to be the easiest way to get things resolved.

I agree. For the "mini" calls, it's very likely just a minimally-trained agent that is going through a script that's on his computer. Their job is just to get your responses keyed into the computer and nothing else, and the computer will use whatever model it uses to make a decision, or pass the information on to a decision-maker.

As such, there's really nothing good that can come from trying to explain your situation beyond the questions being asked. But, bad things can happen, as there are very likely questions that are not in the script that nonetheless, if the agent hears you mention certain things, bad things happen. For example, if you happened to mention that you plan to declare bankruptcy, or that you just lost your job, bad things will likely happen even if there weren't specific questions about them. But there's likely no effective way for them to enter off-script good things.