Long story short: I had my card # comprimised the beginning of the month, and had about $500 in fraudlent charges, mostly for internet service providers (Yahoo, Match.com, godaddy). AMEX closed the account, and issued chargebacks on all of the charges. So far so good. Yesterday, I received a letter from AMEX telling me that Yahoo Small Business contested the chargeback and provided "proof" that the charge was valid, and as a result AMEX was siding with Yahoo small business and re-instating $200 in charges. What was their proof? A screen shot of the transaction page, containing:
-The wrong billing address, including a fake zip code
-A Blank CVV2 field
-A Transaction date of 9/7, 4 days AFTER AMEX closed my account

I called AMEX to dispute the re-instatment of the charge and was told I had to contact the vendor...but then Yahoo small business refuses to give me any information, and says it's between me and my bank. So then I call AMEX, and again they refuse to do anything and refer me to Yahoo. I ask for a supervisor, and he says that the case is closed, and that they feel Yahoo provided enough evidence to show that it was a valid charge. After pointing out that an incorrect billing address was used, AND a fake zip code, and much arguing about how AMEX's actions violates the spirit (if not their contract) of fraud protection, they agreed to open an appeal, with the stipulation I fax a document proving that I wasn't responsible for the charge (how do you prove that you DIDN'T do something??).

I am shocked that AMEX would even allow this charge in the first place given the wrong billing address and zip code, and even more shocked that they seem to be planning to force me to swallow the loss. My favorite part is, the email used to create the account is a @yahoo.ca, one would think that AMEX would at least ask Yahoo to do some IP checking on that. With the amount I pay in fees per year, you would think that they would remove the $200 as a goodwill gesture just to keep me as a customer - but, as it stands now - they will likely be losing my business- and the > $200 i pay per year in annual fees.