FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - American Express Canada application and reward strategies (2017)
Old Apr 12, 2017, 9:52 am
  #487  
JJonahJ
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by martzipan
Amex Canada is giving me a major run around.

I've applied for a card and they are saying that everything looks good but they want to verify my address through another financial institution.

The way this allegedly works, is that they send me a form where I fill out my account details with another bank, and sign it saying that I consent to Amex verifying my information with this bank. Then I have to send it back to Amex, and Amex sends it to that bank (by fax). This has been met with a resounding NO from two of my banks (CIBC and RBC). They say they won't reply to any such requests due to privacy concerns, that I can come to the branch and they will provide me with anything I want, but they will not send anything to a third party.

Amex claims that this is all normal operations and that they routinely get these requests filled by the banks, at a rate of about 100 a day. Hard to believe. They say their policy is to only accept the address verification directly from the bank, and not from me. They offer to try with another bank, but when I ask if they know of a specific bank that does not make a fuss about this, there is no definitive answer.

Has anyone experienced this? It feels like they don't really want my application approved, except why complicate things so much, just deny it and stop wasting everyone's time.
Is this your first Amex Canada card? Or have you been applying wildly for MANY new cards? It's part of their routine with new card members who have little credit history (or suspicious ones). The option that was given to our first-time cardholder was to fax back an authorization form for banking info, or alternatively to bring an Amex-supplied letter to Canada Post for picture ID'ing. Perhaps you can ask Amex if you can use this second method of ID verification?
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