oksana123

I used AmEx to pay for a truck to be repainted. The repair shop held my truck 2 weeks longer and didn't complete all the paint job he was paid for plus ruined the seat and my LCD screen. I was not satisfied so am trying to dispute the final portion of the payment 1,250.00 and so far after 5 dispute letters sent to AM EX and countless pics of proof I am denied? I feel they are siding with merchant unfairly because they make more money from charging their 3% transaction fee...worst customer service too

I have had the worst experience with AMEX trying to dispute a shoddy service charge for repainting a vehicle. The body shop didn't complete some of the work and also ruined my LCD screen and seat with paint spray which I said when I picked up the car. They still made the charge on my card. I disputed 5 times by sending letters and pictures of proof as well as copies of receipts for additional charges I incurred as a result of the shops shoddy service and even though the shop had provided zero proof while I have a ton my claim for reversing a portion of the payment of 1,250 is getting denied! Worst customer service ever! I bet the merchant is right because of 3% they pay to AMEX per transaction!

garykung

You do know that the denial of the dispute is not the end of the world, right?

Do you know you can still make a complaint to your state's auto regulator or file a Small Claims case?

Often1

Interesting. Amex is known to be very pro customer. Thus, when a chargeback is denied, there is almost always a very good reason.

However, chargebacks are not generally a means to dispute service you found lacking or as a set off for other matters, e.g. damage the repair facility may have done to your vehicle. Work that was not completed is a different issue and should be subject to chargeback, but may have gotten buried in the mix if you also used the process to complain about poor service and other damage.

It may be too late now, but perhaps try starting over with a very simple dispute for the value of the work which was not completed. If, for example it was a $5,000 repair job and you can reasonably prove that $500 worth of the work was not completed, then dispute the $500. Leave out everything else.

For the other stuff, e.g. poor service and damage, you may either work that out with the facility of file a small claims action against it. But, that is not what CC disputes are for.

Statman

+1. Amex is not in the business of arbitrating the quality of service you received. Not surprised at all that OP lost the chargeback.

joe_miami

A sixth dispute here seems like a waste of everyone's time.

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk. Please do not post the same message in more than one location. I have combined your posts here.

When American Express rejects a dispute they tell you the reason(s). Rather than speculating about motives, perhaps you could tell us exactly the reasons that American Express stated -and- what effort you made to resolve the problems with the merchant, before you filed the dispute.

It would also be helpful to know if the vehicle is personal or commercial, and if you paid with a personal or business card.

KDS777

This is quite correct. The post in question, in addition to almost being incoherent, is full of inaccuracies and outright lies. I've been a cardholder since 1984 and an AMEX accepting merchant as well.

mia

The Fair Credit Billing Act makes the card issuer liable for quality:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/article...harges#quality

...but this would likely not apply if this were a business-to-business transaction or paid with a card used for business purposes.

oksana123

OK, so since everyone is asking about what was done and not done on our behalf - here is the lowdown. We didn't only pay with the AMEX for all the services. We paid cash and by check and the only reason the merchant had our CC number and detail was because he requested that we prepay 350 for the actual paint which we did. When we picked up the vehicle we outright told him the work was not fully completed and we refuse to pay the last amount of 1125 as we already paid 4k and we were not happy at all unless he finishes the entire job he originally agreed to . So, we didn't authorize the charge on the CC for 1125 that he made. As I said he only had the card # to pay for the paint that he purchased online. I guess we are not the only ones that got taken advantage of - before you defend AMEX look below

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/winn...1-ventures-llc

joe_miami

If you only used Amex for barely 20% of the charges, then it's unclear why you're so upset with Amex. Seems like you're heading to small claims court either way, right?

oksana123

All we are trying to do is dispute the amount the merchant charged on AMEX without our permission. What we paid in cash and via check is fine by us as well as 350 we authorized him to charge on AMEX we are not disputing.

joe_miami

There's no signed authorization for the $1,125? What was that for? The balance of the labor?

mia

It sounds as if the merchant ran an additional charge that oksana did not authorize. However, if the customer signed a work order or contract agreeing to the full amount, and authorized one card transaction, the nuances might be lost at the clerical level.

oksana123

Yes, we never signed or authorized the 1125 charge. He did it all after we have left and thought all accounts were settled.

garykung

OP - allow me to say this:

Wwhile I understand your frustration with AMEX, and what you have said may help others, the reality remains simple - Your AMEX's dispute has been finalized. If you want to go after AMEX for this, you will have to file a request for arbitration. This is not the best solution.

Instead - I will simply go after whoever charged you the extra in a Small Claims court.

What matters is getting your money back.