Flying High
Intern
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2010
- Posts
- 50
Have had an interesting/confusing couple of days talking to Amex about what's happening with the transition to chip and PIN cards.
I had a merchant remind me over the weekend that from 1 August I would not be able to sign for a transaction, but would need to use a PIN (my current card does not have a chip and PIN).
'No problem', I thought. 'That's a few months away. I'm sure Amex is on the case and will be sending me out a replacement Platinum Card before 1 August.'
A nagging doubt in my mind prompted me to send an email asking for an assurance that this would indeed happen. I got a reply reasonably quickly that included this line:
"I'd like to assure you that you can continue to use your current Card by signing after 01/08/14 as long as it is accepted by the merchants. You will receive an automatic renewed Card only on Card expiration which is mentioned on the top of your Card in mm/yy format."
This phrase was repeated ad nauseum in subsequent emails even when I pointed out that the merchants were the ones saying that they WOULDN'T accept it (clearly that is the company line that all the customer reps are told to say, regardless of whether it is actually true or not). I also pointed out this phrase that appears on Amex's own site:
"From 1 August 2014 all domestic point of sale transactions will require a PIN to authorise and verify your purchase"
I then decided to ring and talk to someone, who reiterated that I WOULD be able to sign for transactions after that date, but they would be sending out replacement cards with chip and PIN "towards the end of the year". That is, she directly contradicted the information on Amex's own website. I could get a replacement card that has a chip and PIN included immediately, but it would be a different number. If I want to retain my existing number I would need to wait until it was due for replacement (which is not until 2015). Again, conflicting information from Amex - one person says a replacement card won't arrive until the existing one expires, someone else says it will come earlier than that.
This is what I pay $900 a year for?!?!?
I had a merchant remind me over the weekend that from 1 August I would not be able to sign for a transaction, but would need to use a PIN (my current card does not have a chip and PIN).
'No problem', I thought. 'That's a few months away. I'm sure Amex is on the case and will be sending me out a replacement Platinum Card before 1 August.'
A nagging doubt in my mind prompted me to send an email asking for an assurance that this would indeed happen. I got a reply reasonably quickly that included this line:
"I'd like to assure you that you can continue to use your current Card by signing after 01/08/14 as long as it is accepted by the merchants. You will receive an automatic renewed Card only on Card expiration which is mentioned on the top of your Card in mm/yy format."
This phrase was repeated ad nauseum in subsequent emails even when I pointed out that the merchants were the ones saying that they WOULDN'T accept it (clearly that is the company line that all the customer reps are told to say, regardless of whether it is actually true or not). I also pointed out this phrase that appears on Amex's own site:
"From 1 August 2014 all domestic point of sale transactions will require a PIN to authorise and verify your purchase"
I then decided to ring and talk to someone, who reiterated that I WOULD be able to sign for transactions after that date, but they would be sending out replacement cards with chip and PIN "towards the end of the year". That is, she directly contradicted the information on Amex's own website. I could get a replacement card that has a chip and PIN included immediately, but it would be a different number. If I want to retain my existing number I would need to wait until it was due for replacement (which is not until 2015). Again, conflicting information from Amex - one person says a replacement card won't arrive until the existing one expires, someone else says it will come earlier than that.
This is what I pay $900 a year for?!?!?
