Who American Express is and what it reports
American Express issues credit cards and charge cards to consumers and small businesses. Its consumer accounts are reported to the nationwide credit bureaus, so the way Amex describes your account, including payment history, balance, status and whether it is open or closed, shows up on the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion reports that other lenders read.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a company that sends account data to the bureaus is a “furnisher.” Because Amex reports to multiple bureaus, a single wrong entry can lower your score at every bureau at once.
American Express and the credit bureaus: the regulatory record
On October 1, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced orders requiring three American Express subsidiaries to refund about $85 million to roughly 250,000 customers, along with civil penalties from the CFPB and other federal banking regulators totaling $27.5 million. Among other findings, the CFPB said two Amex banks failed to report the existence of certain customer disputes to the credit bureaus, in violation of the FCRA, and ordered them to report disputes properly. The CFPB also found that Amex subsidiaries misled consumers that paying certain old debts would be reported to the bureaus and could improve their credit scores, when those payments were not being reported.
Separately, American Express disclosed in a January 16, 2025 SEC filing that it had reached agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice, and an agreement in principle with Federal Reserve staff, to pay approximately $230 million in total to resolve investigations into historical sales practices involving certain U.S. small business customers.
Those matters do not prove anything about your account. They do show that how Amex handles disputes and credit reporting has drawn federal scrutiny before.
Errors that show up on American Express accounts
Amex errors tend to involve payment timing, disputes and account status:
- Late payments that weren’t late. A payment credited a day after the due date, or applied to the wrong account, can generate a 30-day late mark that stays for seven years.
- Billing disputes treated as delinquency. If you withheld payment on a charge you were disputing, the account may be reported as past due without any note that you disputed it.
- Paid or settled balances still owed. An account you paid in full or settled can keep showing a balance, or show “charged off” with no zero balance.
- Fraud accounts. A card opened in your name by someone else can stay on your report after you report the fraud.
- Authorized-user confusion. If you were only an authorized user, the account should not be reported as your own debt.
- Wrong open or closed status. A closed card reported as open, or the reverse, can distort your utilization and history.
How to dispute an American Express account
The order you dispute in matters. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b), Amex’s duty to investigate that you can enforce in court begins only after a credit bureau notifies it of your dispute.
- Pull all three reports. Get your Equifax, Experian and TransUnion reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and save dated copies.
- Dispute with each bureau reporting the error. Use the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion dispute channels. Identify the Amex account by its last digits, state exactly what is wrong, and attach proof: statements showing the payment date, a payoff or settlement letter, your billing dispute correspondence, or an identity theft report.
- You may also dispute directly with Amex. Use the contact options in your online account or on your statement. Keep confirmation numbers and copies. A direct dispute alone does not create a private claim, so do not skip the bureau dispute.
- Track the deadlines. The bureau generally has 30 days to complete its reinvestigation (§ 1681i(a)(1)), and Amex must complete its investigation within the same period (§ 1681s-2(b)(2)).
- Keep the results. Save each bureau’s results letter. If the error survives, that letter is key evidence.
For identity theft, you can ask each bureau to block fraudulent information under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2 by providing an identity theft report and proof of identity. Card issuers have their own duties under § 1681s-2(a)(6) after a block notice, but consumers cannot sue on that provision directly.
Your FCRA rights
- Furnisher investigation (§ 1681s-2(b)). After a bureau forwards your dispute, Amex must conduct a reasonable investigation, review the information the bureau provides, report the results, and modify, delete or block information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified.
- Bureau accuracy and reinvestigation (§§ 1681e(b), 1681i). Equifax, Experian and TransUnion must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and must reasonably reinvestigate disputes. A bureau that keeps reporting an Amex error may face its own, separate claim.
- Time limits (§ 1681c). Most negative information cannot be reported after seven years.
What you may recover
If American Express or a bureau negligently violated the FCRA, you may recover actual damages, including credit denials, higher interest rates, lost opportunities and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If the violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees and costs (§ 1681n).
Get a free case review before your deadline
An FCRA claim generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If American Express is reporting something false and a bureau dispute did not fix it, gather your reports, your dispute and the results letters and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, files FCRA cases in federal court nationwide, directly or with local counsel, and works on contingency: no fee unless we win.
Questions about suing American Express
Can I sue American Express over my credit report?
Possibly. American Express is a furnisher of credit information. If you dispute an Amex account with Equifax, Experian or TransUnion and Amex fails to reasonably investigate and correct inaccurate data after the bureau notifies it, you may have a claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b). Whether you do depends on the error, how you disputed it, and the harm it caused.
I disputed directly with American Express. Is that enough?
Not for a lawsuit. The FCRA's private right of action against a card issuer is tied to disputes sent through a credit bureau. Disputing directly with Amex can still help, but you should also dispute with each bureau reporting the error so the issuer's investigation duty under § 1681s-2(b) is triggered.
What can I recover?
For a negligent violation you may recover actual damages, such as credit denials, higher interest and emotional distress, plus attorney's fees and costs under 15 U.S.C. § 1681o. For a willful violation you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs under § 1681n.
What does it cost to hire FCRA Attorneys?
Nothing up front. We handle FCRA cases on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. The FCRA also allows a successful consumer to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company that violated the law.
Related reading
- How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- How to Remove a Late Payment From Your Credit Report, and When You Can't
- Charged-Off Account Still Showing a Balance? When It's Accurate and When It's Not
- Do You Still Have an FCRA Claim After the Error Was Fixed?
- Examples of FCRA Violations, Matched to the Section of the Law They Break
Sources
- CFPB press release: CFPB Orders American Express to Pay $85 Million Refund to Consumers Harmed by Illegal Credit Card Practices (October 1, 2012)
- American Express Form 8-K: resolution of small business sales practices matters (January 16, 2025)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.