Some American Express customers in New Zealand have just had their cards unexpectedly cancelled — after a "technical glitch" approved a number of applications when they shouldn't have been.
An American Express (AMEX) spokesperson says less than 4% of applications were affected but could not elaborate on exactly how many that number represented.
These customers were those who either should not have been granted a credit card at all, or who the company said it should have sought additional information from before granting them a card.
The spokeperson said AMEX self-reported the issue, fixed the glitch and alerted affected customers. In some cases, the company has had to make changes to the customer's credit facilities, undergo a new assessment, and in other cases cancel their account outright.
"Customers who have had their account cancelled due to this issue will be refunded fees and interest they accrued on their card and receive a goodwill payment. We regret this error and are working directly with impacted customers.”
One of the affected customers shared with 1News the email alerting them of the card cancellation. It showed their card would be cancelled within 30 days of the date of the email.
They say it's a frustrating situation that came "completely out of the blue" more than two years after it had been initially approved.
"I was planning to use my credit card on an overseas trip in a couple of months but it's very frustrating that my card is getting cancelled with one months notice when I was approved and have been using it for years."
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