Not upheld: failure to provide clear notice of benefit change complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs W complained that American Express failed to provide clear notice of the removal of a lifestyle credit benefit from her Platinum Card, which she had upgraded to in September 2024 for £650 annually. She claimed she did not receive notification that the benefit would end in June 2025 and therefore did not give informed consent when renewing her card in 2025, resulting in a £50 financial loss. Amex stated it had emailed all relevant members on 31 October 2024 notifying them of the change and that Mrs W was not excluded from the distribution list. The ombudsman found that Amex provided reasonable notification and that Mrs W's records showed she was a Platinum member at the time of the email and had enrolled in the benefit before the notification was sent. The complaint was not upheld and no compensation was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Amex provided reasonable notification through an email sent on 31 October 2024 to all relevant members, and that Mrs W's records showed she was not excluded from the distribution list, making it most likely she received the email. The ombudsman rejected Mrs W's argument that she only became a Platinum member on 22 October 2024, noting that Amex's records showed her status changed on 26 September 2024 and she had enrolled in the benefit on 15 October 2024, well before the notification email. The ombudsman concluded that the lifestyle benefit was a discretionary benefit subject to separate terms and an end date that was always publicised as subject to change, and that Amex was not required to remind Mrs W of the change at renewal since all benefit details were published on the app and online.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website