I have an account that was being paid weekly (at least $50-100) as I used the card on and off. My husband switched jobs, we switched banks, and we were moving to another state, so the automatic payments had stopped; I was unaware they were discontinued.

I got a call in March saying that my Amex bill was due and had not been paid. I explained to the rep the above and that I had it on auto payments and I had always paid weekly before and never been late, which she agreed. I told her I would log in and send a payment ASAP and she offered to waive the late and over the limit fees (late fees put us over the limit).

I logged in and paid the bill. We moved and in April, I logged in to pay the bill, and was met by a message that the account was closed by Amex and due in full. It gave the option to make a payment, which I did. I called them and they said that due to their auto system detecting a payment behavior change, they had elected to close the account and it was forwarded to a collector.

The collector has said that if I let them auto debit a pre-determined date and amount by Amex that it will stay off my credit report, which I declined, but offered to pay a specific amount and date, just not auto-debited. He stated that it would then go on my credit, and I replied then there was no reason to pay the full amount, so he of course became rude.

I would like to purchase another home in the next year, once our current home sells. Other than that, our plan is to be on a cash-only basis from now on, so the only thing that worries me is getting a loan for a home. Other than this, I have one MasterCard, one vehicle loan and one home loan, all always paid on time.

What can I do at this point?

Thanks in advance!

have you got any reciept for payment .. you just need to contact company peoples and make things clear ... if it does not work legal options are always open

DO NOT, FOR ANY REASON, AND FOR CHRIST SAKE, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT give any bank, creditor, or company any authorization to "auto debit" your account at their leisure. This includes "scheduled" monthly/weekly payments. It's your bank account, not theirs. If you liken your personal,private bank account to your pie, why would you let them put their fingers in your pie by allowing them to have the opportunity to draft your account at any moment?

AMEX is a big house. They can pretty much swing their big, bureaucratic weight around because they can. Sending you to collections was the last big thing they could do. The damage control on your end does not mean you have to pay them on their terms anymore. Your best bet is to pay what you can, when you can, and tell them they should be happy they are getting any money from you at all.

You should check your credit reports now to see how much this AMEX business has affected your credit.

If I were you, I would consider never opening another AMEX account - they would loose a customer over this maneuver.