Just days after Visa and MasterCard were hit with an $800 million judgment by a California court over their lack of disclosure to cardholders of a currency exchange fee applied when items were bought abroad when using the cards, American Express has been hit with a similar suit.
As in the Visa and MasterCard case, the suit asks that American Express be forced to rebate those fees to anyone who was charged them, dating back to March 2001.
Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, said the issue was more about disclosure than money.
American Express pledged to fight the suit, and said its practices are “fair and appropriate.”
As in the Visa and MasterCard case, the suit asks that American Express be forced to rebate those fees to anyone who was charged them, dating back to March 2001.
Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, said the issue was more about disclosure than money.
American Express pledged to fight the suit, and said its practices are “fair and appropriate.”
- KC's View:
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We’ve been out of the country a half-dozen times on business in the last couple of years, and we had no idea that such currency exchange fees were being charged. That doesn’t mean that American Express didn’t tell us, in one of those leaflets written in six-point type that sometimes come with the statement. But we never saw it, and it certainly wasn’t obvious.
Next witness?
