This data comes from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database and reflects consumer complaints, not proven violations.

CFPB complaint data Grade D 5,234 complaints

American Express Company - Debt Collector Complaint Profile

CFPB complaint profile across 53 states, reputation grade D.

Complaints by issue type

What consumers report about American Express Company

complaints
Source CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
Subscribe to complaint changes (RSS)

Data updated September 2026

CFPB complaint disposition

CCDB record american-express-company American Express Company

Grade D · 5,234 CFPB filings · 100% timely · lead issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed · vol #32 · compose #239

  • VOL 5,234
  • GRADE D
  • 12MO 1,822
  • STATES 53
  • TIMELY 100%
  • DISPUTE 19%
  • ISSUE Attempts to collect debt n…
  • RANK #32
  • COMPOSE #239

Volume peers

Nearest volume peer: Discover Bank (5,382 complaints)

ProCollect, Inc.ProCollect, Inc.4,864American Express Company (this)American Express Company (th…5,234Discover BankDiscover Bank5,382Sunrise Credit Services, IncSunrise Credit Services, Inc5,396T.S. HoldingsT.S. Holdings5,475
CFPB complaint volume neighbourhood (this collector + nearest volume peers)

American Express Company's 5,234 CFPB complaints sit next to Discover Bank on the volume neighbourhood; peer NAMES stay, and disposition VALUES are this collector's. Grades compare collectors to each other - a complaint is a filing, not a proven violation. How to read a complaint count →

How the 5,234 complaints break down

Every complaint issue type on record for American Express Company, not just the top ones shown above.

Reputation score breakdown

D
Composite reputation score
53.3/100
American Express Company

Blends complaint volume, timely-response rate, dispute rate, and recent trend from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database into one comparable 0-100 score. Not an official CFPB rating and not a finding of wrongdoing — see methodology for the exact formula.

Complaint volume F
5,234
Fewer complaints relative to graded peers scores higher; volume reflects footprint as much as conduct.
Timely response A
100%
Share of complaints answered inside the CFPB’s 15-day window.
Dispute rate A
19%
Share of company responses the consumer disputed as inadequate; lower is better.
Recent trend D
Rising
Whether the last 12 months of complaints are rising, stable, or falling vs the prior period.

Distributed filing map

American Express Company spreads filings across 53 states - California leads at only 13.9%

Figures below come from this collector's company_states / company_monthly rows and corpus RankMaps. Corpus placement method.

Most-even geography
Lead state under 15%
California still leads at 13.9% across 53 states
Seasonal peak
2024-02 9.0%
8–15% band · 6 filings
Corpus ranks
#32 volume
#239 composite
Among 5,420 volume-ranked / 536 scored collectors with 200+ complaints

How does American Express Company compare to its peers?

How does AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY compare? Versus a similar-volume peer and the national average (collectors with ≥50 total complaints), drawn from 10 collectors with a comparable complaint count
AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY National average
Complaints (last 12 mo)lower is better
1,822
775
268
Timely-response ratehigher is better
100%
100%
91%
Consumer-dispute ratelower is better
19%
16%
19%

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database.

Response speed vs. dispute rate, among similar-volume collectors

Timely response and dispute rate track only weakly together nationally (r=0.22 among collectors with 5+ complaints): answering promptly does not reliably buy American Express Company a lower dispute rate.

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 9 entities by Timely response rate (%) (X) and Dispute rate (%) (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Responsive but disputedSlow & disputedResponsive & trustedSlow but undisputed 85%90%95%100%105% 5%10%15%20%25%30%35% Timely response rate (%) Dispute rate (%) American Express Company vs. 8 similar-volume peers, by response speed and dispute rate American Express CompanyDISCOVER BANKSUNRISE CREDIT SERVICES, INCProCollect, Inc.FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC.CAVALRY INVESTMENTS, LLCNCB Management Services Inc.Diversified Consultants, Inc.Aldous & Associates, PLLC
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

American Express Company's complaint volume in context

American Express Company vs all collectors by complaint volume

Where this collector's total CFPB complaint count sits among every tracked debt collector (volume, not a quality ranking)

5,234 Top 1% higher than 99% of 5,420 collectors

0–20: 3,504 collectors (65%). Below this entry. 20–40: 565 collectors (10%). Below this entry. 40–60: 260 collectors (5%). Below this entry. 60–80: 163 collectors (3%). Below this entry. 80–100: 112 collectors (2%). Below this entry. 100–120: 63 collectors (1%). Below this entry. 120–140: 67 collectors (1%). Below this entry. 140–160: 53 collectors (1%). Below this entry. 160–180: 42 collectors (1%). Below this entry. 180–200: 55 collectors (1%). Below this entry. 200–220: 536 collectors (10%). This entry sits in this band. American Express Company 0 220 tracked debt collectors, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more collectors. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CFPB Consumer Complaint Database · September 2026

Complaint Trend (24 months)

Rising ↑
2024-01 2026-02

Issue Detail Breakdown

Issue Complaints
Attempts to collect debt not owed
1,827
Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
1,309
Communication tactics
601
Written notification about debt
524
False statements or representation
476
Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly
179
Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed
107
Disclosure verification of debt
92
Improper contact or sharing of info
59
Electronic communications
34

Where do complaints against American Express Company come from?

American Express Company's own per-state count, not a national baseline.

Top states by complaints against American Express Company

Across 53 states with at least one filing

complaints
Source CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

Compare beyond geography

Nationwide peers by volume & timely response

Two PlainCollector-derived comparison paths for American Express Company: nearest all-time CFPB complaint volume and nearest CFPB timely-response rate among collectors with at least 100 logged complaints. State breakdowns above stay geographic; these neighborhoods vary by metric.

Similar filing volume

Nearest collectors by total CFPB complaints. This record: 5,234.

4 peers

Similar timely response rate

Nearest collectors by CFPB 15-day timely-response %. This record: 99.78406391708054%.

4 peers

Know your rights before responding to American Express Company: FDCPA rights guide · debt validation letter · rights library.

Data sourced from the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCollector

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Complaint Database, 1,139,236 debt collection complaints are represented in the current PlainCollector snapshot. See our methodology for how PlainCollector computes each company's reputation grade from this data.

Every figure on PlainCollector is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.