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How to Negotiate with an American Express Debt Collector

George Simons | January 31, 2025

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: To negotiate with AmEx debt collectors, offer 40–60% of the debt upfront, communicate clearly, get agreements in writing, and pay on time to settle effectively. Use Solo to streamline the process.

For years, in their television and print ads, we have been told: “Don't live without it” in reference to American Express credit cards. If you are being contacted by an American Express debt collector, this is not the time to worry. This is the time to take action.

This is the time to keep your head about you. This is the time for a consumer to take the decisive actions necessary to prevent this debt collection from resulting in a more dire situation. It is never easy being on the receiving end of a collection call.

A consumer who is being contacted by an American Express debt collector needs to gather as much information on the company as they can. It is imperative to understand that if American Express is making collection attempts regarding the balance you may owe them, it generally means they are prepared to do what they deem necessary to collect any unpaid balances. Become a knowledgeable consumer. One of the best ways to do this is to acquire as much information as you can on American Express.

Settle debt with American Express

You can negotiate debt settlement at any stage of the collections process. SoloSettle makes it easy.

Settle with SoloSettle

What is American Express?

Conventional wisdom says that most people would say they are very familiar with American Express. Though most are not currently, or ever have been, contacted by a debt collector from American Express. If this is the particular situation you find yourself in, there can be actions you can take that would be beneficial to you and your situation. The goal here is to put yourself in the best possible position to resolve the debt amicably.

Incorporated in the state of New York, American Express Company has been in business for well over 170 years. They are a financial institution in this country.

Read American Express reviews online

Curious to know what other people have said about their debt collection experience with American Express? If so, then take a moment to review these real online reviews:

It’s fair to say the online reviews of American Express are a mixed bag. Nevertheless, the up and down reviews should not deter you from taking proactive steps to engage with AMEX in an effort to resolve the debt collection matter.

American Express may be open to working with you to resolve your debt collection matter. Effective communication is critically important.

Don't ignore an American Express debt collector

Once the AMEX debt collector begins their collection actions, they are intent on resolving the unpaid balance.

Deciding to deal with an American Express debt collector is step one. After arming yourself with information about the company and perhaps its methodologies, you have put yourself in a better situation to resolve the account. If you prevent their collection efforts from escalating, that is to your advantage. If a resolution is unable to be achieved, it could lead American Express to deciding to file suit. Then, in addition to the balance owed, they can add court costs, attorney fees, and lost interest to the suit, and the balance becomes unrecognizable.

Once you decide to meet this head-on, you can begin to take control of how the collection moves forward. Isn't it better than you have a say in what transpires than be at the mercy of a faceless and nameless bill collector? If you fail to take any action and simply ignore their attempts to contact you, the most likely outcome is that American Express will escalate this to a lawsuit.

Once this decision is reached by American Express the impact that you, as the consumer, can have is minimal if not non-existent. If they decide to file suit, this can lead American Express to take legal action which may allow them to attempt to secure a judgment against you. If that happens, they may be able to take some of the following actions against you to satisfy the judgment:

Do not let this happen to you. Take action now and deal with the American Express debt collector.

Protect your property. Respond with SoloSuit to block a default judgment.

Negotiating a debt settlement with American Express

If you know the debt is yours and will need to be repaid, then you can take proactive steps to try and negotiate a debt settlement. American Express may be amenable to a settlement for a lesser amount than what is actually owed. AMEX may also agree not to report your account to credit bureaus once you pay the settlement. The debt settlement process can be as simple as these four steps:

  1. If you were served with a Summons and Complaint by AMEX, make sure to file an Answer to avoid getting hit with a default judgment by the court. This is important because a default judgment can adversely impact your position during settlement talks.
  2. Take the time to calculate what you can realistically pay toward the amount owed. For example, if you owe $6,000 but could pay $2,500 toward the balance without negatively impacting your ability to pay other living expenses, then this calculation will help establish parameters for your settlement negotiations.
  3. Send your proposed settlement offer to AMEX. Do not be shocked if they initially decline your offer. Be prepared to engage in a back-and-forth negotiations process.
  4. If you are able to successfully reach a settlement agreement, then make sure to get the terms in writing.

To learn more about debt settlement negotiation, check out this video explaining how you can negotiate a debt settlement on your own:

SoloSettle makes it easy to start the debt settlement negotiation process.

How Solo can help you defend yourself against American Express

So, you are being called by a debt collector from American Express. What does that mean for you? It means that you should deal with this matter now. It can be intimidating but better to meet this challenge head first than stick your head in the sand and hope for the best.

One way to do that, you need to answer the suit. To get help with this go to Solosuit.com. After familiarizing yourself with valuable information located here, you'll find that SoloSuit can make it less frightening and easy for you to deal with this situation regardless of the balance owed or what state you reside in.

No one is saying that finding yourself in this kind of situation isn't precarious. No one would choose to be in this financial mess. Isn't it better to seek and then allow those that can to help you rather than ignoring the collection calls? What would you do if American Express decided to offer you a settlement? They have been known to do that. One thing is clear, if you hide from their collection efforts, if you don't exercise your rights by answering their calls and dealing with them directly, the outcome will in all probability go against you.

If addressing this can get you a reduced settlement amount or something better, you will realize that it was worth the time and effort to exercise your rights as a consumer. Don't take it on the chin. Don't throw your hands up in frustration. Maybe you don't know what you could do but Solo does. Allow them to guide you as you respond to an AMEX debt collector.

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