Ayala Files Lawsuit Against American Express for Allowing an $11,000 Charge Over the Purchase of an $11 Candle at a Festival

Ayala filed a complaint against the American Express Company for a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trading Practices Act (FDUTPA), and the Federal Truth in Lending Act (FTLA).

The underlying facts allege that in March, the plaintiff attended a festival in Costa Rica. At the festival, the plaintiff purchased a candle for $11. Upon returning from her trip, the plaintiff noticed a suspicious $11,000 transaction which she immediately reported to American Express agents. Shortly after she reported the $11,000 charge, Nguyen received a new credit card from American Express.

Unbeknown to the plaintiff, the local merchant appeared to have charged Nguyen for 75 other items that the plaintiff did not purchase (or ever authorize), which equalled the amount of $11,000. In her attempts to clarify the situation, the plaintiff reached out to the local merchant. The merchant provided the plaintiff with a sales slip. The sales slip displayed a graphic depicting a couple of crossed lines that allegedly are Nguyen’s signature.

However, a plain comparison between the graphic displayed in the sales slip and the plaintiff’s signature in her driver’s license made it evident that she did not sign the said sales slip. After contacting American Express countless times, and providing all the backing documentation, including the false sales slip and a receipt for only $11, American Express decided to validate the obviously fraudulent charge.

As stated in the complaint: “Amex’s practices are unfair and/or deceptive, because Amex de facto, rubber stamps merchant transactions without any verification whatsoever (no matter how odd the transaction is), leaving consumers stranded, with zero protections against fraudsters who, once in possession of the consumer’s credit card information, can simply mark an X as a signature that Amex will then recognize as valid––regardless of any challenge.” ¶ 9.

As stated by attorney Eduardo A. Maura, “The situation with American Express is outrageous. It couldn’t be more obvious that this is plain fraud, and that our client never authorized the transaction. That it has to get to the point of a lawsuit, makes it even worse.” Attorney Eduardo A. Maura and Luis Quesada are involved in the case.