Payment Disputes
776 decisions, 43% of this firm page
Published Financial Ombudsman Service decisions, 2013-April 2026
American Express complaints: what the Ombudsman decided
We analysed 1,803 published Financial Ombudsman decisions linked to American Express. This page shows outcomes, complaint types and decision patterns without rating the firm.
More complaints doesn't mean worse service — big firms serve millions of customers, so they naturally show up more often. Win rates reflect the mix of complaint types a firm faces, not a quality score.
Across the full dataset, about 1 in 3 clear-result cases ended with the customer winning fully or partly (33.5%). For American Express, this page shows 27.8%.
Complaint mix
What people complain about
27.2%
PPI Claims
470 decisions, 26.1% of this firm page
Consumer Credit
200 decisions, 11.1% of this firm page
Insurance Claims
73 decisions, 4% of this firm page
Banking Disputes
65 decisions, 3.6% of this firm page
The percentage at the end of each row is the rough won-or-partly-won rate for that broad category.
Published decisions
How it changed over time
2019144
2020125
2021130
2022149
2023186
2024240
2025324
202662
The 2026 figure covers published decisions up to April 2026.
Outcome wording
What happens when customers win
Set amount listed
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
Worked out with interest
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
Worked out by set rules
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
Stress or hassle payment
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
Refund
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
No money ordered
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
Not clear from the case
Share of won or partly won decisions with this wording
These labels describe the decision wording. They do not promise any outcome for another case.
Past results are not a promise
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Methodology
Read this as data, not a verdict.
Source
Published Financial Ombudsman Service decisions from 2013–April 2026. This page uses 1,803 published decisions for American Express.
Entities included
American Express Services Europe Limited; American Express Services Europe Limited (AESEL).
What won means
Won means the Financial Ombudsman agreed with the customer. Partly won means it agreed with part of the complaint. Unclear outcomes are left out of the rate.
Not a rating
This is not a review or rating of American Express. Past results can't predict your case; this isn't legal advice.
Independence and corrections
HeyRefund is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Financial Ombudsman Service. Spotted an error in our numbers? Tell us and we'll check it.