Russian standard American Express sucks

There is a law here in Russia that banks which are totally foreign are not allowed to work in the country. Than means that world wide known logos which can be seen in Moscow are in fact copies, not originals.

I used to use American Express card, and when it worn out I decided to re-issue it. A guy in the office was so kind that allowed to order fast re-issue, and on the next day I received a new card. (Well, he also was so kind to cut my old card as soon as possible.) Which had to be activated before use. No problem, call to the call-center.

First call: “I’d like to activate my card” — “Please call us back in two hours. The system is rebooting”.

Second attempt: “I’d like to activate my card” — “Please call us back in a couple of hours, the ‘Activate’ button is still disabled”.

Third attempt: “I’d like to activate my card, may I?” — “No, you can’t now. Please call us back in six months”.

I’ll try to get known of what happened and why that I can’t continue using the re-issued card (which was active!), but I am not going to wait six months (what the fuck?!) and pay for card maintenance any more.

bank — 29 October 2008