American Express credit reporting lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Brendan Pohl filed a lawsuit against American Express National Bank.
- Why: Pohl alleges American Express continued reporting his settled accounts as unpaid charged-off debts to credit bureaus.
- Where: The American Express lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
- How to get help: If you received excessive debt collection calls or were subjected to unlawful collection practices, you may qualify for a debt collection lawsuit investigation.
A new credit reporting lawsuit alleges American Express National Bank continued reporting two settled accounts as unpaid charged-off debts after accepting full settlement payments from the plaintiff.
Plaintiff Brendan Pohl claims American Express engaged in inaccurate and misleading credit reporting in willful disregard of its legal obligations under federal and state law.
Pohl alleges he opened two American Express business accounts in May 2023 and later reached a settlement agreement with the bank on both accounts.
According to the lawsuit, American Express confirmed via email on Feb. 21, 2026, that Pohl’s settlement payments had been successfully processed.
Despite this, Pohl claims American Express began reporting both accounts to TransUnion, Experian and Equifax — the three major credit bureaus — as unpaid charged-off debts shortly after confirming receipt of his payments.
Pohl says he sent numerous disputes to all three bureaus in February and March 2026, but alleges that when those disputes were forwarded to American Express, the bank verified the inaccurate reporting as accurate rather than correcting it.
The credit reporting lawsuit alleges American Express violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which imposes duties on furnishers — entities like banks that supply credit information to reporting agencies — requiring them to conduct reasonable investigations into consumer disputes and correct any inaccurate information they find.
“[American Express] continues to hold the plaintiff accountable for an invalid debt (which has been settled in full) causing the plaintiff to suffer actual damages, including emotional distress, and have adverse credit through no fault of the plaintiff,” the American Express credit reporting lawsuit says.
American Express allegedly continued reporting settled accounts as ‘charged-off’ months after payment
As of at least May 2026, Pohl alleges American Express was still reporting both accounts as charged off in March 2026, with false unpaid balances on each account.
The lawsuit alleges American Express submitted this inaccurate information to the credit bureaus on a rolling basis approximately every 30 days, compounding the damage to Pohl’s credit profile over time.
Pohl claims the inaccurate reporting mischaracterizes him as someone who avoids his financial obligations and significantly damages a credit score that is otherwise in good standing.
Pohl alleges he suffered loss of credit, loss of ability to purchase and benefit from credit, increased costs for credit, damage to reputation, and mental and emotional distress as a result of American Express’s conduct.
He demands a jury trial and seeks actual, statutory, and punitive damages for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In 2025, Credit One Bank was hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly making more than 578 harassing phone calls in an attempt to collect on a debt despite having received a formal cease-and-desist letter from the plaintiff’s legal counsel.
Have you ever experienced inaccurate credit reporting by American Express? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by David J. McGlothlin and Pamela E. Prescott of Kazerouni Law Group APC.
The American express credit reporting lawsuit is Pohl v. American Express National Bank, Case No. 2:26-at-00984, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
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