Complaint Review: American Express AMEX Assurance Company - Nationwide

I am filing this RipOff report on behalf my wife who is an American Express card holder.  Her Amex credit card was issued by Costco when they had a relationship with the credit company.  We purchased a Samsung SDR-5102 Surveillance System. It included a 16-channel DVR and 10 color digital camers Model SDC-7340BCN.  We paid for the system purchased at Costco in Wharton,NJ.  We used my wife's Amex card because we would benefit with a year free extended warranty under the plan. The system cost was $768.41.

After the first year standard manufacturer warranty expired, we started having up to six cameras show color degradation. So we filed the AMEX extended warranty application with a quote for repairs that manufacturer provided us.  But the quote rerroneously covered therepair costs for recorder box and not the cameras.  When we filed the RMA, we specifically listed the SDC-7340BCN as the damaged item and six units being effected.  Upon receipt of our application, AMEX notified us via email the we had to resubmit the quote associatied with the six damaged cameras. 

Hence we went back to the manufacturer Hanwha Techwin (the division that makes cameras for Samsung) and send email back to crm.systems@ hanwha.com and requested a quote specific to the cameras under the Online Ticket Number: Web-201604220016.  They have thus far ignored us.  Therefore, I wanted to inform AMEX of this non-response.  Here is where it got frustratingly ugly with the extended warranty provider.

I responded to the email notice of the AMEX quote re-do notice and reported that the camara maker was not addressing the cost to repair the cameras.  Then I followed up with a phone call at the Extended Warranty Division whose listed phone is 800-225-7350.  Once I connected with option of speaking to an agent, I was told to wait 30 seconds. But I held on over and minute when I heard a recorded message that their office was called and should call back on Monday-Friday from 9 AM t 5 PM and got disconnected.  I tried again on Monday June 14, 2016 at 10:10 AM.  The phone options this time were the same as they were in first call, "office is closed.  Office hours Monday-Friday 9-5."  Seems like a dead-end for communications for the claim.  

Next step was to contact the American Express Customer Care group whose 888-246-1076 number is listed on the billing statement.  I gave the first agent a synopsis of my communications problem with the warranty group and asked him for an alternative phone number to contact them.  He game me the exact digits that I called twice to no avail and told him so.  So he made an attempt to connect me with them.  I was put on hold for 15 minutes with no one taking me call, except for recordings telling me to wait.  I recontacted  the Customer Care group to express my frustrations with communication process they have set up.  She offered to try to link me with the right person.  But she experienced the same blocks that I endured and admitted that the communications process is difficult.

I am inclined to conclude that AMEX Extended Warranty support group is deliberately placing impediments in the way of processing claims related to Costco purchases.  When they began losing the Costco card business, they placed a series of roadblocks in the way to complete a claim.  This is indeed a ripoff in my view.