Safety checks

Thank you for the time and opportunity you have given us to answer Mr. Tahir's complaint published in The Jakarta Post (March 2, 1998: Amex checks).

First, we would like to express our concern over Mr. Tahir's experience. It is indeed awful to lose your money in a foreign country. This is the background to the creation of traveler's checks. But, in order to keep your traveler's checks safe, there are precautions that must be taken.

First, owners should sign their checks on the top left hand corner to identify they belong to them. All our policies and recommendations are attached to the traveler's checks purchase receipt.

From what we know, when Mr. Tahir purchased his traveler's checks, he may have forgotten to sign them. Thus, when his checks were lost, they were blank traveler's checks. If the traveler's checks had been signed, he would have received his refund directly from AmEx Los Angeles. This is our guarantee.

We respect Mr. Tahir and all our customers, which is the reason we reimbursed him 20 percent of the full amount of the lost traveler's checks. For security reasons, the refund must be received in person, not by a representative.

We have a strong refund policy, and we will continue to work with Mr. Tahir to try to get him a full refund.

WINNY SUNDARU

PA&C Manager

Amex, Jakarta