Consumer complaint received 2021-02-01
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I have a checking account with Chase Bank. Under this joint checking account I have with my husband, I have two college accounts for my daughters  in college and one for a high school son. One of my daughters has a savings account as well. My parents are generous with their children, and one of the things they do every year is match my children 's W-2s. One daughter needed money to make a school bill so I obtained and deposited her check asap to meet that bill.

This check was for {$10000.00} and was written by my mother, also a Chase customer, from a money market account of another institution from which Chase a long paper trail of checks cashed in this manner through our accounts over years. I deposited this particular check on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX. As expected, there was a hold put on the check until they could " verify '' so I knew these would not be immediately available. 

What I did not know nor did I realize was even possible let alone legal, Chase because of this check put a freeze ON EVERY SINGLE XXXX OUR FAMILY HAS TO OUR NAME. They didn't bother to tell us but we found out as my husband went to the junk yard to try to fix an old vehicle and couldn't XXXX. My daughters who are working their hind ends off on night shifts were not getting paid even though HR said they had been paid and everyone else in their department was paid. My daughter who is 800 miles away from me trying to buy a cup of coffee and her ATM card is not working. My son is hours away with a football team and can not purchase food. They had their debit cards, there is plenty of money in the accounts but apparently there is an " algorithm '' that was tripped and this took away our ability to live on this earth in an instant. 

I called the bank on Friday night as I'm realizing we have a major issue. No fraud notification no indication on my online account that there is a problem with an account. Even in the declined charges, no notice as to why this is happening AT ALL. 

My husband as well was supposed to be paid over the weekend. All three pay checks are still not in our accounts ( around {$8000.00} ). The bank said maybe Tuesday. Really?? How legally can these people withhold paychecks?? The " freeze '' was after hours on the phone finally resolved Saturday morning but issues including the disappearance of our pay checks is one. All these people had to do was call my mother to verify she wrote the check and that lifted the " freeze '' although it was extended due to a " systems update '' I get that these companies are huge and there's no controlling the beast so to speak, but when they can upend someone's life for something as ridiculous as this, we have a problem with the laws in this country. If you can do this to someone you better have a 24 hour 7 day something dedicated to fixing this on the spot. You also should be required to notify the second you freeze an account. The fact that they can freeze your accounts and just sit and wait for you to sort it all out and give them a call is completely criminal. 

The cherry on the sundae is that I have four checks to deposit ( two from my husband 's work that are reimbursements I deposit every month ) and two from my mother for my other two children. I was told there's no guarantee anything anyone deposits won't trip the monster system and cause as a similar nightmare. I have to find a safe place to deposit checks now.

On a normal month, we live enough month to month, I would have lost health insurance through the marketplace because while your policy is not canceled for three months, you have to pay your premium XX/XX/XXXX or lose use of that policy. I have a cushion right now that I have rarely had. Withholding of my husband 's paycheck is outrageous not to mention my children 's. 

Obviously, I am leaving Chase bank and if I can all banks, but that will be a bit of process and take me a couple weeks. This whole situation is outrageous on every level and has to be fixed in our system. I knew if I joined a cartel or did something off shore perhaps this could happen, but that this can happen just randomly and with no explanation to people honestly working and trying to make it month to month is obscene.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation