Consumer complaint received 2020-02-06
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: MS
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I opened a new Chase checking account via an online offer. The offer was ( 1 ) if you deposited {$75000.00} and ( 2 ) if the funds remained in the account for 90 days, a {$1000.00} would be deposited by Chase. 
After verifying the small deposits and withdrawal from Chase that were made to my local checking account, this local account was verified as an external account for Chase.

I asked the Chase representative on the phone whether I could deposit the {$75000.00} all in one transfer, or if I needed to deposit the funds online in smaller deposits. The representative told me that there was no limit on how much I deposited online in one deposit.
Before completing my {$75000.00} transfer, I called my local bank in MS that the funds would be transferred from, and my local bank assured me that there would be no problem in transferring the entire amount in one transfer to Chase.

That night, last night, I received an email from Chase stating that I had a secure message. I then signed into my Chase account and there was a message stating that my account was locked due to suspicious activity with a telephone number to call.

I called the number on the screen. After searching for the closest Chase branch, the representative told me that since there were no Chase banks in my state, I could call the branch in XXXX, LA. He provided me with the telephone number and instructed me to call in the morning and ask to speak with a personal banker. 
I spoke to the personal banker in XXXX, LA, and she told me that I needed to come to the bank with t

wo forms of ID. I told her that I lived over 2 hours away and I did not know if I could drive that far. She told me that she could not accept a fax with my IDs on it. I then called the number on the screen again. The representative told me that I had to go to the XXXX, LA, bank with 2 forms of ID and only then could my account be unlocked. 
I requested to speak with her supervisor. 
The supervisor repeated the same information. I then requested to speak with the supervisor 's supervisor. 
The manager came on the phone and told me that there was no way to unlock my account except to go to the closest branch, show two forms of ID, and the personal banker would then call and provide a code to unlock my account. He said that the account was locked because of the large transfer to a new account. 
I asked why the possibility of having to go to a branch in person was never stated. He then said that sometimes an account is flagged, but sometimes large deposits such as this to new accounts are not flagged, and are processed without a problem. I pointed out that this deposit was directly related to their new account offer. 
I spent an hour on the phone today trying unsuccessfully to resolve this problem of my locked online account. This does not include the time spent on the phone last night nor the time I spent trying to resolve the problem myself online. 
My online account is locked and can not be unlocked until I drive 130 miles to the closest Chase bank per the Chase representatives on the phone.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation