Consumer complaint received 2023-05-05
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
On XX/XX/ I received an expected payment via international wire from XXXX XXXX XXXX. The payment was for {$2000.00} XXXX which was {$1300.00} USD. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX  I received an unsolicited call and voicemail from XXXX, the bank XXXX at a nearby Chase Bank branch ( XXXX XXXX in XXXX, XXXX ). I assumed it was a sales call and ignored it. 

On the morning of XX/XX/ I received an alert that I had insufficient funds in my bank account due to a {$1000.00} wire transfer. I had no idea what that transaction was and immediately called Chase, I was told to call the fraud claims department. They suggested that I freeze my account and then go into a bank branch to close the account ASAP as it had obviously been compromised. 

I walked into the nearby branch that day, but there were no appointments available, I was told to come back the next day, which was a XXXX  and since they don't take appointments on XXXX, I was advised to come in early. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX I arrived at the bank branch early, but was told I had the wrong ID and had to go back home to get my passport. I went back to the bank and waited around an hour before being able to speak with a banker. 

Meanwhile, my account had gone deeper into overdraft because even though my account was frozen, automatic payments were still coming out. I told the banker I wanted to close the account and she said that might be difficult because the account was in overdraft. I asked if XXXX was in ( the banker I had received the unsolicited call from on the XXXX ). She was and she came to speak with me. 

XXXX said she had called me on the XXXX to let me know that the wire I had received on XX/XX/XXXX had insufficient funds behind it and that Chase would be taking the money back. She said that was what had happened the day before- it wasn't a fraudulent transaction, it was the bank reclaiming funds that they had fronted me. 

So according to XXXX, my account had not been compromised and there was no reason to open a new one. She said I could change my login details if it would make me feel better, but it was Chase who took the money. 

I was confused because : 1. I thought the point of wire transfers was that they have to have funds available 2. Chase never notified me that the funds were provisional, I had no reason to think the money wasn't mine to spend The transaction had cleared out my account, but it wasn't the full amount of the original wire, so I asked XXXX if I should expect to get hit again for the rest of the funds. She said probably yes, but she would ask the back office and let me know for sure. 

Since there was ( according to XXXX ) no fraud and no reason to close my account, I asked if they could unfreeze my account. They said they couldn't, and that I would have to call the claims department again to have them unfreeze it. So I went home, called the claims department and told them it was okay to unfreeze my account. 

A friend loaned me {$2000.00} to get my account out of the negatives, to leave room for Chase to take the rest of the money and then then to hold me over until I could get the situation sorted out and get XXXX XXXX XXXX to send another payment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I had a missed call and voicemail from XXXX. I called her back and she said that yes, I could expect that Chase would be taking the rest of the money back. By that time, I had been charged a {$50.00} fee for the outgoing wire and I asked her if I would be charged again whenever Chase came for the rest of the money. She said she didn't know and that she would find out and let me know. 

Since she had originally called me on the XXXX, but the money hadn't come out until the XXXX, I figured I could expect the rest of the money to be taken around the XXXX. 

Meanwhile, on the XXXX, I got the only correspondence I have received from Chase about any of this - a form letter from the claims department saying that my claim had been denied because they had determined that I had authorized the transaction OR had compromised my account details which allowed someone else to access my account. From their point of view, it was NOT Chase who had taken the money, it was a completely separate international transaction that I was responsible for. 

So on the XXXX, when Chase still hadn't taken the rest of the money, I called the claims department again to get more info on how they made their decision. I told them what XXXX had told me and they said that was wrong. It was NOT Chase, it was a completely separate transaction and I had wired that money out. I asked who and where the money had been wired to and the Claims rep said that information would be in a letter I should have received or would receive soon. I asked how international wires work and if I could speak to someone in the Wire department, the representative said there were no people in that department since COVID, that everything is done by forms and they suggested that I file a Wire Recall request. I asked how to do that, they said it was an option on the website, but that if I needed help, they could transfer me to a Customer Service Representative. I said yes please. 

So I was transferred to a Customer Service Rep, and I wish I could remember her name because she was BY FAR the kindest and most helpful person I have spoken with at Chase, even though she ultimately couldn't help me because neither one of us had enough information to file the Wire Recall. But from what she could see, there was nothing to indicate that there was anything wrong with the original XX/XX/XXXX incoming wire. 

The letter from Chase never came. And XXXX XXXX had no idea what happened. They said they definitely had the money to fund the wire and didn't know why Chase would say they didn't. They also couldn't get any information or response from Chase. 

So on XX/XX/XXXX, still having received no documentation from Chase, I called the claims department again to try and get information, because if Chase wasn't going to chase up what had actually happened I was going to have to do it, but I needed to know what evidence the claims department had for denying my claim. The first representative I spoke to that day said my claim had been denied because they had determined that I had initiated the transaction and/or had received benefit from the transaction. I told the rep that I had been told it was Chase who had taken the money, she said NO. NO WAY. It was a separate transaction that was initiated by me or someone with my account details. I asked when and how the transaction had been initiated and from where. She said she could see that the transaction had been initiated at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. ( Notice I made my first call to Chase at XXXX that day ) I asked how the transaction was initiated, she said online with my login details. I asked from where and she said she would look up that information but then we got disconnected. 

I called back and spoke to another representative. He reiterated what the first rep had said - I had initiated the transaction and/or received the benefit of the transfer. I asked what the benefit was - I asked who the merchant was, he said he didn't have that information, according to them, the benefit I received was the transfer itself. I asked what information, what evidence they had used to deny my claim. He didn't have that information, so I asked him for : 1. The IP address of the computer that made the transfer 2. All information they had on the merchant/service 3. Any details they had about the transaction He said he would gather all that information and put it in a letter. He also mentioned that he would keep me updated as to any progress made with the wire recall request. I said I was never able to file one and he said that the claims department already had. 

So I waited. And waited. And waited. XXXX XXXX said they finally did, in fact, receive that {$1000.00} back from Chase, but had no idea why, still hadn't heard from Chase and were hesitant to send the money back to me because this has all been non-sensical chaos and confusion. 

So I looked up my options, who do you ask for help when your bank is being shady and unhelpful. I found out I could file a complaint here, but before I did, I wanted to give Chase one last chance. So I made an in person branch appointment for XX/XX/XXXX. In my notes, I said that I wanted to file a complaint. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from XXXX, she said she had seen my appointment request and wanted to know what was going on. I told her everything that had happened, and she said- NO, the claims department was mistaken, it was what she had originally said a bad wire transfer and it was Chase who had taken the money. But she couldn't explain why Chase had never taken the rest of the money or how a wire transfer " bounces '' in the first place or why Chase has NEVER sent any kind of documentation saying anything about any of that. She said " You want documentation? Even though I've already told you? '' And I wished to punt all of Chase into the sun because GIRL WHAT?! YES I WANT DOCUMENTATION. All is banking is is documentation! 

She said there was no need to file a complaint, she would escalate my concerns and that I could expect some documentation and/or communication from the escalation team within the next 3 to 5 business days. She said I didn't need to come in and she canceled the meeting. 

Well, it has now been more than 5 business days. And I am beyond tired and frustrated. So here we are.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation