Consumer complaint received 2020-05-08
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NY
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Installment loan
Issue: Getting the loan

Complaint:
To Whom it May Concern : I am writing concerning JP Morgan Chase Bank 's ( Chase ) handling of the SBA PPP Loan process for its business customers. I have carefully read the criteria for this loan program and qualify as a XXXX XXXX XXXX  for a loan to cover 2.5 months of net income ( which has been defined as payroll for the self employed or independent contractors ). I submitted my round 1 application within hours of the initial launch of Chase 's website for this program on XX/XX/XXXX, with follow-up information submitted on XX/XX/XXXX. I submitted on XX/XX/XXXX a round 2 application within a day of funds being again made available under the second authorization by Congress for the program. 

In both cases Chase has rejected my application citing inadequate documentation to support my loan request, yet each time it failed to communicate with me to inform me of what documentation they needed. In first round, NO GUIDELINES on required documents were provided whatsoever and I provided information in response to a later request for information that included no reference to the exact documents they were seeking. The only additional follow-up was a rejection note citing inadequate documentation with NO information on what was missing or inadequate. 

In the second round, there were now published guidelines, BUT these did not apply to my situation ( see below for more details ). In neither round was there any customer service support provided to obtain clarification. With my second submission on XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted very detailed information and begged them to please contact me should they need anything else. The only contact I received was a rejection email with no opportunity for appeal. While this is terrible customer service, it goes beyond this - it denies me equal access to a program I should qualify for because of Chase 's failure to follow Dept Of Treasury and SBA Guidelines.

In particular, Chase has violated SBA policies which require a lender to work with the borrower to substantiate the income used for calculating the requested loan amount. While rejecting my application citing inadequate information, they failed to both provide proper guidance on the documentation needed during the online application process and the opportunity to rectify any information deficiencies by contacting me and requesting further information, which is easily and readily accessible. The requirement of the Lender to provide assistance to borrowers is stated clearly in the SBA FAQ for the PPP Program under the answer to the first question of the linked document, which states : " If the lender identifies errors in the borrowers calculation or material lack of substantiation in the borrowers supporting documents, the lender should work with the borrower to remedy the issue. '' https : //www.sba.gov/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Furthermore, Chase failed to provide adequate guidance on documentation required for businesses that were not in operation for all of XXXX, i.e. I formed a new XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX when I substantially reorganized XXXX XXXX. It is under the EIN of this business that XXXX XXXX  accounts with Chase are registered. According to the most recent FAQ from the Dept. of Treasury, " An applicant that was not in business from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX may use the average monthly payroll costs for the period XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. '' ( this is from question 14 of the FAQ from the Dept. of Treasury https : //home.treasury.govXXXX ).

With no guidance provided on how to substantiate income for this period, I provided various documents showing income and even filled out a hypothetical " Schedule C '' that just covered this period. I used the results to calculate the PPP loan amount. If this was not sufficient information, it is clear from these official government documents that I should have been contacted by Chase to provide other documents to meet the requirements. Chase 's failure to do so led to a rejection of the loan, which I otherwise qualify for under the requirements of the CARES Act. 

For your reference, I am attaching ALL the correspondence I have received from Chase on this matter, which consists of only confirmation of submission emails and subsequent rejection emails. These are all standardized template emails with no details about what information was deficient. It is ridiculous that the first rejection urges me to reapply, since Chase had of course committed all its funds to large business customers instead of small business ones. The second rejection, again with no specifics on the deficiencies, also provides no recourse, which is of course an unacceptable lending practice. 

Well, fortunately for me, I have you guys to turn to for providing that recourse. I understand you guys are efficient and fair, so I hope you are able to assist me with this urgent matter. To facilitate the process, I am attaching all the correspondence from Chase, which include reference numbers, etc. I am also happy to provide the specific information I submitted with my loan applications, but since much of it is quite personal I thought it not wise to attach it here but instead save it for future correspondence. I will of course be happy to provide any other information I can to facilitate obtaining an approval for the PPP loan if I am provided with details on what is actually needed! 

I am sure there has been an uptick in your cases, but I hope you are able to help me soon. I don't know where else to turn for assistance and am in desperate need of these funds given no income now for 3.5 months. This is a top priority for me as my financial survival depends on it - so please do not hesitate to call or email me with any requests for anything. 

Thank you for your time and attention. 

Yours Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation