Consumer complaint received 2019-12-18
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I deposited a client check into my checking account.  It was on hold over the weekend as expected, however, the check was put on an extended 11 day hold due to the fact that it was written to my business name and not to my personal name.  There were overdraft fees assessed to my account.  
Chase Bank customer service informed me that the account did not reference my business name and this was the problem.  Despite the fact that this account has been my primary business account since XX/XX/2015 used to deposit checks written to my company name for 4 years now.  
The referred me to the deposit verification department and informed me of a 15 minute hold.  The hold was 35 minutes, I was speaking with a specialist named XXXX  and we had almost resolved the problem.  He was reviewing the previous deposits that had been made where the checks were written to the company.  We had found several spanning a period of four years, the call was disconnected, they did not call me back.  
I called back again and spoke with someone who was going to transfer me to the deposit verification department, after I'd been on this call for 40 minutes, I put the call on hold and called back again and merged the calls together.  The person who answered the 2nd call was able to get me through to someone rather quickly.
Understand that if the call drops, you will not get a call back, they will not try to get you to the same person, they are strictly inbound calls.  I had to start over each time I called.
Once I was with the deposit verification department for the 3rd time, I was told that I should not deposit business checks into my personal account.  I explained my personal accounts are at another bank, I opened this account with my business license and federal ID number.  He verified that I've been depositing checks written to my business since XX/XX/2015 as well as the electronic transfers from the booking sites that occur with regularity.  He asked me to take my business registration documents to the bank (locally) and once that was done the check would be released.  
It seemed ridiculous to me that I would have to drive to the bank after 3 plus hours on the phone so I asked for a supervisor so we could verify the ownership of the business using technological resources such as fax, email, check the "secure messages" as I'd sent this document as an attachment in messages, or maybe verify with the division of corporations.  The supervisor refused to accept fax or email or to verify with the division of corporations online.  Her "internal verification system" did not show my company registered, I'm not sure if there really was an internal verification system for business licenses and federal id numbers.   I had to bring the document to the bank per the supervisors instructions.  
I went to the bank and I was first told that I didn't have an account.  Actually, the computer screen was spun around so he could show me that I don't have an account.  I had to explain the problem a minimum of three times, he did not seem to be paying attention.  
The only "banker" at Chase today told me there is no way that the check would be released because the he ("the banker")  would personally be on the line for the check.  He explained that the person who I spoke with in the deposit verification department did not know what they were talking about and he could not help me.  
He refused to comment after I asked three separate times, how can I do business with your organization when your corporate office says one thing and you won't honor it or even call to verify?  I'd brought the registration with the State of Florida Division of Corporations.  I did exactly what was asked of me after over three hours on the phone because they don't have the common courtesy to call you back of they accidentally hang up on you.  3 plus hours of trying to resolve a problem that never should have been a problem or Chase bank is so on top of things that it took them 4 years to realize that I cash the business checks and receive transfers in my businesses name in this account.  
I'm sure I was angry and I'm sure I raised my voice in the course of conversation.  I was asked to leave by the banker or he would call the police.  Now, that's customer service for you!  
When I returned home, I called the deposit verification department for the 4th time.  Finally an employee who seemed genuinely sorry for what I'd been through at no fault of my own.  She promptly released the hold after simply typing in XXXX into her browser to look up the business license.  
She advised me that since my account was not set up as a business account originally, I should open a new account.  If she were the only one who worked at Chase, I would open it there.  After three hours and no less than ten separate conversations with ten different employees I was still being treated like a criminal instead of a 5 year client.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation