Consumer complaint received 2019-03-22
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: VA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Managing the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Billing problem

Complaint:
JPMORGAN CHASE AUTO FINANCE IS FRAUDULENT AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE. DO NOT USE THEM!! CAR BUYERS STAY AWAY!!! 

I leased a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX uses Chase Automotive Finance ( now JPMorgan Chase ). I live in a state where there is a property tax assessed yearly on vehicles. The leasing company pays the tax and then bills the customer. So once a year, there is an added amt due on the bill ... the usual monthly rental fee and the tax. Every bill i received, I payed. But Chase is claiming that I owe them an amount which they claim is " property tax '' ; but the amount is the exact same amount as my monthly payment. This alone points to a billing error, as no tax payment coincidently is the same amt ( to the penny ) as a monthly car payment!!! 

I turned in the vehicle in XX/XX/XXXX but i started calling them last summer ( XX/XX/XXXX ) ( and even earlier in XX/XX/XXXX ) to alert them that their accounting was wrong ... .they were applying my additional tax payment to my monthly payments. Nothing was done. I kept getting overseas representatives. 

Then in XX/XX/XXXX when i knew i was about turn in the vehicle, i ramped up my calling and figured out how to get a representative that was here in the States. I explained the situation and then at their request provided bank statements proving i had paid all my bills and indeed payed both the tax payment and the monthly payment in the months where taxes were assessed. Not realizing what a hassle this would be and how terrible Chase customer service is, i did not keep records of dates of calls initially. On or around late XX/XX/XXXX or early XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to XXXX in XXXX. She was the one who identified the problem of the tax payments getting applied to my monthly payments and revealed that i was way ahead on my monthly payments. She was able to correct PART of the discrepancy, but not all. ( if she hadnt i suspect the dispute would be over an even larger amount ). Then i turned in the vehicle on XX/XX/XXXX thinking that in the end this would be ok. It was not. 

I started getting notices from Chase that i owed back " property taxes '' which ironically is an amount equal to exactly one month payment. I spoke to XXXX ID # XXXX XX/XX/XXXX who requested that i provide proof of payment. I faxed to her the online billpay statements of EVERY payment i made to Chase. When i spoke to her on XX/XX/XXXX, she said i still owed the money but amazingly said she NEVER LOOKED at the statements!!! I insisted that my complaint be escalated. Two days later ( at XXXX! ) i get a call from XXXX ID # XXXX who when asked described his level of authority as a " job coach '' I insisted on speaking to someone else. He connected me with XXXX ID # XXXX ( ph XXXX ext XXXX ) and he did the following : 1. created a case file XXXX ( apparently none had been created after numerous calls ) 2. provided me with an email address XXXX So on that very same nite, XX/XX/XXXX i emailed to chase a copy of all my online payments I made to chase. Shortly after that i was contacted by XXXX XXXX XXXX ext XXXX who was " in the executive offices '', but declined to say exactly what his job title was. He requested that in addition to the online payment record, he wanted my bank statements. On XX/XX/XXXX i provided him with my banks statements showing the months where i indeed made 2 payments -- tax and regular payment -- to chase. 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX ( after i had to call him after he didnt call me back as he said he would ) he told me " well you still owe chase the money because you didnt make the regular monthly payment in XX/XX/XXXX '' ( when there was also a tax payment due ) I immediately pointed out to him, by way of the bank statement that he had, that indeed i made 2 payments that month. To which he replied after some time ... '' well that was applied to the next mont ''!!!! 

I then asked that my case be escalated further but he said that he was the highest things could go and refused to provide an higher level person to speak with. All he provided was an address ( with no name associated to it ) for further assistance. 

On the same day, XX/XX/XXXX I wrote an email to chase ( XXXX XXXX ) explaining, again, the entire events and issues ... ..and again provided to them the critical bank statements. And it should be noted that not only do i not owe them money, i believe they owe me the amount they say i owe them!!! The have a billing system that can not distinguish amounts greater than a customers monthly payment CHASE IS FRAUDULENT To date, no one has responded to me regarding my proof that i have provided to them. Moreover, i contiunue to get calls from them to " settle this issue '' It should be noted that early on, XX/XX/XXXX i demanded that no credit reporting be done until this issue is resolved, tho i am quite uncertain that is the case. 

It should be also noted that not only is Chase 's billing fraudulent, but their customer service is incompetent and frankly a group of not very intelligent people. Honestly, despite having bank statements in front of him, XXXX XXXX either couldnt intellectually comprehend what he saw, or just refused to address it. Worse, he refused to bump it up to someone who could understand it. 

They refused to set up phone appointments and would call me at random times of day or nite, despite me requesting to set up a phone appt. ( im a physician with very odd hrs and often not available ). It took me numerous phone calls and ultimately insisting ( on XX/XX/XXXX ) that it be escalated. They had very very little insight into the problem, had no idea how to address it, and everyone i spoke with ( except XXXX ) stone-walled and seemed utterly incapable of listening to the customer. 

Please advise what to do next to dispute this.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation