Consumer complaint received 2020-06-27
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I have been a long time customer with JPM Chase bank for 20 years having held checking & savings accounts with them. On XX/XX/20 Chase recently restricted/froze my account due to a ACH deposit that came into my account. 
On XX/XX/20 I called Chase & spoke with 2 representatives from the fraud/resolutions team who unrestricted my account. While on the phone with the 2nd rep I did a test to ensure the freeze was lifted so I sent a {$10.00} payment thru XXXX to my friend and it went thru. I asked the rep will I receive another debit card because Chase had cancelled the one I had, she said for me to go into the bank with 2 forms of Identification & I would be issued another debit card. The same day on XX/XX/20 I went into the branch & spoke with banker XXXX about having a debit card re-issued to me, however, instead of getting a new issued debit card the banker XXXX advised that I needed proof that a transaction deposited ( the same transaction I spoke to reps earlier about & resolved issue ) belonged to me. After I had spent hours earlier on the phone with the previous reps getting my issue resolved & my account unrestricted for the very same reason the banker placed another freeze on my account. At this point I was confused. Chase stated the reasoning for the restriction/freeze was so that they can obtain proof that the deposit belonged to me. If the deposit came into my account I would think that is sufficient proof that it belongs to me. However I obliged & provided the documents they requested. On XX/XX/20 I went into Chase bank with documents & met with same banker ( XXXX XXXX ). Was there for 6 hours trying to get the freeze lifted from my account. Banker called fraud dept & uploaded & sent the documents I provided that she requested. Only " after receiving '' the documents did the fraud dept request additional info from me stating they needed an approval letter from the company for the deposit they sent me. I asked the banker to call the company I received the deposit from to verify the payment is mine. The banker refused & stated she needed to speak with the fraud dept. THERE WAS NO FRAUD COMMITTED ON MY ACCOUNT & I DID NOT APPLY FOR A LOAN OR GRANT WITH CHASE, yet, they are requesting that I submit documents to them regarding a GRANT I received from another company ( SBA ). While inside the bank whilst banker present I called the SBA to ask if there was a way to obtain an approval letter regarding the Grant I received. The SBA stated THEY DO NOT PROVIDE APPROVAL LETTERS FOR GRANTS THEY ONLY PROVIDE APPROVAL LETTERS FOR LOANS. Banker XXXX was present heard & acknowledged what the reps from the SBA said. ( Called SBA 2x s/w XXXX @ XXXX & XXXX # XXXX ). After having received documents from myself that she requested the banker suggested to the fraud dept to remove the restriction from my account. The fraud specialist stated he would forward the issue to the Escalations Dept & that it would take 24-hours to have the restriction lifted. On XX/XX/20 @ XXXX l.m. I called Chase spoke with rep who transferred me to her supervisor XXXX who stated they needed an approval letter from the Sba. I advised XXXX that I can not provide an approval letter as the SBA does not provide these to clients who receive grants. While on the phone with XXXX. I attempted to call & conference in the SBA to verify what I've been explaining to them regarding the approval letter they're requesting but she rejected the conference call stating it was not allowed per Chase. XXXX stated she has to re-escalate the issue again to have the freeze lifted & for me to call back on XX/XX/20. This was the same thing I was told on XX/XX/20. At this point Chase has not given me access to my money and has not provided a valid reason why my account was restricted in the first place. This is a form of discrimination due to this deposit being singled out for no apparent reason other than I'm a XXXX woman. Chase has rejected bill payments and transfers I've attempted to make through my account causing late fees and return fees as well as my credit reputation with these companies. This criminal-like treatment I've received from Chase staff, who's requestibg conflicted requirements in their attempts to force me to prove and provide documents about a relationship I have with another entity is blatant disrespect to a long time customer such as myself! These unofficial-bullying tactics Chase is performing acting as a 3rd party recovery agency, taking it " upon themselves '' with " NO AUTHORITY '' to enforce clients to provide documentation regarding myself and another institution where no form of fraud or crime has been committed in order to access my funds is preposterous and uncalled for and has to be checked!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation