Consumer complaint received 2020-11-20
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I have two checking accounts at Chase Bank, and on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX found out that neither of these accounts can withdraw money. I immediately called the customer service and was told that my account was about to be closed and was now in a restricted state. The answer I asked about the reason was that they could not tell me the specific reason. 

After a few hours, I found out that one of the accounts was charged {$1000.00}. I called the customer service and were told that in XXXX, two people transferred money to me via Chase QuickPay, but after a while, they disputed the transactions. So Chase Bank directly charged the money from my account. I guess this may be the reason why Chase Bank closed my account. They think I am suspected of fraud. But in fact, those two people who transferred money to me were scammers. Obviously, the bank didn't investigate the matter in depth and just dumped the pot on me. So, I made a few more calls on the same day to ask why the account was closed, and the answer was still no comment. And they told me that the account closure was the final decision. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to a branch of Chase Bank. The banker who received me asked about the reason and helped me call again to ask and got the same answer : no reason for closing the account and no room for negotiation. I asked banker if I would be notified when my account is officially closed, and her answer was no, which was ridiculous. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to the branch of Chase Bank again to try to make a final defense, but the result was still the same. At this point, I completely gave up, hoping to get the money left in the account, but what was shocking was that they refused to return the money to me on the spot, because of the reason why my accounts are closing and ironically, they can not tell me the reason. So I asked banker, when can I get my money. The answer he gave was that after the bank cleared my account, they would mail the money to me in the form of a check. The whole process may take one to two weeks.

As a bank, Chase Bank is very unreliable and irresponsible because : 1. Restricting and closing my accounts out of blue without even a notice. At that time, I only had accounts with Chase Bank. Closing the account meaning that I would lose all my money, so that I would not be able to pay the bills, the rent, and the tuition fees on time. This will make a serious bad mark on my credit score.

2. Disputes always involve two parties, and Chase Bank believes that I was fraudulent without conducting any investigation. As a victim, of course I understand who the fraudulent party was, but Chase Bank did not give me any opportunity to explain and prove innocence. And they didnt provide the reason for targeting me as scammer. Of course, I believe that they did not investigate whether the other party is innocent, so they just dumped it to me for convenience, which is unfair.

3. Forcibly seizing my money for a long time. Even if Chase Bank determines that I was a fraud and wants to close my account, even if Chase Bank wanted to take the disputed money from my account, they should return the remaining money that belongs to me. I can't imagine any reasonable excuse for them to hold my money for two weeks! As I said earlier, this is my net worth. I need the money to pay bills and rent, but Chase Bank doesn't care.

4. Mailing a huge amount of money through checks. Chase Bank said that the remaining money ( more than {$30000.00} ) will be mailed to me in the form of a check, which I think is very insecure. After expressing my concerns, they only said that they would send it again if they were lost. 

Chase Bank used to be my most trusted bank. But after this incident, I was very anxious and depressed, and I was seriously impressed with my emotions and life. I am very disappointed with Chase Bank and no longer trust them. If possible, I am willing to cooperate with all fraud investigations, but I can't bear the behavior of Chase Bank, which would dump me and forcibly close the account and seize the balance without investigation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation