Consumer complaint received 2021-02-26
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: MO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Application denied

Complaint:
I applied for a Southwest Airlines credit card in response to the best promotional offer I had ever seen them offer. My original application was denied. I firmly believe my credit history and credit score, and with first hand knowledge of how they treated my husband in the same situation, that I was entitled to a Priority Southwest Card with a significant credit limit. My initial letter to JP Morgan Chase regarding my Southwest Airlines credit card consisted of the following : XX/XX/XXXX JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

PO Box XXXX XXXX, DE XXXX Reference Number : XXXX Dear Sir or Madam, I am contacting you to emphatically refute your determination to not approve my request for a Southwest Airlines Visa card.

You state your decision was based on the following : Delinquency or other derogatory relationship with our bank Insufficient balance in deposit and investment accounts with us Too many credit cards with balances greater than {$2000.00} I would challenge the above reasons as follows : The Delinquency or other derogatory relationship with our bank relates to a lawfully discharged personal bankruptcy in excess of 10 years ago and, as I understand, should not be held against me at this time. That bankruptcy related to a business failure. My personal credit has been exceptional at all times prior to the bankruptcy and since.

The Southwest card invitation makes for no requirement of deposits or investments with JPMorgan Chase, N.A.

Please specify exactly what constitutes too many credit cards with balances greater than {$2000.00}. I am not aware of a single credit card with a balance that hasnt been paid in full each and every month for over 10 years.

Additionally, as you note on the denial letter, my present credit score is XXXX.

Your denial seems, at best, unfounded based on an inaccurate review, and at worst, discriminatory lending practices in violation of The Equal Credit Opportunity Act with regard to my marital status, sex, and/or age.

I urge you to reconsider your decision and approve my card with the credit limit and interest rate consistent with my exceptional credit rating, and how such a rating would be applied to similar card holders.

It is my desire to resolve this matter with you quickly and directly. Please respond within 7 business day of receipt of this certified letter to avoid an official complaint being filed with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. I will expect your response via US Mail, but in the interest of expedience you can also email a copy of the letter to the email provided below. 

Regards ; There was no written response from JP Morgan Chase regarding my letter, but they issued the lowest level Southwest Airlines card with a {$2000.00} limit. I responded with the following Priority Mail letter : XX/XX/XXXX JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

PO Box XXXX XXXX, DE XXXX Reference Number : XXXX Account # Ending : XXXX XXXX Dear Sir or Madam, Your response to my XX/XX/XXXX discrimination complaint falls very far from satisfactory and I will now be filing a formal complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. You provided no written response to the allegations in my XX/XX/XXXX letter. You just threw a crumb by way of an email saying my account was approved and expected me to go away. 

In my previous letter, a copy of which is attached, I detailed my expectations : I urge you to reconsider your decision and approve my card with the credit limit and interest rate consistent with my exceptional credit rating, and how such a rating would be applied to similar card holders. 

To the contrary you saw it more appropriate to double down on your discriminatory lending practices and insult me with a bare minimum line of credit on your card with the lowest benefit levels. 

For all the reasons you give for not extending credit to me it is astounding, and very damning, that more than 12 months ago, when we were more than a year less removed from our XXXX XXXX XXXX bankruptcy, and with a credit rating more than 100 points lower than it is today, you extended to my husband a Priority Rewards Card, your highest benefit level card, with a {$19000.00} credit limit. There is clearly no justification to your actions, and they can be viewed as nothing less than discriminatory. If the problem had been the amount of credit extended to our household, we might be having a different discussion, but you have had two opportunities to make that statement and have not. I will not accept that answer now. 

Am I of less value because I am a woman? Is it because I am of a certain age? Is it because I am married and dont warrant the same privileges as my husband? 

I expect you to do the right thing and reissue my account as a Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card with an appropriate credit limit commensurate with my exceptional credit rating and in the same manner as you extended credit to my husband. I will accept nothing less. 

Additionally, had you processed my application correctly in XXXX I would have been entitled to the Southwest promotion detailed in the attached email which included both tier and Companion Pass qualifying points as well as qualifying flights status for A-List, A-List Preferred, and Companion Pass. I will not accept losing those benefits because of your unlawful actions in XXXX. Make it right. 

Where I hoped to give you the benefit of the doubt with my initial letter, there is clearly no doubt remaining. Your actions are very clearly discriminatory lending practices in violation of The Equal Credit Opportunity Act with regard to my marital status, sex, and/or age.

I am sending a copy of this letter and all the attachments to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. I will also be pursuing any other official process they have for filing a formal complaint against your company.

Fix this before it gets any worse.

I expect a written response within 5 business days from receipt of this Priority Mail letter.

Regards There has been no response from JP Morgan to my letter or complaint.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation