Consumer complaint received 2017-12-30
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: MI
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Problem related to refinancing

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX My grandmother XXXX XXXX in XXXX California from a XXXX. Around the same time her husband, my grandfather was struggling to recover from XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I drove from XXXX MI, where I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX, r to XXXX California due to the double family emergency. My XXXX pay for my auto loan with Chase Auto Finance was due XX/XX/XXXX. 

I was not able to attend to the financial matter wit Chase Auto Finance until XX/XX/XXXX, once my grandmother was XXXX and my grandfather had been released from the hospital to return home. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Chase Auto finance requesting a temporary cessation in payments due to the double family emergency. The customer service representative stated that an easier alternative to the temporary cessation would be to agree to a " Promise to pay '' byXX/XX/XXXX. I informed him that I would like to use the cessation in payments since I did not know the exact date off-hand in XX/XX/XXXX that my next stipend check or payroll payment as a XXXX would be issued. I offered to provide the gentlemen a copy of my tax transcripts for the past four ( 4 ) years, a copy of my contract with my university regarding funding for the duration that I remain a XXXX student, a copy of the program from my grandmother 's XXXX, and a sworn affidavit to that effect. 

The customer service representative then asked me if all of that was going on how it was that I was able to afford to pay ALL my mother bills. I explained again that I 'm a XXXX XXXX XXXX AND XXXX. He stated that he 'd never heard of the term before and that he 'd never heard of different payment dates as a XXXX and a XXXX XXXX. He then stated he would not be able to approve the payment extension himself because he did not want to be " personally responsible if/when after the payment extension I would n't be able to pay my bill. '' He entered the explanation as such and then handed it off to a supervisor for approval. He told me to call back around the XX/XX/XXXX to check the status of my request. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called back and received the news that the extension had been denied, and the reason was verbatim the explanation that was given by the customer service representative on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked to speak with a supervisor regarding the explanation and the conclusion that I did not have the ability to pay my auto loan. I spoke with a supervisor named XXXX that identified herself with the ID number XXXX. She explained verbatim the reason for the denial. I explained to her that I needed clarification on the reason for the denial -- she refused to provide one, except to explain that it was for the exact same reason that the gentlemen on the XX/XX/XXXX did n't want to extend the payment. She stated that it was the position of Chase Auto Finance that my present situation is not temporary and therefore there was no reason to believe that I would be able to continue making payments on my vehicle. 

I asked for an written explanation for the denial of payment extension. XXXX refused to provide one stating that because the terms of my original loan had not been modified, no written correspondence would be provided. The lady concluded the conversation by reminding me that because I had not yet paid the payment on the account that even if I walked into a local branch that was open and paid in cash on the XXXX day past-due, that they would report my payment as being thirty ( 30 ) days past-due. This sort of comment seems entirely putative in nature. 

A renegotiation, or request for modification of loan terms is based upon a financial assessment, and would seemingly constitute a financial evaluation akin to a credit inquiry, taking into account payment history, credit score, and other internal and external factors. However, Chase Auto Finance has refused to provide ANY written explanation and has made it very clear that they will to be providing one. This seems contrary to the practices I 've observed with other banking institutions as the others I deal with prefer all business correspondence to be in writing. 


Now, the sheer reasoning for the denial is unsound and questionable, as I 've paid on the auto loan for the past five and a half years, dropping the loan amount from the origination amount of just over 21 thousand dollars to just over 2500 dollars. That is, through total compensation over the loan term, I 've paid off 9/10 of the loan. Therefore there is no reason to believe that with a prior income before returning to school of well into six-figures, and with total compensation as a XXXX XXXX and XXXX at or near six-figures, evidenced through the contractual documents, tax transcripts, and payroll information I offered, that there should be any issue. 

Based upon the first representative 's comments in the computer system and conversation on XX/XX/XXXX, it would therefore appear that Chase Auto Finance is scheming, hedging on the fact that I can not make future payments on the vehicle, since to repossess the vehicle and resell it because its resale value is higher than what is currently owed on the vehicle. 

To conclude, I had dual family emergencies that has prevented me from pay my bill on-time. I explained this to chase and requested a payment extension. The first Chase representative was willing to extend a promise-to-pay for XX/XX/XXXX, until he understood that I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX. He explained to me that he 'd never heard of a XXXX XXXX XXXX before, and stated he did n't want to extend or modify the loan repayment schedule because he believed that I did n't have the ability to pay ANY of my current debt obligations. He annotated this information and his viewpoint and subsequently sent it to " management '' for approval. 

Chase " management '' subsequently conducted a financial evaluation to process my loan modification request for a one-month cessation in payments to allow me to return to MI. Chase " management '' concluded that I did n't have the ability to pay ANY of my financial obligations. The supervisor I subsequently spoke with named XXXX with ID XXXX refused to provide any written explanation for the denial and repeated the assertion that I did not have the ability to pay the auto loan, or ANY of my obligations, despite of copious amounts of documentation I was willing to provide that suggested this was not the case, to include tax transcripts, pay schedule for stipend AND employee payroll, prior employee payroll and income documents, and contractual documents regarding funding for me as a XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX. 

Chase seems to be unwilling to provide temporary relief for customers who lost relatives and are trying to keep accounts current while dealing with the loss, customers who previously demonstrated ability to pay that offer supporting documentation, and customers who have a payment history of paying down a loans with them. It would appear as well that Chase Auto Finance is scheming, hedging on the fact that I can not make future payments on the vehicle to repossess the vehicle and resell it because its resale value is higher than what is currently owed on the vehicle.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief