Consumer complaint received 2021-08-05
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: OR
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I applied for the Chase Freedom XXXX card. The promotions advertised to me were the following : An introductory APR of 0 % for the first 15 months, a {$200.00} bonus if I spend {$500.00} in the first three months my account is open, 5 % unlimited cash back on XXXX XXXX  travel, 3 % unlimited cash back on dining & drugstores, and 1.5 % unlimited cashback on all other purchases. I received notice that I was approved for the card on XX/XX/XXXX. I began using the card, but did not carry a balance until the XXXX period. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I was notified that my credit limit had been automatically increased and I logged into the app to check in around the increase. I noticed at this time that interest had been applied to my account. I reached out to Chase customer service via the number on the back of my card on XX/XX/XXXX to let them know that I was being charged interest and that I should have 0 % APR for the first 15 months. The customer service representative looked into the offer and noted that it was available at the time I applied and that there were no terms and conditions present that would have barred me from receiving the 0 % APR for the first 15 months my account was open. I was told the issue would be escalated to the appropriate team who would look into the issue and correct it if need be. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter inside the Chase App. The letter stated that they had reviewed my request for a lower APR and were denying this request. This response did not acknowledge that I was not requesting a lower APR, but that I was requesting that the promotion I applied for was not applied to my account. I called the customer service team again and they let me know that they have no ability to correct these issues. I was told when this situation had happened with others the only way to get it resolved was to reach out to Chase through the Secure messaging portal in the app, and that this is how real changes occurred. 

I sent a message to the secure portal and received a response on XX/XX/XXXX the response noted that they had reviewed my account and could not give me the 0 % APR for the first 15 months, there was no explanation as to why. I proceeded by calling the follow up number provided in the response. This is a separate customer service team from the team you're connected with via the number on the back of the card. I was told that as a decision had been made I was not allowed to escalate the situation again, even though I had not been provided with an explanation as to why my account was missing this promotional offer. 

I was then told a number of contradictory things. First, I was told that the application team could confirm if the promotion was in place ( this had already been confirmed in my first call ) and if they could confirm that this issue could be resolved. I was transferred to the application team, which was closed and the call was disconnected. 

I followed up again today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) which lead to some confusing contradictions. I was told I applied incorrectly through a third party and wasn't eligible for the promotion, this is untrue and I applied online directly through the Chase Website. I do not apply for credit cards via third parties, in fact this is the only general purpose credit card I have ever applied for, and it was after 6 months of research. I called the applications department again and confirmed I applied correctly, but was told that they are unable to view introductory APRs. 

I called the management team back and received some interesting responses in relation to my notes around what the application team told me. I was told that I must not have qualified for the offer of 0 % APR for the first 15 months, I asked what this meant on three separate occasions and the manager was unable to explain this to me. Additionally, this note from a manager contradicted my first point of contact who noted there was nothing in terms and conditions that would have barred me from receiving the promotion. I was then put on hold and when the manager came back to the conversation she noted that the 0 % for the first 15 months offer was not a promotional offer at the time I applied. I asked her to confirm that this promotion was not available for only XX/XX/XXXX out of all the previous months it had been offered and then for all of the following months, she confirmed, noting that XXXX was the only month out of the years, before and after, that this promotional offer had been standard that the promotion did not apply ( WHAT?!?!?! ). This is contradicted by online promotion materials, multiple customer service reps, and my own research. This is a basic promotion Chase has been running since I began researching cards in XXXX it makes no sense it would have been suspended for the one month I applied ...

I've exhausted my options for encouraging Chase to correct this issue. They have put the weight of this onto me and have refused to correct the problem. I've been told I may file a written complaint with Chase via fax, but I was also told not to hold out for a resolution from them. That said, I've decided to file a complaint with Consumer Finance with the hope that Chase can be discouraged from doing this to others. This was my very first general purpose credit card, and it's useless to me for the large purchases I had planned for my first 15 months. Closing the card will negatively affect my credit, so I'm now stuck with a card that doesn't meet my needs and a company I do not trust. Any support I can receive would be greatly appreciated.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief