Consumer complaint received 2022-04-28
Company: Chime Financial Inc
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022 three ( 3 ) unauthorized transactions were made using my Chime credit card information without my knowledge or permission. Two of those attempts were successful, however the third ( {$260.00} at an online store called XXXX ) was denied outright because I have international transactions disabled altogether. 

The two successfully fraudulent charges were both made at online stores, {$350.00} at XXXX XXXX at XXXX and {$170.00} at XXXX 17 minutes later at XXXX. I had never heard of either merchant and had never visited either website. I do not know what was purchased or how the person who made the purchase got hold of my account information. I assumed that it had been skimmed at a gas station where I had used my card the night before to get gas in an unfamiliar neighborhood I had never been to before or since, but this is only my best guess. 

As soon as I received the notifications from Chime on my phone, I did the following : I reported my credit card stolen, formally disputed the charges on my account via the Chime app, reported the fraudulent activity to Chime Support via telephone, and changed the password for my Chime account. 

I spoke with a representative of Chime Support over the phone that evening, and I was told by this person that *I had done everything there was to do* and that Chime 's fraud investigation team would handle my dispute and get back to me as soon as possible. 

Nine days later on XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Chime stating that they determined my claim for {$190.00} was investigated and resolved and that they determined that no billing error occurred. At this time I was very confused, as there were no transactions for this amount anywhere on my account or as part of my claim. I then received a separate email thanking me for reporting suspicious activity on my card and told they had opened an investigation into the " billing error '' for {$350.00} - which was only one of the transactions in question. I attempted to contact Chime Support via the app and upon getting nowhere with their support bot, by telephone. I was on hold for a half an hour before I had to hang up in order to care for my kids as I'm a single mother. I was unable to get in contact with anyone that evening. 

I made another attempt to follow up about the status of my dispute on XX/XX/XXXX, again expressing my concern and listing the fraudulent transactions. A representative named XXXX sent me a message via the Chime app stating that they were taking the issue very seriously and would have the investigation completed no later than XX/XX/2022. 

I made another attempt to follow up on XX/XX/XXXX. Someone named XXXX apologized for the wait and said some investigations take longer than others. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, nearly one month since being contacted, I attempted to follow up again at around XXXX. I was on hold for 15 minutes before I was forced to hang up, due to the fact that my XXXX year old son required my attention. Note : at this point, I had expressed to Chime 's investigation team multiple times both via email, and via their support bot, that I am a single mother with XXXX young children who works very hard for the money I make- and while this may not have been important information to them, I'd like to make this point once again : I had {$520.00} stolen straight out of my bank account, and for a single mom living just beneath the poverty line, that's not chump change. This is a violation and a threat to my financial security, and my family is suffering because of it. 

I was sent an email from Chime 's investigation team at XXXX that evening stating that they determined a " billing error '' occurred in the amount of {$350.00} that they credited back to my account. Nothing was mentioned at all about the other {$170.00} transaction at XXXX. Upon becoming aware of this, I contacted them via telephone once again. After being on hold for 33 minutes, a representative came on the line and I was able to express my deep concern over this matter. It was explained to me by the representative that the dispute was probably denied because there was a {$20.00} XXXXXXXX XXXX  transaction included in the original claim. I stated that I did not understand why, as that charge was NOT fraud - it was me feeding my kids dinner. It had absolutely nothing to do with the {$520.00} that was stolen from me. The representative assured me that this was enough information to reopen my claim, which he would do right away, and that I should compose an email stating the same thing I told him. 

I did write that email and sent it right away. The next morning there was no change on the dispute status page. I emailed again to ask why there was no update on the dispute status. I received an email response right away saying that they're sorry I'm unhappy with the decision but that the claim was considered resolved, but I could request a copy of the information they compiled in order to make that decision, however it could take up to 45 days. I responded by explaining how even the slightest investigation into the XXXX charge would easily prove I did not make the purchase. They wrote back right away ( all of a sudden they are super quick to respond ) again saying they're sorry things did not work out how I had hoped but that all they could do was provide the information they gathered in order to make their final decision and that the matter was handled. I have requested that information. 

I am absolutely astonished that my bank refuses to follow its own policy of reversing fraudulent charges when I have done everything I was supposed to do. They are allowing the theft of {$170.00} from my bank account, repeatedly writing to me with a script that falsely implies they've completed their obligation. It seems like it's designed to make me, the consumer, feel as though I've lost and have no further recourse so that I will just give up.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation