Consumer complaint received 2020-12-09
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
Re : Mortgage Application # : XXXX Property address : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CT XXXX We are writing to demand an immediate and satisfactory resolution to our mortgage application, and highlight deceptive trade practices ( false advertising ) that have gotten us to this point. 

Below please find a summary of our Chase mortgage experience, along with greater detail that showcases false advertising, deception and delays that your mortgage team engaged in from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. 

Summary : We locked in a 7/1 ARM refinance rate with Chase, at 2.375 %. 
We were offered 0.25 % lower mortgage rate in exchange for transferring {$500000.00} in investible assets to JPMorgan Chase. This offer was made by XXXX XXXX. 
We were fully vetted and received a commitment letter, dated XX/XX/XXXX. 
We fulfilled all requirements in commitment letter. 
We were consistently met with no transparency throughout the process from XXXX XXXX after escalating to her - No opportunity to understand nor rectify any issues. No response from her supervisor, XXXX XXXX, when escalated. 
XXXX  income and employment status was verified by current employer multiple times. 
We provided evidence of liquid and liquidable assets to repay mortgage balance in full as of start of loan, if necessary. 
What other issues on ability to repay are there? None provided by bank. 
Loan application rejected, ostensibly due to not having 2 years of tax returns for current employer - first time this information was communicated to us was XX/XX/XXXX, 5 months since we first started the process with Chase. 
Not a regulatory requirement as there are other means to verify income and employment over the past two years. 
We have other methods of income verification - ex. 2 years of tax returns from XXXX with current employer These details are also filed in US tax returns Details : We were offered a lower rate on this mortgage by XXXX XXXX - if we brought over {$500000.00} in investible assets to JPMorgan Chase, we could buy down our rate by 0.25 %. We first began speaking with Chase in JXX/XX/XXXX, and locked in our loan in XX/XX/XXXX, due primarily to Chases slow-walking of our mortgage application. We received a mortgage commitment letter, which is attached, on XX/XX/XXXX, and have provided all information requested therein. Additionally, Chase, to our knowledge, has finished its due diligence on all of its items in the commitment letter. As of late last week, the Title Company that Chase had contracted with was in touch with us regarding Power of Attorney. 

With little transparency, on the same day, XXXX XXXX from your mortgage department informed us that our mortgage was going to be rejected. The reason provided was not clear to us, but she referenced not having two years worth of my income. This was something that was addressed back in the summertime, long before our commitment letter, and long before we had wasted valuable time and energy to provide Chase with all of its requests, and meet with an appraiser at our home. 

The underwriters were provided with documentation showing that we can have enough liquid assets to pay off the mortgage in full at the start of the loan, should there be a need to fulfill our obligation. 

XXXX income and employment were verified by her employer multiple times, as were her pay stubs. XXXX income in XXXX and projected in XXXX is over 125x more than the projected monthly estimated carrying costs associated with this loan. 

Due to the complexity of our assets and income, XXXX, hired by XXXX employer to file taxes, opted to defer filing taxes for XXXX. We have paid our estimated taxes, and have furnished all documentation Chase requested to show this, as well as the extension that XXXX filed. We are happy to furnish the tax returns in XXXX for both XXXX and XXXX should this be necessary. 

Between income and assets, as well as propensity to earn income, in the event of losing income, we have liquid assets in the amount of approximately {$1.00} XXXX with additional real estate assets totaling $ XXXX, while our loan application was in the amount of {$850000.00}. If Chase had planned on not funding the loan due to questions about income or anything else, this requirement should have been disclosed at the beginning of the process, rather than after our assets were transferred to JPMorgan Chase ; after the commitment letter was issued ; and certainly after the Title Company was already in touch with us. 

Our negative experience, along with the false advertising, raises serious questions about whether this was part of a deliberate process by Chase to obfuscate and delay our mortgage process, while getting us enrolled in Chase Private Clients banking products by transferring significant assets over. We realize that Chase may not be profitable on a 7/1 ARM at 2.125 % ( 2.375 %, less 0.25 % that Chase agreed to allow us to buy down the rate ). We intend to submit all of our documentation and evidence of this to the Attorney General of New York, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Our documentation will show : Chase willfully engaged with us on transferring assets in exchange for the promise of a lower mortgage rate. 
Chase was told in XXXX about our income situation. We further have recordings showing that Mr. XXXX was aware of this and it was not an issue. 
We transferred nearly {$300000.00} to our Chase accounts in preparation for our mortgage, with our ultimate goal, and agreement from Chase, that these funds and others we planned to transfer were going to buy down our mortgage rate by 0.25 %. 
We had expected this to close by XX/XX/XXXX, and were in close contact with XXXX XXXX, Mr. XXXX and XXXX XXXX about the status of our loan. At no time was it brought to our attention that there were any problems with our loan application. 
Chase reassured us that the bank would pay for the extension when we raised the alarm that the process was taking too long as the fall months dragged on. 
Due to XXXX  travel schedule, and operating under the assumption we would close before XX/XX/XXXX, we reached out repeatedly in the past few weeks to Chase about how we go about setting up a POA. On the date XXXX left for a trip abroad, we were left in a lurch, with no one at Chase showing the courtesy of replying back to us or even acknowledging our last messages. 
Our commitment letter, dated XX/XX/XXXX, specified very detailed items needed and reasons Chase could cancel its commitment to our mortgage. The vague reason Ms. XXXX gave to us regarding the rejection was not at all included in this letter, and thus, we question the legality of Chase withdrawing and backing down on its word at this stage in the process. 

Chases willful delays on this matter has cost us substantial savings, not to mention the time and stress we have invested, with the idea that we were bringing a sizable amount of capital to Chase Private Client and starting a long term relationship with your bank. We finish this long process not only furious with the lack of transparency but also the fact that we were apparently misled repeatedly in the process. 

Based on the commitment letter and the documentation we have assembled, we do not see any reason for Chase to decline the loan application. It is apparent that the purpose of this unnecessarily drawn out process was the intent to falsely advertise an appealing mortgage rate in return for our assets transferred, and to increase our AUM with Chase. We are a private bank client at XXXX  XXXX XXXX. Theres no other reason for us to become Private Clients at Chase, a major step down in benefits from what we receive with XXXX XXXX. 

Please let us know if we should resolve this through legal means. 

Please be reminded that this originated in XXXX XXXX  XXXX, and the XXXX XXXX XXXX Consumer Protection Law prohibits deceptive trade practice. 

Sincerely, XXXX and XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief