Consumer complaint received 2023-03-25
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Add-on products and services

Complaint:
My family and I were supposed to be on a flight the night of XX/XX/XXXX. The flight was cancelled and the airline moved us to a different flight, leaving the morning after, so my family and I stayed in a hotel near the airport. I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card for which I pay a hefty fee every year, and the only reason I have it is to be covered during occurrences such as this one while traveling. I submitted all required documentation to get reimbursement for the hotel expenses I incurred because of this trip delay ( for the amount of {$230.00} ), and I was contacted on XX/XX/XXXX by Card Benefits Services ( XXXX  ), the service that Chase uses to pay its customers claims, and was asked to provide extra documentation, some of which is usually not required, but I went ahead and submitted all the requested documents. After that, Card Benefits Services had everything they needed to process the payment, however they emailed me on XX/XX/XXXX and asked me to provide a copy of the updated itinerary, which I had already submitted, so I had to call and spend more time showing them that actually I had already uploaded the document they were asking for. After this, they emailed me again on XX/XX/XXXX, almost a month after the prior call ( they state they get back to their customer within 5 days after documentation is submitted, but in this case its taken them almost 2 months ), stating that the airline carrier statement is incomplete. So, I looked at the Carrier statement I submitted to the XXXX portal on XX/XX/XXXX, and it provides all details Card Benefits Services would need to pay the claim. I contacted Card Benefits Services on the same day, and after almost 50 minutes on hold, I was told that the airline carrier statement is incomplete because it states that the flight was cancelled for technical issues, but does not specify the type of technical issue, and that I would have to get additional details about the type of technical issue from the airline. After I explained to the person on the line that such request is unwarranted, and realized she was not able to assist me further, I asked to speak directly to the claim examiner and I was told that it would not be possible and they would have to call me back. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and I was told that they can not do that, when I asked why they said that they are not allowed to transfer calls to a supervisor. That was the end of the call. Now, in regards to the document in question, I uploaded the statement that the airline emailed me, and that is all I got. I am not sure the airline would be willing to disclose additional details at this regard ( why would the passengers be entitled to know more about the airlines technical issues?? ), but if the Card Benefits Services claim examiners want to waste their time nit-picking and chasing unimportant details from the airline, they are welcome to do so. I, however, absolutely refuse to comply with their absurd and unwarranted requests. Moreover, I submitted the carrier statement on XX/XX/XXXX and only now they are telling me they consider it incomplete?? It sounds to me that they are kicking the can down the road, so that the customer would get tired of dealing with them and throw in the towel. But for me this is now a question of principle, the Chase Sapphire Reserve agreement states that in the event of flight cancellation by the airline, the card holder 's hotel expenses are covered, and, while a carrier statement, which I promptly submitted, is necessary to to verify the reason the flight was delayed, nowhere is it mentioned that such carrier statement would need to specify the type of technical issue experienced by an airline. I even looked at the sample of the common carrier statement provided on the XXXX website, and the contents looks very similar to what I submitted. I provided exactly what is required ( and more! ), and now I expect to be reimbursed. And, taking this long to process a claim for such a small amount and coming back several times asking for documents they already have, and stating they need immediate response, when in reality they already have everything needed to verify the veracity of a claim, is unacceptable, unprofessional and utterly inefficient. I am appalled at the service I am getting as a Chase Sapphire Reserve card-holder, and I am even more appalled at the time Ive had to spend dealing with their inefficient Card Benefits Services for a such small amount of money. After speaking with Card Benefits Services on XX/XX/XXXX, I called Chase customer service directly to get a resolution and to complain about Card Benefits Services ' frustrating response, and spent another 30 minutes on hold before talking to a manager, just to be told that he will submit an internal complaint, which I will never be notified of, but that is the extent of what he can do, as claims are outsourced to Card Benefits Services and Chase does not deal with them. I told Chase that I hold them accountable for this, and that I would submit a complaint, and he said it is my right to do so. It surely seems that Card Benefits Services is playing a game, and Chase is approving of it by doing nothing to rectify the situation. However, I am no longer willing to play their game, hence I am submitting this complaint to CFPB, hoping for a resolution but, more importantly, hoping to bring this matter to Chases upper management attention. They would obtain more respect and retain more customers by contracting out to a different, more efficient and professional company.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation