Consumer complaint received 2019-03-27
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NC
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: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
I opened a credit card with Chase and was approved for their Amazon credit card in XXXX for the purposes of utilizing the rewards for purchases on the Amazon.com website. I frequently purchase items on Amazon and was attracted to this card for the 5 % rewards that were offered. I used the card VERY sparingly and was only buying amazon items and then sending in a payment to pay those items off. After receiving this card, I discovered that my now ex girlfriend had been stealing the card out of my wallet and making purchases without my knowledge and then returning the card to my wallet so it was not missing. At no time was she ever given permission to access my card nor was she ever an authorized user. She was simply my girlfriend at the time and we shared a residence. Our agreement was to pay the bills and split them evenly. She took care of the finances in our house, so she would tell me how much money to pay her each money to cover these expenses. After several months, I noticed that my credit cards, once being Chase, had numerous unauthorized charges and were items such as our power bill, cable billl, water bill, her cell phone, her car insurance and many many other items that were not authorized by myself. When confronted, she admitted to making the charges without my permission and stated she " just didn't have the money to pay those bills '' because she was spending the cash I provided her to pay those bills and used the card to cover her debts. I was very angry and threatened to report her to the police since she was using the cards without my permission. I gave her 30 days to pay them off in full or I would report her to the police. 

Naturally before the 30 days was over I calmed down and was able to speak to her in more open frame of mind. She explained she tried to borrow the money from her parents and they said it was her deception and wrongdoing and they weren't going to bail her out by giving her the money. She stated she tried to borrow money in other manners but could not get the funds. She asked me to allow her to simply make the payments and pay the card off, although, she could not do that within 30 days. She informed me that when she received her tax returns should could probably pay the entire amount off. This conversation occurred roughly 1 year after receiving the card before I discovered the fraud. I agreed to this arrangement for only a few reasons. # 1 we lived together and having her arrested would negatively impact me as much as her because I relied on part of her income to help pay the bills. # 2. We were dating and I would be having my own girlfriend locked up who I did care for romantically and we had been in a long term relationship which could possibly progress further # 3. I had supported her solely for 6 months while she was unable to work to attend XXXX school. I had invested a significant amount of time and effort to assist her getting into XXXX school as well as caring for her children while she attended classes and then also began working part time during the night to cover expenses. As a result, turning her in would have made her a felon and that would have stopped her from becoming a XXXX  and would have wasted all of my effort to help her get where she was trying to improve herself. Also, if she was unable to become a XXXX due to a possible criminal record, it may be nearly impossible to pay off the credit cards which she had used without my permission and knowledge. At the time of this discovery, the balances of all 3 cards she was using without my consent was in the area of {$16000.00}. 

I agreed to let her pay monthly payment until the time she received her lump sum from a combination of school loan money and tax returns. The only problem is that when both the tax returns and student loan money came in months later, she had spent it, without paying as agreed, and then later told me she couldn't follow through. So she once again said not to worry, they will all be paid off within 12 months if I just gave her time. I agreed as I did not have much chose at that time and still believed she would handle the charges as promised. 

I later bought a home in XX/XX/XXXX and my girlfriend and her children moved in with me. It was on or about XX/XX/XXXX that I discovered she had still be using my credit cards, even though I had physically removed them from my home. I immediatly terminated the relationship due to this continued lack of trust and theft and kicked her out of my home. I started to pull together statements and verify information and found out my accounts totaled nearly 23k in credit card charges and she had been using my cards electronically. The now ex girlfriend showed me a notebook where she had copied down my full credit card numbers, expiration dates, security codes, full name, social, and birth date in order to continue to use these cards. She did not state that was the original reason for collecting this information. she stated she did that to be able to call in and make payments over the phone on my credit cards so the minimum payments were being made. I did not think about how she was making the payments towards the cards, but that the cards themselves were being paid. It now dawned on me that she had stolen my information and personal identity and was continuing to use that to verify information when using these cards electronically without physical access to these cards. This allowed her to continue top use the cards and keep me in the dark on the balances and still make the minimum payments to prevent any type of collection calls or letter to be sent to me. 

I demanded payment in full on these cards as a matter of restitution from the ex girlfriend after breaking off the relationship of 5 years. She informed me she would be happy to do this and was going to once again send me her school money in XXXX of XXXX  which would be XXXX and estimated she would have another $ XXXX from her tax returns and then would have one final student disbursement that she could pay to me to mostly pay off the balances. She assured me she could pay the amounts off in 12 months and she would be a XXXX  soon so that total would not be an issue with her newer higher paying job. I agreed only because she swore the money would be repaid and that allowed her to remain a XXXX with no legal action. The months came and went and no money was paid. I began to demand payment in full and near XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX she stated she had " changed her mind '' just as I had done in regards to our relationship and I could just do what I wanted as she had no intentions of paying anything any longer. She also informed me she had spoken to a lawyer previously in the year and he was prepared to defend her in the event I wanted to sue her. However, she also stated that he had determined that the statute of limitations had already expired the previous month and she was no longer liable in civil court and I could try and sue her, but nothing would come of the case. It then dawned on me the entire reasons for these delays was to buy more time to let this statute of limitations pass at the advice of her attorney before telling me she no longer intended to pay on them as promised. Although she had written up a " contract '' which was never signed agreeing to repay certain amounts of money she felt she owed, it was never executed or signed and therefore could not be enforced. 

I was furious and believed I was now fully responsible for these cards and she had left me responsible for all of her fraud and I would have to repay the amounts or face a judgement against me on my house which I had just purchased. I am barely surviving on the income I have and the {$700.00} minimum payments needed to be paid each month was crushing me financially. However, I was also mistakenly under the impression that I only had a time frame of 90 days to report the fraudulent charges are they were no longer able to be disputed on my behalf. Since the original fraudulent charge made on one credit card appeared to have occurred around XX/XX/XXXX with my XXXX XXXX, I believe I could no longer purse relief through the credit card companies. I began to shoulder all the payments of the minimums which was financially unbearable with a full mortgage to pay alone at {$880.00} per month, all utilities, a $ XXXX/mo student loan payment, and now an additional {$700.00} per month minimum credit card payment that was 2/3rds interest by the time the money was applied. This was unbearable and I feared I was going to lose my home over this fraudulent debt which I was saddled with. 

Finally in about XX/XX/XXXX I decided to go out on a limb and see if there was ANY alternative to assist me in paying off the credit cards. I was already completely broke with no savings and no furniture other than an air mattress for a bed because the ex had taken all of the furniture in my home since she owned it, including all blankets, pillows, even toiletries and left me with literally nothing. I had a plastic lawn chair as my only chair and the air mattress using borrowed blankets and pillows because I didn't have any extra money to purchase these basic items due to the credit card minimum payments. I was doing everything I could to survive, but the payments were too much burden on me to survive. I finally broke down and began to call the credit card companies involved including Chase, XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was overjoyed at first contact because all three cards informed me through their fraud department that I was NOT liable for charges I did not authorize and that were made by the ex. They stated my mistaken assumption of only having 90 days to report her fraud was incorrect and that they all had a zero fraud liability policy and they would make sure to remove those charges from my card and do a thorough fraud investigation on my behalf to hold her liable for her theft. 

I immediately began gathering evidence as requested by the fraud team members and provided statements with highlighted charges that were unauthorized on my cards. Within days of submitting these unauthorized charges, my accounts were being refunded and the charges were being taken off. Chase was the very first card to remove all charges from my account and I was at an approximately balance of negative {$10000.00}!!! I could not believe how any charges had been made by her over a 3 year period an discovered most of these charges were made by her in a shorter time frame of a year and a half due to the card only being open since XXXX. The negative balance was available to me to use as my refund and I was informed by a customer service operator that I could still use the card and any charges would come off as credited towards the negative balance. I was even told I could use the card to withdraw money as a " cash advance '' but would be limited to my limit of {$600.00}. As a result, I requested a PIN number to be sent to me so that I could withdraw some cash and pay bills such as rent and other utilities that had been crushing me financially for so long. I used some of the money to get basic necessities like stock up on my groceries and get food in my freezer, buy items from XXXX and XXXX XXXX, and pay my mortgage and light bill without being completely broke for the first time in a long time. I also used some of the money to buy into a few small investments that I could not touch. Unfortunately, during the month of XXXX, my card suddenly stopped working when I still had a balance of negative XXXX. When I called into card services, I was transferred a department that then transferred me to a supervisor without ever explaining to me why I had no use of my card. Finally the supervisor in the card services explained my card had been shut off for excessive use of my credit line and the card had been cancelled! I asked why this was even possible since Chase still owed me {$2500.00} for my REFUND of fraudulently charged items, payments, and interest which had accrued and that my balance was as low as negative XXXX! The gentleman on the phone took a few minutes to review my account and then stated he saw what I was referring to and it appeared someone had made a mistake and cancelled the card believing I was running up and excessive balance on my card, when in reality, he could see I was using my refunded credit amount. I told him how I was told I could simply use the card as normal until my negative balance was exhausted and was doing exactly what I was instructed to do. I was trying to get back my refunded money that was stuck on that card. The supervisor stated he understood and was going to submit a request for my account to have a " reconsideration '' to review the closure and that he would document that it was a misunderstanding and my account was not being excessively used other than to attempt to withdraw my refunded amount. He informed me the review process can take approximately 7 to 10 days, but to check back in a few more days. I did not check back on the status immediately, but instead, received a call on or about XX/XX/XXXX from a superior stating my card had been reviewed and they were reinstating my usage of the card. I had also previously asked what would become of my negative {$2500.00} when the card was " cancelled '' and was informed that they would wait 7 days and the company would send me the refunded credit as a check to ensure any pending charges were posted to my account. I thanked them for their help and waited to receive my check. Once my card was reinstated, I realized that they were not going to send the check since I now had access to the balance and there for used it to pull {$1500.00} off towards another small investment and would later request they company mail me a check for the remaining {$1000.00} which would leave the card with a balance of {$0.00}. I was finally stress free and realizing I could not get my furniture I so desperately needed and would not have to stress about how to buy food when I could barely afford my mortgage with these credit card payments. 

Unfortunately my happiness and excitement did not last long because I received another phone call Monday afternoon from a woman who identified herself as the fraud investigator assigned to my case. I can not remember the womans name, but I was given her contact information as XXXX, extension XXXX. This fraud investigator stated she had concluded " her '' investigation and decided that the charges reported were NOT FRAUD because my ex was " given access to these cards by me because she lived with me ''. I immediately stopped her and informed her that I had NEVER given her access and she was mistaken, someone obviously had made a mistake on the file. The investigator stated that she had NOT made any mistake, and that since the person who committed this fraud lived with me, she naturally would have had access to my cards by simply going into my dresser or wallet to take these cards and use them, even if I didn't give her permission to do so. 

After hearing this comment, I was LIVID with such as careless point of view that she was suggesting I was to blame for this fraud because simply LIVING with someone was enough grounds to determine they " might '' take your card some day and use it without your permission and put it back. As a result, by them living in your residence, it is now your fault even though we have NEVER been married and she was NEVER an authorized user on my card. This made no sense to me and I immediately told this supervisor I could not believe someone could steal a credit card from me, use it, and put it back and it was acceptable simply because she lived at my residence. This would mean that absolutely ANYONE who had a roommate or child, or even just a friend living with them would be exposed to this same credit card fraud because she is blaming the victim for someone living in their home! The investigator stated that " Well sir, we are a financial institution and we simply can not refund these charges because you allowed her to use them since she was living there and as a result she knew how to gain access to the cards. '' I wish that this phone conversation had not been as devastating as it was, but then the investigator continued to tell me she had more bad news. The investigator stated that Chase had " mistakenly double refunded the charges and as a result we are putting approximately {$13000.00} back on your card because we accidentally made a {$6000.00} mistake ''. I tried to stop her and ask for more of an explanation of HOW could this POSSIBLY HAPPEN! How can a financial institution make such a stupid error and tell me they made a {$6000.00} mistake and were telling me that they were now going to add this back onto my card along with all charges she whimsically decided to deny refunds on for a balance of {$13000.00} on a single credit card that only had a maximum credit limit of {$3500.00}!! This means that if she would follow through with this decision, the banks unforgivable mistake would end up making me look like I had a balance that exceeded my credit limit by over {$10000.00} and absolutely DESTROY my credit rating in the process! They would also be charging me the feels that would make withdrawing the money from the ATM 's as my refund appear to be cash advances at the rate of 27 % on top of 23 % for the fraudulent charges. The minimum payments on this card would absolutely bankrupt me and I was the victim of fraud! How could this even be acceptable for someone to be the victim of fraud, try to resolve the situation on behalf of the credit card companies by making payments and even trying to get thief to pay the funds back in full, and then victimize me a second time by taking all the money back, hitting me with THEIR {$6000.00} mistake because someone miscalculated and told me that money was mine to use, and then now want it back after it has been spent? All while I was promised in the beginning that these fraudulent charges would not be my responsibility from the very day I called! If I had known this is how terrible the service was and that the credit card companies could not even figure out how to do their own refunds properly without making any mistakes, I would never have opened the card to begin with. That way I could never have been victimized through the fraud by Chase and their guarantee that I had " zero fraud liability '' and was protected. That is apparently not true because their investigator simply wanted to find a way to blame ME for the charges when they could't find any other way to deny the claim, she would make a ridiculous conclusion that simply living with her negated the fraud and was now my responsibility. I did not receive these  same statements from XXXX XXXX XXXX nor XXXX XXXX and XXXX lost FAR more money than Chase in the theft in the amount of nearly {$31000.00} alone. Yet, they have refunded the amounts and asked for affidavits of fraud and any assistance of criminal prosecution of my ex girl friend. Chase did not even so much as offer me an affidavit to sign for fraud and I have offered on numerous occasions to assist them with any criminal charges should they choose to pursue that avenue. I once again informed this same fraud investigator that I would be willing to assist with a criminal investigation to assist them as I was doing the same with XXXX card, yet she said to her this was entirely civil and they were not going to refund any money. She did not care that her decision was unfounded and had no compassion that her decision is going to wreck my financially and destroy my credit. So, I immediately told the investigator that I wanted this decision appealed to a supervisor for review as I did not feel her determination was one based on any factual reasoning that was a legitimate law or policy. She stated that she could try to get a supervisor on the phone but they were busy, or she could resubmit this case to a department but that they would need to do another full investigation. I told her that would be find as I knew that these charges were fraudulent and I would not allow her to call these unauthorized charges my responsibility based on her statement my ex-girlfriend could make those charges simply because she lived in the same house hold. Why would ANYONE ever need an authorized user card then? Apparently she believed you can just take someone's card behind their back and use it and it would be perfectly acceptable! So, I stated I wanted the review done on my decision and the account to be looked at by another person above her with more authority. I told her I wanted this account left alone since adding this XXXX back onto my card was an unfair burden on both me and my credit and that would cause me even further damage. The investigator simply stated that " The file will be submitted for review and further investigation '' and my full belief is she understood I was appealing her decision and asking for someone else to review this account and stay her reversal onto my card. I am now looking at my account today and realizing that this investigator did the exact opposite and I now have all charges put back onto my card with a balance of {$13000.00} with no available credit and over the limit by {$9500.00}!. My credit rating which was severely harmed from the fraudulent credit card charges will not be even FURTHER destroyed just as I began to recover. There is no possible way I can in good conscience make payments on charges I know are both fraud due to theft and also mistakes made by the same company that promised to protect me should this happen. Instead both parties are further harming me financially by making me liable for them and I am the victim! It is unimaginable to me to think any reputable company would be so callous, reckless, and irresponsible to the victim of a crime and then further harm them by claiming they " accidentally '' made a mistake of {$6000.00}! That is not MY fault that they made that mistake as they were the ones who informed me I could spend this money as it was MINE! I would NEVER charge {$6000.00} on a credit card in this manner as I am far more financially responsible that this and I feel as they have now baited me into a trap and are trying to wash their hands of their own responsibility for both the fraud and their " error '' of double refunding me charges. I am NOT able to pay this money back and I do not have the the ability to make the massive monthly payments their error will incur on me. This is simply not something I can ever forget and I will likely be forced to switch my credit card accounts to another company in the future as I feel there was never any intention to help me with being defrauded by this investigator. I will make sure to tell everyone I know to cancel any credit card, bank account, investment product and any other item they may have with Chase or any Chase bank due to how I was treated and how they have proven their word of " zero fraud liability '' really doesn't actually apply and superficial reasons will be made up that do not even exist in their card polices. 

So in other words, Chase will make up whatever story they want and try to blackmail you into paying off someone else 's illegal charges while offering NO protection and threaten damage to your credit, employment, liens and judgments on your home, and ultimately the shame of having a destroyed credit report committed by someone who was never held responsible for their fraudulent charges to begin with. I have never felt more violated in my life than I do right now and I have never felt more hopeless and depressed than I do now because I can not possibly pay this money back and nor should I have to. I am the victim not the criminal!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation