Consumer complaint received 2021-05-02
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Lease
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease
Sub-issue: Excess mileage, damage, or wear fees, or other problem after the lease is finished

Complaint:
The essence of the complaint is that I am being charged for damage ( XXXX Door Panel Heavy Scratch @ {$2200.00} ), which plainly did not exist prior to my surrendering my leased vehicle on XX/XX/XXXX. This is backed up by clear photographic evidence, which has been sent to Chase, per their instructions via hard copy twice, and yet continues to go unaddressed. After multiple phone calls there is no clear path offered by Chase to resolve this issue. 

The vehicle leased was a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX Acct # XXXX XXXX. 

This complaint is regarding JPMorgan Chase Bank XXXX Chase XXXX, which operates XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX : XXXX. The end of lease group in Texas has been the source of the frustration. Key factors are their inability to work with electronic files OR receive hard copy mail, mixed with their general apathy and attitude, which, after several phone calls, offers no real help or suggested path to resolution. An issue that could have been resolved in a matter of minutes continues to drag out over a month with no clear path to resolution in sight. 

Additional detail, organized in date order and with reference to supporting documents are as follows : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Report identifies limited damage totalling {$200.00}. 

XXXX - XXXX XXXX father enters hospice and passes away from terminal XXXX. I asked to extend my lease during this period. However my driving was severely limited, and no subsequent damage occurred. 

XXXX I take photos in various conditions of the vehicle prior to turning it in. These six photos are included in the subsequent correspondence to Chase - these indicate no damage to the XXXX Door Panel prior to the vehicle being surrendered to the transport truck driver. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX truck sent by Chase picks up the vehicle from my home in downtown XXXX XXXX there is no dealership involved - pickup arranged with Chase due to Covid ). 

XX/XX/XXXX Date of first letter from Chase, identifying a variety of small damage items, including those identified in the pre-inspection report, which I do not dispute. However a significant and unexpected line item is introduced, which is described as XXXX Door Panel Heavy Scratch and has a cost assigned of {$2200.00}. This is the disputed charge that has yet to be addressed. 

XX/XX/XXXX After catching up with mail and reading the letter, I call Chase - the lease end group in Texas at XXXX - to inquire about how the inspection occurred, and ultimately to dispute the XXXX Door Panel Heavy Scratch line item. I am told a separate research department will review the photos from the inspection. They will drop any charges for which they do not find photos. I can also request to have the photos sent, which I do. 

I found the nature of this call to be unsettling. I was told that this stays with this department 100 days, and I dont want to know what happens after that. I found the tone to be generally aggressive and threatening, as if I had been sent to a debt collector vs a customer service department with any kind of curiosity as to my situation. 

XX/XX/XXXX Document Attached : Correspondence from Chase Date of letter from Chase with grainy photos printed on ordinary copy paper. Only one of these images identifies the supposed XXXX Door Panel Heavy Scratch. If it is in fact on the XXXX Door Panel ( difficult to validate via this one picture ), it was certainly not there when I surrendered the vehicle to the transport driver. 

XX/XX/XXXX I call Chase to explain the situation all over again, this time to XXXX. I was told to mail my photos to a very specific address, which was provided by XXXX as follows : Chase XXXX XXXX : XXXX Department XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX I asked XXXX to repeat as some elements seemed strange like the PO Box number with a comma, etc. She acknowledged it was strange but this was the address. It will turn out later this was an incorrect address. 

XX/XX/XXXX I mail a letter with my photos and the pre-inspection report via XXXX Priority Mail - the tracking indicates it was not delivered. 

XX/XX/XXXX I call Chase and ask to speak to a supervisor. I speak with XXXX, ID # XXXX. XXXX is not initially curious or helpful. I have to ask him to look up the address for me and verify what XXXX provided was correct. When he finally does, it turns out to be a different zip code. The address is provided as follows : XXXX XXXX XXXX Mail XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX Attn : Research XX/XX/XXXX Document Attached : Damage Dispute Letters to Chase I print out all my hard copies again - revised letter/address, photos, pre-inspection report, and sent by Priority Express Mail. This time the tracking indicates it was delivered early on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX After seeing the letter and photos have been delivered for over a week, and I have not heard anything from Chase, despite the fact they said they would call. I call the following numbers : XXXX XXXX XXXX Customer Service at XXXX - they listen but say they can not help with anything regarding Chase. They suggest I find out if Chase has a complaint department. No such department for dealing with this issue can be found online or on the phone. No matter who I call I am always redirected to the same end of lease group in Texas that has been so difficult to work with. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX Customer Service at XXXX - after asking for a supervisor and explaining the situation - they simply reconnect me to XXXX in Texas and the same group that again has not been helpful this whole time When I am redirected to XXXX ID # XXXX, I provide the tracking number for the second mailing, which he looks up to see it was in fact delivered. However XXXX says they dont have the photos. I ask how is that possible? - I have mailed them twice and reconfirmed the address with XXXX himself. The XXXX says its delivered. XXXX says, I dont know what to tell you. If were not getting anything, we cant waive it. XXXX says the only next step is arbitration. I ask if he has a supervisor. He says yes but it takes XXXX XXXX for that individual to call me back. He will mail me the lease contract, which describes arbitration as the only option left. 


Obviously this has taken a lot of my time and resources, with multiple phone calls, mailings, printing out of photos, documenting, etc. A reasonable customer service agent would be able to determine in about XXXX XXXX that the XXXX Panel Heavy Scratch occurred after I turned in the vehicle. Yet the Chase lease end office in Texas feels more like a debt collector than a customer service office. This group is at best apathetic, sometimes threatening, and surely not helpful. I have spent my own resources printing photos and putting together hard copies and mailed them TWICE per their direction, and yet they dont know what to say about it, using the excuse they have not received what XXXX confirmed was delivered. 

It is shocking to me that in the year XXXX Chase Bank can not receive photos or correspondence electronically. Having said that, if they claim to deal with hard copy only, they do not have a reliable way to receive hard copies either, so they leave consumers with no viable options to resolve simple issues. The fact that the XXXX XXXX name is attached to this group also is not helpful - XXXX XXXX will not act as Chase holds the lease and only uses their name apparently for branding/marketing. And the internal customer service at XXXX XXXX XXXX is powerless to act - they simply steer me back to the office in Texas, which again leaves no resolution. In the meantime, this drains my resources, and ultimately puts my credit at risk, as it seems their only strategy is to drag their feet until their threat of 100 days, when it turns over to collections.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief