Consumer complaint received 2019-04-17
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Sent card you never applied for

Complaint:
In XXXX of 2019 I have begun to apply for different zero percent APR cards for my business that I have begun recently. As my credit was fairly good XXXX FICO of around XXXX ) I wasnt too worried. Chase Credit cards were one of the cards that I was interested in. I stopped by a branch at XXXX The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX CA XXXX and spoke with a banker named XXXX about different low APR options. He referred me to XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX CA XXXX as the business credit card manager at his branch was not present to help me apply for one of those cards. I followed his direction and in a few days visited XXXX. I explained my situation about starting a business and was in need of making purchases and was only interested in 0 percent APR credit cards due to my lack of revenue at the moment as business was only at its beginning stages and would not be able to pay off the debt right away. He discussed with me the different options for nearly half an hour to an hour and decided that a zero percent APR business card was available and that he can submit an application at the branch for me. He assured me of its different benefits but most importantly the 0 APR and balance transfer for 12 months. After finishing the application with him I waited for the response and after not hearing back a few days called customer service. They said the application was denied due to the naming (? ) of my business. I stopped by to see XXXX soon after as I was not exactly sure what the reason for denial was. He went over my application and made a phone call to card services and told them to retry the process as there was a misunderstanding. Soon enough I was told the 0 percent card was approved and I would be receiving it soon. Few days later after receiving the card I realized the card was not the zero percent APR card that I applied for but a 23 percent APR card. I went into the branch to speak with XXXX as this was not what I was informed I would be receiving and would actually be detrimental to my business that just begun. He assured me that there must have been a bank error somewhere as this was not what we discussed about nor applied for. He stated he will submit an escalation to corporate escalation team stating there must have been a bank branch error. However he also threw a question to me if I would just be interested in applying for the Zero APR balance transfer card that I was supposed to receive and then I could have two credit cards that may be useful in the future. I told him I am not interested as I have applied for other company credit cards with 0 APRs and did not want to keep getting hits on my credit score. He assured me then that he will continue to submit the escalation stating a bank error and the changeover would be of no problem. I was relieved as I had to continue making purchases for my business as the products for the prices I needed were only temporary and if I didnt make the purchases right away the products will not be available in the near future. After sometime I received a call from escalation department stating the changeover was denied and the reason was documents show that a 23 percent APR card was applied for not a Zero APR card and if I still wanted the change to the 0 APR card the manager of the branch, not a banker of the branch has to make a submission to them explaining that it was the branches fault. I relayed this information to XXXX  and he reassured me he will bring that up to the manager and that it shouldnt be a problem. I was relieved to hear this as I already made purchases on my card. During this whole period I have also been asking for a copy of the application which I signed for as cards services escalation services was saying I somehow signed for a 23 % APR card ( although I was told by XXXX  it was a 0 APR card I was signing for ) and also I wanted proof that it really was the case I signed for a 23 percent card not a 0 percent card. After weeks of multiple calls to the branch and customer service I still wasnt getting a final answer as to when the change will happen. I finally got a call from XXXX XXXX, Business Relations Chase, about this case and she finally told me that actually at the time of my application the 0 percent APR was not available for me and wasnt sure why I was asking for the 0 APR card. This is her email : XXXX, XXXX XXXX  XXXX Mon, XXXX XXXX, XXXX PM ( 8 days ago ) Mr. XXXX Thank you for your time today. 



Based on my conversation with our Credit Card Department today. The options you have regarding your current credit card XXXX XXXX XXXX : You can call XXXX and request a product change to the XXXX XXXX however you will not receive the 0 % interest as this is for new applications. 

You can apply through chase.com for the XXXX XXXX credit card. Please ensure you see the promotion of 0 % interest before you apply. 

Thank you. 

With regards to the promotion being available at the time you were here for the 0 % interest on the XXXX XXXX. The promotion is available in the branch or through Chase.com. 

Kind Regards, XXXX XXXX stated they are not willing to make the change to a Zero APR card and that if I want I can apply for the card that is 0 APR. 


After receiving this email and speaking with her on the phone she stated the reason they can not switch me over is because that promotion was not available at that time. I told her that was not true that I had a long discussion with XXXX before signing up and told her I would stop by the branch. 

Soon after I stopped by the bank and XXXX the manager told me there was nothing they can do. I asked her that all she had to do was for her to send to cards escalation that it was a branch error, however she stated she cant do that as the bank never made an error. I told her that XXXX and I had a long discussion about getting the zero APR card when I was applying and she stated first that it was my fault I got the wrong card because I clicked on the wrong card when I was applying. I told her that was very absurd for her to say that because clearly no customer grabs the mouse from the banker when applying for the card ; only the banker during the process has control of the mouse. She realized her statement would not fly so she went on and stated it was my fault for signing the wrong document. I told her that while I was signing for the document I was conveyed by XXXX that it was the 0 APR card  and that I assumed I would be getting the documents for this application. She then went on to tell me that she just spoke with XXXX and he does not recall ever telling me he was applying me for a zero APR card. I told her that that was a very clear lie and that if she even realizes that Javier submitted an official document to cards services escalation stating banker and customer discussed a Zero APR card and it was due to a bank error. She looked very stunned and speechless and was on the computer looking up things which I assume was the escalation XXXX submitted ( but I do not know for sure as she did not show me what she was looking at ). She started walking over to XXXX and I followed. She yelled at me to go sit down elsewhere so she can talk with XXXX privately. I did my best to be as close to them as possible without going into the booth to make sure they dont plan another ridiculous response. She saw me and told me to come over and while I was sitting there started asking XXXX if he ever told me that he was applying me for a Zero APR card. He looked as if he didnt know what to say and kept looking at XXXX the manager. After a few seconds and a staring session between the two he finally decided to say no I do not remember ever telling the customer of a zero APR card. She started yelling at me while there were other customers at the branch as to how they tried everything for the past month to help me and that I should leave as there is no more they can do for me. 
I left as I was stunned. Soon after I continued to make calls to see my application documents as I wanted to make sure if I was somehow signed up for a 23 % APR card or not. After numerous calls and visits to different branches ( I stopped by these places as I was not in my home area and was wondering if I can get help from then ) no one seemed to have access to this application. Several bankers stated this was not normal as they can see my applications for my other credit cards years ago but this application which was made recently was no where to be found. During this time I also was asking for the escalation report XXXX submitted stating it was a branch error that the customer received a 23 percent APR card not a 0 APR card. Each time I called customer service for this document to be sent to me they were able to pull that document up XXXX they read out what was written on that document to me and my roommate, XXXX XXXX, stating that it was a branch error ) and initially they said I would be receiving it in 7 to 10 business days. However I realized it was not arriving so I called again and now they changed their story stating that the manager will now not approve releasing this document. I was getting very frustrated and upset realizing that from the start they were not willing to change the card for me but stalled time for almost a month to exhaust me, the customer. I decided to go back to the branch that I applied the card for. Once I walked in I waited as I was next in line. After XXXX finished seeing his customer he came to me and briefly stated he cant help me anymore and that I should leave and soon after he grabbed the next customer and left me alone at the waiting area. I wasnt sure what to do because I really wanted and needed my documents of my application and the escalation report. I asked the tellers for help and they said they were told by XXXX the manager to not help me and there was nothing they can do. I spoke with a XXXX  gentleman who was with Mortage division, explaining to him how no one was helping me. He was shocked that no one was so he went to the tellers asking what was going on and why no one was helping me. The tellers told him something and soon after he walked back to his booth without helping or speaking with me. There was one more banker there, an XXXX XXXX  gentleman. I told him im not here trying to cause trouble, just please can you help me obtain these documents because I need them for my records. He got very upset at me and said that I was being trouble just by being there and told me that they already did everything for me and told me if I dont leave he is calling the police. I was shocked so I called corporate escalation about this situation and they assured me that the branch was supposed to help me. I relayed this information to the XXXX XXXX  gentleman, however he said he didnt care and that the police will be here. I waited for the police and explained to them what happened that I was just here for documents which they were not willing to help me with. They officer XXXX sated that he would have done the same thing and that he didnt feel a need to file a criminal report as no crime was present. I asked him to at least write an incident report stating chase bank called the police on a customer asking for documents. He agreed and gave me records of the incident ( which I attached the picture to this submission ). 

After further investigation and dialogue I realized that XXXX wanted me to apply for multiple cards from the start as he gets commission for each card a customer signs up for ( this was confirmed with multiple other bankers from chase at different branches ). Initially this did not cross my mind as early on in this case, I did ask the chase branch which I applied for this card and they told me that they do not receive commission for new credit cards opened ( which turned out to be a lie ). Also I realized XXXX almost certainly can not have applied me for a wrong card unless he was XXXX in both eyes. I am conveying the ideal that XXXX knew from the start that I was getting a 23 percent card not a zero card. This thought is due to the fact of the process of the card application. As shown in documents/pictures uploaded, when the banker chooses which card to sign up for, there are clear pictures of the different cards and they are not spaced close together and the colors are not the same for each card. Someone who has been doing these applications for a long time should know the difference when seeing these pictures. Also the documents of the application which XXXX signed me up for has in bold on each page XXXX roughly 5-6 pages ) the name of the card that is being applied for. The bold names of each page should have been clear to him that it was not the 0 percent card which I received. 

Also I am very very concerned how everyone from the escalations department of chase, and the managers of customer service seem to be preventing me from getting my documents ( escalation report stating it was banks error, and application form that I supposedly signed that was 23 % APR not 0 percent. ). it has been over a month now, XX/XX/2019where I have been asking for this document. Every banker I go to at different branches cant seem to have access to it. Every time they call or I call everyone is stating somehow that application is not present anymore. My concern was that then how can they tell me they will deny my change to a zero APR card from 23 APR card because I signed for a 23 APR card when that document doesnt even exist? I feel there is a strong web of connections between different bank branches, customer service managers, escalation managers, who prevent customers from getting documents that are rightfully theirs. Also initially the all have been very friendly and on the surface wanting to help, but weeks and over a month passes and they leave you with no change and the only thing they say is we done everything we did and cant do anymore. I ask for reasons why the changes cant be made and no reason is given ( for example my change from 23 to 0 APR was denied because documents show I signed for a 23 APR card, however when I ask how they can make that conclusion when that document doesnt exist, or it is conveyed to me it doesnt exist so they cant give it to me, and they just say Im sorry we cant help you and chase just hangs up or calls police so I get banned from entering the branchXXXX XXXX I am submitting high suspicion of fraud, lying, and continuous covering up of fraud and lies at a very high level and wide scope at the expense of customer 's well being.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation