Consumer complaint received 2019-11-19
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
My girlfriend, XXXX, recently closed her XXXX college savings account ( through the XXXX State government ) because the account must be used for college tuition and both of us have already graduated college. XXXX sent XXXX a check for the remaining account balance of {$34000.00}. We planned on using this money to make vital repairs to the home that we own together. Both of us are from XXXX and now live in XXXX, so neither of us have a bank account from a bank with branches in XXXX. 

On XX/XX/19 we attempted to open a Chase checking account for XXXX online so that we would be able to deposit the XXXX check locally. The online system would not allow her to open an account and gave an error each time she tried. We took the check to a Chase branch and asked the teller if we could open an account and make a deposit. She told us  that they dont have many bankers working weekends and that they only accepted walk-ins during the week. We left and I tried to open an account online and it worked. XXXX endorsed the ( cashiers ) check for me so that I could deposit it into the new Chase checking account that I had created. 

On XX/XX/19 I deposited the cashiers check into the new Chase account. I had not endorsed it under her endorsement because I didnt know I needed to, but the teller did not notice the mistake and I was given a receipt for the deposit stating that the funds would be available on XX/XX/19. 

By XX/XX/19, {$200.00} dollars had cleared, but the remaining amound of the {$34000.00} were still marked as pending. I called Chase customer service and asked about the reason for the hold. The customer service rep put me on hold and said he would check with the department that put the hold on the deposit and would be right back. Eventually a different man answered and I thought that the phone system had redirected me to a different customer service rep. 

I explained that I was on hold for a different rep and that Im not sure why I got redirected to someone else. The man asked for my account details and I provided them. The man asked the reason for my call and I replied that I was wondering why my deposit had never cleared since it was getting close to a week from the deposit date. The customer service rep informed me that he was with the fraud prevention department and that he was suspending my account. He made it clear that the suspension was a serious action and specifically said that if I tried to writed checks from the account, they would bounce. If I tried to make debit card transactions, they would be declined. That I would have no access to any of the funds and would not be permitted to deposit or withdrawl from the account. 

I was shocked and asked for the reason. The rep told me that I was committing fraud and trying to steal someone elses money. He said that the check was not written to me and that it is a crime to deposit a check written for someone else into my account. I tried to explain that it was my girlfriends check, that we own a home together that is financed through Chase and that he could look that information up. I asked why I was never informed of this during the week. I asked how I would have ever known that the account was suspended and why Chase had not tried to contact me to clear the issue up. He told me that I would have figured it out once I tried to use the card and it got declined. I told him that XXXX had given me the check because the online system would not allow her to make an account and the branches didnt have enough bankers on weekends to allow us to create an account for her in person. He continued to make accusations, but finally told me to bring XXXX with me to a branch with our passports to verify our identities and the account would be unsuspended. 

XXXX and I went into a branch and explained the situation to the teller. One of the employees took us to an office, was very understanding and apologized profusely for the mixup. She verified our identities, called the fraud prevention department and told us that everything had been cleared up. She said the account was unsuspended and the check would be deposited within 3 days. 

On XX/XX/19 I checked the Chase mobile app and the check had cleared. All funds had be deposited and the hold was lifted. 

On XX/XX/19 I received a letter dated XX/XX/19 in the mail stating that the checking account was suspended and would be closed altogether. I checked the Chase mobile app and the entire amount of the check had been removed from the account. 

On XX/XX/19 I called Chase customer service and recorded the call. The customer service rep said he didnt know why the account was being closed but that he would transfer me to the appropriate department. I was transferred to fraud prevention again and was given the exact same story. The fraud prevention agent said that the check I was depositing was not for me and that they had no way to verify that it was meant for me. I told him that XXXX and I had gone into a branch and verified out IDs already. He said that there was no record of that ever happening. I asked why he could not call the branch that I had gone into and he told me that I would need to do it. He said XXXXhase could either mail me the check or I could create a new account and they would deposit it into the new account.

I called the branch that I had verified my ID at and asked for the employee that had verified my ID. She was there and I explained that once again my account was suspended and that the check had been deposited and then taken back out. She againk apologized profusely and told me she would call fraud prevention again and clear it up. She called me back shortly after that and told me that she had talked to fraud prevention and that they would reopen the account and deposit the check. 

As of XXXX on XX/XX/19, the account is now gone from the Chase mobile app. It has been 15 days that this money has been essentially gone and our house repairs are still on hold since we can not put down the deposit with the contractor until we have this money.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation