Consumer complaint received 2021-04-17
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: VA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
In XXXX of 2020 I was in the process of moving away from New York, and my spouse and I decided to sell a number of items on XXXX. I receiveda suspicious check in the mail from someone who supposedly wanted to purchase a rug from me. The check was for far more than the rug itself, as the buyer had asked if they could send some extra money for me to pay movers who would then pick up the rug. The communication up to that point had been normal, and so I gave this individualthe benefit of the doubt ; however, I did have a strange feeling about the check. 

I almost always use mobile deposit, but in this case I wanted to ensure the check was real, so I took it to the branch at XXXX XXXX to speak to someone at Chase about it on Monday, XX/XX/2020. I was greeted by a woman at the front of the branch ( I do not remember her name, but branch manager XXXX XXXX XXXX knows who this was XXXX, who asked how she could help me. I told her that this check was mailed to me by someone I had been communicating with from XXXX. I then explained that I had reservations about the check and told her that I had come to the bank to confirmthat the check was valid. 

She said she could help and brought me over to a teller. She asked if I knew the person who issued the check, and I said that I had exchanged texts with them but did not know them personally or have their name. She asked the teller to look at the check, and then asked him if this was a real cashier 's check. The teller said that everything looked good, and pointed to the corner of the check, saying that it was issued by XXXX Bank. He proceeded to deposit the check. I was surprised at how quickly this happened, and I asked both of them again if that was all that had to be done to ensure this was a real check. The female teller told me not to use the money today, but that if the money was in my account tomorrow, then I would be good to go. 

The next morning XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) the money was available in my account, so I transferred money to the supposed " movers '' who were supposed to pick up the rug that I was selling. I transferred out {$1400.00} over two different transactions of {$710.00} each. Both payments also required a XXXX fee of {$21.00}, so the total amount of money leaving my account was {$1400.00} The communication with the issuer of the check then turned much more suspicious ( I had transferred the money out via XXXX and they asked me to reverse the transaction and use XXXX  ). At this point I understood I was being scammed, and I immediately called both XXXX and XXXX to try to reverse the transactions. 

Because I had transferred money via XXXX, Chase said they were not able to stop the transaction. XXXX could not reverse the transaction either, so I went to my local police department. 

At the police department, because I did not yet have proof from Chase that the check was fraudulent, they were not able to confirm that a crime had been committed and were therefore unable to file a police report. The police advised me to call both XXXX and Chase to see if the transaction could be reversed. XXXX was not able to do anything, so I called XXXX to reverse the transaction. At the recommendation of a Chase rep over the phone, I filed a " services not rendered '' claim, which was later denied. 

I then went back to the XXXX XXXX branch to confirm that the check was fraudulent so that I could file a police report. The Chase representative I spoke to there ( I believe his name was XXXX, but XXXX would have to confirm ) was extremely helpful. It was only then that a Chase employee finally alerted me to the fact that a check clearing after XXXX hours does not guarantee the checks validity. XXXX said that it was too late in the business day to officially verify the check, but that I could call tomorrow. He also looked at photos of other checks that had been issued by XXXX XXXX  and told me that they looked very different from the XXXX check. 

The following day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I went to a Chase branch near my home uptown, and XXXX XXXX was able to confirm the check was fraudulent. I then went back to the police department, and detective XXXX XXXX XXXX advised me to again resolve the issue with Chase before filing a report. I then spoke on the phone with Chase reps, who sent me to XXXX XXXX ( manager at the original branch ), who was very kind and did her best, but ultimately was not able to help. XXXX told me that I could bring this issue to the Chase complaints department and ultimately the Chase executive office. The executive office ( contact there is XXXX, phone XXXX ext XXXX ) has reviewed my story but left me a voicemail maintaining that there was no bank error. I have tried to call XXXX back to discuss, but he has not returned my calls. 

Even though I had specifically come in to discuss a potential fraudulent check and had clearly asked for help in determining if this check was real or fake, no one at Chase on XX/XX/XXXX told me that it can actually take much longer than XXXX hours for a check to officially clear. That day, the employees at XXXX XXXX not only withheld this useful information, but also lied to me when they told me that if the money was available in my account the following day, the check was good. 

As a result of Chase 's lying and misguidance, I have lost {$1400.00}.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation