Consumer complaint received 2018-12-29
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
XX/XX/2018 I opened a business account with Mr XXXX, submitted the requested documents & checks for deposit to him. He opened the account. One week later I went to deposit more checks & was told the account has been closed/restricted & would have to call business customer service. I called customer service, was told since the checks were dated 2 weeks prior to the business was established they closed the account unless I can prove it existed prior to the dates of the checks. I explained to the representative on the phone that the checks were loans to me to help me open the business. I told him that when I was asked if by the makers of the checks who do they make the check to, I said the business name since it was a loan to me. I told him to look at the images of the checks & he would see it does state loan on the memo line. He did acknowledge it does state that but does not comply with his company 's policy/procedures requirements for a business account. I asked him so what will happen now & was told the account is closed. I asked when will the funds be returned to me & was told within 10 days. After 10 days I still did not receive the funds & called customer service again & a different representative said the same thing but was told this time they will not return the funds & they have every right to hold on to it. I asked the representative do you have a court order to withhold my funds & was told they do not need it & they can hold it as long as the company wants. I was very frustrated and decided to walk into the branch that I opened the account and talk to Mr XXXX. He tried to resolve the issue but was unable to. He was told the same thing. I asked him did he know about this policy & he said he did not. I left the branch & called again a couple of days later to hopefully speak to a manager from Chase Compliance Department. This time I spoke to the manager & was told the same thing but was told if the makers of the checks verify they wrote the check to me for a loan then they would release the funds back to me. On XX/XX/18, I was at the branch again and had Mr XXXX call the Compliance Department so they could call the makers of the checks, the representative on the phone was rude & called a couple of them to verify it. After verification, he then said this time although 3 of them did verify it was a loan it still doesn't meet company 's policy & the company will still withhold all my funds ( approximately {$12000.00} ). Mr XXXX asked is this in writing & they said no. Again, to no avail Chase Compliance department will not release the funds. I was told even if the makers of the checks verify they wrote the check to me as a loan & since I had them put the business name on it instead of having them write it directly to me that they still will not release the funds. The only way is for each maker of the checks call their bank & request a " recall '' of the check. I asked how come your company has no problem cashing the checks & none of your bankers are aware of this policy, and was told most branch level bankers are not aware of this policy. I asked is this fair to any consumer & was told it doesn't matter since its the company 's policy. As of now, it has been over 2 months I have been trying to get the funds returned to me ( approximately {$12000.00} ) and my business is not able to function because Chase Bank is withholding these funds even though on the memo line it states " loan '' and it was my mistake for telling the makers of the checks to just write it to the business name since it was a loan which I didn't know would be a problem including the banker who opened the business account for me. Please do not hesitate to call me for more information because I have a lot more details but unfortunately its hard to put all in writing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation