Consumer complaint received 2021-09-03
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
On Friday XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to get a cashier 's check with with to pay my security deposit and first month 's rent, after which time I would close my account from the Chase Bank branch in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX. 

I found the teller to be massively unprepared for her job and rude. This is of course not your concern. What happened was, after I failed to conclude my business on Friday - any of it - I was told that my accounts had been locked because the teller had sent a timed SMS to a phone I told her I did not have, and it expired, thereby locking me out of my account, at close of business Friday. The branch manager swore she was unable to do anything about this, that my account was totally locked out and that no one could do anything. But that there was a nearby branch that would be open on Saturday. 

When I arrived on Saturday I was told my account had been closed. I told the people at this branch that I had an account that was *locked* and that I was told there was nothing that could be done to it because of the lock. That it was open and had around {$5000.00} in it at the time of the lock. I asked where my money had gone and they had no idea - " perhaps it was dispatched to your address as a cashier 's check ''. They of course couldn't guarantee this or whether my account was debited for the check that may or may not have been sent. 

Sunday then passed with no ability to pursue the matter further, except to worry about where my money had gone. 

I arrived to the first branch on Monday to find that they had closed my account, without my knowledge and against my plainly expressed wishes, and contradictory to what I had been told they had done or would have been able to do. I was offered no apology, and when I expressed my outrage a gentleman who worked for the bank approached me and implied that things would get physical if I didn't leave. I stayed until I was issued a cashier 's check for the amount I'd originally wanted - a check I'd promised my landlord and roommates would be delivered on Friday afternoon and was only receiving three days later - and the balance of my accounts. 

I eventually got the check I was seeking, but my accounts were closed without my knowledge, the data was not tracked - other branches had no information as to when how or why to give me - and my life was severely disrupted. 

I've tried to escalate this within Chase, but have twice now been told they are treating my complaint as a 'racial bias complaint '. To be clear I am not and never have complained to anyone at chase about my treatment racially. I even called the Chase Executive officer specifically to tell them that among everything else, I at least did not feel profiled or treated badly for any XXXX reason. It was simple compounding incompetence and a complete lack of respect or responsibility for someone else 's money. I do believe that the branch which I had this issue at, which raised this issue to corporate before I was able to, have deliberately misclassified the nature of my complaint so as to short-circuit any accountability. As I have been contacted by chase since correcting them, and been told they are still pursuing this as a XXXX bias complaint, I have no other earthly idea why this would not have been fixed other than the local branch insisting the problem is something that it is not. They will certainly not find evidence of XXXX bias in how I was treated, and then I suppose that clears the decks and everyone is ok. 

Anyway, to the extent that this amounts to anything you can work with, I hope that steps are taken that this does not happen to anyone else. Close to {$5000.00} of my money disappeared without a trace - specifically after I was told by a branch manager that the money was 'locked down ', and for three days I was left totally in the dark about when how or if I would ever see that money again. My housing situation was thrown totally into the air within two weeks of my move in date. I still to this day do not know why or even how they closed my account but I strongly feel this is not being taken seriously by the Chase higher ups.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation