Consumer complaint received 2017-12-29
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, someone who was pretending to be my husband went to a Chase branch in Indiana and filled out a withdrawal slip for {$4200.00} and received that amount of money out of our checking account. On the same day at the same IN location, a cashier 's check made out to someone we 've never met in the amount of {$2500.00} was taken out of our same Chase checking account. In the first withdrawal slip, my husband 's first name was misspelled. In the withdrawal slip for the cashier 's check, the account number was incorrect ( one of the numbers was wrong ). We live and work in Illinois and have never done any banking or have never lived in Indiana. These 2 transactions depleted our account by almost 1/3 of the amount. On XX/XX/XXXX, at a different Indiana Chase branch, a cash withdrawal for {$860.00} was filled out and received from our aforementioned checking account. The same day, at the same location, a {$2600.00} cashier 's check was written to someone we have never met from the same account and again my husband 's first name was spelled incorrectly. On each of the withdrawal slips, the last 4 digits of our account are written in much  smaller print than the other digits of our account, which should have been a red flag to the teller that this could be identity theft. This is in addition to the 2 incorrect spellings of my husband 's first name and the incorrect account number on one slip. We discovered the XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX withdrawals on XX/XX/XXXX and alerted Chase fraud. A freeze was put on our account and we reopened a new checking account the following day. We discovered the errors on the night of XX/XX/XXXX when we were reviewing our accounts and on XX/XX/XXXX we filed a police report. My husband is a XXXX and was on shift on XX/XX/XXXX so he was unable to file a police report on XX/XX/XXXX as he works 24 hour shifts. When I went to the Chase branch on XX/XX/XXXX to open a new account and explain everything that had happened, the personal banker I was dealing with was more interested in trying to get me to become a Chase Private Client because she found out that our savings account is n't with Chase and that we use a financial advisor ( outside of Chase ). A branch manager was not notified of  our issues or if he or she was, that person never came to me to find out more information about our situation. On XX/XX/XXXX when my husband was off his shift and after he had filled out a police report, he also went to the same Chase branch and dealt with the same woman who again was more interested in convincing him to become a Chase Private Client than in helping us. After all of this, we received a letter from Chase that was dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that Chase had researched the transaction ( s ) we reported and denied our claim, stating that the time frame to request reimbursement passed. A single letter telling us that {$10000.00} of our hard earned money will not be returned to us. Chase could n't even bother to call us and explain their decision. Thanks to the negligent tellers in 2 different Chase branches, my husband was the victim of identity theft. My husband has been a client of Chase since it was XXXX XXXX.  We have our checking account through Chase. We have a savings account for each of our children with Chase. We have a Chase credit card and never carry a balance. Our mortgage is with Chase. Each year, the interest on our mortgage that Chase earns is more than XXXX the entire amount that was taken from us and we have never been late on a mortgage payment. After my husband received the letter, he called Chase claims to protest the claim denial and was assigned someone to his case. After the case was reopened and again reviewed, we got a letter from Chase Customer Claims Department dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that after they researched the transaction, they deemed the XX/XX/XXXX transactions were unauthorized and credited our account {$6700.00}. When we called to inquire as to why our full amount was n't credited, we were informed that the Fraud department of Chase felt that because of our negligence to report the XX/XX/XXXX transactions, the XX/XX/XXXX occurred. There is no way that Chase can prove that my husband would n't have been the victim of identify theft if we would have discovered the XX/XX/XXXX transactions sooner. The XX/XX/XXXX transactions occurred at a different Indiana Chase branch and the cashier 's check was made out to a different individual. Shortly after we received the XX/XX/XXXX letter we received a letter informing us that we had " insufficient funds '' in our account to cover a check that we had written on XX/XX/XXXX. This check happened to be cashed after our identify theft issue  was discovered and our account had been changed. When I went to Chase to get a letter stating that my husband was the victim of identity theft in order to show that we did in fact have " sufficient funds '', I explained our story to a different Chase private banker. Again, no manager was informed or came to speak with us. At the end of our conversation, I stated that we were considering litigation given the circumstances. After I had gotten home that afternoon I received a called from the Chase branch stating that the manager had been informed and the complaint was being escalated to Chase Branch Escalation Services. I am sure that if I had not mentioned litigation, this wouId n't have been taken to Branch Escalation Services. I have since been assigned a case reviewer from the Branch Escalation Services Department. I have had multiple conversations with her and was last told, a few weeks ago, that the case is again being reviewed but we may not hear a final decision for up to 90 days. We are a middle class family. If we lived paycheck to paycheck, we would be in serious trouble without this money. Each person I have talked to at the Chase branch has told me you have 60 days to report a dispute on your statement. The statement for our XX/XX/XXXX transactions came out on XX/XX/XXXX. We reported both the XX/XX/XXXX and the XX/XX/XXXX issues on XX/XX/XXXX. Both of these are within the 60 day reporting window from the original statement date. Identity theft alone is a nightmare. It creates hours of phone calls and paperwork. As a consumer, you want your money to be kept safe at a bank. You also want to feel that the bank is looking out for the consumer. As Chase clients, my husband and I feel that our money was not kept safe and that Chase does n't care about the consumer. Instead, Chase is interested in managing more of the consumer 's money while still not caring about the consumer himself. 
Of note, I have not attached any copies of the withdrawal slips or our checking account statements as this website said not to submit personal information. We have this documentation and can submit, if requested, for review.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief