Consumer complaint received 2022-02-25
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022, I and my partner, XXXX XXXX, opened a checking account at the Chase Bank branch located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX. This was the first time we had chosen to combine our funds. 

We opened the account with XXXX XXXX, a private client banker, XXXX ID : XXXX. The process took about a half an hour and we provided all the documentation that was requested. A few days later, we received our debit cards. I activated mine and I don't believe XXXX activated his. 

On XX/XX/2022, I went into the branch at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, in XXXX, XXXX, to deposit a large check. I went into the branch because I wanted to know how long the bank was going to hold a large item. When I got to the teller, she told me that she couldn't make the deposit because the account was restricted. She then said that no one in that office could help me because " we have no bankers here. '' I was confused. " This isn't a bank? '' " Yes, '' she said, " it is, but we don't have any 'bankers ' who can help you. '' She then gave me a yellow Post-It with the address of another branch at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. in XXXX, along with their telephone number. 

I didn't understand what was going on, so I download the Chase app, logged in, and got the message, " We locked your account due to suspicious activity '' with a phone number to call. I call, and I'm told that the wait time is more than XXXX minutes. So I call the branch at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The woman who finally answers, after XXXX attempts of calling, was not helpful. She told me that I needed to go online to make an appointment to see a banker at her branch. I told her what had happened and she was not in the least bit concerned. Finally, when I persisted, she tried to look the account up. She couldn't find the problem, because the account had no notes on it. Yet she noted XXXX 's surname and commented, " he probably was flagged because of his name. '' At the moment it seemed so preposterous that I overlooked it and kept trying to find out the source of the problem. We had opened the account in person, presented our identification, were given debit cards and our initial deposit accepted and no one had notified us that there was a problem. What was going on? I was doubly concerned because we were buying a piece of property and I needed to deposit the check so it would clear in time to be drawn upon when the time came. 

So I called the branch where we set up the account. And I called. Repeatedly. For XXXX hour. No one answered the phone. I didn't remember that I had the " banker 's '' card in my wallet, so I found him on XXXX and messaged him. XXXX XXXX responded quickly, stating that when he looked up our account, it showed suspended but with no notes, but he would look into it first thing the next morning. And he did. He called me and said that the problem wasn't with me, but with XXXX. I thought that was strange, but asked XXXX to call him. Within 5 minutes, I got a call from XXXX. He told me that Chase wanted him to walk his original Social Security card into the branch by XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX days ) or they would close the account. He had asked XXXX if he could email a copy or send a paystub or tax return and was told no. The original, in person, or they would close the account. I called XXXX XXXX back because I thought it was so odd. I was hoping that I could get more information. The super-chatty guy who set up our account was very different. He said, " he can bring it in or we close the account. '' I said, " If you needed something from us, why didn't someone reach out to us. '' He said that a letter was send, but we never received it. At this point it was a Tuesday and they wanted this by Thursday -- during banking hours. I tried to explain that XXXX works in XXXX, XXXX, and that he commutes 1 hour each way and could not come into the XXXX branch until XXXX. " The account will be closed, '' he said. That was his answer to all my questions. There was definitely something else going on. 

In retrospect, I'm relieved that we learned this about Chase before going down the path of using them for our banking and financing needs. However, no one in this scenario behaved even remotely professionally. As a result, I wasted close to XXXX hours of my work time trying to sort this out. From the branch that has no " bankers '' to the branch that send you away to make an appointment online, to the " banker '' who suggests ( probably truthfully ) that my partner was racially profiled, to the " banker '' who opened our account and didn't follow through to notify us that there was an issue, everyone dropped the ball and no one accepted responsibility. 

If, in fact, my partner was racially profiled, which my XXXX  tells me he was, why did the branch even accept our application to begin with? What if we, like many people, needed this account to pay our bills and it was suddenly frozen for some arbitrary reason. XXXX the " suspicious activity '' that cause our account to be locked? Banking while XXXX? I would really like to know. 

It's all a little XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation