Consumer complaint received 2020-01-15
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
I am an XXXX-XXXX  senior citizen for whom this type of crime is often perpetrated and upon whom financial institutions often prey with unfair business practices. I respectfully request the assistance of the CFPB in resolving this issue. 

From XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, my Chase credit card was used for several thousand dollars in charges without my authorization. Most of these charges were with online or mobile application services like Amazon.com and XXXX where the credit card number was used on such accounts that did not belong me. 

During this time, the card was not reported stolen or lost as it was in my home or on my person whenever I needed it. My accountant, who routinely reviewed the monthly paper credit card statements, stopped receiving the paper bills because the account was switched to " paperless billing '' unbeknownst to me or the accountant. 

In order to keep my accounts in good standing, I have all my credit cards including this Chase Visa setup with automatic bill payment of the minimum balance due. Therefore, although the paper statements were no longer being viewed, the minimum payment continued to be paid on the card each month. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I received a voicemail from Chase that the automatic payment failed and mentioning the balance on the card was over {$73000.00}. I notified my accountant who assumed, as I did, that there must be a clerical error or simple misunderstanding as I have no credit cards with a limit near this amount. [ Note : the stated limit on this Chase card is $ XXXX. ] I requested Chase put a hold on the account in XX/XX/XXXX to allow time for me to review the account with my accountant ( which took some time as I also dealt with a caner diagnosis with a parent ). When I contacted Chase in XXXX to report fraud, I was told I needed to specify the individual charges in question. I left the account on hold to then prepare a list with my accountant of all the charges dating back one year. I reported the specific fraudulent charges to Chase by phone in XX/XX/XXXX. 

The charges were reversed and I waited nearly two months assuming Chase was investigating the charges with vendors to gather specific details of what had occurred to inform how I might proceed. On XX/XX/XXXX, nearly two months later, a Senior Specialist called from Chase. To my surprise, during the call I learned that no vendors had been contacted and that the charges were to be re-instated. The Senior Specialists decision was apparently based on the fact that payments were regularly made to the card and the time frame of the charges and their reporting. Both of the circumstances surrounding the basis for the decision seemed irrelevant to the fraud itself. Furthermore, the Specialist could offer no explanation as to why the account was allowed to go far and above the stated credit limit. 

After the XXXX call from Chase, I contacted Amazon in an effort to do my own investigating since Chase had not done so. The Amazon rep did inform me that they can not offer information on other accounts, but was kind enough to tell me that one account other than my own did exist that used this Chase Visa number. During my talk with this rep, I mentioned the name of a long-time, trusted friend that had been assisting in my home office. The Amazon rep stopped me and said that this was the name on the other Amazon account. I realized then that these charges were NOT a clerical error or mistake and, instead, a theft. I then reported these findings to the Federal Trade Commission and the XXXX XXXX Police Department Fraudulent Crimes Unit. I've provided the FTC report ID and XXXX case numbers to Chase via email. 

In a phone call this week to yet another Senior Specialist, I was told that the continued payments on the accounts make me liable for the charges ( remember the account is setup with Autopay ). Also, I was told that I did not reasonably protect my card. However, I have given Chase no indication of anything other than normal practices like having the card in my wallet or in a drawer in my home office. 

When asked again for explanation as to why Chase allowed charges far exceeding the card limit ( and in effect, further mitigating the scope and cost of the fraud ), I was transferred to an off-shore call center where the Chase representative simply stated that authorizing charges was at Chases discretion. 

When I pressed for more reason for such lacks risk and fraud management on Chase 's part, the rep replied that the charges seemed within the card holder 's normal purchasing habits. However, on the contrary, in the nearly two decades I have had this card, I have never exceeded the credit limit. Also, though I have an Amazon account, I never made more than a handful of charges in a single billing period. During the time frame of the fraudulent charges, several charges ( sometimes even ten to twenty ) PER DAY were being made to accounts like Amazon and XXXX ... in no way near my " normal '' charging habits.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation