Consumer complaint received 2019-06-11
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
I am writing you to file a complaint about an unresolved issue with my credit card chase and their benefit and travel departments. This has been my second travel related credit issue with chase. My first experience with chase was also about a credit that they were supposed to process. Chase was either unresponsive or slow. I finally ended up contacting the airlines directly and got a much quicker response and resolution from them. 

My more recent issue with Chase has been my most stressful and frustrating experience when dealing with any credit card company or for that matter any other company that offers products or services. I am a Chase Sapphire card holder who has been using the card regularly for purchases amounting to hundreds or thousands of dollars every month. I have an excellent payment history with most of the bills paid in full every month. 


In XXXX  of 2019, I bought my XXXX airline ticket for an overseas trip through Chase using my accumulated Chase points. My father passed away overseas a week before my trip. I had to cancel my original trip and leave immediately so I called chase to cancel my ticket. Despite, under a lot of stress and in grief, I had to be on the phone with them for hours. I was put on long holds, transferred to different departments and still did not receive a definitive answer about cancelation of my trip and credit to my account. 


According to the last customer representative that I spoke with that night, they had to send an email to a different department and that I could follow up with them the following week by Tuesday or Wednesday as they would have processed my cancelation by then. Unfortunately, It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be calling from overseas and be on the phone with the credit card company for hours. I had to authorize my husband to follow up on my behalf the following week before his upcoming trip overseas as he had to leave on XX/XX/XXXX, which was our original plan. 


My husband called them few times and went through the same process of being on the phone for hours either being on hold or being transferred to different departments. He spoke with the main customer service, the benefits and the chase travel. Initially, a representative advised him to contact XXXX  directly to cancel my ticket. Finally, after further research, the same representative that he spoke to in the benefit department told him that we should expect to receive a credit because of the death in the family, The representative assigned us a case number and told my husband that Chase would get the refund from XXXX on our behalf. According to him, all we needed was a death certificate. Since we were both expected to be out of the country for few weeks, the representative told my husband that the credit could be processed anytime upon our return or soon after the Chase received the death certificate from us. 

In XXXX, while still overseas, I received an e-mail on XXXX, XXXX from XXXX in Chase travel who was following up with the death certificate. I e-mailed Chase travel department the scanned copy of the death certificate as soon as it became available to me. I even e-mailed them a translation of the death certificate which was neither required by Chase or XXXX. I sent it to XXXX who had contacted me on XXXX, XXXX by responding to her e-mail from XXXX, XXXX and then forwarded it again to her to make sure that they received it. For personal and family reasons, I ended up staying a little longer than expected and retuned to the United States on XXXX. There was still no acknowledgment from XXXX or anyone from Chase Travel or any other department acknowledging the receipt of my e-mail from XXXX or any other update. Soon after my return, I had to send the travel department my father 's death certificate for the third time and even tried to follow up with a phone call. I also tried to send them an e-mail on XX/XX/XXXX, expressing my disappointment and requesting an update. I also tried to correspond with Chase customer service and Chase travel through my online chase account. 

Chase travel finally responded with an acknowledgement through an e-mail that they had received and located the death certificate that I had sent them. The e-mail was from XXXX, one of the Travel consultant supervisor for chase travel. According to her, they had forwarded the death certificate to XXXX. She apologized for my experience with them and also asked me to disregard any other emails from them requesting documentation. During this whole ordeal with Chase, I had contacted XXXX numerous times and spoke to different representatives. According to XXXX, In order for Chase to process my credit, they didn't need to forward the death certificate to XXXX. 

In one of my initials calls to Chase after my return to the United States, I found out that the case number / reference number assigned to us and given to my husband by the by chase benefits department in XXXX could not be used as a reference because I was told that it did not exist in their system. In XXXX and XXXX, I spoke to several people and few supervisors hoping that they could resolve my issue. Customer service agents who seemed willing to help did not have the authority to resolve my issue as there was no outcome and I ended up wasting several hours without any resolution in sight. 

There was one supervisor in Chase travel department, which was probably being managed by XXXX, named XXXX, whom I ended up speaking with twice. During our brief conversation, She flatly refused to help me or answer any questions. She had the most condescending attitude that I have ever experienced from an agent affiliated with any company. She refused to give me an update or call XXXX. She refused to transfer me to her manager or anyone that could assist me. To top it all, she told me I needed a proof that I was related to the deceased which was contrary to what I had been told up till that point that all I needed was a death certificate. I called XXXX and according to them, a proof of relationship was not necessary or required. XXXX told me that it was their policy that all that was needed was a death certificate and Chase should have processed my credit as soon as they received it. 

In XXXX, I emailed and I called Chase few times and each time I was promised that a supervisor would get back to me which never happened. One of the last representatives that that I spoke with was on XXXX, XXXX, who was from Chase benefits department. To my utter shock and surprise, he told me that they didn't have any type of claim for me on file. I was beyond hope at that point. He then transferred me once again to their travel department. The representative there told me that they were still waiting to hear from XXXX. I requested to speak with a supervisor and she told me it would be two hours before I could speak with one. She promised that a supervisor would call me back but as always, I never heard from anyone. 

After several weeks on the phone with Chase and after speaking to XXXX multiple times who repeatedly told me that the delay was from Chase, I finally decided that I would wait and see if the issue would be resolved. Today is XX/XX/XXXX and Chase has still not processed my credit and followed up or called back in response to any of my previous phone calls even when they promised that I would receive a phone call. 

I have finally decided that I am going to file a formal complaint with every private, state and federal consumer protection agency or organization. I would share my experience on any relevant online or offline forums available to me. I have been a great customer. I may have been frustrated with my experience but have always been respectful in my communications with Chase or its representatives. I have been managing my credit responsibly over the years, had several premium credit card offers as I had met their criteria to apply for their cards with similar benefits as Chase Sapphire. I decided to go with Chase and was hopeful that I would take advantage of their travel benefits. I spent thousands of dollars using my Chase card even though some of my other cards also offered attractive benefits. 

As stated earlier, I fulfilled my obligation of using credit responsibly and of paying my bills. Chase on the other hand, failed to issue me a credit and fulfill its promise. A timely credit, under the circumstances, was my right. It was according to and within the rules set by both the Chase and XXXX Airlines. Unfortunately, I was never able to utilize the points that I had accumulated. A credit card company at the very least should treat every customer with respect, follow their own rules, keep their promises and follow up with their customers and if required and within the rules, be its customer 's adovocate on his or her behalf when dealing with third parties. I feel that Chase fell short of these basic standards and expectations. It with deep regret that I have to reconsider my business relationship with them. It is a shame that a well known company like Chase offering a premium card such as, Chase Sapphire and charging a $ XXXX yearly membership fee for it, would have such a poor service. It is either a case of extreme mismanagement by chase or a system deliberately designed in such a way that it only benefits the company at the expense of its customers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief