Consumer complaint received 2017-12-13
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: TX
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Non-sufficient funds and associated fees

Complaint:
I opened my first Chase Back Checking account on XX/XX/XXXX. During the account setup process, the banker assisting me, asked me if I wanted to Opt-In to Chase Bank 's Overdraft Protection program, after she 'd given me a detailed overview of the Bank 's Overdraft Protection program as well as general and specific information about having a checking account without any kind of Overdraft Protection. She also answered a answered a couple of clarification questions I had. 

I declined to Opt-In to any Overdraft Protection programs and explicitly told her that I wanted and requested the [ Chase ] Bank to DECLINE and NOT pay any and all debits, payments, drafts, transactions, etc. that I did not have enough money in my account to pay for. She acknowledged my request by stating that by not having any Overdraft Protection on my account, all debit attempts that I did not have enough money for would be declined. She, then, stated that there were no penalties/fees assessed for declined transactions or debits. 

On X/XX/17, Chase Bank charged me a {$34.00} Insufficient Funds fee for paying a {$7.00} draft from my checking account. 

OnXX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, Chase Bank charged me FIVE {$34.00} ( Total {$170.00} ) Insufficient Funds fees for card purchases. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, Chase Bank Refunded {$170.00}, to my checking account, for the five ISF fees previously charged. 

Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, Chase charged me {$230.00} for SEVEN Overdraft fees. By XXXX, Chase Bank refunded {$130.00} of the {$230.00} Overdraft fees. Chase Bank NEVER refunded the remaining {$100.00} from the total balance of Overdraft fees. 

From XXXX and XXXX, Chase Bank charged me {$100.00} for THREE Overdraft/ISF fees. 
Chase Bank has NOT REFUNDED any portion of this {$100.00}, to date. 

From XXXX to XXXX, Chase Bank has charged me {$100.00} for THREE Overdraft/ISF fees. Currently, there is another draft " pending ''. If Chase Bank pays this transaction, the Bank will charge my account another {$34.00} OD/ISF fee, which will be the fourth charge for this statement cycle, bringing the total fees to {$130.00}. 

Please note that the current statement cycle is not over yet. Therefore, the possibility is very high that Chase Bank will charge additional Overdraft/ISF fees before the end of this statement period. 

Upon detailed review of my checking account activity and history, my findings conclude that Chase Bank has repeatedly violated, and continues to violate, the terms set for my checking account. 

1. Chase Bank is deceitfully and erroneously applying Overdraft Protections to my checking account for transactions that SHOULD BE automatically declined and free of any charges or fees, per my Chase Bank checking account agreement. Since opening the checking account in XXXX XXXX, I have never been asked for nor given consent for Chase Bank to add, delete, or make any changes to selections, preferences, and/or other information set in my account profile, that would give Chase Bank the right and ability to change any terms in my checking account agreement, let alone, without my knowledge and consent. 

To date, I continue to use my Chase Bank checking account, in agreement with its original terms, that do not provide any Overdraft Protections and should not result in being charged associated penalty fees.. 

Also, since Chase Bank has resorted to theft via fraudulent fees, my account balance remains abnormally low and/or with a negative balance because they are very quiet, giving no indications of financial trouble, when they are charging these fees. Believing that my account balance is much higher that it is, I make a purchase or two, and the next thing that I know is that I, now, have a negative balance in my checking account., which is the ONLY bank account I have. 

As of XXXX, I have a {$300.00} NEGATIVE balance in my checking account due to Chase Bank perpetually violating the terms of my account agreement. 

** ( If Chase Bank argues that they are not in violation of any agreement and the funds they stole from me are legitimate, then, the institution is guilty of not disclosing that nor any information that would have informed me that, in some instances, I could/would be charged overdraft/ISF fees on my checking account. ) 1. Chase Bank is charging me {$34.00} every time they pay for a ISF transaction, although, I DECLINED these services when opening the account.

EACH {$34.00} fee is in ADDITION to the total dollar amounts of the various purchases and transactions Chase Bank has decided to paying for profit. I have a very limited income and these undue transactions and subsequent fees are causing extreme economic hardships in my household. I have lost over {$500.00} in these fees, since I opened the account a little over 6 months ago. I am now under great amounts of constant stress, which has had/is having a severely negative impact on my mental and physical health and well-being. All conditions caused by this state can be substantiated with documented medical evidence.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief