Consumer complaint received 2015-03-26
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional adjustable mortgage (ARM)
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
My co-op loan was originally made with XXXX XXXX Bank, and is now held by JP Morgan Chase. 

My payment due date is the XXXX day of the month, but I have a 15 day grace period and can pay by the XXXX of the month without a late fee. Historically, if the XXXX fell on a weekend or holiday, I was allowed to pay on the following business day without penalty. 

I have recently been making payments online through the Chase website. I had a problem where I was charged a late fee for the XXXX XXXX payment. Since XXXX/XXXX/XXXX was on a Saturday, I scheduled the payment for the following Monday, XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. The bank 's mortgage department is run incompetently. They issue late fees on the XXXX even if a payment is scheduled in their system for that day. Once the payment is processed and they realize it was paid on time, the late fee is removed. 

I thought that the bank made an error and mistakenly failed to remove the late fee. I called several months ago and was told that the fee would be removed. I thought they removed it and made the same mistake again and charged me another late fee. When I called on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX to inquire, I spoke to XXXX XXXX XXXX working in XXXX, LA. She informed me that this was the late fee from the XXXX/XXXX/XXXX payment, and it was n't removed. 

XXXX XXXX explained that the late fee was valid, saying that their payment processing center is open on Saturdays, and that if the XXXX falls on a Saturday and they have n't received payment by that date, they charge a late fee. She said that the grace period is extended only when the XXXX is on a Sunday ( and presumably bank holidays as well ), because their office is closed. 

I checked my loan agreement, and it did not mention additional grace period days when the grace period is not on a business day. But I think what Chase did was improper, for the following reasons:1 ) This was a change in policy. I do n't know if the policy was in effect when Chase took over my loan in XXXX XXXX, or if they changed it sometime after that. But I do know that for my loan, the policy changed, and I was not notified of this change. Without written notice, the policy change should not apply. I had no way of knowing about the change. 

2 ) While their payment processing center may be open on Saturdays, I 've been paying my bills on their website, and they do not accept payments on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. If permitted, I will attach or email screenshots showing that it is not possible to select a Saturday as a payment date. 

3 ) I suspect that allowing a longer grace period on days that the bank does not accept payments is done for legal reasons, not because the bank is nice. Perhaps having a processing center open to receive mail fulfills this requirement, but most people do n't pay their bills by mail anymore. For all I know, they could have a tiny office with a single employee, just to take in the mail, for the sole purpose of scamming people and charging them late fees when they do n't pay until the following Monday. 

4 ) There are no rules explaining this policy on the website. It says that payment must be received within 15 days of the due date. But on the website, I ca n't schedule a payment on either Saturday or Sunday. How am I supposed to know that if the XXXX is on a Sunday, I can pay on the XXXX, but if it is on a Saturday, I have to pay on the XXXX? There is nothing that says anything about this. Why does n't Chase allow me to schedule a payment on a Saturday if they process payments on Saturdays as they claim? The only answer is that they are running a scam to charge late fees to unsuspecting customers who think that the grace period is extended to Monday because the system does n't accept a Saturday payment. 

Please force Chase to rectify the situation for all customers. XXXX XXXX said that my late fee was waived as a courtesy, but I paid on time.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief