Consumer complaint received 2017-12-12
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: LA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Collected or attempted to collect exempt funds

Complaint:
We opened a business line of credit ( LOC ) with Chase to fund some advertising we were doing back in XXXX of XXXX. The balance went up and down over the years as we used it for different business expenses. In XXXX we stopped using it and it sat idle with us paying the {$100.00} per month we had been paying from the very beginning. It was completely idle with the exception of 3 advances over the next 7 years. We did n't know that we were only paying a minimum, that 's just what we had been paying so we kept paying it with the understanding that it was fine because Chase had been accepting those payments for years. We paid every single month on time for 9 years. 
Our home was flooded in the XXXX XXXX of South Louisiana on XX/XX/XXXX. We lost pretty much everything in our home as it had to be emptied and gutted to the studs throughout. It was not livable so we moved in with my parents and lived there for 13 1/2 months and finally moved back into our home, which is still not finished, at the beginning of XXXX, XXXX. In XXXX of XXXX our monthly automatic draft for said LOC was {$300.00} instead of {$100.00} as it had been for the previous 9 years. It tripled without our knowledge or consent. When we called to inquire why this happened we were told it was changed into a loan rather than an LOC due to inactivity along with the minimum payments no longer being enough. We were not aware that this was even possible, let alone that it was about to happen to us. On or around XX/XX/XXXX we spoke with XXXX XXXX XXXX in the Portfolio Management Center department of JP Morgan Chase. We very clearly explained that we had no idea or prior notice that this was happening, that our monthly payment was only a minimum, nor that our payment was going to be tripled. We also explained our current living situation and that our lives had been turned upside down due to the flood, my husband having major XXXX and XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX respectively, our vehicle being taken by the flood and having to replace it along with trying to rebuild our home as quickly as possible to get back into it. He had no sympathy to offer and basically told us thats just how it is. 
At that time were werent in a place physically, emotionally, or financially to fight any more battles as we were already dealing with FEMA, the SBA and our mortgage company as a result of the flood. We explained to XXXX XXXX that there was no possible way that we could pay triple our budgeted amount at that time and that we would have to just pay as much as we could each month and if that wasnt enough then they would just have to send our loan to the collections department and we would take care of it when we could finally get back into our home. He accepted that as there was no other option. We also explained at that time that although we understood the debt was ours to pay and that we absolutely intended to pay it in full we could not do that until our house was livable. We were not trying to get out of paying it at any time. We had legitimate extenuating circumstances they apparently did not care about. Everyone else we talked to about our situation in dealing with financial situations was very sympathetic and willing to work with us during such a difficult time, dare I say the most difficult for our family to date, but Chase, however was not. Ours were one of over XXXX homes and businesses that were destroyed in that flood so it wasnt just us being ridiculous. It was a HUGE deal even if the rest of the country had no idea because the media didnt seem to care, but I digress. A major part of our business was run from our home so not only did we lose 90 % of our belongings and the use of our home we couldnt operate that business so our income also dropped. Therefore tripling any part of our budget was obviously out of the question as I cant give them something I dont have. Thats what collection agencies are for and I know for a fact that Chase knows how to use them, they just chose not to in this case for whatever reason. 
After our conversation XXXX XXXX emailed us an ACH Cancellation form so that we could stop the automatic drafts coming out of our personal checking account to pay this particular debt. He said that if we kept it going it would automatically take the tripled amount out as that was the new minimum. With all we had going on there wasnt a chance for us to get the form filled out and returned until XXXX or XXXX of XXXX. During that time the tripled payment came out of our account, overdrawing it, and we had to have it refunded and NSF fees waived. That entire process was a complete headache on top of everything else due to misinformation from Chase. We paid {$200.00} as our payment in XXXX, no payment in XXXX and then {$100.00} in XXXX. There were no payments for the next 4 months, XXXX. That was simply because it slipped my mind. It had been taken out automatically for 9 years so its not a payment I think about on a monthly basis usually, let alone when our house is finally coming together and we are getting moved back in after almost 14 months. Due to the loss of documents from the flood or misplacement from the move to or back from my parents there may be some documents I cant produce but they are all on record with Chase as far as I know. With two different addresses and our mailbox being down for about 5 of those 14 months we have no idea what mail we did not receive and obviously have no control over that. 
After our conversation with XXXX XXXX, I dont know how long after, we started receiving calls from Chase demanding we take care of this debt. We explained the situation in depth time and time again to no avail. We were wasting our breath it seemed when we did not have even one second to waste with all we had going on. We told the caller every single time that we had already talked with XXXX XXXX, he knew our situation, we told him we would pay what we could and if it wasnt enough just send it to collections so we could deal with it when our lives were somewhat back in order. We gave them his name and number multiple times yet they continued to call. Because the account was set up in my husbands name originally they kept calling him and refusing to talk to me. They were calling 3-4 times per week. He saved a couple of the numbers in his phone so that he would know Chase was calling and be able to answer it if possible but hes not supposed to take personal calls at work and they were calling during work hours. Not only were those calls coming in but he gets at least 4-5 calls per day that are soliciting something or telemarketers or other bogus calls he doesnt need to answer. This is why he saved the Chase numbers, then they started calling from different numbers and he just couldnt keep up. He had to replace his phone during this time because it kept shutting down without notice so there were texts, calls, and voicemails he wasnt receiving for a while. The new phone started acting up in the same way less than a month after receiving it and he is currently on his 3rd phone in about as many months. So theres no way of knowing how many times they called that he doesnt know about but the ones he does know about we consider harassment because there was an unnecessary barrage of them. He got a few voicemails but didnt return the calls because there was nothing new to say. It doesnt even make sense to call someone back and tell them the same thing you told them 2 days before or 2 weeks before. We told them we would let them know when we were back in the house and ready to move forward but they took it upon themselves to just steal our money without even notifying us. They KNEW our situation and ignored it without being willing to work with us in any way. 
We made sure to rebuild our house as economically as possible and save money anywhere we could because the insurance only covered the structure of the home and whatever money we had left could be used for contents or to finish things that werent required to pass inspection. We were making plans the entire time to get back on track financially with any payments that had to take a back seat or be put on hold while we were waiting to get back home. The money left over was part of that plan. The amount we got back was {$26000.00}. It was deposited on XX/XX/XXXX. We planned to pay off 2 debts that would open up almost {$600.00} per month. That would allow us to pay the approximately {$300.00} per month payment to Chase along with one other monthly debt that had been temporarily put on hold. One of the ones planned to be paid off was my car. That loan was also with Chase, along with all of our personal and business accounts. We were planning to contact them when the money was available and start paying this month. When I logged into our online account on XX/XX/XXXX to find out the payoff amount for my car I saw that {$13000.00} had been withdrawn from our personal checking account only 1 week after depositing the insurance check but it did not list who took the money. We knew it was not one of us. I called Chase immediately to find out who it was and they werent able to figure it out either. I was told they would request some kind of inquiry with another department that would be able to find out but because it was Saturday I would have to wait to hear back from them because their office hours are Mon-Fri. I actually forgot they said I wouldnt get a call for 2-3 days so I called back Monday afternoon, XX/XX/XXXX, to see if they had gotten it figured out. I spoke with someone named XXXX in the Chase claims office and Im pretty sure she was the one who figured out it was something to do with a loan. Its not very good business practice for it to be that difficult to figure out who took the money. She told me to call the loan people but I didnt know their number. She argued with me and got sarcastic with me saying I should already know it so I was more than happy to end my conversation with her. I left frustrated however because she refused to give me a number to who she said I was supposed to talk to that works within the same company. Its even more frustrating that in addition to how they went about it the amount they took was {$720.00} more than the balance on that loan account. I have no idea why they would take more than what we owed. 
I remembered that XXXX XXXX had emailed me after talking with him in XXXX and found his number in that email. When I spoke to him again he was just as un-helpful as he had been previously. Very few people I have dealt with at Chase have any idea of what good customer service looks like. He even said that he wasnt going to argue with me anymore about it when we werent even arguing. Im not really sure what that was about but he refused to talk to me and sent me to the person who had actually taken the money from our account that works in his department. Her name was XXXX XXXX. How this woman has a job dealing with the public at all is beyond me. My husband and I talked with her on a 3 way call and ended the call both in tears with no words and only a hug that we could share. It was disgusting and I hope no other family ever has to experience what we did while talking to her. She showed less than zero sympathy or care at all for our situation, which is a pretty dire situation whether she thinks so or not. She literally spoke to us in canned phrases as if she were a machine. At one point my husband got so upset he used some language I have rarely heard him say in the 22 years we have been together. I have never seen him in the state he was when that call was over, never. He was able to calm down and finish the conversation. We told her about our plan to start paying this month and she very blankly said Well its paid now. We asked what gave her the right to take money from our personal account with us not having any knowledge of it or getting our approval to do so. She said because the account was past due. Seriously?!?! Is anyone listening over there?!?!?! She said we hadnt returned the call so she just took the money. That is absolutely not ok. We had no letter, no email, no voicemail, and no certified letter ; there was NOTHING letting us know this was possible or happening to us. Just like when they changed it to a loan back in XXXX. ( Noticing a pattern yet? ) She said she sent a demand letter that we have never seen. We explained why he had not been answering the calls or returning the couple of voicemails he did get but she didnt care at all. She just kept repeating the same things over and over. At one point my husband even asked her if she was a human being or a machine, it was that bad. We were both so disgusted we were sick to our stomachs. That money was what our family had worked so hard to save so that we could start our life back over to get passed the horrific experience of that flood and all that came with it and she STOLE it from us! That money had been in there for barely 1 week and she took it out the day before XXXX without asking anyone or trying to set up a payment plan or anything. If that is allowed to stand then sadly, America is not the country I thought it was. 
XXXX told us that there was nothing we can do. We begged for her to help us in any way and she refused. We asked if they could return half and we pay the rest in payments, she said no. We cant pay the debts we wanted to now, we may not have the money to finish our house, we had planned to do some hurricane relief for some friends of ours in the XXXX but cant now, we wont be able to fix our drive way that was basically washed away by the floodand she couldnt care less. We never said this debt wasnt ours. We held firm every time we did talk to them that we were going to pay it, we just needed them to be a little patient. But no matter the situation they have no right to just take it out of our personal account just because they can see the money is in there. She outright admitted that she never said anything about it on a voicemail stating she wasnt allowed to, she also said she never sent it in an email. The only thing she said was her calls werent returned and she sent a demand letter. We never saw that letter and for something of this magnitude at the very least Certified Mail should be required. So she took zero action to actually be sure we knew what was going on. We were about to call them literally the week after XXXX. We had just discussed it the week of but didnt have that opportunity. Not only did they not contact us to see if we would approve them taking the entire balance and then some but they have on file an ACH Cancellation form from a few months ago stating specifically that we DID NOT want them to have access to our account to take money out automatically. 
She told us that escalating the issue would not do any good but gave us her supervisors name and number anyway. We left a message for XXXX XXXX and played some phone tag with her over the next couple of days never being able to actually talk to her. I had XXXX XXXX on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX and was in court from XXXX until XXXX that afternoon so we werent able to really contact anyone that day but tried XXXX when I was done twice. On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call back in response to the request I had put in the previous Saturday when I first noticed the money was missing. I explained to XXXX ( spelling? ) that I had called on Monday and already knew who took the money out. I told her about our conversation with XXXX and she was appalled at how we were treated. Finally, we had found someone with a heart. She explained that she didnt have any authority to do anything about it and sent me to someone at the Executive Office for Chase. She transferred me to XXXX XXXX, ext. XXXX, in the Chase Executive Office. She was very nice and helpful. I explained everything to her just as Ive explained it to you and she said they would be investigating the issue and getting back to me on it. I havent heard anything back yet but I told her I would be filing a complaint with the CFPB so I wanted to be sure I followed up on that. I would like a third party to be involved in case Chase tries to get over on us yet again. I wouldnt trust them to sweep my floor right now, let alone handle this correctly. I dont know what the legal requirements are for this kind of situation but no one should be able to take any amount of money from us, let alone over {$13000.00}, without at least some kind of proof of letting us know. 
We are attaching a picture of our online banking account that shows the withdrawal for the LOC, and the payoff for our car loan. We dont have pictures of any documentation showing us they were changing the LOC into a loan, tripling our payment, or taking money out to pay off the loan because they dont exist. If they do, they are not, and have never been, in our possession, nor have we seen them. We have the ACH Cancellation document somewhere but I have been through the boxes with paperwork I can get to and havent been able to put my hands on it. I do know that Chase has a record of it because they called to let me know they got it and the automatic withdrawals stopped coming out. We do have pictures of all of our account activity for the LOC since opening it in XXXX of XXXX proving that we had never paid late and had never missed a payment but there are so many Im not sending them now. If you need to see that I can send it to you at another time. Thank you in advance for your time and effort in helping us rectify this atrocity.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation