Consumer complaint received 2022-09-08
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: FL
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:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX Card # : Ending in XXXX Case # : XXXX XXXX Chase Cardmember Services Executive Office XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX OH XXXX Dear Sir or Madam : My husband and I have been subscribers to the Chase Sapphire and Reserve Visa credit cards for many years ; we have charged more than $ XXXX on those cards during that time. Part of the justification for the high annual fee for having the Reserve card has been the excellent customer service, transparency and lack of any fees for foreign transactions. As I will explain below, I regret that in a recent instance this was certainly not the case. 
On XX/XX/XXXX we charged the balance of the payment for an upcoming XXXX tour to XXXX XXXX Tours for XXXX XXXX Our understanding was that Chase would convert the amount in XXXX  to USD. The charge hit our account on XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. As per the XXXX XXXX XXXX, the exchange rate from XXXX to USD at XXXXXXXX XXXX  that day was XXXX ; the conversion rate continued to decline the rest of that day. The posted conversion rate that was used by you for this transaction on XX/XX/XXXX was XXXX. That conversion rate that you applied to this transaction did not change when the charge finally posted on XX/XX/XXXX for an amount of {$9000.00}. It is statistically impossible for the conversion rate to remain the same for a 24 hour period to the XXXX decimal. 
When we first noticed the charge hitting our account on XX/XX/XXXX, and the incorrect conversion rate that was being applied, immediately called Chase and were assured that the rate would be revised when it was finally posted. When the amount was exactly the same at the time of posting, we called Chase to file a dispute. We were asked to submit the data for the XXXX/USD conversion rate for the period of XXXX from the XXXX XXXX XXXX, which we did. After nearly a full month of investigation, we were told in writing on XX/XX/XXXX that the charged amount in USD was correct. The value of the conversion rate that was said to be used for this calculation by Chase was then changed to a something called a VISA rate ; when questioned, none of your customer service representatives or supervisors could cite the source of this VISA rate. 
After many phone calls, XXXX XXXX of your Customer Services staff finally agreed to refund us {$70.00}, approximately the difference between the conversion rate we were charged and the actual conversion rate at the time of the transaction. While this is appreciated, it does not address the fundamental question as to how foreign currency conversions are handled by Chase. We had planned on using this card to make purchases on our upcoming overseas trip, but we can not do so and will not continue being customers of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card unless we are assured that a fair and accurate currency rate will be applied to any and all future charges. 
Your prompt explanation is requested. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX, CPA ( P ) XXXX Since this letter, we reviewed the process Chase uses to convert foreign currency. 
Their " Exchange Rate Calculator '' says that it applies a " bank foreign transaction fee of XXXX '' to all currency conversions, it direct contrast to the stated benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, which states that no foreign transaction fees are applied. 

Chase denied the application of any foreign transaction fee in a call to us today from their Executive Offices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation