Consumer complaint received 2021-04-19
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: TN
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Complaint:
Someone has taken out a fraudulent credit card in my name with Chase bank, which has subsequently been charged off by the company. I first reported the fraud to Chase on XX/XX/XXXX. As of filing this complaint on XX/XX/XXXX, the issue is still unresolved. Despite fighting tooth-and-nail with Chase over the small {$370.00} balance and sending their fraud department substantial evidence that this card is fraudulent, Chase has thus far refused to deal with the issue in a timely fashion. I am soon graduating law school and am in the process of applying to state bars. I need this resolved quickly so that my credit information is accurate for background checks -- there is no reason something like this should take the XXXX months it has. 

I became the victim of identity fraud in early XXXX after losing my social security card and driver 's license. An identity thief used my information for a variety of ends, including cell phone financing, a fraudulent car rental, and attempts to obtain a pay-day loan. I froze my credit, filed a police report, and contacted all of the companies involved that I was aware of in XXXX of XXXX, believing the problem to be remedied then. 

In late XXXX, however, I learned of the fraudulent card opened with Chase. I only learned of the card because it was charged off in XX/XX/XXXX and subsequently negatively impacted my credit. I first contacted Chase, with a multitude of documents supporting my claims ( including a police report ), on XX/XX/XXXX. I made a point to explain to Chase that the Texas address they had on file for the card was fraudulent ( Equifax agreed with this point when I filed a dispute with the credit reporting agency ), so they would need to send any decisions or notices to my real address in Tennessee. I was told I would hear something back in XXXX business days. I heard nothing for months, despite calling the fraud services department almost weekly. I later learned that they did send numerous notices to the fraudulent Texas address, despite the fact that I informed them every time I called that the Texas address was invalid. 

I learned that the card was opened by the identity thief in-person at a Chase location in XXXX, Texas on XX/XX/XXXX. Apparently Chase fraud services believes that it is impossible to open a fraudulent credit account in-person, and this is why they have either denied or belabored my fraud investigation so far. This is despite the fact that I have sent Chase both bank records and a boarding pass showing that I took a flight from XXXX, MD to XXXX XXXX, LA on the day that the card was opened in-person in Texas. I also presented Chase with a hotel receipt showing I was in XXXX XXXX on the day the card account was opened. The bank records show that I was not in Texas at any point during the period in which the fraudulent card was used. My driver 's license, which I also sent Chase, shows my real Tennessee address, rather than the fraudulent Texas address Chase has on file. I reported identify theft to local police and to the Federal Trade Commission. I filed a dispute with XXXX for the information on my credit report and XXXX found that the address tied to the card was a fraudulent address. I have sent all these documents to Chase. Yet, between XX/XX/XXXX, and today, XX/XX/XXXX, they have not resolved the issue. The second to last time I spoke to someone XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, they said they would put my investigation on an " expedited track '' and that I should hear back from someone within five business days. That was eighteen days ago. Today, I spoke with someone who said that these investigations take 30-90 days. When confronted with what I was told earlier about XXXX days, he refused to comment. 

I think Chase is having a hard time with this because whoever opened the account in-person must have presented a driver 's license with my name on it. However, I informed Chase that someone had procured a false driver 's license in my name, using my information, which they used to fraudulently rent a car in XXXX, Texas. I worked with XXXX to resolve that fraudulent rental ( they were very accommodating, comparatively ), and they eventually agreed with me that the rental was fraudulent, despite being made by someone who presented a driver 's license with my name on it. I think this same false license could have been used to open the credit account with Chase. Alternatively, the person could be using the driver 's license I lost in XXXX. Either way, Chase has thus far refused to acknowledge that it is remotely conceivable someone could have fraudulently opened this account in Texas while still presenting a driver 's license -- despite the fact that the exact same thing happened at XXXX in Texas around the same time the credit account was opened. 

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this entire process has been the dizzying decentralization of the investigation and the impossibly of actually speaking with decision-makers. Every time I call Chase I speak to someone new, and it is as if I am reporting the fraud for the first time each time. I have also been told that I am not allowed to speak with an actual investigator. Instead, I speak with call center personnel who have no real ability to tell me what is going on in the investigation. I am told that the decision-makers will make a decision on the basis of the documents I have sent them without ever actually communicating with me if they need clarification. If I could just speak to an investigator, I feel relatively confident this could be resolved in half an hour or less.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief