Consumer complaint received 2015-12-01
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IA
Product: Credit card
Issue: Customer service / Customer relations

Complaint:
Chase VISA card unjustly denied my claim for damage to a car I rented in XXXX. The following is a copy of my appeal which sets out the facts : I wish to appeal your denial of my claim for damage incurred on XX/XX/XXXX to the XXXX passenger car I rented in XXXX on the grounds that the denial was arbitrary with no basis in your program rules or procedures. 

1. I have now reviewed your Guide to Travel and PurchaseProtection Benefits, a booklet I, like most travelers, do not carry with me overseas. And, like most travelers, I remember that when renting a car overseas you provide collision damage coverage as long as the insurance offered by the rental agency is declined. What I have learned is that even carrying the booklet is not much help because when making a telephone inquiry you receive unreliable information. 
In your program rules you ask cardholders to call to find out whether a particular vehicle is covered by your damage insurance yet a positive response can be overridden when a claim is filed as I have learned. 
In my case I rented a XXXX on short notice on XX/XX/XXXX while traveling in XXXX. The vehicle was damaged in a XXXX car accident later that day. I called your representative ( XXXX ) as soon as I returned to the XXXX to find out how to file a claim for the damage. She asked where the accident occurred and the make and model of the vehicle. When I told her XXXX and the vehicle was a XXXX XXXX, she said that XXXX model might not be covered but would check. That came as a shock since I was unaware certain XXXX vehicles were not covered. However, after a short hold, she came back on the line and told me this model of XXXX in fact WAS covered and would send me a claim form via email. ( If I had made this call from XXXX before renting this car, I would have relied on the information and rightly believed it was covered from the outset. ) Based on being told the vehicle was covered, I filed a claim for the damage with all the supporting documents required. A few days later I received an email from you saying an important document was attached. However, nothing was attached so I called and talked with your representative XXXX XXXX. She checked your claim file and told me that you denied the claim on the grounds that the model XXXX I rented was NOT covered. 
I then explained to her I was told in an earlier phone call that the vehicle WAS covered. She said they would check the telephone records. 
I also asked her for a copy of your list of XXXX models that are covered but she refused to provide it. This refusal raises an obvious question of whether in fact there is such a list. 
Later XXXX XXXX called back. The telephone recordings must have confirmed what I was told because this time she said the claim was denied because of the nature of the car rental agency. 

2. Nowhere in the terms of your Guide to Travel and Purchase Protection Benefits booklet is there any mention whatsoever of the nature of the auto rental agency required in order to qualify for coverage of a passenger vehicle. 

In the phone call referred to above, XXXX XXXX said the claim was denied because the auto rental agency rents performance cars. It 's true that the agency rents performance cars among others but the XXXX XXXX is not in that category. I rented that model in XXXX because it was available and is on the list of the XXXX best cars in XX/XX/XXXX as rated by XXXX. 

In sum it appears that when you are found to have stated that coverage on a particular XXXX model IS available, you then resort to a reason with no basis in your program rules to deny a claim.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation