Consumer complaint received 2023-09-23
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (NC)

I am writing to complain about my credit card issuer, Chase Credit Cards, for refusing to honor a recent promotion promising a {$10.00} statement credit for making a {$200.00} payment on a utility bill. 

On XX/XX/2023, I paid {$300.00} on my water utility bill and used my Chase IHG credit card to pay {$200.00} of that ( the remaining {$100.00} paid with a debit card ), solely to avail of a Chase promotion for a {$10.00} statement credit on purchases of {$200.00} or more on several categories including utilities. However, Chase is refusing to give me the {$10.00} statement credit because XXXX XXXX, which is my water utility provider, is administered by the XXXX of XXXX and uses a government services merchant code instead of a utility company merchant code. 

I understand that Chase 's promotion fine print states that the merchant code must be a utility company merchant code. However, I believe that this requirement is unreasonable and unfair. Consumers should not be expected to know merchant codes in order to take advantage of credit card promotions. 

Merchant codes are used by credit card companies to categorize businesses and track transactions. However, consumers are not normally aware of merchant codes, and they should not be expected to know them in order to participate in promotions. From my point of view as a consumer, I was just paying my water utility bill. How was I supposed to know that my water utility provider uses a government services merchant code and not a utility merchant code? I would wager that, had I even asked the cashier at XXXX XXXX what merchant code they use for my payment transaction, she would not have had any clue. 

Water is a utility that Chase includes in its utilities category. It is therefore reasonable to expect that my water bill payment would qualify for the statement credit, even though my water utility biller happens to use a government services merchant code because it's the XXXX of XXXX. And it is unreasonable for Chase to expect me, a mere consumer, to know what merchant code my water utility biller uses. Consumers don't and shouldn't need to know merchant billing codes. 

I have contacted Chase customer service several times to try to resolve this issue, but they have been unwilling to reason over such a small amount. I am therefore requesting that the CFPB investigate this matter and take appropriate action to ensure that deceptive and misleading promotions like this do not continue. Of course, I would still like to receive the {$10.00} statement credit that I am entitled to. 

Thus, I am requesting that the CFPB take action to prevent Chase from using this type of requirement in the future. Consumers should not be misled or deceived into thinking that they are eligible for a credit card promotion when they are not, simply because they do not have access to information like merchant codes that are not normally available to consumers. 

Thank you for your time and attention on this matter.