Consumer complaint received 2024-09-03
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (GA)

Chase Bank made improper large payments of fraudulent checks from my personal checking account without my informed consent, and they have declined to refund me for those payments despite my immediate actions to report this fraud. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I dropped off a check written out to the United States Treasury for {$19000.00} and another check written out to the Georgia Department of Revenue for {$4500.00}, which were my tax payments, in a closed mailbox. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I received text messages from Chase asking if I wrote checks for the exact amounts I had written the checks for. These text messages did not ask to confirm any information regarding the payees. I therefore confirmed via text message that I had written two checks for those amounts. I received follow up text messages afterwards from Chase stating that no further action was needed. I also saw deductions of these payments from my checking account, but again, the payees were not specified. As a result, I had no actual notice of fraudulent payment of these checks at this point. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I learned that the Internal Revenue Service believed I was delinquent on my XXXX  federal extension payment. That same day, I contacted my accountant regarding this letter, and she requested that I obtain proof of payment from my personal Chase checking account to send to the IRS. Upon opening the images of these checks, I received actual notice of the fraudulent payments when I realized that someone had altered my original checks, which were not in my handwriting and contained fraudulent signatures. The altered checks were in the same dollar amounts I had written to the IRS and GA Dept of Revenue, but they were made to individuals I do not know. I immediately presented to a Chase branch that same day and made a fraud claim. 

The following day on XX/XX/XXXX, I met with an XXXX Police Department officer at the mailbox where I had dropped off these checks, and a police report was made. I also called the United States Postal Inspection Service to report the incident. I then returned to Chase to fill out a Declaration of Unauthorized Endorsement and Altered Item form per their instructions. The Chase branch manager submitted this form on XX/XX/XXXX along with several supporting documents, including images I had taken of my original checks and a police report number. The Chase branch manager reassured me that I would receive a refund for these payments. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice via phone call from Chase that my claim had been declined due to not making the claim within 30 days of the fraudulent payment. I immediately presented to Chase that same day to dispute this decision, given that I had promptly notified Chase the same day I received actual notice of their improper payment of the fraudulent checks. The Chase branch manager spoke with the Claims department, and several contradictory statements were made. The Claims representative stated that contrary to the phone call I had received earlier in the day, my claim had actually not been denied, but the Claims department never received my paperwork. Soon after, they stated the paperwork actually had been received, but a refund could not be made to my account until the banks that cashed my checks finished their investigations. They also stated that immediate refunds could only be made in certain cases, and when I asked what excluded this case, they stated immediate refunds can actually never be made. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from a supervisor at Chase stating that contrary to my discussion with the Claims representative two days prior, the claim had indeed been declined due to timeliness of reporting. I attempted to provide additional information regarding the circumstances around my timeline of reporting, but the supervisor stated that the claim was closed and could not be disputed by phone. I then spoke with the Chase branch manager I had been working with regarding this decision, and she requested that I re-submit the claim with a letter explaining my timeline of reporting. On XX/XX/XXXX, the manager escalated my claim to higher level supervisors and submitted my letter. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was notified by the Chase branch manager that the claim had again been declined due to timeliness of reporting. 

Chases actions in this matter demonstrate a fundamental failure to protect their customers by not obtaining full consent for release of payments. Unlike other banks, Chase has adopted an irresponsible system of confirming large check payments via text message and without verifying the payee at the time of check deposit nor specifying the payee on bank statements.