Consumer complaint received 2024-08-01
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. (OH)

First, let me explain why we opted for this loan. We used this consolidation loan to pay off a credit card, pay medical bills and to improve our cash flow while making larger payments towards medical bills in collection. 

As is laid out in the back up documents, phone conversations, in this complaint and even by Chase, they are combining traits of a loan with traits of a credit card. The program lacks transparency and feels rights are being violated.

ISSUE XXXX: IT APPEARS WE ARE BEING CHARGED INTEREST 2X
It appears we are getting charged interest fees in addition to the monthly payment of XXXX. 
XXXX.	Case in point, on the XXXX XXXX statement we paid XXXX but then were charged XXXX for interest fees.
XXXX.	My Chase Loan details shows the monthly payment as XXXX and doesnt state interest fees would be an additional charge.
XXXX.	Calculator.net shows an XXXX loan, at 11.99% interest would have monthly payments of XXXX. This demonstrates that the monthly payments should have the interest fees included. 
XXXX.	A Guide to My Chase Loan states the portion of each payment made up of interest charges will decrease as the loan is getting paid off. I understand that to mean that of our XXXX monthly payment the amount of the interest included in the payment will be higher at the beginning of the loan that at the end. 
I have explained this to nearly every representative I spoke with at Chase and have gotten inconsistent answers. I had this escalated several times. I spoke with Credit Card Services, and various supervisors including Escalation Department supervisors, and the local bank manager, who spoke with her XXXX connections. One rep said that although it was called a loan, it was a credit card charge so interest is charged separately.  At least one confirmed that was the correct thinking. Others just said that the interest charges were additional without explanation. While the last email from XXXX  assured me that it was not an extra charge. However, the final Escalation Department Supervisor I spoke with on XXXX said I had been misinformed and interest is charged in addition to the XXXX. 

ISSUE XXXX: INTEREST SAVINGS BALANCE (ISB)
	Credits from vendors is counted towards the Interest Saving Balance and not the purchases connected to it. So, if that credit puts you over the ISB amount, its applied to the back of the loan without the customer getting a choice of applying it to purchases. 
Ill explain. I paid the ISB. I received credits for XXXX and XXXX purchases on the XXXX statement totaling XXXX. This contributed to the ISB being overpaid by XXXX That amount was applied to the back of the loan although I had current purchases. I have no control over when the vendor applies credits.  The XXXX overpayment money was needed for current purchases. As I stated before, we pay frequently on the account. That credit was taken into consideration for our budget and when/what we paid on the account. With other credits and planned payments, we would be on target for keeping the account paid. In the case of the XXXX credit a return wasnt required so I had no control to delay the credit. To delay in sending items back could mean I miss the return cutoff date. Furthermore, I have no control over when the vendor applies the credit. I cant ask them to delay posting it. I called and spoke to Chase reps for over an hour and was told there was no way to apply the monies differently, that they are applied systematically and no one could change how the monies were applied. Credits couldnt be given. There was no remedy. This was more than an entire monthly loan payment! We had to divert payments for other liabilities to come up with XXXX  to pay off the purchases. Furthermore, this complicated our cash flow and created difficulties paying the account off. 

ISSUE XXXX: A BREAKDOWN OF THE STATUS OF THE LOAN ISNT PROVIDED
This goes along with Issue XXXX XXXX  If I hadnt been watching the account and if I hadnt called in I never would have known we had paid over the ISB, how much, and that it was applied to the loan and not purchases. 
XXXX	Chase does not provide a breakdown on the statement or on their website showing the amount paid above the ISB. 
XXXX	It also doesnt show where that XXXX was applied. In fact, a customer cant see activity on the loan. Its not on the statement or online. I was told by one representative that I could call in every month to get the information because they could see the breakdown but when I went over things on XXXX with the Escalation Department supervisor, she told me I was misinformed and that they also couldnt see the breakdown of loan activity. So no one knows the breakdown? On our car loan, I can log in and see payments made and how they were applied. I can do it on credit cards. But, from what I am told this is not available with this combination loan/credit card.

ISSUE XXXX: LACK OF CLARITY OF CREDIT CARD STATEMENT
XXXX.	In answer to the question Chase poses in promotional information, What is an Interest Saving Balance?  Chase explains what is included in each category. However, this isnt broken down on the statement. You have to do the math on your own. 
XXXX	The amount of the Balance Subjected to Interest Rate in the Interest Charges section of the statement doesnt match the Amount Remaining in the My Chase Loan Summary section. I also cant determine how those figures were reached. Is the XXXX included?

ISSUE XXXX: WE ARE BEING CHARGED XXXX EXTRA
According to sites, like calculator.net the monthly payments amount of the loan should be XXXX Chase is saying our payments are XXXX per month. Thats XXXX  more. This is trivial for us, but if this is practiced for everyone, Chase is making quite a profit.

We have a tight budget and a lot of medical expenses due to our daughters XXXX XXXX  problems and my husbands XXXX. We have been diligent and responsible customers. I keep a tight rein on our finances. We are getting billed for interest charges 2 times! Chase hasnt been transparent and there is no way for us to see activity on the loan. Which, credit charge or not, should still be available. We have access to how payments are applied on our auto loan, mortgage and even credit card so why do not even the representatives have access to loan activities? We feel cheated and scammed as promos for the loan were not clear and Chase has not been able to reasonably explain it. We read every document we could find before moving forward on this loan. Even in A Guide to My Chase Loan didnt explain most of what is addressed in this complaint. Chase cannot provide reliable, consistent answers. Im frustrated at the amount of time and number of people who couldnt comprehend the problems and the way I was dismissed and treated.  I also feel that I wasnt understood because foreign representatives struggled with American concepts, like how this loan was presented the same way as a car loan and interest should be included. It didnt sound like they were familiar with car loans at all. They didnt try to understand and was, in fact, told by one rep that he wasnt in the car loan department and wasnt trained. The language and culture barrier was brutal.

Because of the issues we dont have the freedom we had before to make purchases on this card. We made purchases on the account for the points which we could get back as cash. This helped us financially as well. However, not being able to see the charges from the loan and how they are applied our only solution is to not use the card for purchases. We are unable to get a card from somewhere else, with the same loan period at the payment amount we budgeted. We cant even get a card for points. We just added XXXX to our credit card debt and had XXXX  (paid in full, on time) in charges, we were denied.  A refinance, as was suggested by the bank manager, is not an option because we have a low interest rate and just refinanced during covid. 



*** These are the Promo and Documents I could find on the "loan"
If you web search: My Chase loan details, my chase loan terms brought up these links
https://www.chase.comXXXX

The links on this page are: 
	https://www.chase.com/XXXX
	https://www.chase.comXXXXXXXX

Web search: My Chase Loan
https://www.chase.comXXXX
How it works video and Frequently Asked Questions

 
Communication Records XXXX 
Chase Credit Card Customer Service XXXX XXXX XXXX (1.10 hours)
The amount showing owed on the statement was not matching what I had in my records. It wasnt showing money I paid towards purchases. I called in and was told I paid above the Interest Saving Balance by XXXX. ISB was XXXX but I paid XXXX. This was then applied to the back of the loan. There is no way for them to change it manually. I continued to ask for escalation and worked with the rep to find a way to get the XXXX back toward the card purchases. She tried to tell me the credit was for a subscription with XXXX in the beginning of the year, which it wasnt. The purchase it belonged to was dated XXXX. She seemed to be genuine in helping but nothing worked out. The only option that seemed remotely possible was to undo a payment already made. She said it could be done but it wouldnt be beneficial. She explained but it was unclear. She talked of how payments were applied to the ISB vs Plan or new purchases and that payments would go to wherever the higher interest charge was. Unpaid purchases would be charged 27.99%. If next month I dont come up with the money put towards the loan, the balance will be charged 27.99% interest. 

XXXX (0.5 hours)
I called in because I wanted the breakdown on my loan and couldnt find it on my statement. I was told that if I wanted to know that information I would need to call in each month. They could only see it from their side.

XXXX
Chase Credit Card Customer Service XXXX XXXX  (27 minutes)
I called in again to see if my first conversation was accurate. I tried breaking it down into steps but she wasnt following. I explained she wasnt understanding what I was saying and I couldnt explain it differently. When I continued  to request someone else to talk to. I was disconnected. I also struggled with her accent.

XXXX XXXX, branch manager at XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX  XXXX (1+ hours)
The reason for the visit was to get answers to the questions I listed on the written summary, get the XXXX payment applied to the loan moved to cover purchases it was intended to, try to see how I can see what it being applied to the loan. I wanted to show how scam-like it is that they didnt provide clearer information in documents provided through the website that the interest would be in addition to the amount provided on the My Chase Loan Details amount they said would be the payment amount. I needed a way out of this mess and our attempts had failed. I presented with:
XXXX.	My Chase Loan promotion documents
XXXX  Frequently asked questions under promotional
XXXX.	The video that I recorded from the computer on my phone
XXXX.	My Chase loan details XXXX.	A Guide to My Chase Loan
XXXX.	XXXX XXXX Statement
XXXX	JXXXX XXXX Statement
XXXX.	A written summary of the questions

XXXXXXXX could see what I was saying and was confused as well. She called Chase Credit Card Services and put it on speaker so I could participate:
Representative XXXX We had a difficult time getting the representative to understand how the loan was different from the promos and the details sheet. We were told one amount but getting billed another amount. We went through most of the questions on my sheet. He was hung up on the fact that interest is charged with all loans and he didnt understand that what I was saying was that the interest shouldve been included in the My Chase Loan details. I explained the form was laid out the same as it would on a car loan. XXXX requested it to be escalated because the answers were insufficient. It was escalated to XXXX, the credit card department manager. We went over all of the same information. He verified that
XXXX.	Nothing could fix how payments were applied because it was systematic. 
XXXX.	Although the word loan is used in all of the promotional and in the description of the loan it is being handled as a credit card charge so the interest were  getting charged is getting billed in addition to the amount of the loan as stated on the My Chase Loan Details. He said the interest accrues daily just like a credit card.
XXXX.	It is true you cannot pay as you make the charges (as I have done for most of the time I had the credit card). If the payment is larger than Interest Saving Balance it goes to the back of the loan, like a car loan. 
XXXX.	It's true you cannot decide how payments will be applied.
XXXX.	 It's true that you cannot see how the payments were applied. You must call in and ask for the breakdown each month. 
XXXX.	Its true you cannot see how much you overpaid on the interesting balance anywhere on the statement to know how much was applied to the loan.
XXXX.	My Chase Plan Summary (on the statement) only shows the principal it doesn't state if it's being charged interest. All plans are supposed to be 0% but cant verify its not included in the interest of the loan. 
XXXX.	My Chase Loan Summary (on the statement) doesn't show that it included the overpayment of XXXX. To Keep track of the loan, the loan is the only thing that should be on the statement.

We couldnt communicate with him either about the interest, saying that each loan has interest that needs paid. I agreed. I dont expect an interest free loan, but I was getting charged interest 2x. He cut the questions short and wanted to know the bottom line. Was it to change it to 0% interest? I said that would work if that was the only option to correct getting charged interest on top of the XXXX that was made to appear was part of the loan amount when we applied. He said he would forward the feedback to the next escalation level. They should receive an answer in 7 to 10 business days but he doubts anything can be changed. XXXX  - is also escalating to her credit card contact. She should hear back within a day or two. He's higher than XXXX manager. She kept a copy of all of my complaints from the Summary page I provided. 
	I asked about switching it to another Chase credit card. She said Chase does not allow a balance transfer from one Chase card to another Chase card
	The only option is to refinance. Which isnt an option since our mortgage interest rate is much lower than what would be available.
	She asked about getting another card from another bank to pay this loan off. I explained we already thought of that and were declined for a card. Because we just took out an XXXX loan and had XXXX in charges. 
	I explained that we were supposed to save over XXXX a month and now it's less than XXXX  dollars putting us even more in a bind since those monies were promised to debtors.

Emails sent to XXXX: 
After leaving I sent two emails to let her know that the final question on my summary sheet regarding the interest on the balance amount wasn't asked or addressed. I also sent copies of all of the promo, loan details and an example of the auto loan details. And pointed out that the auto loan and this loan was laid out the same with no explanation that it was getting treated as a credit card and therefore charged separate interest. And the term loan was used everywhere in regards to this offer. XXXX XXXX called  There was not much difference in the answers she could give.  Her contact told her the interest amount is included with the loan payment. They are together included in the ISB and that totals XXXX Her contact also saw that this was very confusing. But that I could rest assured that we were not getting charged an additional XXXX  as shown on the statement. 

XXXX
Email between me and XXXX: MY RESPONSE WAS PARTIALLY INCORRECT. AFTER LOOKING AT IT FURTHER, ACCORDING TO THE STATEMENT THE INTEREST IS ON TOP OF THE XXXX. I didnt email her again though and decided I would take it up after she responded. She replied shed look into it to get me answers. I was contacted by the escalation department representative and didnt hear from her again.

XXXX
Chase Escalation Department Called
XXXX XXXX (1.7 hours)
 
Escalation department received the complaint I emailed XXXX. He said that because he didn't have access to Chase Credit Card the only thing he could do for me is stay on the line while I talked to someone in credit card customer service. He kept trying to focus on what was included in the interest savings balance. Despite many attempts I could not get him to understand that was not the problem. He transferred me and stayed on the line. 
 
Credit Card Department She was apparently hung up on past account notes and I couldn't get her to understand me either. I couldn't get her to just follow the fact that the XXXX was applied to the loan. The gentleman from the escalation department said that because he didnt have access to the credit card statement, he was going to disconnect from the call and did. I asked for it to be escalated within the credit card department. She then asked if I would like to talk to a supervisor.
 
Supervisor 
	I asked 3x for the breakdown of the loan and she finally said she couldn't see it either and apologized I was misinformed (by XXXX escalation supervisors)
	There is no way that would be beneficial to us to cancel a past payment so that it could be applied to the purchases but didnt explain why.
	This loan is for people who dont pay off their credit card as they go.
	The interest is charged in addition to the loan of XXXX sorry we were misinformed.