Consumer complaint received 2024-09-06
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Lease
Issue: Problems at the end of the loan or lease — Termination fees or other problem when ending the lease early
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (FL)

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I turned in my leased XXXX XXXX XXXX, in accordance with the lease agreement to XXXX XXXX dealership in XXXXXXXX XXXX. JP Morgan Chase subsequently sent me a letter, on or around the end of the month requiring me to pay the disposition of the vehicle fee which was about {$490.00}, which I paid in XXXX and they attempted to charge me {$750.00} for two new tires. The vehicle was turned in clean. There was no excessive wear and tear on the inside or the outside of the vehicle, no dents, no excessive scratches and the tires, which JP Morgan Chase referred to in its letter to me were relatively new tires. Although, I immediately called the number I was directed to call and inquired about the {$750.00} extra dollars, it took about three or four calls for any representative to even ordain to listen to my circumstances. In XXXX or XXXX, after perhaps the 3rd or 4th call with Chase, the JP Morgan Chase representative told me that it charged this end of lease fee to me b/c the tires were " mismatched ''. The representative explained that the tires on the car did not match the original tires. I explained to the representative that those tires were relatively new and that, at the time that I had to purchase those tires, it was XXXX, the one tire on the left rear had gone completely flat and my family and I were nowhere near our home, in fact we were more than three hours away from our home and had to somehow get back home. Further, it was XXXX, with massive supply chain issue ( the original tires were not available ), and since it was on a Saturday, the multiple XXXX XXXX dealerships we called either did not have their Service depts. open or when we were connected with the XXXX XXXX dealership Service dept. the original tires were not available. The Chase representative, although cordial, basically stated for me to submit a claim ( via a letter ) to Chase by fax number, which she gave me, and explain the situation of why the tires were placed on the car. I did so on or about XX/XX/XXXX ( lease, letter and proof of purchase of tires is attached to this complaint ) and I called the representative right after I had faxed the letter and the proof that I had purchased new tires. I did not hear anything back for a long while, but was thinking Chase and I were in discussions. In fact, the female representative did tell me that she didn't know if submitting the claim would help abate the additional {$750.00} charge b/c she did not make the rules, but that I should submit it if I wanted to challenge the charge. Again, after received the lease and I submitted the proof, I did not hear anything back from Chase regarding my submission for a long while. Around XXXX, I think, a representative from Chase ( i believe it was the same representative I spoke to about submitting the letter ) called me back and stated that Chase had received the letter and was still contemplating a response to my letter. She stated that Chase should get back to me very soon. I again thought we were continuing discussions regarding the {$750.00}. 

Chase did finally call me ( or I called them ) at the end of XXXX where Chase continued to insist on the payment and asked if I had received the lease. I stated that I had, but the lease states that excess wear or tear will be charged, and Chase had not noted there was extra wear or tear. Further, although Chase ( razor focused on the tires ) continued to press that " all tires on the car must match '', I continued to state that the lease allows for " original equipment parts or parts of equal quality or design '' ( under Section 24 of the lease, " Maintenance '' ) which is a reasonable requirement and I had, given the situation I was in and the supply chain challenges, purchased, not one ( b/c there was only one flat tire ) but two brand new tires which were " equal quality and design ''. No one at Chase seemed to be listening or even considering my plea, in fact the representative I did speak to ( who was not the same representative I spoke to before ) called herself a " supervisor '' and she asked, " Well before you turned the car in, did you go to the dealership and ask if the original tires were available and then purchase those tires and put them on the vehicle ''? I stated to the " supervisor '', No, I did not b/c I had just spent over {$1000.00} ( see the proof of purchase ) on two tires in XXXX, ( I had only driven the car about 25,000 miles in about 31/2 years ). I asked the " supervisor '' on the call, did she think I just had an extra {$1000.00} sitting around to replace tires that had just been replaced a year and a half before? She didn't answer me. I told her I did not have that type of money and that these tires were, as the lease stated " equal quality and design '' to the original tires. I told the supervisor I would not pay the ransom of {$750.00} just because Chase was not abiding by the language of their own lease. Since that date, I did not have a further conversation with Chase but was expecting for discussion to resume. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX or XXXX, I was going to refinance a mortgage I had on property and only then did I learn that JP Morgan Chase had already reported the {$750.00} 60 days late to the credit bureaus which dropped my score nearly 200 points. Suffice it to say, I was unable to refinance because of that drastic drop in my score. Of course, not only was I highly surprised, since I didn't know Chase had reported me already, but Chase had reported this {$750.00} from XXXX of XXXX or XXXX of XXXX when I thought Chase and I were still in talks! Chase decimated my credit, did not abide by the language of their own lease and, b/c I have to do something to restore my credit ( which is a very steep hill to climb when your XXXX score is now in the 500s, when it used to be in the 700s ), Practically at the end of a very large battering ram or " credit XXXX '' ( and on the verge of Chase reporting me 90 days late ), Chase forced me to pay the {$750.00}, which turned into {$780.00} b/c of " late fees '' as of XX/XX/XXXX. With all the months from the date I gave XXXX XXXX back the vehicle, all the letter writing with Chase, all the " discussions '' with unresponsive or otherwise robotic representatives and " supervisors '' at Chase, and the constant " no, no, no '' from Chase, I felt and feel defeated and without any real chance or representation to impute a " reasonable '' standard in this disastrous end of lease story. I ask the CFPB to investigate my circumstances, strongly urge Chase to restore my credit ( delete the derogatory reporting from whence it started ) and make Chase clearly support its stance that I had to pay the {$750.00} for new original tires when its lease states otherwise.