Consumer complaint received 2023-12-29
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (HI)

I opened a new credit card with Chase mid XXXX this year, for a trip I was taking. The card did not arrive in time to use it, so I used an existing card I had instead. 

When I arrived back home about a week later, the card had arrived in the mail. Inside the packet included instructions for activating my card etc. 

I opted to wait to activate the card until my next upcoming trip. I tried to activate my card on XXXX XXXX XXXX  by calling the number I had received with the card and instructions that read " To activate your card, visit or call ''. 

When calling didn't work, I visited " chase.com/verify card ''. There, I was able to see my existing credit card account with Chase, as well as my new credit card account which I was trying to activate, but that account said it had been closed. 

I called the customer service number on the back of my card and was told that I had failed to pay the annual fee when my card was activated at the end of XXXX. I told them that wasn't possible, because I had never activated it, and they told me they " automatically activated the card upon delivery ''. 

I asked them why they never called me to pay the annual charge or to alert me before they closed my account. They informed me that is not their policy. 

I asked them how they can expect people to know that they automatically activated their customers ' cards, if the introductory instructions provided to their customers state and instruct self-activation. 

I informed them that I never received another piece of mail from them after I had received the card. They said they have no control over the US postal service. 

I asked to speak to a manager for better explanation, because I was/am concerned how this will impact my credit rating. I was placed on hold and was connected with a manager who told me that I should have received statements for XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, and that they likely went to spam in my email. 

While we were on the phone, I searched my spam account and found a statement had been sent XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( the same day my credit card account had been closed. ) I asked the manager why no one ever called me to inform me that my credit card had been automatically activated, and how I was supposed to know to keep an eye out for monthly statements if I didn't know I had a card activated. 

I told her I was concerned that a {$11000.00} credit card account being closed without my knowledge would negatively impact my credit score. She agreed that it could and suggested that I reach out to the various credit reporting agencies to see if it shows up in a month or so on my account and then file complaints with each of them and eventually request to have the closed account removed from each. 

I told her that's an awful lot of work Chase is expecting me to do for something I had no knowledge or part in. 

I told her that I would have gladly paid the annual fee, had I known the account was active. I requested to pay the entire balance if they would reopen the account and reverse the action they had taken. 

She agreed it would be a lot of work for me and apologized and said she couldn't help me. 

After we hung up, I looked further into the credit card account, and learned that the company had charged the annual membership fee directly to my card in the amount of {$95.00} on XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( a week after I received the card in the mail ) which triggered the online statements to begin- what they considered " card activation ''. 

A XXXX XXXX XXXX  statement reflected a {$2.00} fee ; XX/XX/2023, a {$29.00} late fee ; XX/XX/2023, a {$2.00} fee, and account closure. 

All fees have since been reversed and the account shows a XXXX balance. 

I would like to know if it is legal to automatically activate a customer 's card without their knowledge and to charge annual membership fees before a card is activated by a customer. 

Especially alarming to me was that all of this was conducted without requiring a phone call or other form of contact ( mail ) to ensure best practices are conducted for their existing customers.