Consumer complaint received 2023-12-26
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (NY)

Attached is a detailed account of what happened and the letter addressed to Chase Bank : Dear XXXX XXXX : I am a Chase Bank customer. I recently fell victim to a fraudulent check scam because I relied on the representations of a Chase representative who told me the check had cleared and that I could use my account as usual, as well as on indications and notifications I received via my Chase app that the hold placed on my account after I deposited the check had been released. I made every effort to ensure the check was legitimate, including checking with Chase to confirm that the check had cleared and that the funds were in my account. After the check turned out nevertheless to be fraudulent, I have taken every step I could to rectify the situation, as described below. Despite my best efforts, I have been unable to get my funds back. I now demand that Chase remove the {$4200.00} overdraft from my account, reimburse me for the {$1200.00} I lost, and issue a fraud affidavit to me. 

I received the check in question from what I believed to be a magazine in New Jersey, which had contacted me through XXXX to hire me for freelance photography work. ( As a freelance photographer, I am frequently contacted for work through XXXX. ) The magazine instructed me to send a portion of the check, or {$5500.00}, via wire to an affiliated talent agency that was to provide models for the photo shoot. I did my due diligence to try to ensure the check was legitimate, including verifying that the magazine was real, that the person hiring me was on the masthead of the magazine, and the affiliated talent agency had a website with a domain that matched the email address of the person who contacted me. 



Only after verifying all that information did I then deposit the check into my Chase account, on Friday, XX/XX/2023. After I deposited the check, I noticed that a hold had been placed on my account. I assumed that this hold was because Chase was verifying the check. My freelance work is my only source of income, and I had only a little over {$1000.00} in my Chase account when I received the check ; it was therefore imperative for me to make sure that everything was legitimate before I moved forward with sending a wire transfer in the amount of {$5500.00}. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I called Chase to verify that the check was legitimate and that the funds were in my Chase account. The Chase representative I spoke to on the phone assured me that the check had cleared and that the funds were in my account. I told the Chase representative that my account had been placed on hold and that I wanted to make sure that the check was legitimate and that the money was available before I proceeded. The Chase representative assured me that all this was correct and that I could use my account as usual. ( I believe Chase should have a recording of this phone conversation. ) I then prepared to conduct a wire transfer of the funds to the talent agency, per the terms of the freelance photography work I believed I had been hired to do. 

On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, before completing the wire transfer and after being assured by the Chase representative that the check had cleared, that the funds were available, and that I could use my account as usual, I checked my Chase app, which indeed indicated that my account was no longer on hold and that the funds from the check were in my account. Relying on the Chase representatives assurances and the notices from the Chase app which told me that the hold had been released ( see attached screenshot notices dated XX/XX/XXXX ), I wired the funds to the talent agency. Shortly after I wired the funds, I logged into my Chase account and saw that not only were the funds from the check gone, but that the {$1200.00} in my account before cashing the check was also gone, and that the wire transfer resulted in a {$4200.00} overdraft of my account. 

If the Chase representative I spoke to had not assured me that the check had cleared and given me the go-ahead to use my account as usual, I never would have proceeded with the wire transfer. 

To make matters worse, Chase has refused to give me a fraud affidavit, which I need to file a police report about the incident. Shortly after the check was recalled, I went to my local police precinct to report this fraud and was told I needed a fraud affidavit from the bank before I could file a police report. I have spent hours on the phone with Chase explaining that I am a victim of fraud, but Chase has refused to open a fraud investigation or to provide me with a fraud affidavit. Because Chase refuses to give me a fraud affidavit, I can not even open an investigation at my local police precinct. 


I have recorded all my phone conversations with Chase, except for the call I made to Chase to verify the checks legitimacy and the availability of the funds. This call was made on Monday, XX/XX/2023 at XXXX p.m. and lasted XXXX minutes. I have mentioned this call to Chase numerous times but to no avail. I demand that Chase remove the {$4200.00} overdraft from my account, reimburse me the {$1200.00} I lost, and provide me with a fraud affidavit. If Chase has reported me to XXXX or XXXX XXXX XXXX for this overdraft, I also demand that Chase delete this reporting immediately. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX