Consumer complaint received 2023-12-31
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (OR)

I've been having a litany of problems with Chase over the past 2 months and I have reason to believe they have broken a multitude of consumer finance laws regarding both of my credit card accounts. 

At some point in XXXX or XXXX of XXXX, they introduced a new digital services agreement requiring consent to access your online accounts. Upon advice from a lawyer, I did not consent to either of these digital service agreements due to privacy concerns. Therefore, I have been locked out of my online Chase accounts and unable to pay my bills online or access my rewards for both credit card accounts. I did not consent to these agreements because I refuse to allow Chase to sell my private financial data to data brokers. 

I've previously had a XXXX  % on-time payment history in my XXXX  years of credit history, but have been having a number of personal & financial difficulties recently including job loss, illness, and XXXX. So I called Chase on XX/XX/XXXX to request a deferment or forbearance on my accounts. I felt this was a reasonable request considering my payment history as well as the hyperinflationary crisis occurring in the macroeconomy. Chase refused to grant me this request and instead advised me to not pay my bills and go into default on my accounts. While speaking to Chase on XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed that there were additional changes to their agreement terms that were separate from the updated digital services agreement which were sent to my online accounts. I was not able to access these new terms because I was previously setup for electronic communications, but was/am locked out of my online Chase accounts so did not receive these important time-sensitive notices affecting my legal rights. I requested they send me these new terms in the mail in a timely manner so I could forward them to a lawyer for review. 

Instead of receiving these updated terms in a timely manner, Chase sent me a printed notice dated XX/XX/XXXX stating they had not sent any changes to my account recently. I will note this is notice is factually incorrect and contrary to what I was told over the phone. 

I again had to call Chase on XX/XX/XXXX after receiving this incorrect notice to request printed agreement terms to forward to a lawyer for review. Instead of receiving these agreement terms, I received a printed notice from Chase dated XX/XX/XXXX incorrectly stating that one of my accounts had been closed at my request. I never requested for that account to be closed and when I called Chase for clarification on XX/XX/XXXX I was told by multiple people that XXXX of my accounts were still open and in good standing. 

My understanding is that this is duplicitous, unethical, and illegal for breaking consumer finance regulations. Chase has repeatedly told me things over the phone that are contrary & contradictory to things that Chase has mailed me in writing. This lead to me forming a support ticket with Chase 's executive office which is still under their internal investigation. I also requested a hardship settlement for my accounts but was denied over the phone, which is contrary to a printed letter they previously sent me in writing. 

Since I had not received the updated terms yet and the issue was time-sensitive, a lawyer was able to track down the revised agreement terms from another Chase Freedom Unlimited customer. The lawyer notified me the new agreement terms contained an arbitration agreement which had to be opted out of in-writing in a timely manner. So I wrote & mailed two letters each dated XX/XX/XXXX notifying Chase that I reject their arbitration agreements. I later received the updated terms for XXXX  accounts which were dated XX/XX/XXXX but I did not receive them until after I mailed my letters of arbitration rejection on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I made the minimum payment due of {$720.00} for XXXX of my accounts in-person Under Duress. The payment was made Under Duress because Chase refused to grant me a deferment, forbearance, or hardship settlement, and I had to borrow the money to make the payment even though I can not afford it. I will note that Chase refused these simple, reasonable requests despite us being in an active dispute requiring them to conduct an internal investigation over the integrity of their systems. I will also note that making payments in-person is extremely inconvenient for me, and that making payments over the phone aren't a secure method to pay due to various technological reasons. 

I called Chase on XX/XX/XXXX to check if my letters had been received but was initially told they had not been received. After informing Chase that I sent the letters with XXXX tracking numbers and could prove they received the letters on XX/XX/XXXX & XX/XX/XXXX respectively, they admitted they received the letters. This resulted in me having an additional support ticket created by Chase 's escalation department which is separate from the support ticket created by Chase 's XXXX office. I was told over the phone that Chase rejected my rejection of arbitration for XXXX account but not the other. I have yet to receive this letter of notice in the mail. 

My understanding is Chase has broken XXXX consumer finance laws through my correspondence with them over the past couple of months. I also have reason to believe their systems have been hacked or compromised since they have sent me multiple factually incorrect letters in error. My understanding is that this is a violation of Chase 's fiduciary responsibility to safeguard & protect my private financial data, and that they are liable for damages if I choose to sue them in a court of law.