Consumer complaint received 2023-10-28
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (FL)

On XX/XX/2023, I applied for a new Chase XXXX XXXX XXXX, asking for a balance transfer of an amount of {$2800.00}. The card came back as approved for {$1200.00}, but gave NO indication that the balance transfer was partially approved. I got confirmation e-mails from Chase stating the card itself was approved, but not the balance transfer. 

I previously had a defunct account with Chase and when I tried to login and register my new card, it did not work. I called Chase and they said that I would have to wait for my credit card to arrive so I could register my account online. In the meantime, since the card was approved for less than the amount I needed for the balance transfer, I asked if I could set up a balance transfer from another bank. 

To clarify : I asked for a balance transfer from a XXXX XXXX XXXX card on my initial application for {$2800.00}. Since the card only came back as approved for {$1200.00}, I decided I would use it for a balance transfer from a XXXX XXXX account for roughly that amount. 

I asked Chase if I could set up a balance transfer while I waited for my card to arrive, but they said that would not be possible and that I would have to wait for the card. That was fine, there was no rush. 

In the meantime, I paid off my XXXX XXXX card entirely. There was no indication, at the time I did that, that there was a balance transfer pending from Chase. I paid off the XXXX XXXX card that day, XX/XX/2023. The Chase balance transfer shows up on my XXXX XXXX card on XX/XX/2023. 

On, XX/XX/2023. I sat down and went about activating my newly arrived Chase XXXX XXXX and set up my online account. As soon as I logged into it after getting it set up, I was greeted with a balance. 

At first, I thought it was fraud. I called their fraud line and told them that there was an erroneous balance transfer for {$1100.00} with a transfer fee of {$34.00}. They checked and told me the last XXXX digits the balance came from and I double checked my XXXX XXXX card. Sure enough, it was sitting at a - {$1100.00}. I was annoyed. There was no e-mail or any indication that the balance transfer itself was approved. 

I was told that there could be no transfer until I received and activated my card ( in a phone conversation with Chase on XX/XX/XXXX ) and the only confirmation e-mail I received showed that my account had been approved and my card was on its way. 

I asked Chase to rectify this by refunding the money back to XXXX XXXX. They indicated they could not do this and could not refund the balance transfer fee. I offered a solution in which everyone could win. If Chase waved the balance transfer fee of {$34.00}, then I would send the money back to XXXX XXXX and pay their transfer fee. Then I would transfer money from my XXXX XXXX card to Chase and pay the transfer fee on that balance instead. 

Chase said that this was not possible. Both the original rep and the 'manager ' said that they tried and that the system said it was an 'approved ' fee and that it could not be refunded. 

This seems like Chase 's problem, not mine. They did not give any indication that a balance transfer was approved or partly approved. They told me that even if I'd had online access, once the initial card agreements were signed, there would have been no way to halt the balance transfer. 

What? Seriously? They hid behind the contractual language but that's nonsense. You can't charge someone for something without giving them a clear receipt for the things you're charging for. That's what Chase did. And by the time they did give me a bill, it was too late and now I'm stuck with extra fees and a useless credit card from a company I have no desire to do business with. 

I offered a perfectly reasonable resolution which Chase insisted it could not accept. Wave the first fee. That's it. That's all I wanted. A small 'mea culpa ' of {$34.00}. Not a lot of money to Chase but it matters to me.