Consumer complaint received 2021-07-27
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem — Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (CA)

Background : XX/XX/XXXX -Purchased a XXXX XXXX XXXX  at XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX in California -Made down payment of {$6500.00} so could make monthly payments of {$250.00} at 0.00 % interest -From XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX used paper mail to make monthly payments to XXXX XXXX XXXX  which uses Jpmorgan Chase Bank ( Chase ) -I had no late payments during that period Payment history from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX ( with commentary as needed ) : Mid XX/XX/XXXX -Switched from paper mail to paperless electronic payment transactions ( Bill Pay ) for XXXX -Used XXXX  of XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX- XXXX to make monthly payments of {$250.00} Early XXXX. 
-Received statement for XXXX payment which reflected payment received from XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX -For XXXX payment, sent {$250.00} via Bill Pay to XXXX XXXX XXXX -Shortly after this XXXX ... XXXX account showed that payment was received XX/XX/XXXX -For XXXX payment, sent {$250.00} via Bill Pay to XXXX XXXX XXXX -Shortly after this XXXX ... XXXX account showed that payment was received Mid XXXX ( after XX/XX/XXXX ) -Received XXXX statement via paper mail stating that I missed XXXX {$250.00} payment with late fee charge of {$12.00} -Puzzled, thought had sent payment on XXXX XXXX -IMPORTANT : Through investigation, I found that Chase had not received payment because of an incorrect payee designation. Apparently, I needed to write XXXX XXXX XXXX C/O Chase in order for the transaction to take place. 

XX/XX/XXXX -Upset ( I never miss payments ) and dumbfounded ( I thought I had done everything correctly ) I sent {$2500.00} electronically to XXXX/Chase as a way of saying that I had sufficient funds and also as a " monetary '' kind of apology Late XXXX ( after above date ) -Called Chase regarding what happened. Was told that it was a XXXX problem -Called XXXX  and was told that it was a Chase issue -Called Chase again, and after research was told that I had omitted Chase in my payee section -IMPORTANT : my error stemmed from the fact that the monthly statement indicates : Make checks payable to XXXX XXXX XXXX and thats what I entered when signing up for automatic electronic payments. 

-After the above call to Chase, I contacted XXXX which after review agreed to refund value of two checks that I had sent electronically made payable to XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX -XXXX  refunded XXXX  Payment of {$250.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX , issue date XX/XX/XXXX -XXXX : refunded XXXX Payment fof {$250.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX , issue date ) XX/XX/XXXX Early XXXX -My wife and I visited Chase XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) to review my case with someone -Was able to speak with an assistant manager concerning my problem -IMPORTANT : She arranged by phone with Chase to have my late payment fee of {$12.00} waived ( which it was ) -No mention was made of my credit scores being affected by the late payment. 
-Because the late payment fee had been waived, I mistakenly didnt think my credit scores would be affected. 
-IMPORTANT : This was confirmed when I later viewed my credit report. 

Mid XXXX -Lacking confidence with making automatic payments to Chase, I switched to paying manually each month using online Electronic Check payments. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX online statement confirmed {$250.00} Elec Check XXXX Chase Auto Pymt. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX online statement confirmed {$250.00} Elec Check XXXX Chase Auto Pymt. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX online statement confirmed {$250.00} Elec Check XXXX  Chase Auto Pymt.

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX online statement confirmed {$250.00} Elec Check XXXX Chase Auto Pymt. 

Mid XXXX -Knowing that I had several upcoming trips to places lacking internet connection, I began to worry that I might miss a payment with my current online payment system with Chase . 
-After my last experience, I was reluctant to set up automatic payment with Chase on my own. 

XX/XX/XXXX -IMPORTANT : I met with the Chase XXXX XXXX branch manager who listened to my story and volunteered to assist me on site with my computer ( which I had brought with me ) to set up automatic monthly {$250.00} auto payments with Chase. 
-I assumed that my XXXX payment and all payments going forward would now be automatic until my loan was paid for, and I was very appreciative of the bank managers assistance. 

XX/XX/XXXX -Left on trip to XXXX XXXX XXXX , Calif. where my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a second home ( currently in escrow ) XX/XX/XXXX -Returned to home in XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX -Postal carrier gave us mail that had been put on hold during our trip up north. 
-Opened XXXX statement which indicated that I had not made my payment for XXXX. 
-Through research I learned that I still had until the end of the month to make my payment to avoid the late penalty. 
-I made a payment of {$250.00} using a phone electronic payment system. 
-IMPORTANT : I was frustrated because I thought I had been set up by the bank manager for automatic payments to avoid exactly situations like this. 
-IIMPORTANT : f a Chase bank manager can't correctly set up automatic payments for a customer, how can Chase expect a customer to set it up properly. 

XX/XX/XXXX -IMPORTANT : I learned from my mortgage broker that my high credit scores had been lowered shortly after my late payment notification. 
-I suspected a correlation between my late payment to Chase and my lowered credit scores. 
-IMPORTANT : I realized lower credit scores could adversely affect my qualification for low interest rate mortgage loans. 
-My mortgage broker confirmed this with me. 

XX/XX/XXXX -I again met with the XXXX XXXX Chase bank manager with the hope of having Chase restore my previous excellent credit ratings. 

-IMPORTANT : He replied that had I been a Chase customer he could have probably helped me, but because I made car payments to XXXX/Chase through another institution ( XXXX ), he could not help me resolve my credit rating issue. 

-However, he did volunteer to call a Chase number where perhaps my concern could be addressed. For most of my conversations, at my suggestion, he stood across the phone from me and could clearly hear my conversations with various Chase representatives.

-After speaking with one or two people who were not qualified to address my credit issue, I was finally directed to call XXXX and reached someone in the Chase Credit Department XXXX 

-IMPORTANT : After listening to my story, she cited the Fair Credit Reporting Act which she said contained provisions that prohibited Chase from recommending making credit rating adjustments to myself or anyone. In other words, it would be illegal to do so. I was upset that there were, according to her, no provisions in the law which could allow appeals based on the merits and unique circumstances of each case. 

-When I said that it appeared that it would take an Act of Congress to provide me any relief, she did not contradict me.

-IMPORTANT : After this conversation ended, the bank manager indicated that he was quite familiar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that the person I had spoken with had seriously mischaracterized its provisions.

-Rather than declare case closed, he suggested that when I got home that I call another Chase department at XXXX where I might speak with someone more knowledgeable with credit score appeals.

-Any lingering belief that I may have had that Chase was organized around the principle of how best to support its customers was now completely shattered. Chase had revealed itself to be adversarial when it came to customer service. 

XX/XX/XXXX -I called XXXX and eventually was directed to speak with someone who would be more likely to be able to assist with credit score issues.

-IMPORTANT : The representative I spoke with was sympathetic and indicated that she herself would see to it that my previous credit scores would be restored.

-IMPORTANT : I was pleased to hear this, but when I said that I would need some official piece of writing from Chase so stating this action, she paused and said that I would need to speak with yet another person, and she transferred me to that number. 

-IMPORTANT : This next person was also sympathetic to my case, but said that he was not authorized to recommend any adjustments to my lowered credit scores, and suggested that I call XXXX where I could speak with someone at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ). 

-I took this advice and called the CFPB and ended up speaking with a representative who also listened to my story, and after discussion recommended that I file a complaint against Chase Bank online at consumerfinance.gov. which I did on which I am now doing on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Significant Issues : 1. When a representative at the Chase XXXX XXXX branch had my late fee waived, she should have told me one way or the other whether my credit scores were going to be affected by this action.

2. Chase does not make it possible to find out information concerning how a customer 's late payment may affect one 's credit scores, let alone have a discussion around why one 's late payment should automatically trigger a significant lowering of one 's credit scores. Chase has constructed an impenetrable wall against non-Chase petitioners such as myself.

3. The Chase bank manager at the XXXX XXXX branch said that had I been banking with Chase that he could have taken care of the late payment problem, but because I did not, he could not directly help me. Yet why was an assistant bank manager at the same branch able to make a call and have my late fee waived, and yet the bank manager not able to assist me with resolving my credit score report?

4. Given that the Chase XXXX XXXX Branch Manager helped me set up automatic electronic payments in XXXX that turned out to be incorrect resulting in a late payment notice in XXXX, it is apparent that Chase needs to rethink its online automatic payment system. It is currently not customer friendly and can lead to adverse situations for the customer.

5. A representative in the Chase Credit Department said that she could see to it that Chase would have my earlier credit scores restored, but balked when I asked for that to be put in writing. Why did my asking for written documentation cause her to end the discussion? Did she really intend to do anything for me, or was this disingenuous on her part?

6. According to the branch manager of Chase XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX who heard the conversation ( XX/XX/XXXX ), the representative in the Chase Credit Department ( XXXX ) significantly mischaracterized ( lied about? ) the Fair Credit Reporting Act by stating that it prohibited Chase from evaluating my case to make any recommendations related to my lowered credit scores. This was especially egregious because of the implication that I had no further recourse in pursuing my case with Chase or any other source.

7. The above statement of the Chase Credit Department representative was contradicted by a second Chase Credit Department representative ( XXXX ) who said that although he could not help me, that I could file a complaint through the Federal agency that handled credit disputes, namely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB XXXX ).

8. The fact that two representatives in the Chase Credit Department provided me with two contradictory statements concerning my complaint reveals an inexcusable and harmful customer relations situation at Chase.