Consumer complaint received 2018-11-09
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (WI)

I started a XXXX XXXX XXXX  and XXXX company a few years ago, and I travel around the country visiting XXXX. In XX/XX/2016, I received 5+ missed calls while I was in DC for work. I had used my computer at the XXXX I was staying at and at a few coffee shops. I call the number back and a woman from XXXX, Texas asked, " Is this ( company name )? I received a notification from my bank ( XXXX XXXX ) that there is suspicious activity and someone is trying to transfer money into my account. '' Me " Yes, this is ( company name ). Who is this? I am not trying to transfer money, but I will check with my bank and call you back. '' When I check my account initially, I did not see any unusual payments. So assumed it was some sort of mistake. But then a few days later, I noticed a XXXX in the amount of {$3700.00} which I did not recognize. I was thinking that maybe I was paying an invoice to someone. But when I saw who is was going to, I had no idea who this person was, and there were no open invoices that matched that amount in my accounts payable. I reported there was a XXXX transfer made that I had no idea about, and I did not approve. It was not done by any of the signers on the account. Funds are returned to my account. 

I go into a physical Chase location, filed a claim for it, and we closed the bank account. I was told that I would receive an email with an attachment that I need to fax in. 
So I wait and wait, and after a couple weeks go by, I call chase and ask them what the status of my claim is. They said that they did not receive my faxed form and so there was no progress on the claim. I explained that I was still waiting to receive it via email. By the way, I was still receiving other chase notifications, so I assumed that they had my email correct. They said they would email it in 1-2 business days. I asked him on the phone if he could email it to me while we were talking so that I can make sure that I got it. He said he could not do that but assured me that I would receive it in 24-48 hours.. 
I get a voicemail from Chase. " We need more information to continue our research of your claim. Please call us as soon as possible and refer to claim number # # # # # # # # #. '' I called the number in the email and explained what happened. They told me that my claim was closed because I never faxed in the form, and I responded that I never received the form. Then the Chase Agent sent me a link that allowed me to download the chase form to fax. ( Why couldn't they do that in the first place? ) I asked him if I can speak with someone from the team that is doing the investigation, and he replied that I can not and they will contact me and to look out for a phone number starting with XXXX or XXXX. I fill out form and drop it off at Chase to be faxed in. 

They never called despite me requesting over and over that they call me. My Chase agent was amazing and tried so hard to help me get ahold of someone in the Investigations team, but she ended up just sitting on the phone for hours with no luck. I was told that they tried to call me once, and I didn't answer so they never called again. I have even looked through my phone since then and have not missed any calls from a phone number starting with those digits. I had made sure that if I saw any XXXX or XXXX numbers calling me, I would answer immediately, even if I was in a meeting or busy with something else. 

A few days later, I receive an email from Chase saying they " issued a temporary credit in the amount of {$3700.00} for claim # # # # # # # #. You'll have full use of the temporary funds while we do our research. '' Thanks for calling us. Welcome to theChaseCustomer Claims Secure Document Exchange I  called the woman who called me at the beginning saying that she had received the money in her XXXX XXXX Account, no answer. 

I notice that chase has removed the funds from my account.I spend 50 minutes on the phone with Chase and am transferred from person to person. I keep asking for more information so that I can understand what exactly is going on with my account, and why the claim was dropped. After a very long and frustrating conversation, the guy on the phone tells me that the reason they denied the claim was because there was another XXXX transfer made from the same IP address on for {$80.00} that I did not claim. I told him that I did not make that transfer and asked him to file a claim for both. He said that they already closed the claim and he could not reopen it. After arguing for 20 more minutes, he finally agreed to file a new claim for both of the amounts. Why couldn't he have done this the first time I asked? I also asked him over and over for information on the IP addresses that the transactions were made from so that I could help prove my case. He refused. 

So I email my Chase Agent. She called Chase again and made sure they reopened claim. I emailed Chase Agent multiple to ask if there are any updates on my claim because I haven't heard anything. She keeps checking for me. 

Chase Agent emails me back, " I just got off the phone with the claims department. They said that this claim is going to remain denied because they can not find proof that it was fraudulent. You are welcome to come back into the branch and we can try to reach out to the claims dept together or you can reach them XXXX 1. Please let me know how you would like to proceed. '' At this point, I have been talking to Chase for months, and I am super frustrated with everything in the Investigations and fraud department. It is very obvious that their goal is to not help you figure out what happened to your money. So I ask my Chase Agent if she can find outwhat EXACTLY they need from me to prove it was hacked.If they do not give me specifics I will ask my lawyer to step in. I also asked her if she could help me get information on the IP addresses that the transactions were made from so that I could help prove my case. From my standpoint, they are not even trying to help me they are just trying to throw my case out. It is also ridiculous that they have not even called me to talk to me about it and try to work with me to find a way to prove that this was fraud. I have NO information, and they are making it so incredibly difficult to get information about this fraud claim. 

So I realize that I have a friend from college that works for Chase, so I go and visit him. He helps me take my case to their Escalations Dept. The Escalations Dept calls me and I tell her the whole story and she says she will call me back on Friday with updates ( 1 hr 20 minute conversation ) She says that she can not help me because the fraud dept is telling her that the IP address used for the 2 disputed transactions is still currently being used to monitor the account. At this point I am concerned that " they are still monitoring my account. '' Again I asked for IP address information, but again, they refused. 

I call Chase again and the agent tells me that is NOT being used to monitor my account, which doesn't make sense because that was the very reason that I was told by the Escalations Dept that it was closed to begin with. 

At this point, I realize that Chase is not going to help me at all. So I call the number of the woman who called me at the beginning. The person who answers claims to be an someone else and she doesn't know what I am talking about. Then she calls me back and says, " I am ( her name ) and I do have your money. It was transferred in my account at XXXX XXXX and the bank put a hold on the account because I could not verify who was sending it. '' She said that she would return it to my account. But her story kept changing. First she had the full amount, then she said that she only had {$2500.00}. She told me that should were call her bank and have them return the money. 

Stop in Branch to tell my agent the whole story. She brings her manager in too. I told them that I was going to get a lawyer involved, and they gave me the number to the Chase Executive Office Line. I call them and they say they will get back to me within 48 hours. 

The gentleman from the Executive Office Line said that they could not prove that it was fraud because they were sent from my personal computer, the same one that I am currently using right now. So someone hacked into my computer without my knowledge and charged my account, and there is nothing they can do about it even though I DID NOT send or approve either of the 2 transactions.