Consumer complaint received 2019-02-20
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Fee problem
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (TX)

From XX/XX/XXXX until the present Chase Bank has assessed over {$1000.00} in NSF fees to one or more of my accounts. I spoke with the local branch bank manager XXXX XXXX and his manager XXXX for a refund of the fees and to get a new savings account opened. During this two year period, the NSFs began to accumulate. At that time, my husband had been fighting XXXX for three years. In XXXX, his prognosis was terminal and he was undergoing XXXX treatments to extend his life. I was with him around the clock the entire time, including more than 2 months in the hospital at the end of XXXX. He died on XX/XX/XXXX. In XXXX, because I had taken too many withdrawals from a savings account that had overdraft protection for the account which had been assessed all of the NSF fees, they turned the savings account into a checking account, automatically cancelling all overdraft protection. Chase processes, as a part of its policy, the largest debits first to force account holders to suffer as many NSF fees as possible to maximize their revenue. At the time Chase cancelled our overdraft protection my husband was in the hospital. I was with him 24 hours a day seven days a week the entire time. I called Chase 's Service Line a  number of times during the hospital stay to get the problem rectified and the NSF fees refunded. They refused help and said I would have to visit a branch office to open a new savings account with new overdraft protection and request NSF refunds then. This was impossible since my husband was in the XXXX  and I was with him around the clock. In late XX/XX/XXXX, my husband was sent home to home health care which was quickly upgraded to home XXXX  care. Taking care of him at home placed me in a position to provide his XXXX care myself, again around the clock. XXXX   XXXX only come two days a week for 15 minutes at a time, the rest is left up to the primary caregiver, making it even more impossible for me to go to the bank and work on the situation. Last week, I went in to see the branch manager when I was told that NSF refunds, especially considering the number of them and the total amount that had been withdrawn, would require each of them to refer to their own managers to seek approval. XXXX did not want to work on opening a new savings account with overdraft protection at that time because he was busy and had scheduled appointments with other customers soon and asked for more paperwork from me, stressing not right now since he was busy. He did not want to schedule an appointment with me this week either, because he was already booked up and said that we need to take things one step at a time. So far there have been no steps at all. Today all of the bank managers are in an all-day meeting. No one at the branch answers the phone despite that I called several times today. With that, I started calling around to all the other branches in the area and three more banks did not answer. The fourth call to a branch on XXXX and XXXX in XXXX, TX answered. I explained everything to XXXX who said she had escalated the call to her branch manager, XXXX. With this there still will be no return call until at least tomorrow. XXXX sounded concerned and sincere but frankly I am worried and that is putting it mildly, so I am reaching out to you for help in getting two things accomplished : 1 ) All of the NSF fees refunded and 2 ) open a new savings account with overdraft protection so this will not happen again.