Consumer complaint received 2016-11-01
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Billing disputes — 
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (NJ)

On XX/XX/2016 while vacationing in XXXX, I attended a timeshare presentation. I accepted the offer, paid {$4100.00} on my credit card as a deposit, and signed a contract with XXXX XXXX. As soon as I returned from the presentation I was informed by some locals that XXXX XXXX did not exist, they had no timeshares to sell, they were scamming people and the company was a fraud. I was advised to report it to my credit card company and to return to where I signed the contract, cancel it and get a refund. I had a 5 day right to cancel by law. 

I immediately called Chase and reported the incident as fraud. I explained exactly what happened, I stated that I had been scammed by a timeshare company and that I was going back to cancel the contract and get a refund. The first call I made to Chase was from the taxi on the way back. When I arrived, they were very angry but agreed to cancel the sale. I had the contract in my hand. They asked me for the contract and then typed up a letter stating they agreed to the cancelation, would refund my money and signed it. They refused to give me the contract back. They said that the contract was cancelled, I had the letter, and that was all I needed. 

When I returned to my hotel I phoned Chase again and told them I had the letter. I was told not to worry the charge would be removed from my account and I would n't be responsible for it. The charge was promptly removed from my account as promised and I did not worry. When I returned home I received a letter from the Chase Fraud Department requesting information. I promptly filled it out and returned it via US mail. I enclosed the original cancellation letter that I received stating that the contract was cancelled and the money, {$4100.00}, would be refunded to my credit card. I know that Chase received it because there were other charges in question and they were subsequently addressed. I took a picture of the letter so that I would have a copy. 

On XX/XX/2016, I received a call from the Chase Fraud Department to inform me that the charge was not fraud because I signed for it and that they were now going to pursue this as a dispute because I had cancelled the transaction and the money should have been refunded. I was told that the charge was going to be placed back on my account but that as soon as the dispute department reviewed it I would see another temporary credit. I was also told that they had all the information they needed, including the original letter of cancellation and that it would be forwarded to the dispute department. I called the dispute department to verify but they knew nothing yet. I then went online and opened a dispute. I continued calling the dispute department during the next week to make sure this process had taken place. I was told that they do not have the letter and that I will not get a temporary credit as promised. I then sent another copy of the picture I took of the letter. I think it is important for them to have the original. I am very upset that it was apparently lost. I am also extremely upset that it took nearly two months for them to decide it should not be handled as fraud but as a dispute because I signed for the transaction. I told the fraud department exactly what happened as soon as it happened. I told them I signed for the transaction. They should have told me at the time it was n't considered fraud and that it should have been handled as a dispute. Instead, two months later, they are now handling it as a closed case that is being reopened. This puts me at a great disadvantage with time. This should have been settled already. The reason I use my credit so often is because I thought it offered more protection than paying with cash or a check. In this case if I had written a check the bank would have stopped payment on it immediately. If I had pai