Consumer complaint received 2025-02-27 00:00:00
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.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Chase Bank Fraud Claim Mishandling & Regulation E Violations Dear CFPB Investigative Team, I am filing this complaint against JPMorgan Chase Bank , N.A . for their mishandling of my fraud claim, failure to properly investigate unauthorized transactions, and potential violations of Regulation E. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered multiple unauthorized transactions on my Chase checking account, including five large fraudulent charges totaling {$5700.00} and additional disputed transactions amounting to {$13000.00} in total. The five largest fraudulent charges began on XX/XX/XXXX, and continued through XX/XX/XXXX. However, additional unauthorized charges dated as far back as XX/XX/XXXX. 

These earlier transactions initially went unnoticed by my accounting team because some of them were from merchants with whom I had previously had legitimate relationships but later canceled services. Despite these cancellations, charges continued to be processed, making it difficult to immediately identify the fraud. 

The five largest charges, however, were completely inconsistent with any prior dealings I had with the merchant. While I had legitimately used the companys services in the past, the total amount paid to this company was only approximately {$200.00} in total over the course of three years. The fraudulent charges far exceeded any amount the company even offers for its services. The companys publicly available pricing structure clearly shows that its most expensive product is {$99.00} per year, yet my account was charged between {$720.00} and {$1500.00} per month starting on XX/XX/XXXX, and continuing until XX/XX/XXXX, at which time I noticed the transactions, and immediatley called Chase to submit the claim, and shut off my card.. 

Upon discovering the fraud, I immediately contacted Chase and canceled my card to prevent further unauthorized charges. 

Despite my timely fraud report, Chase wrongfully denied my claim due to internal procedural failures and their misapplication of Regulation XXXX, effectively blocking me from recovering my stolen funds. 

Key Issues With Chases Handling of My Fraud Claim : Chase Submitted the Claim Incorrectly, Against My Explicit Instructions 1. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Chase specifically to dispute only five large fraudulent transactions totaling {$5700.00}. 

From the outset, the representative misunderstood my request despite multiple clarifications. 
I also asked if there was a way to submit transactions for review to determine merchant identities since I was unable to find any information online about several charges. 
The representative stated that Chase does not offer any way to research unknown merchant IDs and insisted that I must submit all transactions through her as part of a claim. 

XXXX. The call was highly unprofessional and difficult due to serious communication issues. 

The representative was likely in the XXXX ( based on her accent ), and there were multiple barriers to effective communication. 
Extreme background noise : It sounded like the representative was at party or in a chaotic public environment, because it was loud it definitely would not be classified as sounding like a call center of any kind. This made it extremely difficult for either of us to hear each other properly. At one point on the call, I stopped and and had to blatantly question why it was so loud, as it began to make me feel uncomfortable with the situation, as it didn't feel normal, but since I wasn't giving her any private or confidential information, I continued. 
Poor phone connection quality, which caused frequent distorted audio and dropouts. 
Significant language barrier, requiring me to repeatedly ask her to clarify what she was saying, and repeat herself. Also in several instances, I would say something, and her interpretation of what I had said didn't line up. 

XXXX. The call lasted nearly an hour and a half due to these repeated issues : I had to repeat myself multiple times because she misunderstood my request. 
She frequently repeated transaction details back incorrectly, often stating the wrong amounts, wrong dates, or mispronouncing merchant names. 
She put me on hold at least 5-6 times when the background noise became unbearable for either of us to communicate.

4. At no point during this call did the representative warn me that she was going to be submitting all transactions at once, nor did she warn me that when/if she did submit them all at once could result in an automatic denial under Chases 30-day fraud policy.

She never advised me that submitting a claim this way would fall outside of Chases guidelines or could negatively impact my ability to recover lost funds.

If the representative had properly informed me, I would have only submitted the five major fraudulent transactions separately to avoid any unnecessary denials.

Instead, I was misled into believing that submitting all transactions would simply allow for a more thorough investigation, when in reality, this directly caused my claim to be denied. 

XXXX. Despite my clear instructions, she submitted the entire list of XXXX transactions instead of just the five I intended to dispute. 

This led to Chase denying my claim under their 30-day policy, which would not have happened had my original request been followed.

Because of this miscommunication and mishandling, my largest fraudulent transactions, that fell well within a dispute window, were wrongfully denied.

Had Chase followed my instructions, my largest fraudulent transactions would have been reviewed under Regulation E protections.

6. Evidence Available for CFPB Review I have full audio recordings of all phone calls with Chase representatives, including this call, which I can submit for review.

These recordings clearly document the representatives inability to process my request properly, the miscommunications, language barriers, and errors in transaction input. 
The audio confirms that I specifically requested only five large transactions be disputed and that the representative wrongfully submitted all XXXX transactions instead, directly leading to my claim being denied. 

XXXX. Chase Failed to Investigate the Merchants Pricing Structure Which Is A Clear Oversight The fraudulent charges originated from a cloud storage company ( XXXX ), where my legitimate annual renewal fee was only {$99.00} per year. 
Despite this, fraudulent charges of {$700.00} {$1500.00} per month were processed on my accountfar exceeding the merchants highest publicly listed price. 
Chase failed to verify the pricing model of this merchant, ignoring an obvious fraud red flag. 

XXXX. Chase Provided Contradictory and Misleading Information on Their Ability to Reopen the Case from multiple different fraud representatives, supervisors, all the way up to the Executive Fraud Department member I spoke with, and I have recordings with every person. 

Chase representatives initially told me I could submit additional evidence at my local branch. 
However, upon scheduling an appointment to go into a Chase branch, the bank manager confirmed that Chase branches do not directly process fraud claims and that they have no recourse, nor have any authority in the decision making process of a fraud claim. I was told that a branches procedure for a claim was exactly the same as if I was sitting at home, and made the call myself, as all they would be able to do is call the exat same number I call, and then hand the phone to me. 
I was later informed that fraud claims can not be reopened at all, contradicting Chases earlier guidance. 

9. Chase Misapplied Regulation E in Denying My Claim Chase justified their denial by claiming Regulation E only allows refunds for transactions within 30 days of the earliest transaction in the claim, and refunded me an insignificant amount in correlation to the full amount of funds that had been fraudelently withdrawn. 
Their continued claim that Regulation E only allows refunds for transactions within 30 days is incorrect, and must be something that every representative at Chase is trained to say. Regulation E states that banks must investigate fraud reported within 60 days of the first statement reflecting the unauthorized charge. While transactions beyond this 60-day window may not be required under Regulation E, banks still have the discretion to refund unauthorized charges based on their fraud departments findings. Chase failed to properly investigate and chose not to exercise discretion in refunding fraudulent charges, despite clear evidence that the transactions were unauthorized.

I asked several representatives, supervisors, and the Executive Chase Fraud department member assigned to my case, when I escalated the claim whether the 30 day policy about Regulation E that had been stated to me by multiple Chase representatives was a Chase policy or in fact Regulation E, and every Chase representative that I spoke with refused to answer whether their 30-day rule was a bank-imposed policy or a federal requirement, strongly implying that their denial was based on internal Chase rules rather than federal law.

10. I Had Already Attempted to Resolve This Issue Before Filing My Fraud Claim Prior to reaching out to Chase, I had already contacted XXXX and the individual merchants. 
XXXX refused to assist, stating I needed to resolve it directly with the merchants. 
Every merchant who I could find customer support numbers for, refused to refund my money, even when I had previously canceled services. Several transaction IDs had no name, or the name had absolutely nothing online with the designation on the transaction ID, and how and why the intial call was made. 
Some fraudulent charges even came through with a merchant ID labeled NoName, which is clear evidence of unauthorized activity. 
Chase was my last line of defense, yet they failed to act in accordance with their regulatory obligations. 

Why CFPB Intervention is Necessary Chase has demonstrated negligence, procedural failures, and a misrepresentation of federal law in handling my fraud dispute. Their refusal to conduct a proper investigation has resulted in an unfair financial burden of {$5700.00} in major fraudulent transactions and a total of {$13000.00} wrongfully denied. 

I am requesting that the CFPB : 1. Investigate Chases misapplication of Regulation E and their refusal to properly process unauthorized transactions.

2. Require Chase to re-evaluate my fraud claim based on the correct interpretation of Regulation E and the CFPBs enforcement guidance.

3. Review Chases internal fraud policies to determine whether they are misleading consumers about their legal rights under federal law. If I hadn't been told by the bank representative that I had a meeting with that I could ask to escalate my claim to the Executive Fraud Department at Chase, that wouldn't have even happened, because every supervisor I spoke with said that the claim was already closed, and escalation would not be submitted. I was further told that the process by which a Chase fraud specialist undergoes for each claim is being given " random '' transaction from the entirety of a claim and doesn't even review the entire claim. I was then told that more than likely the claim representative that was assigned to my case didn't even look at the whole thing because ( again they claimed wrongful Regulation E policy ) they already submitted what was allowed under Regulation E 's 30 day policy, and the case had been closed, and could not be re-opened, nor could I try to open another claim for the XXXX large transactions that DID almost all fall within 60 days of XX/XX/XXXX when I submitted the claim. These satements were told to me multiple times by two different Supervisors at Chase, which again I have attached all of the recordings in audio.

4. Ensure that Chase provides a clear and documented explanation as to why they refused to answer direct questions about their fraud claim policies.

This is a serious matter that requires immediate regulatory intervention. Chases failure to investigate clear fraud indicators and their misleading statements regarding Regulation E compliance set a dangerous precedent for consumer protections. 

I appreciate the CFPBs prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your response. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation