Consumer complaint received 2024-02-08 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: Chime Financial Inc
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
All calls to Chime on XX/XX/XXXX were sent to an off-shore agent. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, between XXXX and XXXX XXXX  with my Chime account app, I attempted to use the " Pay Anyone '' to send {$20.00} to a person in my contacts. At the final stage of the transaction, I pressed the green Pay button, and a pop-up stated " Check Connection. '' It was fine so I pushed the " Pay '' button again. Immediately I checked my Chime checking account and it showed two {$20.00} " Pay Anyone '' transactions withdrawn from my checking account. However, the name of the recipient was incorrect. I called the recipient and he did not receive a text from Chime stating that " funds were waiting for him. '' I also asked him if he had a Chime account? He told me he tried to apply for an account but it was never finalized. 
1. Outgoing call : XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX I called Chime ( XXXX ) XXXX on a 3-way call with the recipient on the other line. The Chime agent came on the line. I notified the Chime agent that there was also the recipient on the other line. The agent asked, " For security purposes what is the last 4 of your Social Sec. # and my address and phone number. '' I gave it to him I explained the above situation to the agent and asked where the money went. He asked if the recipient had a Chime account and the recipient stated " I tried but the the call dropped and I didn't call back. '' I asked, " Can't you just check to see if he has an account with Chime? '' The agent stated, " I can only handle one situation per call. '' I asked to speak with someone in the United States. '' The agent stated there was not anyone available. I commented that calls should be directed to the US, as these accounts are dealing with American citizens, not people who do not know the laws and procedures here in our country! 
Not getting anywhere I said, " This is not getting anywhere, thank you for your time I'll call back and speak with someone else. " ( The call lasted 17m 39s ) 2. Outgoing Call - XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX duration 28s Call to Chime @ XXXX. With the recipient on the other line, the call was answered by Chime and the call dropped. 
I told the recipient to call Chime and ask if he had an account. The call was Disconnected. 
3. Missed Call 3- at XXXX XXXX The Phone call log shows a missed incoming call from Chime. 
4. Outgoing Call 4 - XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX  duration 9m 49s Call Chime @ XXXX. 
Explained the situation again and told the agent the recipient was contacting Chime right now to see if he had an account. I explained that the money was not sent to the person intended. The agent stated I would have to file a dispute for the transaction and would transfer the call to the dispute department. While attempting to transfer the call it was disconnected. 
5. Outgoing Call 5 - XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX duration 43s Call to Chime @ XXXX. The automated system indicated it recognized the phone number and could call me back for verification. I pressed the corresponding number and said it would call right back. 
6. Incoming Call 6 - XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX An incoming call from a Chime agent @ XXXX The automated system aka Chime Bot came on the line and went through a series of numbers to connect to. I pressed 9 to be connected to a live person. While on hold, I called the recipient on a 3-way call again. The recipient told me before the that Chime said he did not have an account. When the Chime agent came on the line he identified his name as XXXX XXXX. I explained the situation again to the agent, told the agent recipient did not have an account who asked if " I permitted him to give the recipient personal information such as account balance, and account numbers? '' I said " Why would that information have anything to do with where the " Pay anyone transaction went to! '' The agent stated, " Ma'am this is the procedure. '' I became irritated and said, " How is my personal account information and account balances given to the recipient going to locate the missing money? It makes no sense! '' At this point, the recipient speaks up and says " Just tell him 'yes ', I'm not interested in any of that stuff. This is getting ridiculous '' I was so tired of sitting on the phone with Chime and having to explain myself over and over, I agreed. The agent then asked if he had permission to go into my account? '' I said " If that is going to find out where the money is '' The agent said " It should ma'am '' The agent asked me for the last 4 digits of my debit card, I gave it to him. He stated the money was there and that there was an issue with the accounts which needed to be updated from Tier 1 to Tier 3 to release the funds to the " Pay anyone ''. He said to update the account he needed to transfer what was in the other accounts so the system could see that there was money in the account to pay the " Pay Anyone '' So I moved the money into the checking account. He stated that the account was updating and would take about 15-20 minutes at that time the money would be sent to the recipient. At which point the call disconnected due to call reception. ( There were no bars on my phone ) 7. Outgoing Call XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX to Chime @ XXXX. The call disconnected after 7 seconds due to the reception. ( There were no bars on my phone ) I logged into my Chime account and it had {$14.00} in it. It showed a " Pay anyone '' transaction to XXXX XXXX for {$1100.00}. This was an unauthorized transaction to a person I did not know. As far as I knew he was an employee of Chime and off-shore. 
I immediately tried to call Chime however I had no phone reception. ( There were no bars on my phone ) As soon as the was reception I called Chime.

8. Outgoing Call XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX duration 51m 39s to Chime @ XXXX. 
Very upset I explained the whole situation and told the agent that an employee just performed an unauthorized transaction for {$1100.00}. I was transferred three times and finally got to the dispute department where I attempted to file a claim. Finally, after 20 minutes of going back and forth with the agents, a dispute was taken. However, I have no idea what was written in the dispute. When the agent was done she told me if I had any documents to show regarding the claim I could submit them in the dispute portion of my account. 
I uploaded screenshots from my cellphone, the call logs showing the calls to Chime and the dates and durations of the calls. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called Chime regarding the two {$20.00} transactions that a dispute was filed for. It too was denied. However, that has been resolved as the recipient did have a Chime account. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I checked my account and it showed {$14.00} still. I went to the dispute center and it showed both claims had been denied. 
I called Chime again and re-opened the claim. However, that too was denied in less than 12 hours.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation