Consumer complaint received 2025-06-13 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
We discovered that on XX/XX/XXXX, JPMorgan Chase Bank placed our company on the XXXX XXXX  list under Reason Code 14 : Identity Theft. We reached out to XXXX at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and then XXXX replied back the same day on XX/XX/XXXX given the detailed reason for Reaso Code 14 : Identity Theft. XXXX stated the reason for being placed on the XXXX by JP Morgan Chase Bank was, " We located a business that could be considered a match ... owners can check with other processors that may be able to authenticate their identity and are okay onboarding their merchant account. ( see attached document with email from XXXX XXXX ) '' According to XXXX 's response JP Morgan Chase Bank placed us on the XXXX  because they believe someone else other than XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX signed up for the merchant service with JP Morgan Chase Bank on their behalf. This designation is completely false and has caused immediate and severe disruption to our business operations and reputation. It also will cause our other merchant service company to terminate our account with us, as JP Morgan Chase Bank did, thus enabling us from further processing credit cards as a company as a whole. This will severly damage our business and staff. 

This violates : UDAAP ( DoddFrank Act 12 U.S.C.5531 & 5536 ) 12 U.S.C . 5531 ( a ) The Bureau may take any action to prevent a covered person from committing or engaging in an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice in connection with any transaction with a consumer for a consumer financial product or service.

12 U.S.C. 5536 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B ) It shall be unlawful for any covered person to engage in any unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice.

Why this applies to Chase : By placing your business on XXXX  under a false identity theft claim, without evidence, and refusing to respond to your requests, Chase may have : - Misrepresented a material fact - Deprived you of due process or transparency - Caused actual financial harm ( inability to process transactions, loss of reputation ) This aligns with UDAAPs legal tests : - Unfair : caused substantial injury - Deceptive : misleading or false claims - Abusive : taking unreasonable advantage of your lack of power or knowledge 2 ) Deceptive Practices under FTC Act 5 ( 15 U.S.C. 45 ) Though banks fall under CFPB oversight, they may also face scrutiny under Section5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits : unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce Assigning a false identity theft designation without basis or notification is : - Potentially deceptive, misrepresenting the facts - Likely unfair, because it harms your business and may not be avoidable by you Moreover, Section 5 ( n ) defines an unfair practice as one that : causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves. 

When we onboarded with Chase Merchant Services, we submitted and signed a full merchant services application. This included our verified Social Security Numbers, our EIN, and all supporting documentation for XXXX XXXX XXXX. We are providing you with proof that we are indeed XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX and that we intended on signing up with JP Morgan Chase Bank for merchant services ( see proof of Identificaion, picture of us holding our identification, Chase Merchant Service Contract with our names and signatures which shows our intention to sign up with JP Morgan Chase Bank Merchant Services, both Owner 's Passports and the XXXX Email we received on XX/XX/XXXX ). Both authorized business owners XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX provided government-issued identification. Chase approved our account, confirming that both our identity and our business were legitimate. 



Communication with JP Morgan Chase Bank On XX/XX/XXXX, we formally contacted Chases XXXX  Inquiry Team ( Case ID : XXXX ) and requested : A full explanation of the XXXX listing and reason code, along with any documentation used to support the identity theft claim as well as the origin of the claim ( e.g., a customer complaint, verification error, or third party ) We also requested guidance on how to remove our company from the list, and the opportunity to provide counter-documentation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Chase responded with a single sentence : Your merchant account name XXXX XXXX XXXX with merchant ID # XXXX was added to XXXX  due to Identity Theft. The decision was final and we are unable to process for XXXX  removal. 

We immediately replied that same day, formally disputing the listing and requesting a proper review of the case. We stated that the decision lacked transparency, due process, and supporting documentation. We also requested a full response within 10 business days, which we feel was more than fair. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we sent a final reminder to the XXXX Inquiry Team, noting the continued silence from Chase and giving them a deadline of XX/XX/XXXX, before we escalated the matter to the CFPB. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, we have not received any response from Chase since XX/XX/XXXX. 

We are requesting that Chase Merchant Services remove our business from the XXXX  list immediately. Any failure to comply will result in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX to take further legal action for damages and losses. We also request a formal investigation into JPMorgan Chases negligent handling of this matter, particularly their unwillingness to provide documentation or respond to multiple professional and reasonable requests. This lack of response to a matter so critical to our operations has caused significant financial harm and operational disruption. This is a time-sensitive situation, and we urge immediate action.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation