Consumer complaint received 2025-01-18 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: OR

Complaint narrative:
I have been a Chase customer since XXXX. I previously had the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, which has an annual fee of {$550.00}. The fee was charged on my statement ending XX/XX/XXXX. I notified Chase, by calling the number on the back of the card, that I wished to close my account on XX/XX/XXXX and receive a refund of the annual membership fee. The Chase representative stated that my account was closed and I would receive the refund during that call. The cardholder terms state the annual membership fee is refundable if I notified Chase within a certain time period that I would like to close my account. I fulfilled the requirements in the cardholder terms I agreed to in order to receive a refund of the annual membership fee. However, Chase has denied to refund me the annual membership fee. 

Chase failed to close my account when I notified them on XX/XX/XXXX that I wished to close my account. Since then, I have called Chase three additional times requesting a refund of the annual membership fee. Chase informed me three times in total that I would receive a refund of the annual membership fee. On the fourth call they informed me that I was not able to receive a refund because of the account closure date, irrespective of the fact that I had notified Chase before the account closure date and fulfilled the requirements of the terms to receive a refund. The delayed closure date was due to the error by Chase and their failure to close my account when I first requested it be closed. 

My complaint is threefold : 1. Chase failed to close my account when I first called to request that it be closed. They misinformed me on that call that my account was closed.

2. Chase has failed to refund my annual membership fee according to the cardholder agreement, and despite informing me multiple times that it would be refunded.

3. Chase has continually misinformed me of the terms of the cardholder agreement regarding the requirements to receive a refund of the annual membership fee. 

According to my cardholder agreement and related documents, the annual membership fee is refundable provided proper notice to Chase regarding account closure. On the monthly statement Chase states : " The annual membership fee is non-refundable unless you notify us that you wish to close your account within 30 days or one billing cycle ( whichever is less ) after we provide the statement on which the annual membership fee is billed. '' XX/XX/XXXX Received statement on which annual fee was billed. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( PT ) - CALL XXXX to Chase XXXX I notified Chase that I wished to close my account by calling the number on the back of the card. During that call I also requested a refund off the annual membership fee. The Chase representative informed me my account was closed effective immediately, the card would immediately be deactivated, and that the annual membership fee would be refunded in two to three months. 

XX/XX/XXXX- Review of Chase online account information I reviewed my Chase account and it became apparent Chase had failed to close my account as requested and that had falsely informed me that the account was closed on the XX/XX/XXXX call, which it was not. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( PT ) - CALL 2 to Chase XXXX I called Chase to request an update regarding my account closure request. Chase informed me that they had failed to close my account after my XX/XX/XXXX request. Chase informed me that I would be refunded my annual membership fee in two to three month via a check in the mail. 

I confirmed after the call that my account was closed by visiting the Chase website and reviewing my account. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( PT ) - CALL 3 to Chase XXXX I called Chase to request an update on the refund of my annual membership fee. The Chase representative stated that I would be receiving a refund of the annual membership fee and I could expect to receive it around XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( PT ) - CALL 4 to Chase XXXX Chase informed me that because of the account closure date was not within the refundable period, I would not receive a refund of the annual membership fee. The Chase representative misrepresented the refund policy which I believed I had agreed to. The card terms and related documents specify that a request of closure notice be provided to Chase, as I had done, but does not specify the requirement of account closure. 

Chase acknowledged that they had records of my calls including the call on XX/XX/XXXX. And they had a note from the call on XX/XX/XXXX that I informed them that the previous representative had failed to close my account when I requested. Chase filled an internal complaint on my behalf regarding their failure to close my account on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  - Received letter from Chase dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  The letter informed me of the results of their investigation into the complaint. Chase again stated they were unable to refund me the annual fee because the account closure date was XX/XX/XXXX. 

They also stated : " Please be advised that as per policy, the annual fee will be refunded automatically in full if the account is closed within 41 days of statement closing date, in which annual fee was billed. '' I believe this letter misrepresents the terms of the cardholder agreement and related documents regarding the annual membership fee. The cardholder agreement and related documents do not state that account closure is a requirement to refund the annual membership fee, only that I must " notify [ Chase ] that [ I ] wish to close your account within 30 days. '' I provided Chase proper notice according to the terms I believed I had agreed to by providing notice Chase to request my account closure on XX/XX/XXXX. 

The cardholder agreement states : " If your account has an annual fee, you are responsible for it every year your account is open or until your account is closed and paid in full. Your monthly billing statement will tell you how to cancel your account and avoid future annual fees '' My monthly billing statement states : " If your Account Agreement has an annual membership fee, you are responsible for it every year your Account is open. We will add your annual membership fee to your monthly billing statement once a year, whether or not you use your account. Your annual membership fee will be added to your purchase balance and may incur interest. The annual membership fee is non-refundable unless you notify us that you wish to close your account within 30 days or one billing cycle ( whichever is less ) after we provide the statement on which the annual membership fee is billed. Your payment of the annual membership fee does not affect our rights to close your Account and to limit your right to make transactions on your Account. If your Account is closed by you or us, the annual membership fee will no longer be billed to your Account. '' To summarize : 1. I requested my account be closed on XX/XX/XXXX, within the time-frame to receive a refund of the annual membership fee. Chase informed me that my account was closed and I would receive the refund. However, Chase failed to close my account as requested. 
2. The card terms and related documents state that I must provide notice that I wish to close my account within a specific time period in order to receive the refund. I provided notice within the specified period. Chase has refused my refund because of their own failure to close my account as requested. They also regularly misinformed me that I would receive the refund. 
3. Chase misrepresented the card terms and related documents multiple times, by stating that account closure was required to receive the refund. The card terms and related documents only state that notice must be provided requesting account closure.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief