Consumer complaint received 2025-07-07 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: WI

Complaint narrative:
In XXXX, XXXX and XX/XX/year> I experienced a XXXX XXXX problems and communications with JP Morgan/Chase Bank . 

Prior to the start of the problems I had been a JP Morgan Private Bank customer for XXXX years. 

The problems started in XX/XX/year> when two things happened : 1 ) I asked for money held in my JP Morgan savings account earning <.5 % interest be placed in an account or investment vehicle where the interest would be in line with then current fed interest rates ( other banks offered ~4.5 % at the time ), and 2 ) I moved residence thus changing address. 

I visited the local Chase Bank to discuss account or investment options for the savings account. They told me they could help me if I became a Chase Private Client, and assured me that this is seamless and not a big deal. I was confused about the statement believing I was already a Private Client. The Chase employee, XXXX XXXX, did not tell me JP Morgan was a separate bank from Chase ( in fact she indicated otherwise ) and did not tell me that Chase Private Client is different from JP Morgan Private Bank client. Subsequently my JP Morgan XXXXrivate Banker, XXXX XXXX, assured me that he knew XXXX XXXX and that she would " take good care of me. '' During XXXX and into XXXX I was frustrated that the savings funds were not transferred to a higher interest earning account. I made numerous phone calls to XXXX, XXXX XXXX staff, returned to the bank to visit XXXX, and each time was told that it was " the other bank '' that was causing the hold up. Ultimately it took 6 weeks to open an account so my funds could earn higher interest rates. Additionally in XXXX, because of my residence move, I updated the primary residence address in JP Morgan 's on-line banking site. I had to update the primary address for 5 important accounts : my personal checking under the name of my revocable trust, my personal savings under the name of my revocable trust, and 3 trust checking accounts for which I am the trustee. In performing the change of address update, I noticed that some of the accounts did not change address properly, so I called XXXX 's office and visited XXXX to get the addresses properly reflected everywhere in the JP Morgan on-line system. They each insisted the changes had been made, when in fact they had not, and this became apparent in XX/XX/year>. Another issue in XXXX and XXXX was that I ordered checks ( through verbal and e-mail request with JP Morgan ) for the 4 trust checking accounts with my new address and the checks did not arrive. In fact, the checks were not ordered and I had to follow up numerous times to get checks. 

The largest problem became apparent in early XX/XX/year>. I was notified by one trust beneficiary that her ACH transfer for XXXX to pay her mortgage had not been made. In analyzing what happened, I also noticed that the ACH transfer for the mortgage for a second trust beneficiary had also not been paid, and additionally home insurance and car insurance checks had bounced because a {$5000.00} transfer to the trust beneficiary 's account to cover these expenses was put on hold by XXXX. XXXX put the transfer on hold because Chase had originated a hold on the accounts as of XX/XX/XXXX. NONE of these actions by Chase had been communicated to me -- not by a phone call, not by letter, not by email. 

I got the mortgage problem for the first beneficiary straightened out right away, but the second beneficiary was another story. After calling XXXX and XXXX to find out why there were so many problems with the trust 's checking account and not receiving answers or a solution, I went to a new local Chase branch office to personally discuss these issues. They were not helpful, and it wasn't until I spoke with a XXXX representative that I learned Chase had put a hold on the trust checking account. I went back to the local Chase branch and there I learned that Chase " back office '' put a hold on the trust account because in performing an internal audit of " new '' accounts, the internal reviewer determined there were no trust documents on file. This is false and absolute nonsense because JP Morgan had all those documents on file and the trust accounts had been open for greater than three years already. The explanation I received from Chase personnel is that JP Morgan is a completely different bank and Chase does not have access to any JP Morgan documentation. This explanation is maddening as all public marketing for JP Morgan/Chase are that they are one entity. 

In putting the hold on the trust checking account, when I tried to transfer funds into the account from an investment account at XXXX, XXXX was notified of the hold by Chase and put a stop due to fraud on all transactions in the account. XXXX would only take the hold off when they received adequate documentation and notification from Chase. I worked with the local branch vice president to get this documentation to XXXX and he said he couldn't/would n't write such a letter because he was not authorized to do so. He directed me to Chase " back office. '' Chase back office said they were not authorized to write such a letter and that it is the responsibility of the bank manager. I find this lack of responsibility and customer runaround to be completely unacceptable, particularly when it is the bank error to begin with. Eventually, the Chase branch manager said he could print out a " standard form letter, '' which did not contain all the information XXXX required to unfreeze the account, but it was the best he would do. Fortunately, XXXX agreed to unfreeze the investment account after receiving the letter. 

I made the bank manager aware that because the beneficiary 's mortgage was unpaid, there were only 2 days left in the grace period with the mortgage holder and that the bank needed to make the funds arrive at the mortgage holder before the end of the grace period. The bank manager proposed to write a bank check and put it in the mail to satisfy my request. I think this guy was not trained in listening or urgency because I had to point out to him that the check would not arrive within the grace period if sent by USPS. Eventually he agreed to do an ACH transfer. Additional complication that caused me worry about the situation is this particular beneficiary is XXXX, unable to work, and if the mortgage holder canceled the mortgage due to late payment, this beneficiary would probably be unable to meet the requirements of getting a new mortgage. I notified the bank manager of the delicacy of this situation, and thus the urgency to get it properly resolved, but he paid no attention. 

Other issues with JP Morgan/Chase that occurred during this time frame : for address updates to be effective across all on-line instances where they occur, I had to visit the Chase branch office. Address updates could only be done properly by the branch Asst. V.P. I also received numerous email notifications that a " notice is posted to my account '' and to get on-line to see the notice. When I went on-line I looked at all accounts and could not find the notice, so I visited the Chase branch and asked them to identify the notices for me, but they also could not find any notices. They have yet to provide me with an explanation of what notices I was to receive. 

Because these issues were so significant, I called Chase to make a complaint. The reference number for that complaint is XXXX. I never heard follow up from Chase on this complaint. 

Finally, I mention that at the time these issues I was ( and still am ) managing checking accounts for 4 trusts. Once I got the trust for the second beneficiary straightened out, and confirmed that Chase 's records did indeed include all necessary documentation transferred from JP Morgan, I asked the local Chase branch Asst V.P. to confirm with Chase internal review that the remaining 3 trusts also had the proper paperwork transferred and in order and that, importantly, none of the other 3 trusts would be put on hold. To my great surprise, and frustration, the files had NOT been transferred for any of the other accounts from JP Morgan to Chase and there had to be a special request to get it done. I was one review away from going through this nightmare on any one of those three other accounts.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation