Consumer complaint received 2025-04-28 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Overcharged for something you did purchase with the card
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
In the evening of XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX  I was approached by three large men outside XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX in XXXX while loading groceries into my car. They asked for my attention and seemed cordial ; one started talking about how his son was XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX and that they were going around trying to raise money for his funeral. I felt cornered, as I was alone at the time and still loading bags of groceries into my car. They were also blocking my path to the drivers side door of my car. It was dark and cold, and I was in the far corner of the parking lot so there were very few people around. I felt pressured, so I offered to donate {$10.00}. They claimed that due to some legal reasons they were not allowed to accept cash, and so they asked me for my card. They also claimed that they needed to check something sent to my phone and one of them took my phone from me - I had been holding and using my phone at the time, and the man plucked it out of my hands upon asking the question. I did not want to give up my unlocked phone, but I felt unsafe and cornered and did not object as I did not know what they would do to me otherwise. They also handed me a clipboard with a sheet for me to fill in my info during this time, and held my phone away from me so I could not see what they were doing on it. I attempted to look at what they were doing on my phone multiple times but they held it just out of my view. After making the charge, they gave me back my card and phone and left. 

Their behavior with my phone made me suspicious, so as soon as I got in my car, I checked the charges on my card and saw that there was a charge for {$5000.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which is a merchant I had never heard of and a charge that was grossly in excess of what I agreed to donate. I later looked online and could not find any evidence of the merchant existing. I also checked my text messages to see if there was a verification or notification XXXX  that had been sent or responded to, but could not find XXXX ; I assume that XXXX was sent that they quickly responded to and deleted. I immediately called the Chase fraud line to get my card locked and I let the associate know what had happened. He said that he would cancel my card, get a new one sent to me, and put a note on my account. He also told me that the charge would be reversed in about 48 hours, which it was. I was shaking and scared for the entire rest of the day, and this was compounded by the fact that I had not thought to write fake personal information down on the clipboard they gave me and for a while I was very scared that they might try to follow me or come to my home upon finding out that Id canceled the card. Ive been too scared to go out into the city alone since then as well. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice from Chase letting me know that the fraud department had finished its review and concluded that I was responsible for the transaction because I received benefit from this transaction. The charge was added back onto my account. I disputed the charge, as at no point did I agree to pay the amount that was charged to my card. 
This was a scam that intentionally abused the fact that I was a woman alone in the dark, confronted and cornered by three men - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

As soon as I received the letter from Chase that denied my fraud claim, I called again to try to figure out what further steps I could take as at that point I was very confused. I felt I had done everything right in calling the fraud department minutes after the event transpired and getting my card canceled. They directed me to the disputes department, and when I called that department they informed me that I had to type and send a physical letter to their customer service office to open a dispute, alongside any more information I wished to provide. I promptly did so ; this letter is a slightly modified and updated version of the letter I sent to the Chase customer service department. I received a response from Chase on XX/XX/XXXX in the form of another letter that said they had resolved my dispute. I have attached this letter below, but the gist of it is that they found that I either received the services or the merchant made them available for my use and they cant confirm Im due a credit because the services I purchased were received or available to use. 

By this point I was extremely upset and confused, especially since the amount that they fraudulently charged me for was an amount that was, and still is, lowering my credit score as it accounts for over half of the limit on my credit card. On XX/XX/XXXX I went into a local Chase branch to try to get this situation resolved. I explained what had happened to the representative who met with me, and she was immediately sympathetic after hearing me out and reading my written statement ( the same one I had sent to the customer service office a few weeks prior ). She advised me to get a police report written up about the situation, which I had not thought to do prior as I was extremely shaken after the events initially transpired and thought that reporting things to the fraud department and getting my card canceled would be enough. I went to a local police station that same day and met with an officer, who wrote up a police report on the events and gave me a copy to give to the Chase representative, which I did later that day. 

I received another notice from Chase on XX/XX/XXXX asking for further information on my dispute, which again confused me as Id provided every document and piece of evidence that I had up until that point. I booked another appointment with the Chase representative who I had met with earlier and met with her again on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX She did her best to help me dispute the transaction and get the charge lifted from my card, but to no avail. Ultimately, the system that had the final say was not something she had any control over, and despite her best efforts, Chase again determined that the disputed transaction was valid and sent me a letter saying so on XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted the representative who had been helping me again, and she advised me to talk to the major credit bureaus to try and make sure that the lingering charge would not continue to affect my credit score, and to see if I would be able to cancel my card without incurring a severe penalty to my credit score. The last letter from Chase said that they would be forwarding my case and the documents it contained to the credit bureaus, but Ive since received a letter from XXXX saying that the disputed item was verified as accurate. 

This process has frustrating, upsetting, and mentally and emotionally exhausting from beginning to end. It is still an ongoing problem ; the fraudulent charge remains on my account and continues to lower my credit score with every update. Every time I have tried to get this situation resolved, Ive been shut down with short letters devoid of detail that fail to address even the most basic aspects of this case. In addition, the event itself is something I hate being forced to constantly recall as it makes me feel very scared and unsafe whenever I think about it. It especially scares me that, considering their sole intent was to scam others out of money, the men who cornered me almost surely had a weapon. I am very upset about how Ive been treated by Chase throughout this entire process, and I am sick and tired of still having to deal with this event almost six months after it transpired. In addition, the effect that this single transaction has been having on my credit score means I am continuously being punished for XXXX XXXX and my bank refuses to do anything about it. I have attached all relevant documents that I have access to, and I can provide any additional details if needed. I feel that I have exhausted all other options without getting anywhere, which is why I am now filing a complaint through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. While I do not wish to pursue legal action on this, I will be contacting an attorney if filing this complaint does not lead to this situation being resolved.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation