Consumer complaint received 2025-12-03 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX a judgment creditor ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) obtained a writ of execution for {$10000.00} against me. The XXXX XXXX XXXX online file shows the writ issued XX/XX/XXXX, received XX/XX/XXXX, and served on JP Morgan Chase Bank on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX 
I have multiple Chase accounts : a main business checking, two additional business accounts, and my daughters college checking account where I am only a signer and the funds are hers for school. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, Chase sent levy/hold notices stating that, based on the court order, they had placed holds of : {$100.00} on my daughters college account, and {$3600.00} on my business checking account. 


A later Sheriffs record shows a Seizure of Accounts JP Morgan Chase Bank payment of {$3600.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, and a disbursement in the same amount on XX/XX/XXXX. No funds were ever released back to me. 
Under California Code of Civil Procedure 704.220, the bank is required to leave in the account at least the minimum basic standard of adequate care amount automatically exempt from levy. For my household ( family of XXXX, Region 1 ), this amount is {$2100.00}. 
Chases XXXX office told me on the phone that : The levy amount was {$10000.00} ; They protected the {$2100.00} automatic exemption by treating my daughters college account as the exempt funds ; and They considered the business account funds fully available for levy. 


This does not make sense to me for several reasons : The protected minimum was never left available to me. 
The {$3600.00} taken from my business account left that account negative, and the {$100.00} on the college account was also frozen by a hold. At no time did I have access to a {$2100.00} exempt amount in any account. 


Chase applied the levy to a college student account that is not my money. 
The college account belongs to my daughter ; I am only a signer to help her with school expenses. Chase still counted this as my funds while also restricting access to them. 


Chase waited a week after service to act, allowing funds to build up and then sweeping them, instead of promptly honoring the levy while leaving the exemption. 
The Sheriffs portal shows Chase was served on XX/XX/XXXX, but Chases own letters show the holds were not placed until XX/XX/XXXX. During that time my daily business deposits came in ; by XX/XX/XXXX Chase was able to take {$3600.00} in one shot, leaving my account deeply negative. 


After the levy transfer on XX/XX/XXXX, Chase left my business accounts negative and began charging massive overdraft fees. Because my income from online sales continues to deposit into these accounts, each deposit is immediately consumed by the negative balance and new fees. 
From my XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX statements across the three business accounts, I count : At least 46 separate {$34.00} overdraft fee charges ( total about {$1500.00} ) Only fouXXXX {$34.00} fee reversals ( total {$130.00} ) So there are still roughly {$1400.00} in overdraft fees on top of the {$3600.00} seized for the levy. New overdraft fees are still accruing as of early XX/XX/XXXX. 
These overdraft fees were not caused by normal spending. They were caused entirely by : Chases levy processing and timing, Its decision not to leave the automatic CCP 704.220 exemption available to me, and Its continued assessment of overdraft fees when my daily deposits hit an already-negative account that was made negative by the levy. 


I have repeatedly contacted Chase : Multiple secure messages through online banking, Phone calls to the levy department and XXXX department where I left messages and received no substantive response, and Calls with the XXXX XXXX, which opened internal cases and acknowledged the overdraft-fee issue. 


One XXXX  representative told me Chase would advocate to refund any overdraft fees caused by the levy. Instead, Chase later reversed only three overdraft fees, then sent me generic denials saying further refunds were declined under their guidelines and that I should avoid overdrafts in the future. These responses did not address : Why the automatic exemption under CCP 704.220 was not honored, Why a student account was treated as my levy source, or Why Chase continues to charge overdraft fees that directly stem from the levy and resulting negative balances. 


Because of this situation : I have fallen behind on my mortgage, school tuition, credit cards, XXXX XXXX and medical bills, and I am incurring late fees and credit damage ( I estimate at least {$500.00} in late fees so far ). 


I can not pay a key vendor invoice of about {$1200.00}, which prevents me from getting inventory and costs my small business roughly {$1200.00} per week in lost income. 


My wife is XXXX and requires daily medications, and my child has XXXX and severe XXXX requiring multiple daily medications. The sudden loss of access to funds has put our household in a serious financial and medical hardship. 


I have filed prior CFPB complaints about this levy, but I can not amend those filings, and new information has come to light from the Sheriffs records and Chases XXXX office calls. I am filing this new complaint to : Report that Chase did not properly apply Californias automatic exemption under CCP 704.220, Report that Chase treated my daughters college account as levy/exempt funds, even though the money is hers, Report that Chase has continued to assess and refuse to reverse overdraft fees that were caused by their own levy processing XXXX and Seek regulatory review of whether Chases handling of this levy and the resulting fees complies with California law and federal consumer-protection standards.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief