This excellent post from chase-sucks.com by a self-proclaimed insider outlines some of the bad behaviors Chase practiced during their tenure, including telling appraisal companies to lower appraisals so Chase could lower or cancel HELOC lines or charge higher interest, and then if the customer didn’t agree, they would keep the $750 HELOC application fee. She also speaks of how poorly Chase treated its customers and the poor working environment she had to endure. Complaining to higher management only got her fired for trumped up reasons.
Oh Chase, what did you expect would happen. This lawsuit tells us the story of a man who borrowed $100,000 and eventually failed to make payments when due. So, Chase demanded the entire loan amount paid in full immediately. He if course did not comply and they sued him.
How can a person who can’t make their monthly payments pay and entire loan off. Stupid.
Another sad story about a 7 year customer who always paid his credit card on time and never once missed a payment. Then he moved and in the mix up was 3 days late on one payment. That won him a 10% increase on his interest rate.
I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point out a leaked memo penned by a high level JP Morgan Chase executive that is highly critical of Congress and its attempts to regulate the financial industry. The memo is highly critical of Congress in general and fires barbs at some specific members of the Senate in particular.
Can you say oops? Chase has apologized for the memo.
The blame for this one falls directly on WaMu’s shoulders.
Apparently, in 2007, despite getting reports that a caregiver was embezzling from an 88 year old man with Alzheimer’s disease, WaMu went ahead and opened a new mortgage anyways which allowed the caregiver to steal all the money.
We’ve reported on a number of cases where Chase, with no fanfare or notice, either before or after, will debit an account for an old debt either with them or an affiliated institution (i.e. one they’ve acquired). People are forced to call Chase to ask what gives as Chase doesn’t inform them why they did it.
The way Chase does this is wrong for a number of reasons:
1. At the very minimum they should inform the account holder
2. Given how many mistakes Chase bank makes in general that we hear about, it seems possible that the information about an old debt could be wrong. Especially considering all the integrations of data from other institutions they’ve done over the last decade.
Chase should be informing account holders before hand and giving them the chance to dispute it. If they are concerned an account holder clearing out their account to avoid paying the old debt, they can freeze the money without removing it from the account, until some resolution period has expired.
If you have been affected by such a money grab by Chase, one thing to consider is that there is a statute of limitations for the collection of old debt. You can find information on the statute of limitations by state here. It is not clear whether such statutes apply to this type of debt, but it is something worth trying.
Years ago the local weekly paper where I lived included the Straight Dope column and I developed an appreciation for the non-nonsense explanation of everyday things. But I was surprised, as I usually am, to see a long Chase rant discussion on their discussion boards. It seems that people take whatever opportunity they can to vent about Chase. Some interesting grievances from that thread, such as using even the smallest amount of lateness (hey, we all screw up from time to time) as an excuse to rais interest rates.
Is it really necessary to deem someone a risky customer and raise their interest rate for being 5 days late on a $41 balance? In one response to that post Chase was accused of cashing the check but posting the payment intentionally late. Another accused them of shifting the due date around from month to month to make it more likely that people will screw up and miss it.
What most people want from a bank is pretty simple – customer service. This means that you treat them with respect and are able to distinguish the occasional mistake (and forgive it) from the truly risky customer.
Another complaint is charging customers to download transactions into Quicken? Seriously? Isn’t this the kind of feature that gets people to sign up with you as a bank?
There are more complaints, but I got tired of reading. 🙂
This Yahoo Answers question about someone having money taken out of their Chase account to satisfy an old debt explains WHY Chase has the right to do that, but not WHY they do so without any courtesy notice after the fact or in fact any verification that they are doing this to the correct person.
Bad bad Chase | admin May 8, 2010 | 
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