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 LoanSafe.org post claims that Chase is willing to settle HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) loans for less than the full amount:
Many people are not aware that Chase actually may allow a borrower to settle a second mortgage anywhere from five to fifty percent of the loans remaining balance.
I suppose it is worth a try, although from all the information we come across, it is certainly not a pleasure to deal with Chase on something like this.
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.
WaMu is a convenient whipping boy for Chase to blame the crappy part of their loan portfolio on, but it appears that WaMu wasn’t the only part of Chase’s loan portfolio that was intentionally originated as sub-prime, according to this report by a broker who is being sued by Chase after the loan blew up.
Chas has recently announced plans to add 80 additional branches in California as well additional mortgage officers in Texas and Illinois. What does this all mean? Adding branches doesn’t necessarily equate to better customer service, just a larger base for acquiring customers and increasing bank capital which is essential to a company like Chase that uses that capital not only as bank reserves but to make money in its investment banking operations. As for hiring more mortgage officers, Chase claims they are expecting a housing recovery, which seems at odds with the predictions of many top economists of additional housing price degradation in 2010 and an extended period of flat housing prices.
Chase has become quite the target for the anti-mountaintop removal coal mining crowd and they are currently running a campaign to try and get people to close their Chase accounts in protest of Chase funding of this practice.
Now I understand why. Apparently, despite their large brethren Bank of America and Well Fargo deliberately ending the funding of mountaintop removal mining, Chase, ever the bad boy and inclined to do whatever they want, continues to fund this controversial mining practice.
Bad bad Chase | admin May 1, 2010 | 
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