Be Careful When Using Chase Online Banking (Bad Experience) UPDATED
I’m on a national tour that ends May 25. About two years ago I switched to using Chase Online banking almost exclusively. I now have had my second very bad experience — this one near catastrophic.
I have to add by saying that I LOVE Chase. It has been my favorite bank. Until now.
A few days ago I paid some bills. One was $75 to DRSM National Bank, for a Valero gas credit card. I’m not using the card on this trip but am paying the not huge balance down. I checked my account activity a day later and to my horror saw that it said I paid $765.
Something similar had happened a few months earlier, but I had contacted the merchant and they managed to correct the payment.
In this case, no on answered the DRSM National Bank number (as they did not today). So I called Chase’s online banking customer service number. I spent an hour on the phone with a very nice woman who told me that she could have it registered as a disputed claim. She asked me to see if it had been paid. It was pending. She told me to check back in a day or so and I’ll see it was processed. I asked her repeatedly if she would put in the report and she said, yes — that this happens once in a while.
This was not the first time this occurred. In the other instance $100 became something like $1500. But I had halted it.
A few minutes ago I called Chase because my online account does NOT show this was taken care of. IN fact, it now says PAID instead of pending.
I called and they told me:
–No report was put in about it being disputed.
–Sorry but there is nothing they can do to help me. It was paid to the merchant (this is the opposite of what the customer service rep told me when she said it could be entered as “disputed” and they would get the money back.”)
–I have to call DRSM bank (not our problem).
So I wasted an hour with a customer service rep who had me go into my account and check the transaction, who promised she would put in a report and it was taken care of. In reality, no report was put in, it’s not down as disputed and my $75 payment was $765.
And the Chase attitude I got today was, “Sorry. Oh well.”
I normally don’t do posts like this but because of the catastrophic way this was handled I wanted to warn others to be very careful with online banking.
Be sure to go back a day later and see the account activity. You could pay $5 and it showed up as $500. In this instance as the other, I was doing it from a hotel room and there was a slow connection and choppy Internet.
What will I do?
1. I’ll call DRSM on Monday and see if they can refund the EXTRA MONEY (that account did not have a $765 balance).I don’t want hundreds of dollars in gas credits on my account. They can send me a check for what doesn’t cover the account.
2. In May when my trip is over I’ll explore moving all my savings and personal checking away from Chase to another bank. I’ll leave the biz account and avoid doing online banking.
3. I still have to use online banking but will check my activity.
In the meantime, if someone from Chase sees this post, they might contact me by email or call the phone number on my account. Do you have customer service to placate or glandhand cusotmers? Or can customers trust your customer service reps at their word? To you $765 is small change; to me, paying that rather than $75 is a big problem. Compounded when I was mislead by the person I talked to or (being charitable) there was another glitch in your system and it didn’t record her request to dispute the charge.
Again a WARNING: BE CAREFUL a)when you use online banking b)about promises from Customer Service reps.
I’m still in a state of shock that no report was put in — nothing. They just ignored me. And today, they virtually yawned and said “Not our problem.”
I will do a follow up if I hear from Chase. I won’t bother calling customer service again.
It’d be more productive clipping my toenails.
UPDATE: After reading the line above I felt guilty (I’m Jewish, you know) so I thought I’d try customer service again. I put the toenail clippers down.
And I had the same experience: a)no record of a dispute put in. b)once it’s electronically transferred there’s nothing they can do about it. c)no indication that Customer Service was more than someone paid to placate callers who may have complaints. I don’t think my story had any impact at all. No concern over what I was told on the phone. No concern over the fact that this payment was pending when I talked to the customer service rep NOT paid — and they tell me it could not be disputed since it was paid (even though it was not paid when I called). They just let it go through and kissed me off.
I think it’s time to at least think about switching banks.
I’ll leave an update post if I hear from anyone at Chase about this who isn’t Customer Service.
AGAIN: BE CAREFUL, check what was paid after you paid it and immediately contact the company you paid it to if there is any problem. Because Chase won’t help you and if you’re told they’re putting in a report, don’t count on it.
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we stopped dealing with Chase some years ago after it was clear they were not overseeing accounts in solid and timely ways we were accustomed to. I’d for certain, also shoot off a letter along with your article to CEO and CFO of Chase. There is little excuse in this day of superfast cpu’s that a customer service rep who IS the FACE of the company… is seemingly cavalier about filing a proper hold on an account, especially when the amount discrepancy is huge, like yours.
hang in there JG
I also happen to bank at Chase. Have not had problems — yet. But I will be careful and will try to find an e-mail for my regional Chase office and send them a copy of this.
I’ve used a local Credit Union for my business and as soon as I have a lot more money in my Wells Fargo account I look forward to closing it and telling them why.
1) Large institutions have scaled way back on customer services and it shows. All the big boys have, and I assume since each one knows the next big one sucks too, they can all get away with it. This doesn’t just apply to banks. Comcast, AT&T, any major player pretty much sucks these days.
2) We bailed their asses out in the hopes of getting access to credit on the level of small businesses and loans, and they never materialized and no one is forcing them to. They used taxpayer money to consolidate and work magic at the high end, without actually creating things. Once again they took the quick easy path for short term gains. Screw them.
I take pleasure every time I go into Wells now and they ask me to move my business account to them, it gives me an opportunity to tell them why I won’t. Its petty, I know the bank manager I’m talking to isn’t the one making general policy for the bank, but I hope it somehow trickles up the chain.
Trickles up the chain, tickles me almost as much as the oxymoron, Customer Service. I’m afraid to mention the bank I use for on-line bill paying, because it has worked perfectly. I know that major corporations have spies that patrol the internet and public bathrooms listening for good words about their company’s service. If they do, BAM, they lay off some personnel to even the playing field for the other players. Then the big guys meet for cigars and bourbon and clap each other on the back.
Go with a credit union. Less expensive fees and they value their members. My credit union will even reimburse other banks ATM fees (if you use your credit union ATM card at say…. Chase or Wells- the fee Chase or Wells charges will be reimbursed by my credit union) but they ask that you not do too many since the money does come out of their pocket.
I love my Credit Onion. The only thing I cry about with them is their retchedly depressed tellers, but I bank online so Who Cares?
Can someone at TMV take my comment out of “moderation.”?
Thanks
I don’t do online banking, but I don’t travel, either. Maybe recheck the security on your computer?
I have a Chase card that has a low limit and is used only for online purchases and have had no problems. My other credit card is used for everything else and is a no-fee, 1% return on purchases and is through my insurance agency. I do check the balances online, and that’s a valuable tip.
Only problem with CU is that the ATM cards don’t always work overseas. Spent a couple months in Germany without a bank card(CU ATM). Luckily it was work related and I got a cash advance from the company.
This is a good case for supporting your local credit union or smaller state or community bank.
They believe in customer service unlike the “too big to fail” banks that could care less about one customers problem.
JG, you gotta read this, you are just the wrong type of customer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/business/to-increase-revenue-banks-go-after-affluent.html
Several billion dollars has been pulled out of the big 5 banks over the last few years and placed in CUs or small local banks. Even the wealthy are pulling out their money and putting it in Swiss Banks or gold. The big 5 banks are zombies being kept alive by the FED. They hold trillions in debt that is never going to be re-payed and everyone knows it.