topic Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now? in Credit Cards

UPDATED (help??) Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 14:08:32 GMT

UPDATE 4/16:
Oh man, here we go again. New application was placed, got the 7-10 day message, and he received a letter asking for him to cal for verification. He did that and was approved for $7400 over the phone, and the automated status line changed to reflect that. This time it was all his info, didn’t do anything but check the status line, his home address, I’m nowhere on the application, no authorized users.

Four days later (Friday), he gets a call to his house phone telling him to call the fraud dept. He does, and they say that the account is under review, and they can’t access it to tell him what’s going on, just that they’ll call back in 24-48 hours.

This is pretty much what happened last time, any suggestions on what I should tell him to do? Should we specifically ask for a recorded statement that it is, in fact, him? Should we wait quietly this time?

UPDATE 3/20: about a week and a half now until we can reapply. Any attempt to log in was previously met with a message of “your account is closed, call this number” and back to the login screen. This has just changed to a simple “your username and or password is incorrect.” So this means the account was finally deleted, and he’ll be able to use the same email without issue, seems like. We’ve been wondering if he should use an alternate email or not until this change.
 
Hate to loose the fight for the original account, but good to see things happening that may mean the new application may actually get approved!
 
 
Hi all! I have been a long time reader here, and decided to make an account to get input from those more experienced than me.

My fiancée and I travel around the country, selling at conventions all year. We finally decided to get a Marriott Rewards card, and did so under his name as his credit is stellar. Mine would be perfect if not for a BK a few years ago, never late payments or anything else. I did burn chase for about 2.5k. We put me as an authorized user as I do all of the trip planning, which I think might have been a mistake.

He is instant approved for the card, 5k limit. We call to expedite it, get shipped to our hotel since it would still take a week to sync with Marriott (their suggestion actually).

Card comes, we use it on check in, and it’s denied at the hotel register, so we pay with a debit card instead. We call chase, and they say they suspected Fraudulent activity, so the entire account is shut down until he proves he is him.

So he immediately emails chase his social security card, copy of a bill, and license as requested. Call back the next day and they say they got the documents but still aren’t sure they are speaking to the account owner. We escalate to the supervisor, and from here on out are speaking directly to a specific supervisor. At her request he sends in his car insurance and registration. Still unable to verify identity, we just keep getting “call back in 24-48 hours for an update.” Suggested we reapply and immediately call a number she gave us to explain, we did and were still denied for “duplicate application”. Too soon, as figured.

We’ve been fighting this for almost a full month now, calling the supervisor directly every 2 days at first, now calling every 4-5. Always nothing but polite and friendly but still firm, he isn’t yelling or anything. They suggested reapplying in 30 days.

Today he got a letter in the mail stating “we have concluded that the fraudulent charges are not your responsibility and we are forwarding these findings to the three bureaus.” But there were never fraud charges, only one legitimate transaction that spooked them and was declined?

What do you guys think?
1. Is it worth continuing the fight, or should he just reapply in a month? Of course without me being an AU.
2. Would he still be eligible for the Marriott sign up bonus since the bank closed the original before a cent was spent?
3. That letter he got, does that mean chase is putting a fraud alert on his credit report? Or just that they are closing the case?

This is so incredibly frustrating, the SPG is always a band aid option but we exclusively stay in marriotts. I recognize that it’s suspicious using the card so soon for a $1200 hotel stay, and I suspect me being an AU had an impact, but come on. There was no actual fraudulent activity at all. When I had chase they would just call me up, ask if it was me, and boom card is active again.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

imaximous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 16:48:34 GMT

I'm sorry for all the trouble you guys are going through. IMO, your being an AU had nothing to do with the problem. I also filed BK and burned Chase for several thousands, and I stayed as an AU under a relative's account. I was also added as an AU to several cards right after BK on wife's accounts without a problem.
Now, shipping a brand new card to a hotel rather than home, and making a somewhat large purchase right away is more of a factor. I can see them flagging that activity as fraudulent.
If you end up applying for another card, don't worry about your being an AU, but do send the card to your home address, activate it and then take it around the world.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:04:29 GMT

Previous poster beat me to it; probably not about AU, but rather card sent to hotel that freaked them out. I know, their idea, but at an institution like Chase, the right hand decidedly has no idea what the left hand is doing.

Probably best to reapply, but I'd say find a physical Chase branch and apply in person.

Chris.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:20:40 GMT

I understand Chase needs your first born to complete verification.

JK, but to me who would have their cc sent to a hotel, that would raise inmediate suspicion. If they suggestd this themselves that sound ridiculous in my humble opinion. A card should be sent to a verifable address listed on apllicants credit report. Otherwise, i'd like mine delivered to the McDonalds i use the most. Sorry for your troubles Op hope it works out but fraud is rampant so make dure all t's are crossed and i's dotted

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

K-in-Boston — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:36:14 GMT

@Anonymouswrote:
Hi all! I have been a long time reader here, and decided to make an account to get input from those more experienced than me.

My fiancée and I travel around the country, selling at conventions all year. We finally decided to get a Marriott Rewards card, and did so under his name as his credit is stellar. Mine would be perfect if not for a BK a few years ago, never late payments or anything else. I did burn chase for about 2.5k. We put me as an authorized user as I do all of the trip planning, which I think might have been a mistake.

He is instant approved for the card, 5k limit. We call to expedite it, get shipped to our hotel since it would still take a week to sync with Marriott (their suggestion actually).

Card comes, we use it on check in, and it’s denied at the hotel register, so we pay with a debit card instead. We call chase, and they say they suspected Fraudulent activity, so the entire account is shut down until he proves he is him.

So he immediately emails chase his social security card, copy of a bill, and license as requested. Call back the next day and they say they got the documents but still aren’t sure they are speaking to the account owner. We escalate to the supervisor, and from here on out are speaking directly to a specific supervisor. At her request he sends in his car insurance and registration. Still unable to verify identity, we just keep getting “call back in 24-48 hours for an update.” Suggested we reapply and immediately call a number she gave us to explain, we did and were still denied for “duplicate application”. Too soon, as figured.

We’ve been fighting this for almost a full month now, calling the supervisor directly every 2 days at first, now calling every 4-5. Always nothing but polite and friendly but still firm, he isn’t yelling or anything. They suggested reapplying in 30 days.

Today he got a letter in the mail stating “we have concluded that the fraudulent charges are not your responsibility and we are forwarding these findings to the three bureaus.” But there were never fraud charges, only one legitimate transaction that spooked them and was declined?

What do you guys think?
1. Is it worth continuing the fight, or should he just reapply in a month? Of course without me being an AU.
2. Would he still be eligible for the Marriott sign up bonus since the bank closed the original before a cent was spent?
3. That letter he got, does that mean chase is putting a fraud alert on his credit report? Or just that they are closing the case?

This is so incredibly frustrating, the SPG is always a band aid option but we exclusively stay in marriotts. I recognize that it’s suspicious using the card so soon for a $1200 hotel stay, and I suspect me being an AU had an impact, but come on. There was no actual fraudulent activity at all. When I had chase they would just call me up, ask if it was me, and boom card is active again.

Same here and the SPG is the best Marriott card available, period. Marriott and Ritz cards earn 5 points per $ at Marriott, while SPG earns 6 since 1 Starpoint=3 Marriott points. The Chase cards get 2 points for restaurants and some travel like airfare while the SPG gets 3. The Chase cards get 1 point for everything else, the SPG gets 3. (And of course the Platinum card from Amex would earn 5 Marriott points per $ of airfare instead of the Chase cards' 2.) You do miss out on the free night with the Marriott cards and the 10% bonus on the Ritz, but the additional earnings should more than make up for that! The only real caveat is that there is no way to spend your way to Platinum Elite status with the SPG and you'll top out at Gold Elite.

My advice would be go for the SPG now if it won't affect the chances of applying again for the Marriott (which is subject to 5/24).

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

simplynoir — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:39:13 GMT

I am honestly amazed that Chase allowed the card to be sent to alternate address other than the home address when applying for a new account. For reasons of security and fraud I always thought all banks would send new cards for recently approved to the home address. To me I would put that blame on Chase for letting that happen in the first place on how lax they played that situation especially for the security of your account even if it was a request you approved of. I think you're fine to reapply as long as Chase gives the ok that it won't interfere with any transgressions that happened the first time around.

One thing I want to know is that you made an off-hand comment that SPG is an alternative option. Does that mean you have the AMEX SPG card by chance? Because honestly if you have that card the earning potential points wise for that card outpace the Marriott card especially if both of you stay at Marriott properties.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:52:29 GMT

I know Chase is very picky about addresses. We applied for our Chase Ink card and listed the actual business address but our home as the mailing adress. We had had to give them a stack of papers with every thing but a stool sample to prove we owned the biz. All other biz cards and bank statements go to the house so we able to leverage that. Using an address that is not the mailing address set off many alarms.

If you reapply 1) use your actual address only 2) make it as clean as possible. Having an AU put on at the card's application makes it sound like the card is for the AU

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 18:38:55 GMT

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense. Even when people travel and loose their card, some banks will next day it to you to the place you're traveling to. In your case, when you applied and requested the card to be sent to the hotel and Chase agreed...ummm. Any other details you left out? Not attacking or blaming you, just the whole thing doesn't add up.

Did you ask Chase to send it there? or did you add the hotel address on the application?

How much was the charge?

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

HeavenOhio — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 18:52:10 GMT

OP stated, "We call to expedite it, get shipped to our hotel since it would still take a week to sync with Marriott (their suggestion actually)."

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 19:47:56 GMT

Nothing left out that matters. He applied about 2 weeks before one of our trips. It was a close call yeah, but we wanted to be able to fit our next three hotel stays into the 3 month minimum spend period. Once he was instant approved we called about how long it would take to expedite the card since marriott has to sync first, and they told him that it would still be some time so we could send it to the hotel to try and have it in time. We had the cash so just used debit when everything went south.

The address on application was his legal address, same one that is on his credit file, and the hotel address was given to chase over the phone.

To everyone else:

yeah, I definitely won't believe them if they suggest something like that again. I definitely get how the various departments just don't talk to eachother! I'd rather have just used debit at the hotel and waited for the card, but alas I beleived that if they suggested it, things would be fine.

We just got the SPG card this week, in case Chase continues this and he can't get approved in 30 days. We'll definitely try in person then, and add me as an AU after he's had the card for a little while to be safe. It's good to hear that my history isn't a factor, and that a closed Marriott account won't hurt the chances on a new app, I was worried about that.The only real reason we even want a card with my name is for the hotels, I book them in my name and use autofill and then I do the checking in etc. The rooms tend to go live and sell out within minutes for these convention, I'll just have to change the autofill settings

I know SPG has a better point value even though we won't stay at SPG, but the higher CL and free night/elite spend are big draws. We are spending $1200 per trip on the hotels alone, let alone other travel costs, PIF immediately after. He was approved for 1k with Amex which we should be able to raise in 60 days. Until then we just have to be careful not to max out/PIF too many times before each bill while the card is new

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 20:36:01 GMT

My apologies, didn't read carefully. Just wanted to get all the details. I would still try to fight it IMO...should had been a recorded conversation with the CSR and that is all the proof you need. Chase can also call the hotel to confirm you stayed there and had to pay with debit. Don't let them win!

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:08:36 GMT

UPDATE 3/20: about a week and a half now until we can reapply. Any attempt to log in was previously met with a message of “your account is closed, call this number” and back to the login screen. This has just changed to a simple “your username and or password is incorrect.” So this means the account was finally deleted, and he’ll be able to use the same email without issue, seems like. We’ve been wondering if he should use an alternate email or not until this change.

Hate to loose the fight for the original account, but good to see things happening that may mean the new application may actually get approved!

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 14:07:14 GMT

Oh man, here we go again. New application was placed, got the 7-10 day message, and he received a letter asking for him to cal for verification. He did that and was approved for $7400 over the phone, and the automated status line changed to reflect that. This time it was all his info, didn’t do anything but check the status line, his home address, I’m nowhere on the application, no authorized users.

Four days later (Friday), he gets a call to his house phone telling him to call the fraud dept. He does, and they say that the account is under review, and they can’t access it to tell him what’s going on, just that they’ll call back in 24-48 hours.

This is pretty much what happened last time, any suggestions on what I should tell him to do? Should we specifically ask for a recorded statement that it is, in fact, him? Should we wait quietly this time?

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

UpperNwGuy — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 15:17:30 GMT

I think you should give up on Chase for the time being and focus on Amex cards instead. Don't apply for anything at Chase for at least a year until the dust settles.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 18:23:10 GMT

Have you asked about going into a branch? You could present the documents/proof there in person. If someone was trying to steal his identity or open a fraudulent account, I doubt they would show up in person.

@Anonymous wrote:
Oh man, here we go again. New application was placed, got the 7-10 day message, and he received a letter asking for him to cal for verification. He did that and was approved for $7400 over the phone, and the automated status line changed to reflect that. This time it was all his info, didn’t do anything but check the status line, his home address, I’m nowhere on the application, no authorized users.

Four days later (Friday), he gets a call to his house phone telling him to call the fraud dept. He does, and they say that the account is under review, and they can’t access it to tell him what’s going on, just that they’ll call back in 24-48 hours.

This is pretty much what happened last time, any suggestions on what I should tell him to do? Should we specifically ask for a recorded statement that it is, in fact, him? Should we wait quietly this time?

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 19:13:28 GMT

If he doesn’t hear back by the time he gets home from work, I think we’re going to try that. Our local branch has a notary and everything so it shouldn’t be *that* hard to prove identity in person.

Just baffled that they won’t disclose the issue, and that both times now they fully approve him, mail cards, and only then decide there is a problem. Last time we screwed things up with the hotel, but this time we did nothing, not even create an online account while the cards are in transit.

Re: Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 19:24:46 GMT

Good luck, hope all gets resolved.

Re: UPDATED (help??) Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:07:32 GMT

alright! We went to a chase branch, and the rep there called Fraud in our behalf after checking some identification documents. It went well, the account was reinstated, and the cards should be here soon with the $7400 CL! We still don’t know what exactly the problem was, but at least he was able to prove his identity in person.

Fingers crossed all stays well and the card doesn’t lock on the first transaction! were thinking just small, in-store, local purchases for the first billing period to make sure everything is settled. Luckily the next trip isn’t until June and we can use the SPG for that.

Thank you guys for all the advice about this weird situation!

Re: UPDATED (help??) Chase incorrectly shut down account for fraudulent activity. What now?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 02:46:35 GMT

What the hell!!! Are they seeing something on the bureaus? Something in the system must me causing this.

Find the root of the problem.

Congrats on your success!!!