Chase: Dispute of fraudulent charge did not end in my favor

[FalconSteve]

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@uoyankee wrote:

I've had a few claims over two decades of credit card use.   I've never had isssues with anyone other than Amex, which oddly everyone says is the best.  BofA and either Capital One or Citi (thinking back nearly two decades on closed accounts) I never had an issue with them.  

the Amex claim was similar to yours that it was so glaringly obvious to me but they just flat out refused to do anything.  I almost CFPB'ed them over it but decided not to burn that relationship, but I'm still annoyed.  

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If you want to call me a liar and charge me for something that isn't mine, you have already lit the fire. I am disputing it, appealing, then contacting the CFPB. The relationship has already gone sour IMO

[uoyankee]

Yeah, you're right.  I probably should have. I did more than make up for it in SUBs afterwards though so they paid for it that way.  

[BearsCubsOtters]

It sounds like an actual card was mailed to you and the fraudsters may have been able to intercept the card. From what I can remember: Chase sends a lot of replacement cards already active with no need to activate them. If this is the case, I would file a police report and provide that to Chase. It sounds like theives may have compromised your mail box. 

I would definitely keep an eye on your mailbox if you do not have the more modern community mailboxes and maybe consider getting a PO Box. 

[ChargedUp]

Ugh! I thoroughly despise thieves!

While I have has a couple instances of fraud on Chase cards, they sent me the "We blocked this transaction, was this you?" text and I immediately called them back. The process was seamless and I had a new card in my hand about 2 days later both times. (Once on CFU, once on CSP).

Most law enforcement agencies make it pretty easy to file a report online. The people who stole your card may be "frequent flyers" with your local LE and they may recognize them off the photos you have from the merchant. A police report is usually the end all if your lender is thinking you're somehow responsible for the charges as well.

As for Chase in your case... I would file the police report with your local LE and wherever the merchant is located if it's a different jurisdiction. Email or fax the reports to Chase while they're looking into this again. Filing with the CFPB may also help, but be sure to include the police reports and photos with your CFPB case. It's a lot of leg work, but when you're right, you're right. Chase should rescind the charge.

[91173]

Something that, while not common, does happen is that crooks will order a replacement card for you and intercept it in the mail. They then have a chip-enabled card, and if that's used, the bank will always side against you.

Use a PO box if you can (in 30 years of using them, the only card issuer who absolutely would not use my PO boxes is Capital One), and sign up for USPS Informed Delivery on all addresses where you receive mail.

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[longtimelurker]

Also, re closing the accounts.   We often say that you shouldn't make credit decisions in anger, although in this case I would have probably done the same.   But... you have lost any leverage, although that might not have helped much. 

 Recently my daughter had a bad dispute with her vet, she had switched after the triggering incident, and the vet had lost any inclination to help retain a customer as she was already an ex-customer!

[Anonymous]

@longtimelurker RE: closing accounts / otherwise burning bridges

Yeah, you and others make good points about this. However, I already felt like I had lost all leverage when no one was willing to give me even a small courtesy credit. I know CC companies hand out special favors all the time if requested, so the fact that I couldn't get anything at all even when I had 3 cards still open seemed like a sign the relationship was over. One of my cards (not the impacted one) was CSR, and I considered asking for "help" covering my annual fee to make up for the amount being taken unjustly, but given that Chase already seemed to believe I was being dishonest, this kind of sneaky tactic probably would not have been advisable.

I still believe Chase is one of the best companies to have cards from, so it was a difficult decision to abandon them, but I think it was the right thing for me. I also know I could just as well have had such terrible luck with any company.

[Credit_hawk]

I'm torn on this. You say you've had about 8 years worth of credit card history and you've had credit card fraud several times throughout that. That's odd to me. I have about 10 years of history and I can only remember one time where I was sent a new card because my card was used on a compromised system. There was never a fraudulent charge. Also, it's strange to me you seem such a stickler for order and records and making a point over $25 that I find it odd you'd lose track over your wallet and what's inside it. Someone stole just one credit card from your wallet? Not the whole wallet. Not all your credit cards. Not the cash. Just one Chase card? 

Having said all that, you do strike me as credible. I don't think anyone is stingy enough to try to scam $25. Sometimes in life we have to bite the bullet. Pay the $25 and move on. I understand the principle but it's going to go on your credit otherwise. It's one meal at a low tier restaurant. You will get over it. Life is unfair. 

[FalconSteve]

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@Credit_hawk wrote:

I'm torn on this. You say you've had about 8 years worth of credit card history and you've had credit card fraud several times throughout that. That's odd to me. I have about 10 years of history and I can only remember one time where I was sent a new card because my card was used on a compromised system. There was never a fraudulent charge. Also, it's strange to me you seem such a stickler for order and records and making a point over $25 that I find it odd you'd lose track over your wallet and what's inside it. Someone stole just one credit card from your wallet? Not the whole wallet. Not all your credit cards. Not the cash. Just one Chase card? 

Having said all that, you do strike me as credible. I don't think anyone is stingy enough to try to scam $25. Sometimes in life we have to bite the bullet. Pay the $25 and move on. I understand the principle but it's going to go on your credit otherwise. It's one meal at a low tier restaurant. You will get over it. Life is unfair. 

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In 8 years, I've lost or had stolen a lot of cards, sometimes the card issuer catches charges, sometimes I call before there are fraudulent charges, sometimes there are charges to dispute. It is already on their credit as a failed dispute, they lose nothing by disputing it. It looks bad by just paying it. When I had a Chase card, it got stolen A LOT, I hsve no proof, but they seem to not be great at security. They also loved flagging MY transactions as fraud. If I still had them, they might be relegated to the SD by now because of those issues.

[Anonymous]

@Credit_hawk  I appreciate your input, and maybe some of the same factors that led you to be skeptical here contributed to Chase's own analysis of the situation. I can't answer exactly what happened, because I don't know. So if the idea of losing just one card or having it stolen doesn't seem very plausible, I apologize for that, but I am just trying to make the pieces fit based on what I do know.

What I'm sure of is that I am being truthful about which charges I was or was not involved in, about my history with credit cards, and about experiencing fraud at the times that I did. (To clarify, the 8 years I mentioned were specifically with Chase—total history is closer to 10.)

My goal isn't to convince the internet that I'm being honest, though. I'm sure everyone here has at least some doubt. Whether that's reflected in the reply or not, either type of reply is helpful for my understanding what to think of this. Thanks