Chase FR frustration...

[Anonymous]

So I understand that there a few banks out there that perform financial reviews on cardholders to mitigate certain risks... Chase and AMEX specifically from what I’ve read. However I have a bit of a bone to pick with Chase as of late and I’m hoping someone here can shed some light as to what, if any action I can take. I was approved for their Slate card a few weeks ago with an initial 2k limit. Upon receiving the card and activating it I decided to pay part of my car payment with the card. That transaction went through just fine, but the next purchase I attempted to put on the card (same day as activating the card) the transaction was declined.

I contacted customer service about the denial and after answering some security questions, the CSR informed me that even though the card was registered through their mobile app, that the card was not activated. At this point the CSR informed me that the card was now active and that the purchase was good to go. The merchant attempted to swipe the card again and came back declined once more. I was infuriated at this point and immediately contacted Chase customer service again. The CSR I spoke with this time asked me new security questions... the balance in my chase checking account and the balance on my Chase mortgage.. I have neither of those and I told that to the CSR. I understand that could have been standard security procedure, but none of those questions were asked by the previous CSR. She then told me that my account was being forwarded to the fraud operation department for financial review. They told me that it can take up to 10 business days to review the account and that I will receive a letter in writing informing me of the status.

I checked my Chase mobile app earlier and noticed that the my available credit was now $0.00. I’m going to assume at this point that they have close the account, as I’ve read they do all the time to their cardholders under financial review. I just find it absolutely absurd that they would approve me for a line of credit and let me make a purchase on the card and then freeze it on the same day. I have always pif the balance on my other cards (albeit not always before the statement cutoff date... I know that’s my own fault). Is there anything I can do at this point to get the card unfrozen? My feeling at this point is that I’ve been robbed.

They got a small purchase out of me and now then will collect payment and keep the account closed. I was considering opening up a new checking account with them, but with the bitter taste they have left in my mouth, I honestly don’t want to have anything to do with them. Perhaps I’m just being naive, but I don’t think a new customer should be treated this way. Looking forward to your responses. My apologies in advance if this specific scenario has been discussed previously.

[Anonymous]

FR seems to be relatively easy to run afoul of when you're paying bills that wouldn't typically end up on a credit card. Did you happen to use a payment forwarding service like Plastiq, Paypal, or Venmo to pay your car note?

I can certainly understand the frustration and the desire to simply move on. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'll forgive Citi for giving me less trouble than Chase has given you, but I do think once you learn the reason you'll be able to avoid issues in the future. Regardless, I hope this resolves quickly and favorably for you!

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous

Welcome to MyFICO

I'm sorry to hear of your situation and I'm sure you'll get some good answers on how to deal with Chase.  I took the liberty of adding a few paragraph breaks to make your post easier to read.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the edit. I hope I find a resolution with them. I’ve put in so much work to dig myself out of the hole I was in. I’m understanding when it comes to gardening my file, but for Pete’s sake...it’s unethical to do what hey did to me, in my humble opinion.

[Anonymous]

They essentially did a hard pull, let me me charge a payment that was roughly 11% of my utilization and then froze my account. I will divulge that my car payment was made via western union because that’s how they process transactions if it’s not a debit card, so I guess Chase saw it as a cash at advance. Had I known that, I would have just made the payment with my checking account. Perhaps that was the reason for the FR. Can I send them statements from my other cards showing I always pif, and get the account reopened? Can I send them statements showing that I pif with my other cards and expect them to adjust the account?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
They essentially did a hard pull, let me me charge a payment that was roughly 11% of my utilization and then froze my account. I will divulge that my car payment was made via western union because that’s how they process transactions if it’s not a debit card, so I guess Chase saw it as a cash at advance. Had I known that, I would have just made the payment with my checking account. Perhaps that was the reason for the FR. Can I send them statements from my other cards showing I always pif, and get the account reopened? Can I send them statements showing that I pif with my other cards and expect them to adjust the account?

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I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. In the future though, please consider a service like Plastiq over Western Union. I believe Plastiq would be cheaper for you too, and I've never had a transaction post as a cash advance, but then again I've never used a Chase card with their service, but have done so with an AMEX who can be just as brutal if not more than Chase is with FR's. 

[Anonymous]

Western union is the only option for payment, unless you use a checking account. Had I known that, I would have used a different form of payment. I would have just paid out of my checking, had I known I would have to go through all of this scrutiny. I wanted to make a small payment on the slate card and pif, but apparently they don’t want my business. It’s absurd that they let me use the card for this one payment, collected the interest and their fee, then closed the account. My money is obviously better used elsewhere.

[pip3man]

I just wanna point out something in your statement where you said you “feel like I’ve been robbed”. First of all, that’s an incorrect assessment of the situation. They basically gave u their money and paid for a bill you incurred so I’m having a hard time understanding the rationale behind ur comment. Secondly, in ur cardmember agreement, there’s a clause that gives Chase the exclusive right to decline any purchase made on the card and subsequently suspend and/or close accounts with or without prior notice to the cardholder. That being said, they’re only exercising that authority here.

On the other hand, when it comes down to FR the fact that you pay ur other cards in full makes absolutely no difference and they could give two *bleep* if you did. The only documents that may salvage the situation is providing them proof of income in the form of tax transcripts/returns, pay stubs and bank statement. Sorry this happened to you but good luck! 

[HeavenOhio]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have always pif the balance on my other cards (albeit not always before the statement cutoff date... I know that’s my own fault).

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Nothing wrong there. Paying before the statement cutoff is "extra credit."

[Anonymous]

Plastiq is a service that will mail a check to anyone after you pay them with your credit card. It sounds like it would definitely work in your situation. I'm not sure it would have helped avoid FR, but it will almost certainly be cheaper in the future.

Sorry to hear that the cash advance issue is what is causing the review. It sounds like Chase wants to make sure you aren't preparing to transfer your credit limit to cash and vanish.