Apparently there is an upside to the standard rudeness of Chase Bank tellers. Not once, but twice in the past week the rude attitude of a Chase Bank teller has so frustrated a bank robber that they left without actually robbing the bank.
Customer service | admin August 23, 2010 | 
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We’ve published many posts outlining the tedious, redundant, inept, and frustrating process of applying for a loan modification with Chase, but non have been quite so well written as this one, by a former journalist, former because he lost is job.
SOMEWHERE IN AFGHANISTAN–It isn’t surprising, what with the world falling apart and all, that the world scarcely noticed that I lost my job as an editor in April 2009. Why should it? I was one of millions of Americans who lost their job that month.
But it mattered to me.
It wasn’t all bad. No more early morning commutes. And no more Lisa. Lisa was my boss. My mean boss. My mean and crazy boss. In the long run, I stand to save thousands of dollars on therapy.
In the meantime, however, one visit with HR cost more than half my annual income. (My ex-employer, the Scripps media conglomerate, offered just four weeks severance pay–if I agreed not to work as a journalist for the rest of my life. Needless to say, I refused.) Just like that, I was broke.
The bills, of course, kept coming. Including my home mortgage. Unlike many people, I was conservative. When I bought, in 2004, I put down more than 50 percent of the purchase price. Refusing an adjustable-rate mortgage, I took out a vanilla 30-year fixed-rate mortgage from Chase Home Finance LLC.
Probably the best coverage of the WaMu failure has come not surprisingly from Washington Mutual’s home town of Seattle and the Puget Sound Business Journal. Their most recent articles have helped publicize the fact that the JP Morgan Chase purchase of WaMu’s assets isn’t actually closed yet, leaving the door for the FDIC to insist they pay more.
Their latest offering is a poll where they ask people whether JP Morgan Chase should pay more than the $1.9 billion they paid for WaMu. I’d say the results indicate people overwhelmingly say yes, although it is still pretty early in the poll’s results.
Interestingly enough, most of the news the BizJournal prints about WaMu and Chase is not favorable of Chase. It is surprising to me that the banner ads on the BizJournal’s articles are Chase ads. Rather karmic perhaps.
WaMu failure | admin August 21, 2010 | Comments (0)
You can bet the folks over at Chase Home Finance Sucks have poked into every nook and cranny of the loan modification process and are very well informed. Despite that, it took them three years to get a loan modification.
Over 1000 dollars lower. Took three years of tears and fear but we did it and you can do it to.
us at admin@chasehomefinancesucks.com and we will tell you how we did it.
No Government offices
The process is simply broken, or Chase doesn’t really want to do loan modifications.
Loan modification | admin August 19, 2010 | Comments (2)
We reported yesterday that according to documents recently uncovered, the purchase of Washington Mutual’s assets by Chase hasn’t officially closed yet.
Today, the Wall Street Journal is suggesting that, almost two years later, and with a better idea of the true value of WaMu’s assets (i.e. much greater than what Chase paid for them), the FDIC might be pressured into increasing the price JP Morgan Chase must pay. Shareholders, who got severely shafted by the seizure and sale, are obviously the greatest beneficiaries if this were to happen, but everyone’s sense of fairness and justice might just benefit as well.
About a month and a half ago, I wrote a piece on Chase’s new blueprint feature that allows people to schedule their credit card payments in association with what they are buying. Chase calls it a financial management tool. I called it a lose/lose for customers, because it urges them to spend more on a higher cost card.
Today I came across another analysis of blueprint which has one insight that I found very interesting.
But for Chase, the implications of this data in aggregate are significant. Check out Chase’s internal presentation on Blueprint, which you can download here. Here, the bank says that the purpose of Blueprint is that it “allows customers to better manage larger purchases,” and ”track their spending history by category.”
This is crucial for Chase, because it allows the bank to better understand your financial situation. Before, they merely waited around, hoping you’d pay down your balance. Now they can see your payment plans months in advance, letting them know if it’s time to tempt you with a higher-limit card, balance-transfer offer or some other promotion. (Mint.com essentially makes its money the same way, by finding offers that might appeal to someone with your financial profile.)
Did you catch that? “it allows the bank to better understand your financial situation.” This means that Chase will have yet another reason to ditch you as a customer, reduce your credit line, or jack your rates way up … your own attempts at managing your debt are telling them you are a risky customer, even if you are making your minimum payments on time. Think I am wrong about this? The analysis goes on with more useful data:
The system appears to be working, for better or worse. Chase has been fine-tuning the product in the last few weeks, increasing the low-end rate from 11.24% APR to 13.24%, even as credit card delinquencies industry-wide dropped last quarter. That could mean that Blueprint is working a little too well, allowing card-holders to take on more debt than they normally would, resulting in higher delinquencies for that specific card. Or it means that the product has become popular with a more delinquency-prone crowd. Either way, if Chase is raising rates on this card enough to shake up the entire industry’s average APR, it clearly feels it needs to insure itself against something.
I hate to say I told you so, but that is exactly what I was pointing out in my original post, that Chase had engineered the feature to get people to take on more debt, not to manage their money better, like a true financial planning tool. Oh, and that expensive card just got more expensive as the higher APR attests to.
It is one thing when banks make mistakes. It is entirely another thing when they make mistakes and are no help getting them fixed.
Dear Friends,
I would like to share my expereince with all of you and probably you might suggest me what to do with Chase Bank…I got laid off, on july 16,2010 filed for unemployment, which approved and first installment of money deposited in my account before JULY 30TH 2010 in form of direct payment card, which is normally being issue by Chase PAYMENT CARD DEPT.
I called CHASE PAYMENT CARD 1-877-221-1634(as per labor dept’s web site)between July 20 to August 11, (Including today) more than 25 times…
Allmost everyday…. what chase staff does?do u know…. you would get connected and would be put on hold for hours and hours untill they would close for the day….or you get tired and give up…I called almost everyday…in last 15 day, waited for atleast 2 hours everytime…only two times chase customer care specialist came on phone to inform me there would not be sending any card to me as there in no instructions from labor department.
I have confirmed with labor depart at leat 10 times, that I have been approved for UI and money has been deposited in my acct., which can be verified by visiting labor depart’s web site too, and I must have been received my payment card by now. It has passed more than 3 weeks.
But chase bank, their specialist and their system has no information and do not want to send me any direct deposit card. first of all there phone number 1-877-221-1634 is big headache… nobody picks up phone , customer can wait for hours and hours…. they don’t care..
Today, on August 11, 2010 1 HAVE BEEN WAITING ON 1-877-221-1634 since last 2 hours and 15 minutes . I have started my call at 2: 50 p.m. and my watch is showing me time 5 :15 p.m. now, nut no luck…. nobody is picking up the phone…..so .forget about any help from them… even if it is your money….
Does any one have ANY IDEA HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS CHASE BANK?
Thanks…..
Ineptitude | admin August 18, 2010 | Comments (0)
In a potential twist to the Chase theft purchase of Washintgon Mutual’s assets that were seized by the FDIC, according to documents recently uncovered and confirmed by the FDIC, that purchase hasn’t actually closed yet.
WaMu sale hasn’t closed, document suggests
Next month will mark two years since federal regulators seized Washington Mutual and sold it to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. Now a document that appears to be from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation suggests the deal still hasn’t closed.
“Everyone is saying the sale is finalized,” said the shareholder, Farokh Lam, of Woburn, Mass. “It is not.”
Lam noticed that on pages 7 and 9, the original WaMu purchase and sale agreement allows the FDIC to extend the settlement date. He says he asked about it, and the FDIC confirmed in phone calls and emails that the settlement date was set for Aug. 30, 2010, and could be extended further.
“Settlement Date” means the first Business Day immediately prior to the day which is one hundred eighty (180) days after Ban Closing, or such other date prior thereto as may be agreed upon by the Receiver and the Assuming Bank. The Receiver, in its discretion, may extend the Settlement Date.
It says: “The purpose of this amendment is to extend the time period for Final Settlement to August. 30, 2010.”
WaMu’s final days were chronicled in depth by Puget Sound Business Journal Staff Writer Kirsten Grind in an award-winning series.
Does this mean that all the WAMU foreclosures being pushed through the courts by JPMorgan Chase using the FDIC Purchase and Sale Agreement are invalid?
Does it mean if they haven’t closed the deal THEY DO NOT OWN THE LOANS OR THEIR SERVICING RIGHTS?
Where are the windfall profits going after the foreclosure sale?
What if the agreement changes before it is finalized?
