Chase adopts Pew simplified disclosure forms, shows just how fee hungry they are

Chase is tooting it’s own horn about adopting simplified disclosure forms developed by the Pew Health Group.  These forms are in fact quite an improvement over the typical checking account disclosures.  But at least one analyst is willing to call this out for what it is:

Philip Van Doorn, senior bank analyst with TheStreet, says the bank’s effort to become more consumer-friendly is largely out of necessity.

“They had better be in an environment where you have a new unfettered [CFPB] that is going to be aggressive on this type of issue,” Van Doorn says. Essentially, Chase is being proactive about making changes that are likely going to be enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sometime in the near future anyway, according to Van Doorn.

Regardless, the simplified disclosure form makes it very easy to see Chase for exactly the kind of bank that it is, fee hungry.  For instance

• Chase charges $5 for a money order; the Post Office charges $1.10 up to $500 and $1.55 up to $1,000.
• $15 for incoming wires.  My bank does this for free.
• $30 for outgoing wires.  My bank charges $11.
• $12 monthly service fee unless you meet minimum balance and other requirements
• $12 per day when you draw from your overdraft protection line.  My bank charges a one time fee of $10 and interest.
• $34 stop payment fee. That is very high!
• They charge YOU $12 when someone else’s check bounces!
• They charge $2 for a counter check.  My bank gives these away for free.

I think this new disclosure thing might work to their disadvantage.

Chase to air greed-washing TV campaign

For Chase, a TV Show to Promote Its Charity

By BRIAN STELTER, The New York Times
Published: December 9, 2011

When a television network broadcasts an awards show created by a multinational bank’s marketers, what is it? An advertisement? A tribute to deserving charities? An entertainment spectacle?

On Saturday, it might be all of the above.

In a gambit to promote its charitable work — and maybe polish its image, which has suffered since the financial collapse in 2008 — JPMorgan Chase is financing and sponsoring the “American Giving Awards,” which will be televised by NBC on Saturday night. The two-hour show, with Bob Costas as host, will profile recipients of Chase donations, will be book-ended by Chase commercials and will regularly remind viewers that the whole event is “presented by Chase.”

The producers and the network suggested Friday that the awards show was a feel-good holiday season special. Kimberly B. Davis, the president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, said it was about celebrating “ordinary people doing extraordinary things in communities.”

But to others, the show has another bottom line. It’s a “‘greed-washing’ campaign to score P.R. points,” countered Lisa Graves, whose publication “PR Watch” investigates company public relations campaigns. The $2 million in donations that will be featured on Saturday “are a drop in the bucket compared to its ultra-lush benefits for bankers who profited richly from the swaps that undermined our nation’s financial security,” she said.

The “American Giving Awards” are part of a broader business world trend. Not content to have the news media cover its good works, many companies are creating their own media, often cloaked as entertainment.

Big banks, in particular, “do a lot of socially driven programs, but they don’t consistently tell people about them,” said Steve Cone, a marketing executive for AARP who formerly worked at Citigroup and Fidelity.

And given the financial downturn, “there’s more pressure now to say, ‘We’re not all evil, here’s the good things we do,’ ” said Allen P. Adamson, a managing director at the brand firm Landor Associates.

Read more …

Chase credit card minimum payment class action lawsuit

The court has approved class action status for a lawsuit alleging that Chase improperly violated customer credit card terms when they raised the minimum payment for some customers from 2% of the outstanding balance to 5%.

You can find more information on this lawsuit here.

Another example of Chase just not being that great at the basics of banking

This is incredible.  How does Chase continue to do these kind of basic screw ups?

Henderson’s Prosecutors Office says J.P. Morgan Chase Bank bounced payments and double issued payments to some, only to reverse them later.

Gold says his phone has been ringing off the hook all day.

“Judging by our call volume today, it certainly did affect Henderson and other counties.”

Gold says the child support payments in question are November 25th and December 1st.

He says in 743 cases, Chase bank bounced payments, making people believe they had money they didn’t have.

Gold says in nearly 3,000 other cases he says they issued double payments, which they later reversed.

“A lot of times, people are counting on that money, so when a check bounces or the bank makes a mistake like this, it’s very harmful. It’s just outrageous it’s occurred.”

Officials say to make the problem worse, this is causing people overdraft fees and bounced personal checks all in time for Christmas.

Gold says he’s now calling on Chase bank to reimburse all who were affected and now have fees.

“It’s their mistake and they need to make this right,” Gold says.

There are 6,200 child support recipients in the commonwealth.

If you received a payment, you are urged to contact the central processing unit to confirm that your money is there.

You also can report any fees you have incurred.

Chase new account promotion bait & switch or inept banker?

It is unclear from this post over at complaintsboard.com whether this customer was hit with a real bait & switch by Chase bank or just an inept teller who didn’t give him all the information when he opened the new account to get the $125 promotion.

Was offered a promotion to open a new account in exchange for $125.00 account credit. Waited over 14 days for crecit. Called into call center was advised that it would take 10 days for credit, CREDIT WOULD BE IN ACCOUNT ON 11/28/11.. Waited the ten days as you can see above, no credit. Called into call ON THE 10 DAYS LATER 11/28/11 STILL NO CREDIT. Called call center spoke with a rep who said now you have to add Dirwect Deposit. Then I spoke with a supervisor who also said now as rep just said I advised have to activate a direct deposit? UNREAL…Defintely a BAIT AND SWITCH. I am an unsatified customer. Would close account but have not added this account to all my accounts for payment. THEY ARE FORCING ME TO HAVE A DIRECT DEPOSIT!!

JPMorgan Chase cuts employee raises & benefits

From a reader:

JPMorgan’s Treasure & Security Services division announced a 2012 raise suspension for all employees. There’s also discussion of bonuses being diminished or eliminated as well. This news arrives on the heels of the ill-received 2012 Healthcare Plan overhaul which has the potential for a significant financial impact on employees and their families, in the event of an illness or visits to other than Primary Care Physicians.

Chase settles Freedom card payment protection scheme case

I knew Chase was bad, but this is BAD.  Chase recently settled a class-action lawsuit related to the payment protection plan for its Chase Freedom Card.  Apparently it automatically enrolled people in this plan that came with a monthly charge, and then made it nearly impossible to get the benefits.

… the lawsuit alleges that Chase unilaterally enrolled cardholders in Payment Protection Products that suspend or cancel the balance due on the credit card under certain circumstances without adequately disclosing the terms of these products prior to enrolling a customer. The lawsuit further alleges that it was too difficult to obtain Payment Protection benefits for eligible claims, it was too difficult to disenroll from Payment Protection Products, and that those Products were improperly marketed and sold.

WaMu awarded posthumous account transfer patent

In a seriously funny turn of events, the USPTO just awarded Washington Mutual a patent on a system to automatically transfer information from an old account to a new account and take into account common kinks that can happen along the way.

Chase sure could have use this system when they took over all the WaMu account with all the problems people encountered.