JPMorgan Chase is facing fresh accusations of locking down and terminating a customer’s bank account over unfounded concerns of suspicious activity.
In a new post on the r/Chase Reddit forum, a user says a new Chase bank account has been abruptly shut down without warning or explanation.
After getting their account set up, the poster says their mother sent cash to the new account via Zelle, and several additional Zelle transactions were sent and received with friends and family for basic items like Uber rides and food.
Three days after the account was opened, the Reddit user says they were completely locked out of their account.
“When I try to login it says my account is locked due to suspicious activity. I cannot call at this time because it is already past business hours so I wait until Friday morning. I call and they are not able to confirm my identity over the phone because the number I gave wouldn’t show up in their database (this is the number I used to open the account).
At this point, the user says they were not informed that the account was facing imminent termination.
I’m told that I would need to go in person with two forms of ID. I schedule a meeting for whenever I wasn’t busy which was Thursday the 21st. The day comes, but I am unable to make it so I rescheduled for the 26th (today) which was the only day available. Today comes and I find out that my account was closed.
I only had 10 business days to resolve this, which I did not know because in the mail I received it didn’t specify how long I had. I’d also like to add that on the 15th when I was locked out of my account it said my balance reached below $20 and my available balance was $0. I had $50 when I was locked out.”
The teenager says they’re now frustrated and stressed because they didn’t realize that simply using Zelle would lead to their account being shut down for suspected fraud, and don’t know whether or not they’re going to be receiving any of their money.
In the US, banks can legally close accounts at will for a variety of reasons, including concerns about fraud and illegal activities, too many overdrafts or dormancy. Banks typically send notices to account holders and mail checks for the balance to addresses on file.
This isn’t the first time JPMorgan Chase has been accused of wrongfully closing accounts.
Last summer, Republican attorneys general in 19 states accused JPMorgan of routinely discriminating against its own clients and closing bank accounts without warning based on religious and political biases.
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