Man Gets Chase To Bend To His Iron Will
Brian suffered a couple of credit card maladies: Washington Mutual shut down his credit card due to inactivity and was stuck with a high interest report and credit report hit due to two missed payments in 2006. After Chase absorbed WaMu, Brian got on the horn and worked the customer service labyrinth until he fixed both problems.
Brian's story of how he won, and then some, with calm persistence:
I had two issues with Chase and send an EECB to them as a last resort to clear up the issue. Here are the issues:
1) I had a WaMu platinum card and after months of not using it I received a letter in the mail stating the card had been closed. The letter arrived 14 days after the account was closed. I called and was told I could only get it by applying again. I spent a week trying to work within the system and finally gave up.
1) I had 2 missed payments reflected on my Chase Platinum account back in June and July of 2006. Although they should not have been reflected as late it was nearly impossible to clear them up.
WaMu Card Resolution (Now Chase Card): Finally I sent an EECB to Chase and I received a call from the Executive Team in regards to the issue. She reopened my WaMu account which was now a Chase account and set everything back to what it was. After all of this was done I noticed one thing. The APR was incorrect for this account. It was set at 0% Fixed! It is not a promotional rate it is fixed both for purchases and cash advances. It was a pleasant surprise!
Chase Card Resolution: I used the same EECB to address this concern. After sending supporting documents she removed the 2 late payments and had it reflected on my credit report which has now jumped 30+ points. I then called and left a message asking to have the APR corrected back to the 5.99% fixed it was before this happened back in 2006 at which time the APR raised to 27.27%. I received a message yesterday that she had fixed it back to 5.99% fixed and verified it in the Chase Online. She also let me know (without even asking) that she was crediting back the interest for the past 2 and a half years! Credit was processed for $1,474 in interest that should not have posted. Not a bad surprise!
Brian didn't just make lemonade out of lemons, he made lemon sherbet. If this were a TV commercials this would be the point where the fine-print and low lawyer voice mumbled "results not typical."
(Photo: epicharmus)
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Comments:
Good Job!
out of curiousity, what were the e-mail addresses used? I sent an EECB regarding my credit card APRs and haven't heard anything back.
i really don't want to close my account with them (sadly, i have a balance and can't afford the new rate of 20.24%) but if they don't honor the APR rate I was promised back in Feb, I might have to.
You will be seeing alot of this, banks want business. Chase isnt a bad bank just have to ber persistant with them.
what's that email address for chase? I had on payment with wamu that was 2 days past the due and they jacked my rate to heck! Called chase and they said "they don't have a current offer they can give me..."
@yoni242: Like hell they aren't. I paid more than minimum every month, on time, and they've hit me with an interest rate hike. I've requested and complained, and all they offer me is "well, you can opt out."
Horrible bank. Take taxpayer bailout money, make 2.1 billion last quarter, then screw over good customers.
Hopefully, Consumerist's advice on tweeting will help. I set up a twitter feed under ChaseDoesntCare--hope it works.
@olderbudwizer: I have the same problem. I used the webform on Chase's website. In fairness, they did respond quickly--just with a crappy answer.
Don't expect them to help you--Chase doesn't care.
Was this a fairy tale?
When does the real credit troll come out from under the bridge and slaughter the guy's entire family???
Brian's issues were so important neither of them were willing to be labeled #2.
This is DEFINITELY the exception to the rule. I have a Chase Platinum card that was formerly a Wamu platinum card. Have had nothing but excuses and unwillingness in dealing with problems since Chase took over. Then I get a letter last week that because of "market conditions" my interest rate is being raised. No history of late payments, well under my limit, but nothing but a F___ you very much from Chase.
Chase actually has treated me very well too. I got student loans from them, and then at a later date opened a checking account and made them my bank for everything. Once I did that, they retroactively gave me the interest discount for having an account with them to my student loans already taken out. They didn't have to do so, and the fine print made it clear that the discount only applied to loans taken out with an account already opened.
Yeah this was my best experience... I just email Consumerist the email address. I emailed 40 emails addy's but only one did not get kicked back so I assume that's the working one. It was the crazy how accommodating they were...
Maybe I'm still waiting for my morning coffee to kick in, but I'm having a hell of a time parsing that first sentence.
Anyway, I had chase mastercard that go cancelled earlier this year after I hadn't used in about 2 years. I like to keep it around as a backup for my american express which gives cash back but has a higher interest rate (I always pay in full each month so I effectively get paid to use their card). About three months before cancelling my mastercard, chase sent me a letter saying my interest rate would be increased from around 11% to about 18%. For no apparent reason, mind you. I don't miss payments and my credit report and score are excellent. On the very same day that I received the notice that they would close my account, I received a solicitation for me to sign up for a shiny new chase mastercard... with the same interest rate and a shiny new annual fee.
If you'll excuse the language, they can go fuck themselves. I'm happy with my american express and I'll just sign up for a visa card through my credit union if I find myself in need of a backup.
My Washington Mutual card was sort-of cancelled after 14+ months of not using it. I got a letter saying it would be cancelled at the end of the current billing cycle, but then I noticed it listed with my Chase cards when I checked them online. Same terms as before. It was my oldest card, so I was worried, but it's on my credit reports now as open & active & good standing, so it seems ok.
But that got me worried about my other old, inactive cards, so I used a tip someone posted and now charge my cellphone bill to it (which is then paid a few days later from my bank account, of course).
To clarify, he had two payments that were (missed or late, I'm not entirely sure) but they were on time? The article isn't wholly clear on that
I was hospitalized during the period and they were paid late but they worked with me due to the circumstance... Something I do not see that often now a days.
Wow! Results not typical, indeed!
But if one can do it another can... That is why I sent this in....
Yes, YOUR MILAGE MAY VARY, RESULTS NOT TYPICAL, UNIQUE EXPERIENCE, OPTIONS SHOWN.
I fear for Brian & his loved ones, this must be a trap. Poor Brian, his anal sphincter use to just get stretched by them, now they own it. I am an unfortunate Chase customer too with a re-shaped large intestine.
Time to take out a huge cash advance at 0% interest and dump into a savings account. Pay the minimum every month. :)
What is an EECB? (Executive Email ?? Bomb?)
nice. VERY NICE.