He writes,

We had a business credit card account with Chase and earlier this year they sent us a notification that they would be doubling our interest rate. I called them and we opted to close the account rather than pay the higher interest rate. After that we have been steadily paying off the balance but the interest rate is still fairly decent so we're paying off other, higher interest rate loans first.

I hadn't been checking the statements closely because they are set up to auto-pay and the account is closed so there should be no new charges or changes, right? Well, I went back over the statements the other day and discovered that they had boosted our interest rate after the account had been closed. I called Chase, explained the situation and they told me that they will still retain the option to raise interest rates and that we would have to opt out of any interest rate increases they notify us about. I think they know this is not completely on the up-and-up as it was pretty easy to get the agent to undo the interest rate increase and process a refund for the extra interest that had been charged. The situation makes very little sense as we already opted to close the account rather than pay additional interest and there's nothing we need to do at this point other than to say "No". I think they're counting on people not watching these closed accounts carefully.

Moral of the story is to be aware of this practice and watch out for credit card companies to attempt to slip in changes and extra fees/interest on accounts that have already been closed.

(Photo: TheTruthAbout...)

TD Bank says Chase has it. Chase says TD has it. Oopsies!

Greg and Dmitry write:

Dear Consumerist,

We've been having a real nightmare with TD Bank in the past week, not to even mention the basic delays we've experienced since late September. We don't know what to do.

We are a small web design company. We don't have thousands and thousands of dollars in the bank. But we work hard and expect our money to be protected.

We wrote a check to one of our employees on October 12th. He deposited it on October 13th. On October 14th he received a letter from his bank (Chase) saying that the money was being held. He can see the money in his account, but cannot access. The $1800 has left our account.

We've called our bank (TD Bank) to see where the money is, they tell us Chase has the money. Our employee calls his bank, they tell him TD Bank has the money. We've spent hours on the phone talking to employees who can't seem to think of anything besides what's displayed on their computer screen.

The banks won't talk to each other because Chase will only talk to the account holder, and they refuse to do a 4 way call to get us all on the line.

Yesterday, my business partner and I went into our branch to find out there was a 2 hour line to speak to someone. We had to leave.

Today we came back and noticed there was no line. Why wasn't there a line? Because the computer system is down.

We then noticed that the LCD screens displaying promos for the bank had an interesting error in the middle of the screen. Their Norton AntiVirus subscription had expired

This is all so frustrating. We don't know what to do. We want to close our account with TD Bank, but feel we can't because then they really won't help us retrieve our lost funds.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Greg & Dmitry

Is this yet more fallout from the TD Bank and Commerce Bank data merger leaving massive amounts of transaction backed up? Or something else? The last reader we posted about a href="http://consumerist.com/5382687/td-bank-mans-100000-misplaced">had $100,000 in limbo, and it took him walking into the bank and mentioning how he was thinking about filing a police report to clear things up.

Though banks are within their rights to place holds on the funds, and can take up to 11 days (this email was sent to us on the 11th day after the check was cashed), simply saying "the other guy has it" is not a valid explanation.

Are there no words in the Canadian language for "customer service?"

RELATED: TD Bank: Man's $100,000 Misplaced

(Photo: Sister72)

I returned a call from Chase bank on October 14th regarding my credit card, and was asked about some suspicious purchases, including a $289.45 purchase from Walmart and a $26.26 purchase from McDonald's. Because my wife and I don't use this card for anything other than a couple of subscription services (Netflix, Zune, etc.), and also because we haven't shopped at Walmart or McDonald's for several months, I was very confident that this was a fraudulent use of my card. The individual from Chase informed me that I would not be charged for these purchases, and that the cards would be canceled and new cards would be issued. She gave the impression of a situation handled, and gave me no instructions other than to shred our existing cards, which we did both have in our wallets. No problem, life goes on, I thought.

Then, a week and a half later, I got a call on Friday afternoon from a fraud specialist at Chase. She questioned me a little bit, and arrived at the conclusion that this situation was not fraud. Apparently, the purchases were made very close to where we used to live. She asked if we'd filed a police report, I said no, because I'd never been in this situation before, and the other woman I had spoken to didn't give me any instructions. She made it sound like everything was going to be handled on their end. The fraud specialist said that they had identified it as my card specifically, and not my wife's, and was very confident that my physical card was present. The problem is, my wallet and I were 50 miles away that day at a hospital for a new job orientation.

So, she suggested maybe a friend I wouldn't suspect used my card and and put it back. Except that's not possible either, because I didn't see anyone between the last time the card was used and when Chase instructed me to shred it. Except my wife, of course, who wouldn't lie about this, and also hates Walmart and McDonald's.

The fraud specialist kept repeating her phrase of choice, "It just doesn't jive", which just made me increasingly more agitated.

With that, she informed me that my fraud claim was denied, and that I should file a police report and obtain security video from Walmart. I would need to provide this video to Chase, along with photo ID, so she could verify that I was not present at Walmart. Despite my extreme distress and confusion, she offered me no possible explanation for how my exact card could be used in Portland, OR when I was 50 miles away in Salem.

My question is, besides filing a police report, which I have done now, what should I do? And how can she be so confident that my card was used, when I know it wasn't? What else could have happened?

We would guess that Jake's card had been cloned somehow—perhaps from an ATM skimmer, or dishonest waitstaff in a restaurant. Where have they used this card in the past year?

However, a few questions remain for Jake to ask Chase, if he hasn't already:

• Why were these two transactions flagged as fraudulent in the first place? Was it because of the retailer, the location, or another reason?
• Why is Jake responsible for obtaining surveillance video from Walmart?
• Will proving that he was not the person who made the purchases get these transactions reclassified as fraud?

Good luck, Jake, and keep us updated.

UPDATE: A few readers pointed us toward this delightful gem from the U.S. Code, which dictates that the burden of proof is on Chase, not Jake.

(b) Burden of proof
In any action by a card issuer to enforce liability for the use of a credit card, the burden of proof is upon the card issuer to show that the use was authorized or, if the use was unauthorized, then the burden of proof is upon the card issuer to show that the conditions of liability for the unauthorized use of a credit card, as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, have been met.

(Photo: epicharmus)

Daniel had a payment due on September 6th, so he paid it on August 22nd. Then, the day after that payment was due—that is, on September 7th—he made another payment for the next cycle.

The problem is, that new cycle hadn't started yet, so Chase applied it as a second payment to his past statement. Then when the new due date came and passed earlier this month, they reported him late and charged him a $39 late fee.

Daniel has repeatedly tried to reason with Chase, pointing out that he has a history of making all of his payments on time and early, but Chase would only repeat the same boilerplate rejection over and over. Below are some of the responses Daniel's gotten from Chase CSRs this month:

I am unable to take further action regarding the late fee reflected on your statement. Your payment was due on 10/7/2009 and as of today 10/13/2009 we have yet to receive a payment for your account.

Please keep in mind that Chase offers the following tools to better assist you in managing your account:

-Alerts - Alerts can be personalized to fit your personal needs.
-AutoPay - Autopay can be set up to pay the minimum payment or statement balance in full on your statement due date.

Although, I wasn't able to make the adjustment as requested, I am glad I was able to provide other payment options. If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.

Your account was previously reviewed and the response explained why we could not make the adjustment requested. I am unable to take further action regarding the late fee reflected on your November statement.

I apologize we could not credit your account as you wished but hope that you have a good week.

If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us again in regards to the payment made on your account ending XXXX.

A late fee was assessed because your payment of $64.38 was received before your 09/11/2009 statement cycled. Therefore, the payment was applied to the previous due date of 09/06/2009 so a payment for the 10/06/2009 due date has not been received.

Hence, a minimum payment is due and the account is in past due status.

Thank you for contacting Chase with regards to the issues currently affecting your account.

I am unable to remove the late payment fee and interest charges because a minimum payment was not received by the due date.

If you have any further questions, please reply using the Secure Message Center.

This is a common enough occurrence (at least judging by the tips we receive) that I suspect it's a deliberate fee trap set up by credit card companies: they get you in the habit of thinking in terms of a payment due date, but what matters just as much is the statement cycle date, which they conveniently gloss over. Then people attempt to pay early because they're trying to be more responsible, and the credit card company makes a little extra money.

The bank could easily avoid this by presenting an alert when a customer schedules a payment that says, "This payment will be applied to the statement cycle of [date range]." That Chase doesn't do this makes it pretty clear that it's yet another crack the bank hopes new customers like you fall into.

Don't give up the fight yet, Daniel. So far all you've done is dealt with the lowest, least empowered foot soldiers on the Chase side of things—faceless CSRs who spend their days assembling responses from snippets of pre-written blather. Here are two other strategies to try:

1. Call Chase and explain your story. Make it clear you understand now what the "statement cycle" date means as far as paying your bill, but that this wasn't made clear to you in any way as you scheduled that payment, and that's why you were led to believe it would apply to your next payment. If you have proof that an identical action resulted in no late fee back when the card was owned by WaMu, point that out. Escalate the issue as high as you can if you keep running into bad Do Nothing employees.

2. If that fails, try sending an Executive Email Carpet Bomb (EECB) to Chase. Make your letter short but full of detail, and make it very clear what happened.

If Chase ignores you, complain to the following agencies. Remember, charging a late fee for a missed deadline isn't illegal, and that's really all that happened here. But what you should keep hammering over and over is the fact that Chase makes it possible for customers to accidentally pay "too early" without triggering any sort of warning, and then uses that trap to generate late fees.

1. Report Chase to the Comptroller of the Currency at 202-874-4700.

2. Report Chase to your state's Office of the Attorney General.

3. Report Chase to your elected officials. You might want to make sure yours are on the side of consumers first—here's how senators voted on the Credit CARD Act of 2009.

4. Report Chase to the FTC:

(Photo: blmurch)

Starting Oct. 19, BofA will no longer charge fees if the overdraft puts the account less than $10 in the red, and will lower the maximum number of charges it levies per day from 10 to four. And next year Chase will let customers opt out of overdraft "protection," will let customers slide if their account is less than $5 in the red, and will lower its maximum amount of daily charges from six to three.

The Washington Post interviewed Dodd, who isn't satsified:

"Bank of America is taking a step in the right direction, but we need legislation to protect every American with a bank account from these unfair fees," Dodd said. "We wouldn't need legislation if the industry acted responsibly in the first place."

Even if Dodd's proposed bill gets stuck in the Washington muck, he can rest assured that he's already sparked some positive changes.

Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase to Further Limit Overdraft Fees
[Washington Post]
(Photo: donbuciak)

Credit card experts said card issuers are clearly trying to improve their images after months of defending themselves for raising interest rates and cutting credit lines for even their most creditworthy customers. Consumers have been increasingly turning away from credit cards. Revolving credit, mainly credit card debt that consumers do not pay off in full each month, fell $6.1 billion in July, according to the Federal Reserve.

"It's stiff competition in terms of trying to regain consumer trust," said Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, which compares credit cards, "and trying to regain loyalty among cardholders."

The Chase Blueprint program applies to existing cards. It allows customers to choose categories of spending to pay off every month, and helps calculate ways to pay off balances more quickly. Meanwhile, the Bank of America Basic card has no overlimit fees, and charges the same interest rate, fourteen percentage points above the prime rate, for all transactions.

It's a sad commentary on the current state and reputation of the industry that when credit card companies introduce features designed to help and not confuse customers, it's newsworthy.

Credit Card Firms Offering Simpler Deals Ahead of Law [Washington Post]

(Photo: frankieleon)

It would be interesting to research this, but I would estimate that they constitute far more than 20% of the complaints about banks received by Consumerist. How does this affect you? As banks have fewer viable competitors, it becomes less likely that disgruntled customers will switch their banking to one of those competitors. This means less friendly customer service, stricter policies, and higher deposit-related fees. The Washington Post took a look at the current state of the nation's largest banks and how they've changed in the last year.

In Santa Cruz, Calif., Wells Fargo, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase hold three-quarters of the deposit market. Each firm was given tens of billions of dollars in bailout funds to help it swallow other banks.

The rest of the market, which consists of a handful of tiny community banks, cannot match the marketing power of the bigger banks. Instead, presidents of the smaller companies said, they must offer more personalized service and adapt to technological changes more quickly to entice customers. Some acknowledged it can be a tough fight.

Wells Fargo is "really, really good at the way they cross-sell and get their tentacles around you," said Richard Hofstetter, president of Lighthouse Bank, whose only branch is in Santa Cruz. "Their customers have multiple areas of their financial life involved with Wells Fargo. If you have a checking account and an ATM and a credit card and a home-equity line and automatic bill payments . . . to change that is a major undertaking."

Have you been forced to change banks due to a merger or failure? Do you feel that you could easily change your banking to a different institution if you experienced problems where you are now?

Banks 'Too Big to Fail' Have Grown Even Bigger [Washington Post]

(Photo: Earth2Kim)

Thanks to reader fantomesq, we now know more of what happened.

According to the Associated Press,

Anna Ramirez thought she had dodged foreclosure after a judge stepped in at the last-minute to block her home's sale. So it was a devastating shock when a buyer showed up with police to evict her family.

A clerical error at the court had let the buyer complete the purchase, and she and her family were told to gather their things and leave. She even tried showing the officers a judge's order, but her family was still kicked out.

Ramirez's parents had just completed a purchase of the house to reduce her mortgage payments, but apparently the Clerk's Office hadn't correctly noted the change. Chase told the AP that they did "everything we could to help the homeowner." The Clerk's Office now has the correct information on file.

"My Bad! Woman's House Mistakenly Auctioned by Bank" [NBC Miami] (Thanks to Shawn!)
"Court mix-up leaves Fla. family evicted for a day" [Associated Press] (Thanks to fantomesq!)
(Photo: Dano)

(Thanks to G.S!)

From Slate:

The report says that combined, these three firms earned $9.6 billion, paid bonuses of nearly $18 billion, and received TARP taxpayer funds worth $45 billion. Why did this happen? Because, according to Cuomo, when times were good the bankers rewarded themselves based on performance. When the economy started to sour — they decoupled the bonus structure from reality and kept rewarding themselves.

From the report:

As one would expect, in describing their compensation programs, most banks emphasize the importance of tying pay to performance. Indeed, one senior bank executive noted recently that individual compensation should not be set without taking into strong consideration the performance of the business unit and the overall firm. As this executive put it, "employees should share in the upside when overall performance is strong and they should all share in the downside when overall performance is weak."

But despite such claims, one thing is clear from this investigation to date: there is no clear rhyme or reason to the way banks compensate and reward their employees. In many ways, the past three years have provided a virtual laboratory in which to test the hypothesis that compensation in the financial industry was performance-based.

But even a cursory examination of the data suggests that in these challenging economic times, compensation for bank employees has become unmoored from the banks' financial performance. Thus, when the banks did well, their employees were paid well. When the banks did poorly, their employees were paid well. And when the banks did very poorly, they were bailed out by taxpayers and their employees were still paid well. Bonuses and overall compensation did not vary significantly as profits diminished.

So, how was this allowed to happen? Why did the bankers feel justified in rewarding themselves as the ship sank?

In some senses, large payouts became a cultural expectation at banks and a source of competition among the firms. For example, as Merrill Lynch's performance plummeted, Merrill severed the tie between paying based on performance and set its bonus pool based on what it expected its competitors would do. Accordingly, Merrill paid out close to $16 billion in 2007 while losing more than $7 billion and paid close to $15 billion in 2008 while facing near collapse. Moreover, Merrill's losses in 2007 and 2008 more than erased Merrill's earnings between 2003 and 2006. Clearly, the compensation structures in the boom years did not account for long-term risk, and huge paydays continued while the firm faced extinction.

The AG says that the bankers explained the need to do this by claiming that they had to pay bonuses to individuals working in divisions that were still making money for the firm. The trouble with this rationalization is that banks continued paying bonuses to people in losing divisions.

We recognize, of course, that there can be situations where the distribution of profits to employees who created real profits would be appropriate even though the overall firm may have lost money. This might be the case, for example, where one division of a firm earned large profits but another division lost profits. A principled and consistent approach would, however, balance the need to reward and retain those who created profits with the need for bonuses to reflect the overall performance of the firm. In any event, our investigations have shown numerous instances where large bonuses were paid to individuals in money-losing divisions at firms who saw either substantially reduced profits or losses in 2008.

The entire report can be downloaded from the AG's website, here. (PDF)

Let her explain:

Hi Consumerist. I'm hoping you can help me out with a little dilemma.

My husband and I have several credit cards with high balances and, though we're trying hard to pay down our balances, we're finding it difficult to make all of our bills every month. I called Chase (I have two high-balance cards with them) to see if I could get one of my APRs reduced from 28% (the other card is at a more manageable 11%). I've been trying since January to get the rate reduced to no avail. This time they told me that, under their hardship program, they could reduce my rate from 28% to 6%, but that would require that they close my card.

Now, my dilemma is this: If I go for the hardship program, it will bring down my APR and my monthly payments, and I'll be rid of the balance within 5 years. But what will this do to my credit? Also, can I trust a program like this coming from Chase, who could care less about me?

Any advice you could offer would be immensely appreciated.

Well, since it's IMMENSELY appreciated I'll go ahead and say she should take the lower rate and get rid of the card, since it seems the less plastic Amy and her husband have at their disposal, the better. Any credit hit would be incidental because this couple has bigger spending issues to deal with. Your thoughts, commenters?

(Photo: frankieleon)

His tale:

I am really hoping Consumerist can help me with this. I know this isn't a rare or shocking issue, but Chase is really hurting my partner's new business with a massive amount of overdraft fees. My partner, Frank, used his personal card to buy computer equipment for his business (after his bank canceled most of his business credit lines). He forgot this card deducted right out of his checking account, a mistake he admits. The bank proceeded to charge $34 for each of 18 charges, including a 45 cent parking meter charge and several charges in a row for $5 drinks at a bar.

Frank has spoken with about half a dozen different people in person and over the phone with little result (they overturned the 45 cent charge). Chase is claiming these charges are from Wamu, but then claim there is no one from Wamu left with the authority to overturn these charges.

My partner has really been struggling to start his business (Chiropractic office). He has more than $250,000 of debt from medical school and has had so many deals fall through for credit to start his business because of the economy (his credit is flawless), but is one of the hardest workers I know. I pray Consumerist can help bring attention to Chase's abuse of a loyal customer and possibly help remedy this injustice.

If Consumerist had the power to answer prayers, it would most certainly charge for the service, or at least suggest a hefty donation for its tip jar. But what we can do is post your tale and inspire a lot of commenters to curse Chase's name and join in with their own horror stories about that bank and others. So off we go!

(Photo: epicharmus)

Here's Stephen's story:

On May 27 at approximately 1:00 AM I took a New York City yellow taxi from a cab depot on Bleecker St. to my apartment in Brooklyn, NY. I asked the driver if I could pay with a credit card. He said I could but asked if it could be debit instead since his credit machine wasn't working. I said debit was fine. When we arrived at my apartment in Brooklyn the fare was $14.50 and he told me he had to swipe my debit card up front since his machine in the back was down. I gave him my card to swipe and he did swipe my card and had me punch in my PIN on what appeared to be a debit keypad. He returned a card to me and I got out of the taxi. When I was getting ready for work the next day I noticed that the card returned to me was identical to my Wamu-Chase debit card but had another name on it. I checked my account activity and saw that my card had been used at various locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan to withdraw large sums of money. I immediately called Wamu-Chase to report my card stolen and then reported all fraudulent activity on the account. I was told that I would not be responsible for charges that were not mine and that the money would be refunded to my account within 5 business days. I was also told I would receive affidavits that I must sign and send back to Wamu-Chase with all available information on them.

After work on May 27 I went to the police station to file a report. After filing the report I faxed a copy of the incident information slip the police gave me to Wamu-Chase. A couple days later I was called into my precinct to meet with a NYPD detective. He called Wamu-Chase with me to find out as much information as possible about the transactions. The detective told me that the worst was over and that my money would be returned by Wamu-Chase while he worked on apprehending the suspect.

To my surprise, before the affidavits even arrived in the mail, the temporary credits that were issued to me had been reversed. I called Wamu-Chase to find out why and was told that because my PIN was used the transactions couldn't possibly be fraudulent. I explained that the driver must have somehow copied my PIN when he had me enter it on his keypad. I was told that my claims were being reopened.

When I received the affidavits I immediately sent them in via fax and mail (June 10). The next time I met with the detective (June 22) and told him the trouble I was having with Wamu-Chase, he made a call on my behalf to Wamu-Chase debit card claims to explain the situation. He then faxed Wamu-Chase a copy of the police report that was requested. June 23 I called Wamu-Chase again and was told that my claims were still being reviewed. On June 24, I was told that the police report was received and that the investigation was still being conducted. On June 26, I called and was told that my claims hadn't been touched since June 23. I was told to call back after giving it some time.

On June 30 or July 1, I was called by the detective and told an arrest was made. I was subpoenaed to testify in front of a grand jury on July 2 but when I showed up, was told that the suspect made bail and that I would need to appear in court at a later date. I met with the ADA and discussed the details of my case with her. On July 7, I received letters from debit card claims saying that my claims had been rejected again. I called to find out why and was told that the times of at least one of the transactions didn't match up with my account of what happened, that the card was in my possession when it was used. I explained that there must be some mistake and tried to find out when the card was used exactly. I was told that one of the reported fraudulent transactions occurred May 26 at 11:45 PM. I asked which time zone the time in question was in since I am ET and the time zone referenced on the claim rejection was in PT. The representative I spoke with on the phone told me that he couldn't verify the time zone that the stated time was in and tried to get a supervisor on the phone to help me. He told me that the supervisor would not speak with me and that the claims were closed for good and could not be reopened since they had been reopened and expedited before already. I explained that an arrest was made and I was subpoenaed and was told that Wamu-Chase was done with my claims and that there was nothing further I could do to have them reopened.

My Wamu-Chase checking account is now -$339.98 in the negative and my savings has had $302.75 stolen from it. The DA is calling it grand larceny. Wamu-Chase is telling me that if I don't have my account back to a positive balance within the next couple weeks, my account will be closed and the owed money will be reported to a credit bureau. At the time of the fraudulent transactions, I only had $71.09 in my checking account but because of the overdraft protection I was advised by Wamu to get when I opened my account, the account is now -$339.98 in the negative. Not only did I have all my money stolen from me that night by a cab driver, but also Wamu-Chase is now telling me that I won't be getting my money back and will have to put the money that was stolen from me (that in the case of my checking account wasn't even in it in the first place) back into my account myself to avoid having action taken against me by the bank.

I have been on the phone with Wamu-Chase countless times since the incident occurred almost 2 months ago and cannot seem to get this resolved. I was a strong advocate of Wamu-Chase before and never had any complaints or problems before this incident. I would like to remain a proud customer but have spent so much time and energy trying to resolve this incident with no success. Wamu-Chase advertises zero-liability protection and encourages overdraft protection. I was not protected by either.

I have just recently graduated from college and I really watch my money closely. This is a lot of money to me. This has put me in a very difficult financial position. I really need someone to help me out.

I don't know where to go from here and have never felt so poorly treated as a customer. I've read horror stories of this happening before with Wamu-Chase, and I'm sure that money means a lot less to them than it does to me. Is it true what the Wamu-Chase representative told me? That my case is closed and I better get my account back to a positive balance before they come after me? It just seems to unjust and ridiculous. Who is the real thief here—the taxi driver or Wamu-Chase?

Well, Stephen, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, which governs debit card transactions, is pretty clear on this issue. If you report the theft of your card or your code within two business days, your liability is limited to $50.

Since you seen to have exhausted your options with the bank, it's time to file a formal complaint with their regulator. Here's how you do that:

• Contact WaMu/Chase with a formal complaint. You can do this in writing, or by email. Keep a copy of this complaint for your records.
• Figure out which agency regulates your bank by calling or using FDIC's Bank Find.
• Write a formal complaint letter to the bank's regulatory agency. Follow the FTC's instructions for writing a complaint.

  This document also has the correct contact information for the various regulatory agencies. Keep a copy of this complaint for your records.

By filing a complaint, the regulating agency will investigate whether WaMu/Chase actually violated any banking regulations.

If that doesn't work, you can always try suing them in small claims court. This small claims advice page says you can serve a small claims lawsuit to a bank teller!

Also, since you're in NYC, 311 can help you locate free legal advice.

Good luck, and remember kids — use the taxi's official credit card machine.

(Photo:ataq411)

"Dear Chase,

Sincerely,
David

That was sent on 7/13 3:53pm, I got a call that at the time I couldnt answer at 4:22pm.

I called back the next morning at 9:44am and reached Lisa who told me she was able to return my rate to the previous level, 12.24% and credit me the difference of $251.71 for the six months of finance charges at the 29.99% rate. While I havent gotten the confirmation email she said I would get, the next day I logged onto my Chase account and can see the $251.71 has been credited to my account.

I'd say this is a happy ending. And now I can pay down my card faster and graduate school with only my student loans.

Oh and just because I'm a math major doesn't means I'm good with money. Money is a whole different kind of beast.""

Robert's fiancee received a new card in the mail from Chase, and had the presence of mind to call the bank and ask what was going on.

Yesterday, my fiancee received an envelope from Chase (her bank). Inside was a brand new debit card with a stick on it that says it is replacing her old card and to activate it immediately. The two cards looked almost identical. The only difference between her old card and the new one is that the new one had the phrase "leisure rewards" in small letters on it. My fiancee immediately called Chase to find out why she was sent a new card when her old one hadn't expired yet. The Chase rep, who my fiancee says was kind of rude (and attempted to upsell her on a credit card while helping her out) told my fiancee that she did not have to activate the new card, it was optional. By activating the new card, my fiancee would be enrolled in a new debit points program where she would gain four points for ever dollar she spends (except that the program will not award points for any transaction that uses the PIN, effectively ruling out most uses of a debit card). On top of that, there is a 25 dollar a year fee for using the new card.

I just think its a bit shady for Chase to send (unsolicited) new cards out to people that look almost identical with instructions that they are to replace the old cards and activate immediately when these new cards only generate new fees for the card holder.

A $25 fee for a debit card? Nice one, Chase. Learn from this story, and read the fine print and/or question every new thing that your bank sends to you. Just because they send you a new debit card, that doesn't mean you're required to use it.

(Photo: hagner_james)

Such is former Circuit City credit card holder Jesse's plight:

I held a Circuit City store card for about two years, rarely using it but keeping it around for the fairly substantial credit limit. When the store closed, I waited to hear what would become of the card, as a closed account would drastically reduce my available credit and ding my credit rating.

From the close of the store through the beginning of May, I heard nothing from Chase. I contacted them through their online form, where I was informed that a Chase Visa with the same limit would be sent to my home within 7-10 business days. Three weeks later, nothing. I contacted them again via the online form, and was informed a replacement card with a new account number would be sent in 3-5 business days. Again, nothing.

I called in June, and was informed that my card was switching over to a Best Buy store card. Not what I wanted, but it was something. I was told to expect the card in 7-10 business days. I called again about ten days ago, informed them that I had not received a thing, and was told that another replacement card was being sent in 3-5 business days.

I called today, after two straight months of having received absolutely nothing, and was informed that my account had been closed for "business reasons" on June 24th, with no notification or warning to me. A letter was allegedly sent, but like everything else, I've received absolutely nothing. This of course affects my credit rating, but more importantly, I was misled multiple times about the nature of my relationship with the bank both via e-mail and through their live representatives, and I have no idea if there are cards or accounts open floating in the ether, because they won't tell me how many other accounts I have with the bank unless I can give them the last four digits of card numbers that I don't have and never received.

A few days later, Jesse tried logging on to his new account:

They've still sent me nothing - they told me that a letter was sent out on June 24th, but I still haven't heard anything else. Interestingly, when I go to chase.com/bestbuy and log in with my old Circuit City information, I have an open account with a $0 balance and a current due date. When I call Chase about this card, they tell me that it doesn't exist and that the account was closed.

I'm totally confused.

Sounds like Best Buy and Chase are just as confused as Jesse. What is he to do, commenters?

(Photo: FastFords)

Joey wrote in with this tale of annoyance and woe:

Last Friday, when I stopped at a gas station and tried to pay for gas with my Chase Freedom credit card, the machine told me it was declined. I thought it was a problem with the machine so I went inside and tried to use the card with the person working. The card was denied again. Frustrated, I called Chase Card Services to figure out what was going on.

The rep told me my card had been cancelled. Not only my Freedom card, but also my 3 other Chase credit cards (I use them for different rewards). I told him it was outrageous that I hadn't received any early notification, and all he could say was that I would be getting something in the mail soon. I asked why my cards were canceled, and his response was that I had too many loans out so Chase considered me a risk. For the record, I do have loans that I'm paying off - my student loans and the loan on a recently purchased house. However, I've always paid the balance on my Chase credit cards in full every month and rarely ever am I late (the last time was at least 6 months ago). Nothing in my history with them would cause them to think I would not pay my bills. The rep couldn't do anything for me so I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was told they were busy and that one would call me back. No one has since.

This angered me to no end and ruined my weekend. Not only did 4 out of the 5 credit cards I have get cancelled (I still have an Amex), the rep told me that since my credit cards were cancelled, I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the rewards I had accumulated on the card. I currently have over $100 in rewards from Chase that I've been saving to get the $250 check for $200 reward dollars program they had. So now they expect me to pay the remainder of my bill, but they're screwing me out of money I could potentially get from them.

Today, my parents told me all their Chase cards had been canceled as well, and their credit history is probably better than mine. I assume there are many other people out there that have been affected as well. What the #*&@ is going on with Chase!?!?! Do they really have the right to do this!? Can I at least force them to let me use my rewards?

Fight back, Consumerist-style. If escalating things in the normal customer service channels doesn't work, we have some ideas about who to call or e-mail. Be polite, professional, and firm.

Have you experienced similar cancellations at the hands of Chase? Have you fought back? Share your story in the comments.

RELATED:
Contact Information For Chase CEOs
Chase Raises Reader's APR To 148.14%

(Photo: frankieleon)

So it hit him pretty hard when Chase told him it was doubling his monthly minimum payment rate on a card (on which he's carrying a $7,500 balance) from 2.5 percent to 5 percent of his total balance. The leap from payments south of $200 to $375 could be a budget-breaker. He called Chase customer service on several occasions and went as high up the escalations ladder as he could manage, but they told him nothing could be done — even though he has other Chase cards that aren't getting monthly minimum hikes — and the change would take effect in 45 days.

A balance transfer isn't an option because his other cards are maxed out and no new card he applies for will give him a limit of more than $500. He's too scrupulous of a guy to ever go into negotiations to lower the bill or even consider declaring bankruptcy. Obviously you can tell from his financial situation that he's not exactly a financial wizard, but he's no dope, either. Just a middle-class guy who has ground his way through decades of modest work for modest pay in retail and clerical jobs, busting his hump — and nest egg — along with my mom to put three kids through school. (Although it is frustrating how he ignores my money-saving advice I'm always dropping on him — Cut the land line, old man!)

Dad suspects Chase's strategy is to make it so he can't afford his minimums, forcing him to miss a payment so his balance starts to skyrocket, and I think he's on to something there. Any brilliant advice for my dad out there?

(Photo: me and the sysop)

Chase Bank sent me a notice they are hiking minimum payment fees from present level of 2% to 5%!! This means on my account, where I took their balance transfer offer for over $25K several years ago at a fixed 5.9% rate, that my monthly payment is now going to go up $558 to $930 !!!

This is insane. More people will claim inability to pay or declare bankruptcy with this "strategy." My wife and I are trying to make ends meet with both our salaries reduced by our companies, costs for everything increasing as usual. This news from Chase causes us immediate financial stress, as it will others.

Isn't this behavior the exact kind Congress is trying to prevent???

Greg doesn't specify, but some customers who are subject to this hike aren't given the option to close their accounts at the previous terms. They're just stuck with the new supersized payment.

If you're a Chase customer carrying a large balance who has been hit with this minimum payment increase and you simply can't afford it, consider starting some sort of debt management program. The credit counseling website Vision Credit says that Chase in particular has become very responsive to requests for payment reductions for customers who are in debt management programs—in fact, Chase now gives some credit counselors the ability to lower monthly payments automatically.

Entering a debt management or credit counseling program may seem like a serious change in your financial situation, but it sounds like Chase has already put you there. It's also a lot less nuclear than declaring bankruptcy, and a lot less damaging than letting a balance that large go into default.

Take action now, though—don't struggle to meet the new payment requirements for the next month or so if it's just putting off the inevitable.

"Chase Improves Credit Counseling Benefits" [Vision Credit]
(Photo: Logan Antill)

Chloe says:

I'm not one to start hand-wringing over credit card company marketing tactics, but the new Chase ads that've been popping up on, of all things, Facebook strike me as a new kind of low for them. I can't tell if it's because I'm in the right demographic (young, college freshman, female) or simply happening as a whole, but lo and behold, sponsored ads now appear with the innocuous promise of a free "latest edition of the Twilight series" provided all that you do is take their quiz and, oh, make a purchase with the card they also have you apply for.

It's like some semilegal hybrid of the sign-up-for-a-free-gift internet scam and the college-student-prey credit card marketing booths, except that instead of some school branded knick knack you get a book aimed rather squarely at preteen girls....and a nearly 19% variable APR credit card. Hey Chase, some of us teens read the fine print, and we can tell when you're trying to sock it to us....

We can't tell you how happy we are to get this email, Chloe. It's as if all of our hard work is actually accomplishing something.

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)

Given the state of the economy today, is it better for me to reduce my 401k to a minimum and use the extra funds to pay off my credit card debt? This is a good time to put money into the markets, based on my admittedly limited understanding, but with interest rates going through the roof (my personal Chase card went from 12.99 to 23.99), I would like to kick down my cc debt (now at around $6,000) faster. I'm currently only putting 6% in my 401k, and I'm fairly young (35). Have you advice for me?

Does your employer do any sort of matching? If so, keep at least enough of your salary directed to your 401k to earn that free investment money. Beyond that, however, we think it comes down largely to whether or not you're disciplined enough to see this strategy through to the the end as quickly as possible; it's probably not going to be worth it if you end up amassing revolving debt again.

If you can stick to the plan, and then re-route everything you were paying on the Chase card into your 401k as soon as you pay off the card, it could work out in your favor. We say this after running some sample numbers through Bankrate's calculators. We got the idea from former financial planner Gary Foreman at stretcher.com, who suggests using these Bankrate tools to estimate your net worth after n years.

What will it take to pay off my credit card? [Bankrate.com]
401(k) Savings Calculator [Bankrate.com]

Here's what we did. To keep it simple, we assumed no raises over the next 4 years, as well as no employer matching contribution, and we started the 401k balance at $0. Instead of true net worth, we're only looking at the total net worth of the 401k after 4 years after you subtract the cost of paying off the credit card.

Annual Salary: $40,000
Currently paying 6% into 401k, or $2400/yr, $200/mo
Debt: $6,000 @ 23.99% APR

Let's say your current Chase payment is $200/mo. At that rate, it would take 47 months to pay off, and cost a total of $9,400.

Let's say you cut your 401k contribution in half from 6% to 3% of the 40k salary—in other words down to $100 a month. You added the other $100 to the $200 you were already paying Chase. Under this new $300/mo payment, it would take 26 months to pay off, and cost a total of $7,800.

Now let's look at how much your 401k would be worth under both scenarios, assuming an annual rate of return of 8%.

If you leave things as they are and contribute 6% a month over four years, your 401k would be worth $11,278.

However, if you dropped your contribution to 3% for two years, but then bumped it up to 12% for the remaining two years, it would be worth $13,448. We say bump it to 12% because we're imagining that after you paid off the Chase card, you'd have that extra $300 a month that you could re-allocate to your 401k, meaning you could put $400 a month total into it for the remaining two years of this plan.

Scenario 1 (leave things as is):
Value of 401k after four years: $11,278
Total cost of Chase debt: $9,400
Total net worth: $1878

Scenario 2 (temporarily reallocate funds):
Value of 401k after four years: $13,448
Total cost of Chase debt: $7,800
Total net worth: $5648

We fudged a lot on this estimate. For example, we rounded up by 1 month on the first scenario and down by 2 months on the second in order to use the Bankrate tools, which slightly exaggerates the difference between the two final numbers. We also didn't take taxes into account, since you'll be paying more if you reduce the amount going into your 401k, and that should slightly work in favor of Scenario 2.

But even going by such rough estimates, you can see that the second scenario is better—IF you can follow a couple of rules to the letter:

• As soon as you pay off the debt, reallocate that monthly payment to your 401k to make up for the lean times.
• Don't rack up any more revolving debt.

Having said all this, you should really run the real numbers and try to be more precise if you want a more certain answer. Or go see a financial planner.

(Photo: dana.ocker)

Official Site [Chase]

UPDATE: Actually, this is just the second conversion. The third and last conversion will happen in the fall.

(Photo: mr.hodgson)

My fiance' is dealing with a frustrating issue where she mailed 4 checks for deposit totaling $1,150 to WaMU three weeks ago. She used an envelope for deposits supplied by WaMU with a pre-printed address. The checks have been lost in space and after four calls to Chase customer service and three weeks passing, still no sign of the $1,150.

They keep telling her the checks were mailed to the wrong address b/c WaMU is now Chase, but the checks would be returned to sender by now or forwarded to the correct address. Each call, they tell her to wait 5 days and keep checking the account, if they don't post to the account, call back. When she calls back, they can't find any of the previous information given on her case and she has to hold for 10-15 min. In this economy or anytime, that's alot of money to lose without explanation. Very frustrating. Any advice? Any other reports of this issue?

Has anyone else had a similar problem? This kind of run-around is ridiculous. Call Chase Bank's executive customer service.

(Photo: jmchuff)

Take David, who was a happy WaMu customer but feels burned at the way Chase took over his account. Chase sent him a novella about policy changes, including this gem about charging an overdraft fee even if the customer has requested that overdrafts be denied. David says he's quoting the "changes to deposit agreement" verbatim.

As a former WaMu customer, now part of the Chase Überbanking Hellscape, I just received a 50-or-so-page booklet telling me about all the wonderful, exciting services I will be entitled to effective July 24, 2009.

This one caught my eye, a bullet point under the heading "Changes to deposit agreement:"

"Even if you have directed us not to, we may, but aren't required to, honor debit card or any other transactions authorized against insufficient funds. We will assess an Insufficient Funds Fee if the withdrawal caused an overdraft."

So, basically, they are telling me that no matter what I may want, they may (or may not) honor (or decline) a transaction that may (or may not) incur a fee (or not).

Dave says he's looking to quit Chase and move his money to a bank that offers a checking account with no fees or minimums. Any suggestions?

(Photo: epicharmus)

The banks declined to comment, but Reuters says sources told them that they've all submitted applications to repay the TARP money.

Earlier Tuesday, JPMorgan Chief Executive James Dimon told shareholders he expects regulators will let a few strong banks repay TARP funds within weeks.

"We believe we can and should be able to repay TARP," Dimon said during remarks at his bank's annual meeting. "We believe the government will allow a few well-capitalized banks to repay TARP in the next couple of weeks."

Banks discuss TARP repayment with U.S.: Fed official [Reuters]
(Photo:epicharmus)

I got a letter from Chase yesterday that they were nerfing the Chase Freedom card (no more 3% on certain types of purchases, no more $50 bonus with $200 cashout, so it's basically just a Discover card now).

Are there any good rewards card left? Or will we soon be looking back at rewards programs as a bygone artifact of the EZ-credit era? "Remember back in the day when credit card companies would pay people to buy stuff?" Nerf letter, inside.

Many readers received $0 statements. Garrett was one of the first:

I just recently received my Chase credit card statement, and was puzzled to find that the minimum payment was zero. Looking carefully at the statement, I found the following listed under "Important News":

You have the flexibility to skip a payment. you must pay past due and overlimit [sic] balances immediately. However, the remaining minimum payment for this month has been reduced to $0. Finance charges will continue to accrue. To reduce your balance, feel free to make a payment.

While I appreciate the flexibility, I wonder how many cardholders will be tricked into not making a payment, and incur unnecessary interest expenses (and interest on interest!).

Good question. For some people, not having to make a minimum payment could be a godsend, but that isn't a good thing in the big picture. Why not let customers opt in, instead of including everyone who is eligible by default? Many customers aren't as observant as Consumerist readers, and will assume they owe nothing for May.

(Photo: elle_emm)

The Syracuse Post-Standard reported:

Chase employees discovered the skimming device, which records the information from the magnetic strip of any card that passes through, said Kirk, resident agent in charge of the Syracuse office of the Secret Service.

Since the investigation began, police determined that the suspects were at the Cicero bank on at least five occasions in November, stealing about $40,000 from customers.

The total amount they scammed was $1.8 million and most of it was wired to Eastern Europe, Kirk said.

According to a purported victim in the article's comments, this wasn't a terribly sophisticated skimmer.

That is the exact ATM I used, and whammy, they cloned my card and used it at 2 Pennsylvania Walmart's. I remember thinking the bank must be cheap to fix the ATM with tape, stupid me.

Then, a comment on the local economy:

Why would thieves target Rochester and Cicero to skim money. If they visited the comments on this website they would have known that hardly anyone has a job here. I guess this is probably the only tourism we're going to get so we shouldn't complain...

In the meantime, the Daily News reports $500,000 in thefts by skimmer on Staten Island. This case sounds similar, but it's not yet clear whether these were also perpetrated by the men in Florida.

We've covered ATM skimmers and how to spot them extensively in recent months. Here are a few highlights:
ID An ATM Skimmer
Here's What A Card Skimmer Looks Like On An ATM
Video: How An ATM Skimmer Scam Works

Romanian men charged in ATM scam in Cicero [Post-Standard] (Thanks, Chris!)
ATMs on Staten Island rigged for identity theft; bandits steal $500G [Daily News]

He wrote to us:

Here's the situation, last month, my payment was returned because Bank Of America decided it didn't want to give Chase the money. I received a phone call from Chase saying it was returned and that I would be charged a returned payment fee of 39.00 and a late fee of $39.00. But, if i scheduled a new payment, the late fee would be returned. That's fair I thought. Until this month. I check my online account and instead of my usual $28 minimum payment, it's over $200! I check my activity from last month and I am shocked.

First, Chase charged me $39.00 for being late. Then charged me $39.00 for going over my limit (caused by their late and returned payment fees). Then they charged me $39.00 for a late fee adjustment and another $39.00 for an overlimit fee adjustment (the "refunds"). So instead of crediting my account, they charged me. They even adjusted my finance charge 5 CENTS to be more reflective of my new balance caused by all their fees!

I just got off the phone with customer care and I am so grateful. My rep was very nice and helped sort out the situation, which has been resolved. And it only took 15 minutes! I want people to be aware of this potential problem and be on the lookout for it. It can be easily missed if you're used to large payments. My case might be unique but there's always that chance.

If you're having trouble following this, he provided the relevant section of his online statement as a visual aid:

This is an extreme case, but watch your banking and credit card statements carefully for mysterious fees.

(Photo: melancon)

Over-The-Limit Block At Chase Could Save You Money [CreditMattersBlog] (Photo: gemteck1)

"The woman who answered the phone — it's not like she wasn't nice or anything — but it was kind of evident that she wasn't in the States," Brown said.

The call center belonged to JP Morgan Chase, the firm hired by the State of Florida to run its food stamp program. It turns out that lots of banks outsource their government food stamp contracts to places like India, says ABC.

"Why is the state of Florida sending these jobs away?" Brown asked. "The thing that really iced it for me, I knew that JP Morgan had gotten bailout funds."

So she called her local politicians and then she reached out to her local newspaper, the Palm Beach Post. The paper did a story two weeks ago about the $50 million Florida paid JP Morgan in the last three years to administer the food stamps distribution.

Those services include 24-hour customer-service call centers. Some of those calls were answered in Bangalore and Gurgaon, India. Others were taken at two U.S. call centers.

The next day the head of the state's Department of Children and Families said something needed to change.

"I don't want any calls going to India," he said. "We need to take care of this."

The state now has a commitment from JP Morgan to move all of its calls to the United States, according to Judi Spann, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families.

Florida's unemployment rate is currently at 9.7%, and the situation isn't unique. ABC says that other states, some of them with over 10% unemployment have their food stamp programs outsourced.

Others, like Indiana, required the firms bidding on their food stamp programs to open a call center in the state.

Take Indiana. JP Morgan gets 62 to 64 cents for each food stamp case handled monthly there. With 296,245 cases right now, that means the state is paying JP Morgan $183,672 a month on top of any other fees it collects.

Indiana eliminated 100 full-time employees when it hired JP Morgan to make the program cost-neutral, according to Marcus Barlow, spokesman for the state's Family and Social Services Administration.

But unlike Florida, Tennessee or West Virginia, Indiana keeps all its calls domestically. In fact, all of its calls go to a call center in Maryville, Ind., Barlow said, because the state required an in-state call center when soliciting bids.

Food Stamps Create Jobs… in India [ABCNews]
(Photo:Spidra Webster)

Brad writes:

I recently had a poor experience with Chase's (formerly WaMu) credit/fraud division. See *the meat* to get to the point.

[BACKGROUND]

I entered the wrong address during a wire transfer and my account got flagged. I got a robocall that let me input a bunch of 1's saying that yes, these were approved transactions. Done! Or so I thought.. I tried to swipe my card and get gas and got DECLINED. I called a CSR at the # they provided and after using your tip to get a real person (simply stay quiet and wait until they transfer you to a real person; they assume you are on a rotary phone) I was questioned extensively about my identity and the person said "OK NO PROB GO AHEAD EVERYTHING IS FINE".

Then I went to buy $108 worth of groceries and swiped the card. DECLINED. I was livid.

[USER TIP]

I went home and called the # and after using the above tip to get a rep, I said "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON WITH MY CARD!". She told me not to use profanity and put me on hold. I waited no longer then 30 seconds until I got wise, hung up and dialed back to get someone new.

[MEAT]

I called back and gave my basic info to a new rep. They told me they saw that I had previously called (no less than 30 seconds ago!) and used profanity at one of their operators. So it is in my file now that I am an official asshole. I have always tried to be kind to CSRs in the past because I can relate to their shitty job, but at this point I was beyond reproach and needed to vent! I am an adult, and so are they! If I want to curse I feel it is my right! Should your readers be wary of this, or is it our consumer-given right to demand "WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!"

[EPILOGUE] After my tongue-lashing and a triple-assurance that my account is in working order and not flagged, I hung up. We'll see what happens when I try to buy some smokes in a couple hours.

Companies keep notes on their customers, and if you curse at their CSRs, you're going to be deservingly flagged as a troublemaker. We know dealing with companies can be infuriating. We all want to curse, but we're adults, and the guy on the other end of the line didn't cause your problem. Recognize that you're dealing with a fellow person slogging through their day, and be nice. They just might go the extra mile to help you out.

(Photo: Lisa Brewster)

Yesterday, a report from Bloomberg described the likelihood of liquidation at 95%.

Chrysler LLC has a 95 percent probability of entering bankruptcy as time dwindles before its April 30 deadline to cut debt and complete an alliance with Italy's Fiat SpA, an industry analyst said.

The likeliest outcome of a Chrysler filing for court protection would be the purchase of some factories and brands by automakers including Fiat, said Michael Robinet, head of global forecasting for CSM Worldwide Inc. in Northville, Michigan.

"Nobody has a good idea about what's going to" exist of the third-largest U.S. automaker once it goes into bankruptcy, Robinet said in a speech today in Detroit.

The bleak news came after lenders rejected an offer by the Treasury department that would have reduced Chrysler's debt. Now a new offer is on the table. The latest word on the deal comes from the Wall Street Journal:

The Treasury now proposes that the banks and other lenders accept as payment 22% of the $6.9 billion they are owed plus a 5% equity stake in Chrysler, said several people familiar with the matter.

That's up from an earlier Treasury proposal that the banks and other lenders accept 15% of what Chrysler owes them and receive no Chrysler stock.

Chrysler's lenders, including JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup, rejected the first offer and proposed that Chrysler pay back 65% of it's debt as well as offer a seat on its board.

Banks Get New Offer for Debt in Chrysler [WSJ]
Chrysler Bankruptcy Now 95% Certain, CSM Analyst Says (Update1) [Bloomberg]
(Photo:Ralph Krawczyk Jr)

It's #6 Chase VS #11 General Motors

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2009 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers, and seeded according to number of nominations. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america. Download the bracket here.

[I] had to go down an escalator and there were like 4-5 suited people at the bottom staring and smiling at me. My instinct was to run back up the escalator, it was really intimidating. Then I told like 5 separate people who were circling me like sharks that I was fine and preferred the teller. And then one guy went so far as to grab my withdrawal slip out of my hand!! He saw it and was like, 'Oh, you don't know your account number? I can help you with that from over here...' It was unreal.

Sometimes there's such a thing as too much customer service...

Rants: Why are Chase Staffers So Aggressive? [Racked] (Photo: Digital Sextant)

ATM DANGER BARED [NY Post] (Photo: Paul Lowry)

• Slots that don't fit (and can be removed!)
• Multiple mirrors - one could be hiding a camera that records your PIN
• Strange ATM error messages
• Trouble inserting or removing your card
• The ATM looks different from the other ATMs around it
• Dummy brochure boxes with hidden cameras on them