We’re Here For You

Whenever any corporation says they're "here for you", be wary!

Here's my love note to Chase Bank.

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J.P. Morgan Chase & Company
Attention: James Dimon: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Office of the Secretary
270 Park Avenue, 38th Floor
NY, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Dimon,

This is to inform you that I have filed a complaint against JPMorgan Chase and Co. with the FDIC. And while you sit in your Park Avenue office with a view of the city, far removed from the everyday transactions that occur in the many branches of your banking establishment, I thought I would let you know why I have a complaint in the event that you do receive this letter and actually read it.

Now I know that Chase has a "Customer No Service Department", but I chose to start at the top because maybe I would get a response better than, "There's really nothing that we can do."

I have a client that pays me twice a month. Today when I deposited a check at my branch, I was told that 10% of the check funds would be held for 48 hours. This has never happened before when I deposit their checks, so this really made no logical sense. When I questioned this, the teller said there was no reason to justify the unexplained hi-jacking of my funds, that it was just a computer operation that no one had any control over.

Excuse me, Mr. Dimon, but knowing as much as I do about computer technology, (and I'm really good at it), computers don't arbitrarily do things unless they're programmed to do it. I have no answer but a receipt that reads, "Further review may result in delayed availability of this deposit."

The only one who could over-ride this 10% gangland strong-arm was the bank manager. She was not going to be in until tomorrow. When I inquired about the assistant manager, she was conveniently on a conference call for 30 minutes and I was told that there was nothing that she could do anyway.

So while it will take 10 days for the FDIC to investigate this illicit activity and by then the funds will be available I am questioning the ethics as to why your banking establishment feels they have the right to hold 10% of deposited funds in hock on the same payor's checks? I should mention here that they are a very large corporation.

When I read your contact page and saw the words, "Chase is committed to serving you the way you want" I wondered if this is the typical garbage that banks spew to engage the customer's trust or will you honor the written word in the contact page of your website?

When I got the receipt with the hold, here is what immediately came to mind. I believe that I can share this with you, Mr. Dimon. It seems that if you hi-jack the funds of your customers (you know 10% here, 10% there) on certain days from all of your branches, your banking establishment may be able to stock up on interest and make money. I know, Mr. Dimon, it's a bit of a stretch, but just call me a customer who is a conspiracy theorist at heart.

I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. I have attached a copy of my complaint filed with the FDIC.