Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A Policy Change for JPMorgan Chase

On 1/18/13 I received an email from JPMorgan Chase:


Dear Chase OnlineSM Customer:

A message regarding "Our Chase Online Service Agreement and Bill Payment & Transfers Agreements will change on February 17, 2013" has been sent to your Secure Message Center. To see your message, log on to www.Chase.com and click "Secure Message Center" on the My Accounts page. If you are already logged on to Chase Online, you can see your message(s) at any time by visiting the Secure Message Center.

The message will be available in your Secure Message Center until 04/18/2013.

Thank you for being a valued Chase Online customer.

ABOUT THIS MESSAGE:
This service message was delivered to you as a Chase customer to provide you with account updates and information about your account benefits. Chase values your privacy and your preferences.

If you want to contact Chase, please do not reply to this message, but instead go to www.Chase.com. For faster service, please enroll or log on to your account. Replies to this message will not be read or responded to.

Your personal information is protected by state-of-the-art technology. For more detailed security information or to update your privacy choices, go to our Online Privacy Notice. To change your e-mail address, please log on to Chase Online and click your e-mail address on the left-hand side of the My Accounts Page.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So, I went to my online account to find out what was going on.
I could not get access to the online Chase.com no matter what I did.
I called Chase. They could not help me.
Later in the day I actually got online.  Here is the secure message:

Date:01-18-2013 18:00:00
From:Online Banking Support
Subject:Our Chase Online Service Agreement and Bill Payment & Transfers Agreements will change on February 17, 2013

Message:

We're making enhancements to Chase Online and Chase Mobile® Banking. As a result, we are updating our Chase Online Service Agreement and the Bill Payment & Transfers Agreements starting on February 17, 2013.  Here are the highlights:
  • We've added a section regarding Payments to Chase Loan or Credit Accounts.
  • The Online and Mobile Bill Pay Guarantee has been expanded to also cover Payments to a Chase Loan or Credit Account made from a Chase checking account, in addition to Online and Mobile Bill Payments.
  • Duplicate Payments: If you submit a duplicate Bill Payment request, an error message may be displayed on our website but you may choose to bypass the message and schedule the payment. If you submit a duplicate payment to a Chase Loan or Credit Account, an error message may be displayed and such duplicate payments may not be permitted. No error message will be displayed for duplicate payments made through different methods (e.g., Bill Payment and PFM) and the payments will be processed as normal.
  • If you are enrolled in Alerts or Chase Mobile, there may be a disruption in service when you change your communications service provider. 
We've updated the Chase Online Service Agreement and Bill Payment & Transfers Agreements to include this new information. You agree to these new terms and conditions by continuing to use Chase Online. The updated agreements will be available online on or after
February 17, 2013. To review the latest agreement, click "Legal Agreements and Disclosures" at the bottom of any page after you log in to Chase Online.
If you have any questions, please call us at
1-877-CHASEPC (1-877-242-7372).
Sincerely,
Jennifer Myhre
Senior Vice President
Chase Consumer Banking
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC
LC-PNT3A13


Now, there are two problems here. First, there is no personal information here so why send it with an email saying there is a secure message. Why not sent an email with this information?
Next, the contents here is vague and you cannot tell what they are trying to do.  What's more, you cannot see the new agreement until such time as the new agreement goes into effect. So, I wrote to Chase to get a copy of the new agreement.

1/18/13

I received a secure message indicating substantial changes to the terms of the on-line service effective Feb 17, 2013. The message contained very vague statements. It also said that the exact terms and conditions would not be made available until Feb. 17, 2013. I need time to review those terms before that date so that I may make an intelligent decision as to whether I want to continue under those terms after that date and it will take me a considerable effort to change banks should I choose to do so. Please provide me with the complete text of that soon to be applicable agreement now so that I may review it.

Next, I got a secure response, but this time they did not send me an email to say that they had responded. I found it a week later.

1/18/13

We apologize for the inconvenience you recently 
experienced. We value you as a customer and want your 
Chase experience to be easy and satisfying as possible. 

As of this time, we are unable to send you a copy of the 
complete text. We will be sending you a follow up e-mail 
once we have the information available. 

If you have any questions or require further assistance, 
please e-mail us via the Secure Message Center or contact 
our Internet Service Center at 1-877-242-7372.

Thank you, 


Bea Sanoy
Internet Service Center

So, I responded

1/24/13
This is the closest thing to a non answer answer that I have ever seen. I will start preparing to remove my accounts from your bank. This is ridiculous. You ttreat your customers like dirt.

Upon completion of composing the message I got a message from the Chase.com online system saying that they could not process my "Secure Email" that I would have to try again later.

This must be a total joke.

**************************************************************

1/25/13
I have had more problems with the secure message server, so I have lodged a formal complaint at chase. In summary, these are the problems:

1. I received an email indicating there was a secure email for me that was a subject matter that did not require secure mail.
2. I could not get into the secure mail inbox even though I logged onto the chase.com on line banking service
3. When I did get on to the service, I discovered a vague message about a change that might affect me on Feb. 17, but there were no details.
4. I requested the changed terms and was told that I could not get those until they become effective (i.e., no review period)
5. The notification indicating that secure message with the response was not emailed to me as previously indicated that it would be.
6. The response was a non response.
7. The secure message server would not process my response to Chase in two different ways:
     a. It indicated that the server was not available, when clearly my response was sent and responded.
     b. It would not take the required information that I had to put in indicating the operating system and browser that I use.

I have now spoken to a Kevin Arnold at Chase who has taken down all this information and says that he will get me the information I need.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1/29/13
Dear Mr. Arnold,


I have heard nothing meaningful from you or anyone else at Chase with regard to the issues I have raised.
I must confess my befuddlement with Chase's behavior lately. Starting February 1, in anticipation of not receiving any clarification from Chase on the bizzarre email foray lately, I will start the process of moving all my accounts to other banks. I anticipate I will complete that process by February 17 for the deposit accounts. The mortgage loan will take longer.
I can't believe this behavior.

XXXXXXXX
PS. I did receive another secure message that was meaningless, but, true to form, there was no email to me notifying me that the secure message had been sent three days previously.

2/7/13
I have now received another statement of policy change from Chase. I have started another post on that one. You may see that by clicking here.


10 comments:

  1. I, too, have long wondered why they post messages which seem designed to confuse or unnecessarily complicate a procedure which could so easily be simplified, written in plain English.
    At times I've spent a half-hour or more trying to penetrate the online verbiage, repeating routines, trying alternative methods in order to comply with dense procedures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not even a Chase customer and I also received this email. Thought it was a phishing scam and Google led me here in my search...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have also am not a Chase customer any longer and received the email. Thanks for your blog post, I forwarded my email onto a good friend along with your post. He's been talking about how much he dislikes Chase so this should give him more fuel! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am a Chase customer. The message was sent to my old e-mail address (which I still maintain), but I have been receiving Notifications from Chase for the last year to my new e-mail address, so they should not have retained my old one. I can usually spot a scam, spam, phishing, etc ploy. I have been in IT for 40 years and retired as the Postmaster for my ISP, maintaing not only several thousand customer accounts, but also providing tech support for those customers with problems. When I sent a message to Chase, I was blown off with basically "We didn't send that. It must have come from a scammer or phisher." Yeah, right. Would you believe they didn't ask for a copy of the message or even ask what the letter was about. I'm not even going to waste my time sending it to their fraud/abuse department.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Please excuse the above deletion as I had made a typo and the only way to correct it was to remove the entire reply. My original reply follows with the typo corrected.
      ORIGINAL REPLY:
      In my case the email merely told me to look at my secure messages on Chase.com on line. There is no way that they penetrated that firewall. Further, when I sent the secure message back through Chase's secure messaging system Chase responded that the changes to the agreement would be available when I do not have any more time to review it before they go into effect (Feb 17). I do not believe this is a scam of any sort. They are just stupid.

      I did run into a similar situation as you describe with DirectTV (see my blog post on DirecTV). DirecTV blew me off that they did not send the email, when in fact, they did send it to me.

      Delete
  5. I don't even have an account still at Chase and got this message just now, so I tried to log in but could not unless I provided SSN, which I would not do. I had closed my mortgage at Chase about 2 years ago and have no other accounts with them. I had moved to a local bank because Chase's computers had been compromised at that time, they had lost my name and email address, and would not apologize, claiming that legally this information is not "personal" information, so there is no problem. I appreciate your posting the information about this, I found it via Google by searching for the information in the ridiculous email. Don't waste your time. Large companies pad the pay of the top and just keep on by momentum until enough people like myself bail out. My advice: BAIL OUT!

    ReplyDelete
  6. While we are on the subject of Chase Online, I have, today, attempted to use my online access and have been denied service. I have called Chase Online and they are experiencing technical difficulties and I should try again in a few hours. I find the trend here disturbing. It is clear to me that the secure message server is not working properly. It has bugs, serios bugs. There is also, of course, the policy level problem with Chase On line, which is the main subject of this post. But, it becoming painfully clear now that the entire infrastructure of Chase Online is teetering toward a catastrophic crash or it will be so unreliable that it will not serve the purposes for which I depend upon it. I am going to bail out of Chase.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have received today another message from Chase with regard to changes to their Online capabilities. The email follows. I don't see how they can make these changes without first fixing their other problems.

    If you are having trouble viewing this message, please click here.
    Email Security Information
    Note: This is a service message with information related to your Chase account(s). It may include specific details about transactions, products or online services. If you recently closed your account, please disregard this message.




    COMING SOON: WE’RE SIMPLIFYING YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH PAYMENTS & TRANSFERS.
    We’re always looking to improve your banking experience, which is why we’ve been working hard to bring you a simpler, clearer, more streamlined experience on the Payments & Transfers section of Chase Online and Chase Mobile.


    When paying bills on Chase Online or on Chase Mobile, your payees will be in one convenient payee list, making them easier to get to. For your convenience, if you have other Chase accounts (e.g., a credit card or loan), they will be added to the top of your payee list.
    The redesigned menu on Chase Online features new tabs — “Send Payments,” “Collect & Deposit” and “Transfer Funds” — so you can access your funds easily to make payments and transfer money fast.
    With Chase Online, you’ll be able to organize your payees into groups, such as “utilities” or “insurance,” so they’re easier to find.



    If you have any questions, please call us 24/7 at 1-877-CHASEPC (1‑877‑242‑7372). Stay tuned for additional updates as we continue to make it easier and more convenient for you to use Chase Online and Chase Mobile.
    As always, we thank you for choosing Chase.





    If you would like to learn more about email security or want to report a suspicious email, click here.

    Note: If you are concerned about clicking links in this email, the Chase services mentioned above can be accessed by typing www.chase.com/PaymentCommunication directly into your browser.



    ABOUT THIS MESSAGE
    If you want to contact Chase, please do not reply to this message, but instead go to www.chase.com. For faster service, please enroll or log in to your account. Replies to this message will not be read or responded to.

    Your personal information is protected by advanced technology. For more detailed security information, view our Online Privacy Notice. To request in writing: Chase Privacy Operations, P.O. Box 659752, San Antonio, TX 78265-9752.

    JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC
    © 2013 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    LC-PT621

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just became of this Chase "online transfer and payment" change today, when I went to make a loan payment using the Chase website by electronic withdrawal from my business checking account. (I prefer to manually log in and pay each month rather - rather than use automatic withdrawal). I called the service department, and one person attempted to explain to me:
    - - that it was an issue of getting the proper fees charge - - and that it involved my payment as initially being treated as a cash advance. She said that is how my payment had been handled in the past. I challenged her statement saying that I never had seen any reporting of such cash advance on my prior bills, which stumped her because the cash advances she found on my card were all much less than the actual amount of my loan payment.
    - - and that a new agreement was needed in order to authorize such electronic withdrawal from my non-Chase checking account.

    I still don't understand exactly what she was saying, except that it is all a matter of fees - most likely in some way more fees for Chase, or the settlement of the matter of fees as between my business non-Chase bank and Chase.

    The lack of transparency is appalling.
    Will be seriously considering cancelling.

    ReplyDelete