tl;dr: Chase closed my landscapers account for "fraud" due to not being able to ID me (the check writer) even though I am not a Chase customer, Chase has the money, and my bank has OK'd the transaction.
I had some work done to my yard from a landscaper whom I will call Joe. Now I do all my banking online so I don't have a checkbook so when it came time to pay Joe, I used one of the temporary checks issued when I opened the account - the ones with no customer name. And just for sake of discussion, the amount was in the mid 4 digit range - well below the commonly stated $10k limit for triggering audits and such.
About 2 weeks after Joe deposited the check, Chase removed the money and closed his account, stating fraud prevention because the check had no name. Joe called me, I called my bank, my bank verified that no one from Chase had contacted them but I had them make a note that if anyone did call, the check was indeed valid.
The next day I went with Joe down to the Chase branch and spoke with their manager who was also on the phone with their back office. Chase claimed that they were unable to get ahold of anyone from my bank's customer service (which is complete BS as I have called many times and get someone within 1-2 minutes at most). Chase told me to provide a bank statement, which I did, but they would not accept as it only had a partial account number printed on it. I had to explain to the Chase manager that printing the full account number is a security issue but she didn't seem to care. When I pointed out that I could easily modify the statement in a PDF editor, she still didn't seem to care - as long as it had the full name and number. Chase went on to say that I could provide a notorized letter from my bank verfiying the account, or a direct contact name/number for my bank. After 45 minutes of arguing where I kept insisting they need to call my bank and they kept insisting that they did, I left with the goal of getting a direct contact for my bank.
The next day I visited my bank, explained things to the manager (who kept using the word "insane") and got a letter along with her business card. These were sent to Chase. Chase apparently accepted the check, but still insisted I bring in 2 forms of ID. I called my bank manager back and while speaking with her, she interrupted me to inform me that Chase had not actually contacted her. So apparently Chase is still refusing to make a simple phone call.
So where I currently stand is that Chase is holding my landscapers money, Chase is blaming me because they cannot ID me (even though I am not their customer) and they are refusing to call my bank. Joe has had his account closed (along with a $5 insufficient funds fee after Chase took the check's value out of his account) and I'm sure he is pissed at me. My bank has done everything they can (and more) to verify the transaction. I cannot put a stop payment on the check nor get the money returned as Chase already has it. My bank is trying to contact Chase directly, but no promises as it is a 3rd party issue.
I am at a complete and utter loss as how to move forward short of getting a passport just to have a 2nd form of photo ID. At this point I don't trust Chase to not just declare it fraud and throw it in the shredder anyway.
I'm looking for any advice on how either I or Joe should move forward at getting this resolved. It seems to me like a simple phone call would clear everything up, but Chase refuses to do so.
Thanks in advance.
Submitted October 18, 2017 at 09:51PM by ParasympatheticDot http://ift.tt/2zz9toS
