We've Been Cloned

Approximately, a week and a half ago, I got an e-mail from Chase. We have our mortgage and a small bank account with them. The e-mail stated that my balance was negative -$110.07. How was that possible? We hadn't written a check from that account for over a month. We barely use the account.

I immediately logged into their online system, which was a total pain because I had not logged in since their full merger with Washington Mutual. I guess that I needed to create another account. So I had to hunt for my account number, verify it, etc. I look on their website and see that there was a charge, the day before, for $149.31 to Dual Action Cleanse. Yea um, not our charge.

So I immediately call the bank's telephone number listed on the back of my ATM/debit Card number to report that fraud has occurred involving our account. I went through the phone tree from HELL to finally get to someone. I finally spoke to a representative. It was very very hard to hear the person on the other end of the phone. I explained that the $149.31 charge on our account was not ours. I also told her that my husband and I both had our cards in our possession. The representative tells me that I need to call the company "Dual Action Cleanse" and get them to refund the charge, explain that I did not make it, etc. I said, "ummm okay, and then what". She tells me to call them (Chase) back to let them know that I called "Dual Action Cleanse" to report this. That's it. I did not get a "as Chase, we are going to cancel your debit card number, re-issue new cards, assign this to an investigator, etc"....NOTHING! I could hear crickets in the background..I said, "Ok, I will call them." She had given me their telephone number. She actually assumed that I would have the number, which, I can't understand why she would even think that.

So I call "Dual Action Cleanse" and speak with one of their representatives. I tell them that our debit card was used to make a purchase that was fraudulent. I gave the last four digits of both of our debit card numbers. He found the transaction and advised me that it had been made over the telephone. He confirmed the debit card number belonged to Angry Husband. He actually read out the entire card number and the expiration date. I confirmed that yes, that is our correct card info. I then asked him if they had the card security code, the three digit number from the back of the card. He told me that they did not require that for purchases. He also informed me that the product was already shipped out, and gave me the purchaser information.

I then went through the phone tree from HELL again. I speak with a representative and tell them my entire story all over again. She basically asks, "did you get the vendor to refund your card?" I say, yes, and that they "said" they were refunding the charges. She was ready to end the call right there. I said, hold on, I have more questions to ask. This is what I asked, #1 Are you going to send us new debit cards, #2 Is this claim going to an investigator, #3 why did this charge even go through, and give my account a negative balance? I do not have overdraft protection. This should have never happened especially with a debit card transaction. The representative told me that #1. it was Angry Husband's debit card account. They needed his permission to close account. We had a to do a conference call with him to cancel it. She also cancelled mine. #2. She "claimed" this there was a notion of case, etc under my account number. #3. She said, if the charge was made, it would go through. What the hell? I say, why would a debit card charge go through if it put the account negative? That makes no sense. I do not have overdraft. She said, they put it through. I tell her, with my credit union, if I have a $5 balance, and I make a $20 charge with my debit card, the card DECLINES! She really had nothing to say, and basically says, if the refund doesn't go through on your account, in a couple of days, call us back.

Every day, for four more days, I get the e-mail from Chase..."The account balance at the end of 11/24/2009 was $-110.07, which is less than the minimum balance in your Alerts settings." Why am I getting this e-mail? I have my account set-up to e-mail me if my balance goes below $25. Smart, I know. It's for fraud protection, and umm "husband debit card-not telling your wife you used it-abuse". I will have to say that I give Chase a thumbs up for this. Cause I get those e-mails as soon as it goes below $25 like clockwork. I've ran into the bank at least once and deposited a few dollars.

So I call Chase again. I go through the phone tree from HELL. I'm pretty pissed by now. You see, it (phone tree) keeps asking for my debit card number to verify my account. Well if you read already, I had to beg for my debit card to be cancelled and re-issued with another number, so I don't have a valid debit card number. I kept hitting "0" to get an operator. I finally get through. I begin to tell the representative that I filed a claim, and that it still has not been resolved. I have deposits to make into the bank account, and there is STILL a negative balance. Initially, she tells me that she could not find my claim. I start screaming, basically...about jumping through hoops, making calls, etc. She then says, "oh, I found it under your husband's name." She then asks me if I called the vendor, "Dual Action Cleanse" to get my refund. I advised her that I called last week, and obviously they did not resolve the issue. I said, it is no longer my responsibility. That is why you have investigators, and that Chase needs to remove these charges from my account. It was an unauthorized charge that should have never gone through. I continued to say, this is not my issue, it is fraud, why am I being victimized? I've done everything Chase has asked me to do. PLEASE remove these charges. There was a pause, and then I ranted some more about laws, protection etc. She then says that she is removing the charges. THANK YOU!

Why am I getting so pissed off? Because every representative or employee that I have spoken with at Chase, seems to be outsourced. I can tell that the caller is in another country. I can barely understand what they are saying. They have no clue what I'm trying to explain. They do not understand my words of "cloning account numbers, credit card protection, fraud, law enforcement, criminals, etc." I've gone through phone trees, spending ten to fifteen minutes at a time, and then the call drops. She finally got the charges removed, but I was not done.

I requested to speak to a Supervisor. The representative asked why? I told her that this entire situation is ridiculous. I get the Supervisor on the phone. Supervisor basically tells me that the charges have been removed, and what are my other issues, in her broken accent. I explain that I have been dealing with this for almost a week. Once again, she HAD NO CLUE, and had nothing to offer. She basically said, I hope you find our service satisfactory and thank you for banking with Chase. Was I talking to a robot? I got a letter a few days later saying that my account has been credited.

I haven't had time to go to my local branch and speak with them about this. Seriously, with Thanksgiving, work, etc...I have no time. I checked the mail yesterday and we received another letter from Chase. This letter stated that they were providing temporary credit to our account. "Further research is required to resolve your dispute". Seriously, how long is this going to go on. I've done everything that I can. Every time that I try and talk to someone, I get hung up on, or I can't understand them.

Since I've been working on this post, I've found the following resources:

Credit, ATM and Debit Cards: What to do if they are lost or stolen

Crooks Who Use Your ATM Card as a Passport To Your Account

Crooks Have Your Card and You Don't Even Know It

Skimming and Scamming: How To Protect Yourself Against Debit Card Fraud

JPMorgan Chase to Increase India Outsourcing 25%

While this is a personal rant, it is also a warning. This could happen to you. For me, it was $149.31, but for you could it could be more than that, thousands. What would you do if your debit card number was cloned? Would you even know? Do you check your bank regularly? Do you have warning alerts set? Do you get text messages with your balance?

I still do not know how Angry Husband's debit card number was obtained either. We hold our mortgage through Chase. I wish I could change that also.