After Lombard man says Chase froze over $40K of his money, River North woman, North Carolina man come forward with similar issue
CHICAGO (WLS) — The I-Team is following up on an investigation into bank accounts suddenly locked for alleged fraud, even though consumers claim there was no suspicious activity.
More people are now coming forward, saying they were also waiting too long to get their money back.
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After ABC7 Chicago’s first investigation about one man’s “locked” bank account, the I-Team received an overwhelming response on social media, from people claiming they had the same issue.
Now, the I-Team is digging into more cases of frozen Chase accounts.
Back in October, Lombard resident Jim Gibson told the I-Team how Chase froze $42,000. Gibson said there was nothing suspicious going on with his account, but the account was closed for fraudulent activity.
He says the bank waited more than a month to refund his money, until the I-Team contacted Chase.
“It was extremely stressful,” Gibson said.
Now, there are new cases.
“I was trying to make a bill payment on behalf of my grandma, and it said ‘cannot be completed at this time,'” River North resident Arli Renacido said.
Renacido has a joint Chase account she’s shared with her grandmother in the Philippines, for 15 years. She says a branch manager told her the account was flagged with little explanation.
“We got a letter probably like two weeks after I noticed the account was frozen,” Renacido said.
She says there was no suspicious activity, and, for about three months, no access to the money her grandmother depended on. After the I-Team reached out, Chase released the $44,000.
“And I was just like, ‘well, finally, just some movement,'” Renacido said.
In North Carolina, Garry Anderson also says Chase abruptly shut down his account for “unusual activity.”
“I couldn’t log in because of suspected fraud. And so, I called, and they tell me that ‘unfortunately, they can’t do business with me anymore,'” Anderson said.
Anderson says he has no idea what was suspicious, and he was making electronic deposits.
“I hadn’t even done a withdraw on the account,” Anderson said.
Anderson said he waited almost two weeks for $845 to be issued.
The I-Team also uncovered a third, similar case in which Chase refunded a Wisconsin customer more than $5,000 after they waited about a month.
In all three cases, Chase says: “Protecting our customers’ accounts and personal information is our top priority. Occasionally, we identify concerning transactions and take appropriate action as permitted by our account terms. All banks and financial institutions do this – to both safeguard customers and their finances, and for regulatory reasons.”
Chase said it resolved Anderson’s case “in accordance with the deposit account agreement.”
All banks do have authority to freeze or close accounts if they suspect fraud, money laundering or unusual activity. Chase says it always intended to issue the refunds to the consumers in ABC7’s reporting.
If you’re planning a large transaction, experts suggest notifying your bank.
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