Don't Worry Chase Bank,
Nobody Here but us Lemmings.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Chase Bank Monthly Minimum Payment Increase Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Checks being mailed to their Customers.

I'd love comments regarding your "Chase Bank Monthly Minimum Payment Increase" Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Checks.

Was the Settlement you received enough?

If yes, tell the rest of us why. If your settlement check was not enough, please tell us why as well. Your comments DO matter.  

The more comments this article receives, the better. If you would like to be interviewed for possible inclusion in a documentary about the Chase Bank Monthly Minimum Payment Increase Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, please contact me via email. 

-Alessandro Machi


Don't forget, the Cat Who Ate Chase Bank, the book, coming out some day.

24 comments:

  1. It's been over 4 years since Chase decided to throw a monkey wrench into my finances, and in another 4 years or so I may get over its effect on my life. Somehow the check I received for $29.18 just doesn't seem to compensate for the long term difficulties they forced on Me. I think it should have been for about 50 times that, or at least equal to the original transaction fees.

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  2. I received TWO checks, not sure why for a total of around $75, that really doesn't cover the surprise and stress of trying to figure out the sudden cash flow issue as someone with a great credit rating, 760, who had taken advantage of Chase's low balance transfer loans, and had his payments suddenly double or tripled, I thankfully forget.
    I think a check for ten or twenty times that would have made feel better about how I feel I was treated by Dimon and Chase. They are predators.

    I'm glad Chase WAS punished. I switched to a home equity line of credit at 3.25% that was slightly lower than my net Chase transfers over several years on the $28k I had financed graduate school on, so I actually never incurred any additional fees or expense (my credit union HATED Chase and insisted that I CLOSE the account as a term of the line of credit). But I had trusted Chase and it was oddly a real shock to be in that situation.
    A lot of people didn't have the financial alternatives to refinance as clean as I did. It was very stressful and I was angry. I heard rumors of suicides, I hope that was not true.

    I still think that Jamie Dimon calling us, 1 million of his best customers with the best credit, "toxic assets" should have cost him his job for that and the PR mess Chase deservedly suffered through.

    Does anybody know the TOTAL $$ penalty that Chase was assessed? Gerry

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    1. Hi Gerry, the total amount of the Chase Bank Check loan Change in Terms Settlement was around 100 million dollars.

      25 million of that 100 million dollars goes to the attorneys, (plus over an additional million in additional attorney's fees).

      The 75 million going back to the Chase Bank customers represented approximately 50 to 65% of the total amount that Chase Bank received in balance transfer fees from these same customers who are now receiving settlement checks.

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  3. This "settlement" is absolutely disgusting! Once again... a corporation runs a scam... makes money by harming people... settles out of court... paying the fine out of the money they illegally gained... and ends up being able to say "HEY... WE MADE MONEY OFF THIS DEAL - SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM. LETS DO IT AGAIN.

    This bullshit of settling out of court is presented by lawyers as "Although it's way too small... if we go to court we could lose... and get nothing". Sounds reasonable right?

    So... the attorneys get $25 million... you get $25... and... excuse me but... who suffered the pain? What's worse is... because it's settled out of court... there is no public trial. That is...

    THE PUBLIC NEVER HEARS ABOUT THE MORALITY AND BUSINESS ETHICS OF CHASE. They never hear how Chase knowingly broke the law (High School Commercial Law class)... forced undue hardship on more than 500,000 families... put out press releases and gave MSM interviews in which they slandered the people they shafted... and how the fine was so low that Chase ended up making money... and consequently... Chase is not worthy of your trust.

    How soon we forget!

    The comment posted March 3, 2013 at 9:22 AM says "I'm glad Chase WAS punished."

    PUNISHED?!? They weren't punished... they were pleased to pay the small commission. And it was such a good deal for them... being (modern-day) keen businessmen... with certainty I can tell you that they are well into the development or employment of their next one.

    It's what they do... and settlements keep consumers from seeing it in action: IT'S THE BOTTOM LINE THAT COUNTS.

    Only in America...

    Does your bank charge you when you withdraw your money from your account... and how much interest are they paying you to keep your money in their account? THEY DO THIS BECAUSE WE LET THEM DO IT.

    You don't need them... and they're morphing America into something you really don't want.

    Move your money to a small bank or credit union that invests in your neighborhood.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. There are potentially a million people receiving checks, those who take the time to respond here provide an invaluable service as a voice for the public.

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  4. I'm going to try this again! I had two accounts with Chase affected by this one with 27K in 08 and a second with about 7K in 09 which of course Chase assured me in 08 would not be done. The settlement is a joke, if you read is is based upon balance, fees paid to write those checks .... My check was for $25 (the min. paid to even those with 0 balance). I was told when I called the number on my letter that the amounts were based upon information provided by CHASE? You ask them? Theives upon theives. Maybe we need a class action against this class action. I was actually insulted.

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    1. Thank you Jeannie, your comments are greatly appreciated.

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  5. Did anyone receive an explanation of how their (personal) amount was calculated? Or an indication of the account being addressed?

    I remember reading the description of how the amount would be determined... which struck me as being far too complicated for a common consumer to calculate or estimate. I immediately suspected that this was going to be a big scam.

    It would have been little trouble for "our" attorneys to have required the inclusion of the actual numbers Chase used to determine each person's payment.

    We have no way of knowing if we have received the amount ordered by the settlement.

    Someone posted that they received 2 checks. I had 2 separate accounts... and had immediately closed one when the change was announced. I received only one check. There is no way for me to know if the amount of the single check includes my portion of the settlement for both accounts... as accounts closed prior to the settlement were supposed to have been included in the settlement.

    Without having been supplied the personalized calculation details... is it reasonable to say that we've been screwed by our own lawyers? You know... the ones that collected $25 million off of our pain.

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    1. I am going to take a guess here based on what I have read. The total amount of the settlement is based on a percentage of the actual balance transfer fees Chase Bank charged customers to have their life of the loan, low interest rate balance transfer.

      I think however the actual calculation per check is based on the difference between what a customer would have paid in interest rate charges if their terms had not been changed, versus what they actually paid in interest rate charges.

      The scary part is it might not cover the people who were trapped by the Change in Terms and could not get out of the loan, (remember Chase Bank did not allow an opt out option), and had their rate jacked up to as high as 23% to 29% if they could not afford the monthly minimum payment increase from 2% to 5%.

      The Chase Bank Customers who could not transfer the money out of the account after Chase Bank changed terms, and who could not afford the 2% to 5% monthly minimum payment, might not receive a refund, they might not have their delinquent credit rating reversed by the class action lawsuit, either.

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    2. That's precisely the problem I'm having with this! Nobody knows what they should have received. Do you still have faith in Chase to be honest with you?

      [SIDEBAR]
      Perhaps this is a case of "a little knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge" but this is something that I saw from the very beginning of this adventure...

      In basic High School Commercial Law.. in contract law there's this thing called "consideration". Party A does something for Party B "in consideration of" Party B giving something to Party A. Party A can promise the world to Party B but Party B can't force Party A to complete the contract UNLESS Party B gave Party A "consideration" when the contract was signed.

      Chase gave people a deal "in consideration of" people giving Chase a "transaction fee". If Chase doesn't deliver the deal as promised... they should return that which was given as "consideration" - not 45% of it. EXACTLY WHY DOES CHASE DESERVE TO KEEP 55% OF THE CONSIDERATION THAT WAS PAID... WHEN THEY FAILED TO DELIVER THEIR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS? The fact is I would not have bought into this deal if I thought there was any chance that Chase could say "just kidding".
      [END SIDEBAR]

      The reality is... we don't know how the amount we received was calculated. Saying that the amount was based on "stuff"... does not provide a means for the recipient to verify the validity of what they received. With all that Chase has done... where the terms of the settlement are at best nebulous... ARE WE TO TRUST CHASE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED WHAT THE COURT ORDERED? Is asking for the actual calculation too much to expect?

      I was forced to close an account a few days before the change was implemented. Where's my $25 check? There is no indication on the check I received about which account (or accounts) the check is addressing.

      Can I find out? What do I have to do to find out?

      They break the law... they destroy lives... they pay a pittance... and still make money. Nice example to show your kids: Lie, cheat, steal, destroy... and walk away with a pocket full of cash. Only in America.

      Damn right I'm pissed.

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    3. I'm curious as to your use of the word "forced" to close an account a few days before the change was implemented.

      I just don't know what that means.

      As was stated above by another commenter, Chase basically gave back a portion of what they took in balance transfer fees. It's likely they simply recalculated what the borrower would have paid in interest if the monthly minimum payment had not changed or if the rate had not been raised to 7.9%.

      But I do see your point, it would be nice to see what the calculation was that they made for each customer.

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    4. Re: "forced" - At the time, my income/cash flow situation could not support the 5% minimum payment on both accounts... nor support an increase in the interest rate. Consequently... I was "forced" to reach out to other resources... which I really didn't want to do... to cover the full balance on one account and I closed that account before the change went into effect.

      Maybe you'd prefer the word "bullied".

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    5. Now I understand. You were forced to take action BEFORE the change in terms occurred specifically because Chase Bank would not allow you to opt out of their change in terms. This is a very interesting point.

      What about all the customers who got out before the change in terms actually happened? They were still forced/bullied into using other resources that probably did not offer as favorable terms.

      In fact, what about all the people receiving checks who actually did get out prematurely, either before the change went into affect, or soon thereafter? Their check is only going to cover them for the time they were with Chase AFTER the Change in Terms occurred, but does nothing for the customers who left prematurely because of the change in terms.

      I was not getting your point at first, but now I do.

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    6. Hello...I have yet to see my check! I was charged over and over and over and over again by chase back in 2003 and 2004, when going through a very tough financial time...thanks to Chase, it was even worse! I had forgotten to look for my check, or to even see if the lawsuit had been settled. I wonder if I will ever get a check...or, was it sent in one of those mailing formats where you think it is 'junk mail'! haha...lol...sort of...oh well, life goes on...I do appreciate your online reporting of how BAD Chase has been to so many people!

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    7. Hi Cyndy, this particular class action lawsuit against Chase Bank was for one particular event, the infamous 2008 and 2009 Chase bank hijacking of the monthly minimum payment due amount from 2% of the total due, to 5% of the total due, no ifs and or buts, not allowed to opt out, and if one couldn't make the newer higher payment, Chase bank reserved the right to raise that super low single digit interest rate charge as as high as 22.9% to 27.9%

      I wonder if you can consider yourself half blessed that you didn't get fooled a second time?

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  6. Well, I'm new to this page but wanted to leave a remark- We just received our "settlement" check from the National Mortgage Settlement for Chase bank- it was a whopping $300.00... I like the idea of getting a class action against the class action- Anyone with me? I just spoke with a local real estate attorney who said it would cost too much to sue them individually for them screwing up my loan modification- I could have kept my house and pulled through the tough times if they would have "lost " my file and fire the rep who was handling my case... Seriously and helpessly upset!

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    1. If you lost your house you might be entitled to more than 300.00.

      I was under the impression that 300.00 was for people who did not lose their homes and not much went wrong with their case.

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  7. I have not seen a check. I was involved. I had a low interest rate promised on over 10,000.00 and my went to over 500.00 or they were going to up my interest rate. I managed to do without things I needed to pay it to keep from paying the high interest rate but I never received a check or a letter. I didn't know a decision had been made until now.

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    1. I do not have inside information on how much you should get, but I would GUESS that it should be for well over a hundred dollars based on the checks that came to our family, which were for less than a hundred dollars but compared to how much you paid off, you paid off a lot more than we did. (which at this point have not been cashed out of protest).

      It would not surprise me if it was for anywhere between 100 dollars to 300 dollars (maybe more?). And yet, even that amount pales in comparison to the additional savings you would have gotten if you could have stretched those payments while paying off other bill with higher interest rates, a fact that Chase Bank refused to acknowledge.

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  8. My friends father just got a check for 31k from Chase today.. Damn I wish they had ripped me off at some point!

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  9. I still have not received my settlement check although I was included in the settlement. Does anyone have any recommendations as to how to collect this? Thanking you in advance.

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    1. Just a quick note to say that I just received my check today, for $71.91. So, they are still mailing them out. If you have not yet received a check, it's probably forthcoming.

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  10. I received 8.47
    Ur kidding me ..

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