I am a retired American citizen living at an ashram (spiritual retreat) in India. Before I come to my story of the combined abuse by Chase Bank and the State Bank of India (California), I need to give a bit of background information:
Until I took early retirement recently under Social Security, I was surviving on an income of less than $100 per month from a dwindling investment in Ginnie Mae securities, originally through the former WM [Washington Mutual] Financial Services—until it morphed recently into Chase Investment Services.
Twice in my life I have bought land (80 acres in Canada, 17 acres in the United States) in an attempt to establish a homestead and organic market garden. By the time I finished my education, I could see that the current world economic system was ultimately unsustainable. I failed in both of my attempts to live independently and self-sufficiently (hence my current financial situation).
While I was saving to buy the second piece of land, I invested in U.S. government-insured Ginnie Maes through a “socially–responsible” investment company. The company later folded.
My original investment had a fixed rate-of-interest and a fixed maturity date—with no potential loss of principal.
On a return trip from India to the U.S., I subsequently contacted WM Financial Services to invest in Ginnie Maes again.
However, without my understanding, they invested my funds in Ginnie Mae securities. In contrast to my first investment in Ginnie Maes, these securities featured a variable rate-of-interest and a potential loss of principal. (It appears that this was the kind of investment that was at the center of the recent economic meltdown in the U.S.)
At the time, WM Financial Services clearly knew that I resided in India and that my investment was quite small.
About 1 ½ years ago, I received a notice from WM Financial Services stating that I must close my account—because I reside in India.
I deliberately ignored this notice for several reasons:
1. At the time I made the investment, WM Financial Services clearly knew that I reside in India.
2. The real reason that they wanted to close my account was the small size of my investment—not my place of residence. (If I had had a million dollars to invest, I am sure they would have found a convenient way around this rule.)
3. It would have been impossible for me to reinvest my funds while I was residing in India. As a result, I would have suffered a total loss of income.
4. Their demand created utter havoc with my overall financials—and personal plans.
5. WM Financial Services made no consideration for the loss I would have suffered between my original purchase price and the market price at the time they made their demand that I sell those securities.
6. The securities were subject to a penalty for early sale. WM Financial Services never addressed this issue in their notice.
7. I was strongly suspicious that, had I sold these shares at that time, they would have invoked this penalty—and merely ignored any objection I would have made. (My suspicion was subsequently justified.)
8. There was a blatant double standard in their demand. Had I behaved in such an arbitrary, ruthless, unprincipled manner, they would have wacked me with a heavy penalty. When they behave in such a manner, they walk scot free.
Finally, after a couple of further notices, WM Financial Services forcibly closed my account. Moreover, they charged me over $ 200 for the early sale of my securities—a sale which they had forced upon me!
After I filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company (now in its new incarnation as Chase Investment Services) offered to reimburse me for the penalty and my small loss of income during this whole episode—and closed my account. I referred to Chase Investment Services as a “who** of a company” for the way they had dealt with me—and accepted their offer.
In October of 2009, I sent a check for the greater part of my funds to the State Bank of India (California)—as a prelude to closing my account with Chase Bank.
However, when I later checked my on-line Chase account, I found that the funds had initially been withdrawn from my account—and subsequently redeposited.
Later, when I received my SBI (California) statement here by regular mail, I found that they had listed the withdrawal and a $20 deduction—as a single entry—without any explanation for their action.
Despite three unanswered e-mails from me, the State Bank of India (California) has effectively refused to explain the reason they rejected my deposit and deducted $ 20 from my account.
Fifty-two days later, when I sought to withdraw funds using my Chase ATM card, I was told by my bank here that the transaction was blocked.
When I sent a request through my Chase on-line account, to learn the reason the ATM withdrawal was blocked, Chase told me to telephone “Operating Prevention Loss” (an international call, at my expense).
(It is significant that, at every stage in this current episode, Chase has repeatedly avoided stating anything in writing.)
In turn, Chase’s representative informed me that their former avatar as Washington Mutual Bank had placed a “block” on my account.
However, despite my repeated requests, Chase’s representative effectively refused to state the reason for the block. She merely gave me the runaround—using their former incarnation as a hollow excuse. (If Washington Mutual Bank had had a legitimate reason for placing a block on my account, that reason would still have remained as a part of Chase Bank’s records.)
She also stated that, three days earlier, Chase Bank had closed my account and sent a check to me here in India.
I also later discovered that they have made my on-line account history inaccessible to me.
Again, Chase ignored my subsequent request through my on-line account to state their reason for closing my account—and to make my account history accessible to me.
It will be absolutely impossible for me to open a new bank account back in the U.S. with the check from Chase, from here in India—and I have no plans to return to the U.S. for several years.
In fact, I no longer have enough funds here to buy a return air ticket back to the U.S.—and, at almost the same time that Chase blocked my funds, the Indian government made a radical change in its visa policy.
Chase Bank has created utter havoc with my finances—and my life in general.
It would be quite easy for a person to “fall through the cracks” here in India. In only slightly-different circumstances, Chase’s actions could conceivably have resulted in my death.
It strongly appears that there is a willful, malicious, vindictive intent behind Chase’s actions—for my being “uppity” in not submitting to their earlier unscrupulous behavior surrounding the closure of my investment account.
I have done absolutely nothing of an irresponsible or unprincipled nature to justify the actions of either bank. Chase Bank is merely—and ruthlessly—dumping its poor customers overboard.
(Yesterday, I heard the story here of Chase Bank closing another customer’s account in this same way.)
Recently, I filed a complaint against both Chase Bank and the State Bank of India (California) with the California Department of Financial Institutions [DFI].
The DFI said they would send a case number concerning my complaint against the SBI (California) to me here by regular mail service—which indicates that this will be a slow, cumbersome process. They also stated that they, in effect, can only serve as a “referee”—but cannot take any legal action on my behalf.
The California DFI made no mention of my complaint against Chase Bank.
I later discovered, through this Web site,
www.stopbankabuses.com, that I will have to file a separate complaint with an agency of the federal government—because Chase is a national bank.
When I telephoned Chase Bank on December 17, 2009, their representative told me that they had sent a check to me here on December 14th.
However, as of yesterday (23 days later), I have still not received the check from Chase Bank at my post office box here. (Mail between the U.S. and India typically takes 10 days—and rarely more than 14—days to arrive.)
As a result of Chase Bank’s actions, I have effectively had no access to my funds for more than 80 days—and the clock is still running.
Their unscrupulous conduct is an outrageous abuse of the power that Chase Bank possesses through its control of an individual’s money.
