A GRANDFATHER’s credit score was “destroyed” after Chase unexpectedly shut down his account preventing him from accessing $7,000 of his own money.
Richard Bell, 69, is a Canadian national and hitting out at the financial institution after a lengthy saga to get his funds back.
Richard Bell, pictured with his wife Linda[/caption]
Chase did not respond to multiple requests for comment[/caption]
The ordeal forced him to fly to the US and sit for hours in a bank branch, facing attempts by bank employees to forcibly remove him via the police.
Bell, who sells retail software, claims he has had to delay his retirement after a massive hit to his credit score.
Bell had first set up his account with Chase in 2017 after he purchased an investment property in Las Vegas.
The salesman, who was transferred to New York five years ago for work, had originally bought the property as a retirement home for himself and his wife, and was renting it out.
Bell opened the account with Chase to easily transfer the rent to the U.S. arm of Royal Bank of Canada as it was easier for him to secure a mortgage as a foreign national.
He said the arrangement worked “seamlessly” for several months until he rented the property out to a new tenant in 2020.
Bell said the new tenant’s company was responsible for paying her rent to the Chase account, which was set up for auto transfer to his Canadian bank account.
However, he quickly realized that Chase had frozen his funds due to “suspicious transactions.”
Bell believes the transfer of money to a foreign bank triggered money laundering alerts, but said he was never given any appropriate explanation for the shut down.
“Despite numerous attempts to contact Chase Bank and resolve this issue, all I received were notifications about suspicious transactions,” Bell told The U.S. Sun.
“They suspected something was going on, with the rent money that went to Chase and then it went to RBC, so I think they were essentially accusing me of money laundering.”
He considered taking legal action, but did not believe the amount of money held in the account would be worth the undertaking.
“I thought about suing them but I thought for $7,000 is it really worth it?”
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POLICE CALLED
While Bell successfully recovered his funds, it wasn’t an easy task.
He was forced to fly from Calgary, Canada to Las Vegas to sit in a branch for hours, urging the tellers to return his money and provide him a reason for why his accounts were closed.
Bell claims the Chase employees called the police on him, who refused to get involved and told the bank to “sort it out” with him directly.
“They called the police to get rid of me, and the police said they couldn’t get involved.”
Bell said he now has had to delay his retirement due to unexpected costs on car loans and his mortgage.
He works to support his family which includes his wife Linda, 65 and two children and two grandchildren.
“Everything costs more now,” he said.
CREDIT ‘DESTROYED’
The initial saga triggered a hit to his credit score, but the final straw occurred a year later when Bell had his United credit card unexpectedly cancelled due to fraudulent activity.
“This cancellation severely impacted my credit score, dropping it from above 750 to the low 600s,” he said.
“This experience contradicts my belief that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty in America.
“The bank’s decision was made without any inquiry into the validity of their suspicions.”
GIVE IT BACK
The accusations come after The U.S. Sun last week revealed claims in a lawsuit filed in California by Brian Adesman.
The California attorney alleges that Chase seized over $185,000 without any notice, forcing him to cancel his wedding and move into a caravan.
The bank’s actions left him homeless, after he was unable to meet his debt repayments, triggering a huge hit to his credit score.
Adesman says the saga has forced him into an ongoing legal battle with Chase to get his money back.
“As a new resident, this posed significant challenges, increasing costs for leasing cars, renting properties, and acquiring other credit cards.
The U.S. Sun approached Chase Bank for comment.
