Mesa couple sues Chase Bank for failing to return over $48k in account funds
MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Last month, we introduced you to a Mesa retired couple that had their bank accounts frozen and then closed by Chase Bank. They still don’t have access to their money, so they’re taking their battle with Chase a step further.
When Barb and Steve White first reached out to On Your Side, their Chase accounts had been closed for a month with little warning or explanation. Now it’s been more than 12 weeks and they still don’t have access to their money! “I feel like I’m guilty until proven innocent, basically,” Steve said. Turns out, their three accounts totaling $48,212.65 were frozen and closed by their own bank, Chase. And the only explanation Chase is giving the retired couple is that it’s related to “recent activity” on the account.
Barb and Steve say, what does that even mean? “That is like beating your head against the wall,” Bard said. “Really, and it’s because you go through person after person. ‘Oh, I’m not sure I can help you with this. Let me let you talk to this person.’” Even with On Your Side’s involvement, Chase Bank continues to hold the couple’s money hostage without explanation, and it’s been three months. “It’s very frustrating,” Barb said. “Very, very infuriating actually would be a good word.”
Well, here’s the update. These two retirees have now resorted to suing Chase, one of the largest banks in the nation.
According to the lawsuit obtained by On Your Side, their lawyer wrote that he “has contacted Chase Bank’s executive office by email and telephone on multiple occasions since but received no explanation regarding why Chase Bank seized the Whites’ money.”
He goes on to say, “Chase Bank has been enriched by seizing the Whites’ money...” and that “the Whites have been impoverished by Chase Bank’s failure to allow them access to their own money.”
They’re asking for the return of their money, along with the interest and the attorney’s fees, and “any other relief the court deems just and proper.”
We reached out to Chase Bank about the lawsuit but they declined to comment.
We’ll keep tracking this and let you know how their case turns out.
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