Complaint Review: Washington Mutual

I received a check from my aunt a few years ago for my birthday. It was a Chase check, as she works for Chase. I brought it to my Washington Mutual bank and deposited it, then made some purchases. I got a letter in the mail the next week stating that the check had not cleared in the account and that several of my purchases were overdrafts because of it. I went to the bank and paid the $100+ that they told me I owed them, but resolved to look into the issue more.

I called my aunt and explained what happened. She asked me why the check had not cleared and when I read the whole letter from the bank, they said that they could not find the account it was coming from. She said this was impossible and that I should call Washington Mutual. I called their headquarters and explained the situation, but was told that Chase's stamp was on the check, making it their fault.

I relayed this information to my aunt and she investigated the matter further, talking to several high up managers in her Chase office. They said that it was most certainly not their fault, and that Wamu had affixed their stamp to the check. This went back and forth several times and I spent countless hours at my Washington Mutual branch and on the phone with many managers from Wamu. I never got a firm answer from Washington Mutual and they refused to refund my money.

To this day, they haven't corrected the problem.

Jim
Brooklyn, New York
U.S.A.