Complaint Review: Chase Bank - Internet

Your complaint as written is a little confusing but let me see if I got this right.  You used your debit card online to purchase something from a company called, "Federal Resume Writers" and never received what you purchased. So you called Chase to make a claim against the charges that showed up on your checking account statement and they tried to find a solution but wouldn't reverse the charges.  It seems to me you are very confused as to the differences between credit and debit cards.  Debit cards allow one to access their accounts without having to write a check.

Most credit card companies have a consumer protection plan in place for people who do business with a merchant and have problems with the product or service, debit cards do not have any such protection and that is the same with every bank.  Chase, (as does Wells Fargo, Compass, Bank of America, Citibank, etc)all offer protection against UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.  So if you see a charge on your account for a company you didn't do business with, you would call your bank, make a claim against that charge and the bank investigates wether such a claim is accurate, meaning you never used your card for that purchase.  If someone else used your card without your permission or knowledge  then the charge is considered unauthorized and you are refunded that amount.  That is it.  If you used your debit card to purchase something and didn't get what you thought you purchased, (or anything at all) then that is a dispute between you and the company you did business with.  It is not considered, "unauthorized" because you did used the card to buy something, if other words: You authorized the purchase.  Your claim is  the merchant didn't perform on their end and that is NOT and never something a debit card claim will investigate.  Think of it this way: your write a check to have someone paint your house.  You give them the check and they never show up or call. You see the check has been negotiated so you cannot stop payment on that check.  Would you call the bank and tell them the check is fraudulent? No, you would call the painter or sue them in court.  If you did call the bank to claim fraud they would explain that you did,  in fact,  write the  check so the fraud lies with the person who cashed the check and did not paint your house and not a matter for the bank to reimburse you.  It is the same thing with a debit card.

 Now if you see on your statement a check written to a house painter and you've never seen or heard of and never wrote them a check, someone else did, then THAT IS fraud and the bank will help reimburse you for your loss.  Same thing with an unauthorized charge with your debit card.  And that is the only protection the banks offers with a debit card.  (Some high dollar clients may get some additional benefits but the concept is the same.)  Now as far as a fee for using a debit card: As of now Chase and other banks do offer debit cards without an annual fee.  Those types of debit cards usually do not have a rewards program or cash bank on purchases.  If you want to earn points or receive a portion of your expenditures credited back to you then the cards usually have an annual fee.  Chase does have debit cards without annual fees.  You are NOT required to pick the card with a fee.  The choice is yours:  You want to earn points?  Pay a $25 fee each year.  You don't want points? The card it free.  Go into any branch and ask, they will tell you the same thing.  I hope I have helped explain the difference between the protection using a credit vs a debit card.  And I hope I got the gist of your complaint accurate so my explanation will make sense!