JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it won’t shut the accounts of credit-card customers who reject a new policy of using arbitration instead of the courts to resolve payment disputes.
Some customers, on online forums including Reddit and Twitter, expressed confusion about whether they’d be able to keep their accounts if they rejected an arbitration clause in the bank’s updated credit-card agreements, saying they received mixed signals from the company.
“We will not close someone’s account because they’re opting out of arbitration,” said Trish Wexler, a spokeswoman for the bank. JPMorgan hasn’t directed call-center representatives to tell people their accounts would be shut, she said.
The bank’s new policy has drawn scrutiny from U.S. Representative Katie Porter, who said in a June 4 tweet she planned to contact JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon about “the legality of Chase closing the accounts of individuals who reject the arbitration clause.”
Also: I will be in touch with Mr. Dimon on the legality of Chase closing the accounts of individuals who reject the arbitration clause. I’ll keep you updated.
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter)
June 4, 2019
Customers have until Aug. 9 to inform the bank in writing that they reject the arbitration agreement, according to the updated policy.
