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Bank accused of harassing Shell Beach couple

August 3, 2012

By KAREN VELIE

Following years of allegedly being bombarded with no less than 75 collection calls a week, an elderly Shell Beach couple has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase.

Not long after JPMorgan Chase began servicing John and Anna Canaday’s mortgage, callers for the bank began threatening the couple with foreclosure if they did not make their mortgage payments on time, even though the couple had not been behind on their payments, the suit says.

In 2009, the Canadays contacted the bank asking them to stop the constant phone and written collection attempts. After that failed, they contacted Pismo Beach police and filed complaint letters with the California Attorney General, the office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Trade Commission.

In December 2010, the Canadays followed the advice of the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s office and sent a cease and desist letter to JPMorgan Chase.

Officials with JPMorgan Chase responded with a December 2010 letter assuring the couple that they would not contact the Canadays by phone any longer. Nevertheless, the couple says the barrage of collection calls continued while the bank claims the number of calls the couple reports is inaccurate.

“When homeowners fall behind on their mortgage payment, we actively try to reach them,” a JPMorgan Chase spokesman wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “Our top priority is to help families stay in their homes. We have researched the frequency of calls placed in 2010 and do not believe the allegations in the complaint are accurate.”

Since 2012, following an alleged cease and desist letter from the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank’s representatives calls slowed to no less than 15 calls per week, but the calls continued, the lawsuit says.

In the lawsuit filed on June 4, the couple’s attorney Jim McKiernan seeks a jury trial and punitive damages, civil penalties, attorney’s fees and court costs.

Canaday Complaint


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Repetitive collection calls should be made illegal… or at least a practice not condoned by legitimate businesses.


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Do you actually think that banks and debt collectors obey laws????


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I hope they win, I know how bad those calls can be, I have two CITI cards and I accidentally sent both payments to one account. I started to get robocalls about once every hour from 9am to 10pm. I called and figured out the problem but they wouldn’t stop calling me until the payment actually reached them. I don’t use those cards anymore.


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From the complaint:


Plaintiff took out a mortgage with Wamu in 2005 (complaint misspells address).


JPM took over their book after WM collapsed.


Number 17 and 18 state that JPM attempted to collect “a consumer debt” which plaintiffs’ allege arose from transactions for personal, family and household purposes.


So, are plaintiffs’ in arrears to JPM for credit card, HELOC, or any other debt (now or in the past)?


It appears POSSIBLE from the complaint that plaintiffs’ have in fact failed to pay some form of non-first-deed-debt owed to JPM which JPM is threatening first deed foreclosure to collect.


I AM NOT MAKING A STATEMENT OF FACT, MERELY SPECULATING BASED ON THE LANGUAGE CONTAINED IN THE COMPLAINT. THIS SPECULATION COULD BE INACCURATE.


I realize this would not excuse the barrage of phone calls, but it would change the “completely innocent victim” tenor of the story.


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Lines 20 through24 are pretty clear to me. Unless evidence to the contrary comes to light………I’d say they have a case.


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Facts will be determined by a court, not by language in a complaint, or by lawyers, or by spokespersons. But hey, this forum is always fertile ground for speculation. Spec you late away!


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Personally, I have had no problem with Chase since they took over Washington Mutual. I have had free checking and some other investments with them for over 30 years and never had an issue. Yea, I don’t llike the no interest (.025%) on a money market but can’t find anything better at this time. I’ve also got Bank of America checking and investments and have never had an issue. I have not talked with anyone who has had actual problems, people just don’t seem to like banks in general. Me, I have free checking, use my ATM free quite frequently, pay online bill payment for free with free postage and think I get a bargain for my money. No body else is offering me anything free!


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Although Washington Mutual was corrupt, they did seem to support small business. As soon as Chase took over, the business checking accounts were no longer free (unless you keep some large amount of money in the account). Needless to say, I no longer have an account at Chase.


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This is certainly bizarre. It almost seems like some information is missing. If the folks being harassed have been paying their mortgage on time, I ask why is Chase wasting time on a non issue after it had been noted? Like when you read about trying to get a deceased individual to pay on a loan, or a computer who’s files have become compromised billing the wrong clients. Myself, I’d refinance with someone else while this litigation is ongoing.


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I can tell you exactly why this happens. Mortgage payments are due on the first and late after the 15th or what ever day falls after the 15th. In this case the 16th falls on Saturday or Sunday.

Chase in their wisdom will begin calling you on the 6th day. They will say they can do this because the payment is technically “due” on the first, but “they” give you a grace period of at least 15 days.

No “they” don’t. The 15 day grace period is mandated by law.

They begin the call by saying that it is being recorded and anything said can be used to collect on a debt. All calls begin this way. Most of time it’s from a caller overseas who butchers your name and you can’t even understand them.They will continue to do this daily, sometimes 3-4 times a day until you either pay , or the day after the 15th rolls around. Then the game changes, for the waaay worse.

This is how they harrass borrowers who aren’t even late, technicaly speaking.

All the borrowers are doing is taking advantage of “the float”. Which is just what the banks do to us when we try to access our funds.

I am a Chase customer who too has never missed a payment. I just want to keep my money as long as possible.


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I had a chase credit card and was very dissatisfied with a service issue.


I hope McKiernan and the Canadays spank the heck out of Chase. Maybe that will make them straigten out their businesss practices


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I hope they have caller ID. The bank may deny the calls but their phone records should show otherwise.


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Luckily (just FYI) even if you don’t pay for caller ID you still have it via the phone company!


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Deadbeats live unbothered for years while the responsible get flamed. Jeebus what a mess.


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There has to be something better than banks. They abuse their customers like this and offer shitty interest on investments.


The only money I hold in a bank is the basic for free (which most are getting rid of to) checking.


The part that also sucks is that the banks run the Federal Reserve. Yea no conflict of interest there.


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End the FED.


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