It happens to the best of us. Scammers are always coming up with new, inventive ways to scam people out of their money.
But will Chase refund you if you get scammed?
The answer… is complicated.
Chase Bank will refund any fraudulent debit or credit card transactions, but it won’t refund any transactions made through Zelle.
Will Chase Refund Your Debit Card or Checking Account After You Get Scammed?
Chase works hard to make sure you don’t fall victim to scams, and even harder if you do.
When you’re opening your account, your banker will go over a couple different ways you could get scammed, and what you can do to avoid it.
But, if it does ever happen, don’t worry — you’re in good hands. If you ever have any transaction on your account that you did not authorize, Chase will work hard to get your money back.
Sometimes, it isn’t even a scam.
We all forget about the free trials we sign up for, and are often charged a fee to enroll in a membership we never wanted. Gyms are the worst for this, they often make you jump through hoop after hoop to get a membership canceled. So long as you did not give whoever charged you permission to do so, Chase will work to get your money back.
It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, as it can take the bank sometime to get your funds back. They usually conduct an investigation into the claim, looking at your account history and making sure you don’t have a history of calling things scams. They will also look at any history they have with the vendor, looking for a history of fraud against them too.
If you’re in good standing with the bank, not having a bad history with overdrafts and maintaining positive balances in your accounts, the bank may work with you to give you a temporary or provisional credit.
They usually do this when an ATM messes up and doesn’t process a deposit correctly, but during my time at Chase I saw them do it for victims of fraud as well.
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Will Chase Refund My Credit Card If I Got Scammed?
If you did not authorize a transaction on your credit card, the same as your debit, Chase will refund your transaction.
Personally, I only ever use my credit card. I get cash back on every purchase, I don’t pay interest because I pay my bill on time, and I’m spending the bank’s money — not mine. When you use a credit card, you borrow the bank’s money, promising to pay them back. Long story short, if you ever get scammed through your credit card, the bank will work extra hard to get their own money back.
I never saw it said outright, but during my time at Chase I felt that fraudulent transactions through credit cards got refunded a little quicker than their debit card counterparts. So long as you didn’t approve the transaction, Chase will work hard to refund it.
Like debit card fraud, they may even give you a provisional credit. It is more likely to get a provisional credit if you pay your bill regularly and do not carry a large balance.
Will Chase Refund My Zelle If I Got Scammed?
Zelle is one of the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) transfer platforms around, so there are a lot of scammers operating on it. The scammers will act as someone you know, maybe even using their name or profile picture to deceive you. Unfortunately, Chase will not refund any fraudulent money sent through Zelle.
Zelle is fast, for better and for worse. If the person is actively registered on Zelle, like a scammer would be, the money is automatically in their account moments after you send it. Zelle itself warns its users through each page of the app to watch out for scammers because they will not refund their purchases either. Chase maintains the same policy. They don’t want you to get scammed, and are willing to help try to prevent it, but they won’t refund you.
When using Zelle, be absolutely certain you know the person you’re sending money too. Or, make peace with the fact that you’ll never see those funds again.
Will Chase Refund Your Transactions If You Authorized Them?
More often than not, no. Chase will not refund transactions you initially approved, no matter if it was your credit or debit card. Chase maintains that if you gave a vendor your permission, the transaction should go through.
There are some instances where Chase does actually refund those transactions. If you initially wanted the product and approved the purchase, but the product wasn’t what was advertised, Chase may refund your purchase. They will also refund multiple charges for the same transaction. Some companies may charge you two or three times for the same purchase, Chase has got that covered.
How Do You Get Chase To Refund Your Purchases?
There are two easy ways to place a claim on a transaction and get your purchases refunded: through the Chase Bank Mobile App, or by calling the claims department.
Placing a Claim Through The App
This is another reason I love the mobile app. Gone are the days of having to call someone, sit through multiple waiting tones, and finally placing a claim. If you use the mobile app, or Chase.com for that matter, you can place a claim on any transaction you did not approve.
There is one stipulation though: the transaction must go through. Chase can’t stop any pending transactions, as the transaction might not go through. Just because it’s in a pending state doesn’t mean it will necessarily go through.
Once the transaction has gone through, you can click on it in your transaction history to either see more details or place a claim. Click report a problem, and Chase will ask you why. They’ll want to know if the merchant was late, if the product was below your expected standard, or if they charged the wrong card.
There are even more options on there, so take your time and be truthful when letting Chase know what happened. The better the information you give them, the easier it will be for them to find the problem, fix it, and return your money.
Placing a Claim by Calling The Claims Department
If you want to keep it old fashioned, or just want to hop on the phone for your banking needs, you can always call the claims department and they’ll help you file a claim. It does take much longer, like much longer, but if you have the time go for it.
There are different claims departments depending on what account type you have:
- Personal Credit Cards: 1-800-955-9060
- Personal Debit Cards: 1-866-564-2262
- Business Credit Cards: 1-888-269-8690
Chase’s claims departments are patient and helpful. They will ask all the same questions the app would and more, trying to find out exactly what went wrong and what they can do to get your money back. Calling the claims department may give you a better chance at getting a provisional credit as well, as that isn’t an option on the app.
Conclusion
If you ever have a transaction on your account you didn’t authorize, likely from a scam, let Chase know as soon as possible. The transaction does have to go through first, but once it appears on your transaction history as cleared Chase can investigate it and maybe even give you a provisional credit. Don’t want too long though, the sooner you can report it the better.
