You Owe Us Nothing! Chase Bank Announces to Credit Card Holders

Imagine checking your credit card balance and suddenly finding you owe nothing. Zero, zilch, nada! That's what happened to a category of Chase bank's credit card customers recently. The U.S.-based bank owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co announced 2018 its intention to exit the Canadian credit card market. As of the sudden and puzzling announcement, the bank had served that market for over a decade. The decision came as a pleasant surprise to Marriott Rewards Premier Visa and Amazon.ca Rewards visa customers.

When Paul Adamson heard his creditor had forgiven him of all of his $1,600 debt, he couldn't believe it. At least, that's what he told CBS. Debt forgiveness by a lender seems like the sort of thing with a 1-in-a-million chance of ever happening. But it happened for Adamson and many other lucky credit card holders. For him, it's as though the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

Many people carry huge amounts of credit card debt. In the U.S., 55 percent of people who have a credit card have a balance. In fact, debt seems to have reached a whole new high in 2019. People this year have more credit card than they had during the economic upheavals of 2008. A recent survey found that 22 percent of people had balances ranging from $100 to $500 over the past year. Over the same period, about 10 percent of credit card holders owed over $5,000. The national average credit card balance is $4,293.

People who had huge balances couldn’t express their relief at the exciting news. Lots of the lucky debtors kept calling their credit card company to confirm that they indeed didn't owe anything. And most of them didn't stop there. They went ahead and called Chase Bank itself. Imagine how they felt when the bank confirmed the report.

Well, the good news didn't happen here. It happened in Canada. But it was big news since the company in question is an American bank. The bank decided to discontinue its operations and figured debt forgiveness was the best way to exit the market.

According to a Philadelphia Bankruptcy Lawyer, banks aren't known to forgive debt, whether it's credit card, mortgages, or auto loans. Typically, they don't stop harassing borrowers until the last dollar has been paid back. That's why the decision to decimate debt completely seemed puzzling to those Chase customers.

Saying Adamson was happy is an understatement — the news elated him. Evidently a wise man, he intends to save his windfall for a noble purpose. If all goes as per his plans, he should be able to buy a home pretty soon.

One wonders what the rest of the lucky borrowers are doing with their sudden riches. Will they take out more debt? Have they gone on a shopping spree, celebrating and buying everything in sight?

The bank didn't divulge how much debt it wrote off, though. But there's no doubt people who only had credit card debt from either Amazon.ca or Marriot are now debt-free. They're debt-free at last. They no longer fear getting sued or even auctioned. Nor do they need to consider filing for bankruptcy at any point. Or hiring a bankruptcy lawyer. They're debt-free! What a liberating feeling it must be.

You most probably aren't a Canadian. Which means you didn’t have your credit card debt forgiven. Maybe you have fallen behind in payments, and are worried what's going to happen to your credit score. You're also getting endless calls from debt collectors, and you're wondering if you'll survive all this insanity.

Maybe you've even contemplated filling for bankruptcy. You're asking: What if my creditor sues me? What's the statute of limitation on credit card debt in my state? All these questions have dominated your thought life. And you're tired of it all. But have you considered consulting with a bankruptcy lawyer? When things are that bad, contacting a legal representative is probably the wisest decision you’d ever make.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.