If you are Canadian, you are in luck!
All the Canadians who had credit cards with Chase Bank will have their debt completely forgiven.
Part of the New York based JPMorgan Chase & Co., Chase Bank, closed all credit card accounts in the country back in March of 2018.
At first, customers were told to continue paying their debt but the company recently reported how the debt was now cancelled.
“Chase made the decision to exit the Canadian credit card market. As part of that exit, all credit card accounts were closed on or before March 2018. A further business decision has been made to forgive all outstanding balances in order to complete the exit,” Vice president of communications for Chase Card Services, Maria Martinez, said in a statement.
Chase has not said how much debt was forgiven or the exact number of customers affected but CBC spoke with some Canadians who said they received a letter from Chase this week.
“I was sort of over the moon all last night, with a smile on my face,” Douglas Turner of Coe Hill, Ontario, shared with the Canadian broadcaster. Turner revealed that he owed over $4,500 on his card. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The bank offered two rewards cards – one with Amazon and another with Marriott – both in Canada.
“It’s crazy,” Turner added. “This stuff doesn’t happen with credit cards. Credit cards are horror stories.”
The trucker, who is 55-years-old, additionally shared how his most recent payment on the account would be reimbursed.
While the company could have sold the debt to a third party, Martinez shared: “Ultimately, we felt it was a better decision for all parties, particularly our customer, to forgive the debt.”
Paul Adamson, of Dundalk, Ontario, immediately called his bank when he saw the account was closed last week because he didn’t want to miss a payment.
“I’m honestly still so … flabbergasted about it,” he said. “It’s surprise fees, extra complications – things like that, definitely, but not loan forgiveness.”
Christine Langlois, of Montreal, revealed that she even stopped making payments on her card five years ago.
“It’s kind of like I’m being rewarded for my irresponsibility,” the 24-year-old university student shared.