Questions and Answers

Hey guys,

Does anyone at OMAAT have experience filing a cell phone protection claim with the Chase Ink Business Preferred? I was recently snorkeling with my cell phone in its waterproof case. Unfortunately, the case’s strap broke, sending my cell phone to the bottom of the reef. It was too deep to retrieve it without diving equipment.

Per the benefits guide, the coverage supposedly covers theft, damage, and involuntary and accidental parting, defined as ,”Involuntary and accidental parting with property means the unintended separation from an item of personal property in which the item’s location is known but recovery is impractical to complete”.

The department handling my claim was a nightmare to deal with. The claims examiner was very hard to reach, calling me back for more information but never leaving a voicemail, let alone a call back number or extension number. Every time this happened, I had to call back their main customer service desk for them to send an internal note to the examiner asking for a call back. The one time I did talk to the examiner, she requested me to submit a police report, even though my claim wasn’t’ related to theft!

Finally, I received an email simply saying, “Regretfully, upon reconsideration, we remain unable to issue a payment based on plan requirements.” In their email they fail to address why my claim was denied, or to mention what additional plan requirements (aside from those on the card’s benefit guide) my claim failed to fulfill.

I contacted Chase’s customer service on 4 separate occasions to lodge a complaint, and while they politely listened, they also kept mentioning how Visa is the responsible for managing the benefit. They were also unable (unwilling?) to provide Chase points as compensation for the headache.

While still a great product, it was very disappointing that in reality this benefit does not work as advertised. Any content you can produce around this topic would be much appreciated.

Best regards.

JS