Chase Scolds Customers for Spending Money, Followers Erupt With Backlash

Chase Bank got some serious backlash on Monday afternoon for posting budget advice on [...]

By Michael Hein

Chase Bank got some serious backlash on Monday afternoon for posting budget advice on Twitter.

Chase's official Twitter account posted a few ideas about saving money on Monday afternoon, formatted in the style of a snarky conversation. Twitter at large was not amused, however, and the tweet was deleted within 20 minutes of going up.

That did not stop it from going viral, however. Screenshots of the tweet circulated widely online, with everyone from comedians to celebrities to even politicians getting in on the joke.

"You: why is my bank balance so low," the tweet read. "Bank account: make coffee at home... Eat the food that's already in the fridge... You don't need a cab, it's only three blocks."

"You: I guess we'll never know," the tweet went on. "Bank account: seriously?" Chase tagged the post with "Monday Motivation," but That's not how most users on Twitter saw it.

Many pointed out the CEO of Chase Bank makes an exorbitant $29 million salary, and that Chase was one of the huge financial institutiosn to get a bailout from the federal government in 2008. According to a report by Business Insider, this amounted to billions of dollars, although it was repaid with interest the following year.

Those that got in on the impromptu roast included Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren, who posted her own snarky conversation script. Meanwhile Virginia senate candidate Qasim Rashid wrote that Chase "steal[s] $2B a year in ATM and overdraft fees from lower income earners," and that it doesn't "pay a living wage to [its] tellers" while its "CEO makes $31M/year."

The tone of the tweets ranged from real outrage to simple annoyance, though most seemed to agree that it was in poor taste. Some called for the conversation around income inequality to change, noting that the advice to stop going out for coffee is tired and, in most cases, not applicable to the people who really need help saving money.

"Making coffee at home, packing my lunch, and walking the three blocks to close out my Chase account after they decided it was a great idea [to] shame [people] who are financially struggling," one tweet read. "Rich coming from a company that benefited from a $12 milionl bailout financed by those same poor [people]."

Chase responded to the outrage on Monday afternoon, still taking a light tone. The company posted a bemused apology that was not met with much more sympathy than the initial offense.

"Our #MondayMotivation is to get better at #MondayMotivation tweets," it read. "Thanks for the feedback Twitter world."

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