When a Bank Rescinds a Job Offer Because It Canceled Your Credit Cards

Last year, my colleague Tara Siegel Bernard and I wrote a series of articles about banks that shut down the checking accounts of scores of everyday citizens and small businesses. There was often no clear reason, explanation or recourse.

JPMorgan Chase seemed to have done a lot of this in recent years. Customers would get a call from the bank, or their A.T.M. cards would stop working and then their credit cards would freeze as well.

One question that lingered was what the long-term ramifications would be for those whose accounts were closed. Thankfully, people who had experienced this usually weren’t blacklisted from opening accounts at other banks, even if their former bank told them that it would never take them back.

But what if you tried to work at a bank that had kicked you out?

And so we come to the strange case of Mansoor Shams, a Marine veteran who lives in Baltimore and used to run a business exporting consumer electronics, including Apple products.

As part of this business, Mr. Shams used a Chase business credit card that earned United Airlines frequent-flier miles. He believes that he put over $1 million on it, including for overseas travel to places where he sold his inventory, like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

In 2014, Chase canceled that card, even though Mr. Shams paid his bills on time, he said. His recollection was that the bank didn’t say much beyond boilerplate language about periodic reviews of customer accounts. It was annoying, but he switched cards and moved on.