Consumer complaint received 2017-02-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
Dear CFPB Officials and Financial Service Providers : I am prompted to write this complaint because, through no fault of my own, I have been effectively barred from the financial industry - and the costs of being un-banked are simply enormous. Even though I continue to earn money I am paid via U.S. checks and despite trying every bank that I could reach - none of them would cash the check without me first opening a checking account. And although I have tried opening a checking account at more than XXXX separate US banks - I continued to be denied access to even the most basic checking or savings account. Generally speaking, these banks do not tell me why I am denied, just that they have made a business decision to not offer their services to me ( although I continue to receive targeted advertising offers in the mail, through email, etc. ) I have lived for a while now paying excessive fees to have my checks cashed via special check cashing businesses but the fees are outrageous and the time spent waiting for a check to clear is often in excess of 10 days. I am very much at my wits end because I am not sure what else to do. I have tried repairing my credit but due to an unresolved identity theft event that occurred in 2013 - I am having difficulty doing so. I have even gone through all the steps to correct my credit report but the various financial institutions will not remove the false information despite multiple police reports, affidavits, etc. Additionally, twice I have gone through the lengthy process of applying for a new Social Security Number and twice the Social Security Administration lost my paperwork. 

Without rambling on forever, I am attempting to resolve this situation by granting my Mother durable power of attorney rights in hopes that she will be able to sign and cash the checks I have received as well as provide basic banking services for me. In addition to the costs associated with paying check cashing processors, without a bank account I pay more for everything and am even denied by entire business sectors. For example, despite searching for months I have yet to find a health insurance provided that allows payment via cash, I am unable to take advantage of the savings associated with purchasing things online, I am barred from consumer services such as XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, etc - because I can not input a credit or debit card number, and I would say generally being without a checking account almost doubles the cost of living through increased prices, limited consumer services, and significant delays associated with cashing checks. 

In light of this, I would ask that CitiBank honor the attached durable power of attorney. My mother and I have previously attempted cooperate with our local bank on how to resolve this situation but the necessary documents and instructions required of us are vague and keep on changing. Thus I am writing this complaint in hopes to spur a resolution that would provide remediation the problems associated with being un-banked. 

Further, I wish for the bank to investigate whether the decision to deny me access to basic banking services has to do with the fact that I have reported fraud to the SEC, CFPB, and OCC concerning illicit account opening practices and BSA compliance failures.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation