Consumer complaint received 2018-07-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
This all started on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I have been doing personal banking with Citibank for about 12 years. I started a company in XX/XX/XXXX in XXXX XXXX, CA and after a few years doing my business banking at XXXX XXXX, I moved everything ( personal and business ) under one roof at Citi in XX/XX/XXXX. 

My company is a XXXX XXXX XXXX company that primarily XXXX XXXX XXXX. A vast majority of our clients are from XXXX, and more specifically XXXX. We XXXX XXXX for our clients in America ( i.e. we do not XXXX  overseas all of our productions are domestically executed ), and these XXXX  are almost always for American products being sold in XXXX markets. 

We also have done this same type of work for clients from XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. From an optics standpoint, I realize that we should expect to face more scrutiny because of our clientele and our country 's not-so-great relations with some of these nations. But nothing about our business is illicit. We are a simple service provider and XXXX XXXX. More on that below. 

In XXXX, we did over $ 2m in revenues, with most of that revenue coming from XXXX. During that time, I was able to extend a credit line we had been steadily increasing with Citi to $ XXXX. This was a very important milestone for my cashflow and accounts receivable as the size of our jobs were getting bigger and payments from XXXX can sometimes take months. 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX, I see my checking account has been XXXX out ( it had a {$14000.00} balance previously ). I thought someone had entered a branch and fraudulently drawn out our cash, but when I went in to inquire, that was the first time I heard about the Know Your Customer division of Citibank. Without warning, they had shut down my account for lack of compliance, and needed me to fill out forms about my company structure, asking me if I was related to any politicians, etc. I completed all forms and after about a week, they reinstated my account. 

Then I was literally served a signature-required notice via XXXX in my office on XX/XX/XXXX in my office. It was another note from the XXXX division, this time stating that there was still more information about the company that was missing, and that they were going to shut down my checking account by XX/XX/XXXX if they didnt hear from me. I contacted my local branch manager and she assisted me in finding out what they wanted. We filled out more forms together, sent them off, and everything seemed to be resolved. 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice that my $ XXXX business credit line had unilaterally been shut down ( i.e. to {$0.00} ) on XX/XX/XXXX for unacceptable handling of bank accounts. Then on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a separate notice stating that my PERSONAL checking account was being shut down without listing a reason. The only recourse for all of these was to fax a letter to the XXXX division no email, no phone. 

For the past few weeks, my branch manager and I have been trying to reach XXXX to revive the accounts and get them to provide more of an explanation for their reasoning. 

I believe that I am unequivocally being discriminated against because of the clientele that I have and the source my money. Im fine to be scrutinized, but it does not seem that they have in any way done due diligence into the nature of my business, nor have they sufficiently given me opportunity to explain my business to them or provide color to our banking activity. 

We deal with large sums of money that get dispersed very rapidly ( usually over the course of 30 days ) to many different parties I suspect that is the main issue they are taking. But that is the nature of XXXX XXXX we deal with sometimes hundreds of XXXX and dozens of vendors for EACH job. But every single check, petty cash withdrawal, wire transfer, or other financial transaction is carefully and thoroughly accounted for by detailed bookkeeping with receipts, names, addresses, SSN/EINs, etc. all recorded. Also, I am a single-member LLC. I pay myself through partner draws. Sometimes these draws can be large, especially when I have delayed paying myself while waiting for a client to settle a final payment. Perhaps that also is an issue for them, but again, no line of questions from Citi XXXX or opportunity to explain. 

I think its also worth mentioning that we are also a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX, having paid out millions in payroll, pension, and health over the years. Also, in XXXX we were audited by the IRS and they only discovered a few hundred dollars in owed taxes. Suffice it to say, our bookkeeping is very tight and very transparent. 

Because I have been asked the question several times in XXXX questionnaires, I am thoroughly aware that they believe I am laundering money for my clients somehow. But the insult of this repeated ( and false ) presumption pales in comparison to the outrageous fact that the XXXX can not be legitimately contacted or reasoned with in any way. The generic customer service lines they leave as a contact point on their notices always lead to a representative providing me with the same fax number to get in touch. There is a complete communication firewall around them, where I only receive threats to provide more information or notices of their decisions ( with almost no explanation ) to shut me down. 

In conclusion, at this time, my personal checking account was eliminated, my business line of credit has been frozen, and my business checking account remains open but under continued questioning. I am still trying to revive the accounts today. 

Thanks for reading.

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