Consumer complaint received 2021-06-08
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: CD (Certificate of Deposit)
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
I am submitting a complaint against Citibank XXXX XXXX, CA in regards to a large sum of money, {$30000.00} missing from my account for several days, and not receiving any calls or notifications from this Citibank branch. I am hoping to get an explanation of what happened with my accounts. 

I have provided a timeline of events below starting with the account opening. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I went in to open a 3 month CD account. The banker assisting me encountered errors multiple times and stated that it was due to Citibank uprgrading their system. At least 4 attempts were made but to no avail. I was told that they would try to open the account again the next day, and when it's open they will call me to transfer the money into the CD account. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a voicemail from Citibank saying that the account was open and I can transfer the money in. I logged in to transfer the money however the full amount was not available to transfer. The banker told me to wait a few days and try again. 

When the funds were finally available, I would attempt to transfer the money into the CD account but it would result in a technical error every time. I told the banker who opened the account and they said to wait and try again, it was likely an error due to Citibank " upgrading '' their system. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I am frustrated at this point because I am being told over and over again to try and transfer the money again into the CD account but I get a technical error every time. It is circular reasoning at this point. 

So On XX/XX/XXXX I decided to go to the bank to sort it out. I approach the teller and explain my situation and they reply that since 10 days have elapsed since the CD account opening, they will have to close that CD account and open a new one for me since it hasn't been funded yet. 

I am then referred to the banker who originally opened the account, They transfer the money into the same CD account and I receive a physical receipt for that transaction. 

The transaction receipt is as follows - Transaction Amount Description Withdrawal {$30000.00} From Checking Deposit {$30000.00} to Certificate I leave the bank with the receipt thinking the problem has been resolved. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I logged into my Citibank account in the morning and noticed that the 3 month CD account I opened was listed as {$0.00} dollars and zero transactions. I begin to panic and double-checked both my checking and savings account. The XXXX is nowhere to be found. 

My checking account 's most recent transaction is - XX/XX/XXXX Cash Withdrawal XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Teller - {$30000.00} I immediately head to the Citibank XXXX and explain the situation to the teller. I present the physical receipt from XX/XX/XXXX showing that {$30000.00} had been deposited to the 3 month CD account. 

The teller, after looking up my account and reviewing the transactions says that the {$30000.00} is sitting in their bank ledger and it is money waiting to be claimed. I am then told by the teller that this was likely due to the money being transferred several days ( 10 days ) into the CD account. They also said that when opening a CD account, it must be funded within the same day or else it can result in an error like this. 

They then opened a new 3 month CD account and deposited the {$30000.00} into it. 

So to my understanding, on XX/XX/XXXX, the banker should have closed the original CD account and opened a new one for me instead of transferring {$30000.00} from my checking into that 3 month CD that had already been opened for 10 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I left the bank with a physical receipt saying that XXXX had been transferred from my checking into CD account. 

But on XX/XX/XXXX I found out that {$30000.00} was missing from my account, and it may have been missing for several days. 

Why did this Citibank branch not call or notify me that the transfer didn't go through? Does their software not raise red flags or notifications to the bank when an error like this occurs? 

I had {$30000.00} missing from my account and the bank branch was unaware of this? I even have a physical receipt to prove the transactions. 

I want an explanation from this Citibank branch as to why {$30000.00} was missing from my account for several days and why did they not call me to inform me of the error?

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