Consumer complaint received 2023-01-19
Company: Chime Financial Inc
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
chime has put a temp hold on my account and I complied and given documentation drivers license, SSN #, utility bill, and other documents to provide showing my income. This messing up my employment direct deposit as I have been with chime for years and now all sudden being questioned with a hold for security reasons. I called 6 times I get through to nobody. They communicate through email with documents that were sent. I got notified on XX/XX/2023 that there was suspicious activity that they wanted to clear up and at that point I can to submit documentation which I did within 5 hours of the email I received. They do state that if I didnt respond within 5 business days could result in my account being restricted. Well now today XX/XX/XXXX I got email stating account is on temp hold for security reasons which I proved that all transactions and activity on my account is me myself along with documentation. Here is the email Temporary Security Restriction Hi XXXX, Were reaching out to let you know that some unusual activity relating to your Chime account has been detected. A temporary security restriction has been placed in order to safeguard your funds. 

How This Affects You The restriction will remain in place until we can verify some information with you. During this time, you will be unable to complete transactions, receive deposits, use your card ( s ), or login to the Chime app or website.

What Is Needed From You To lift the security restriction, please respond directly to this email to verify the following items with Chime Member Services : Your primary government-issued photo ID ( such as a Driver 's License or State ID card ). Please send a copy of both the front and the back of your ID. 
Proof of Address ( such as a utility bill, cell phone bill, or cable and internet bill ) Next Step : Contact Us Please reply directly to this message to email Chime Member Services and submit your documents for verification. All documents must be in XXXX, XXXX, or XXXX  format ( XXXX or other document formats can not be accepted ). Additional items may be requested after initial review.

If you need clarification on the requested items above, or would like some help with submitting your documents in the correct format, please let us know and we will be happy to assist. Thank you for helping us keep your account secure, and for being a Chime member. 

Sincerely, The Chime Team chime XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Chime. All rights reserved. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX Please do not reply to this email. The account isnt monitored, and we dont want to miss hearing from you. 

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Member FDIC. The Chime XXXX XXXX XXXX is issued by The XXXX XXXX XXXX. pursuant to a license from XXXX XXXX XXXX and may be used everywhere XXXX  debit cards are accepted.

This email was sent to you because you have a Chime account. 



**They do pick up the phone but its only customer service and the team that reviews the documents only responds by email!! So I called and ask to speak to everyone imaginable and gotten no where! I wanted to life the restriction as its messing with my daily life with everything tied into this checking account and no access to my money when I want to make sure they got the documents that they asked for which was confirmed by customer service rep. But I can not wait 7 business days which I was told for the review process. I would really appreciate if you can help me out here as this is very stressful especially in these times. I given all the documentation and I prove that its me so I cant understand why it takes so long when I have over {$8000.00} in the account and my employment direct deposit that I get biweekly and I cant access anything and everything gets sent back as far as transactions that a debit through direct deposit or bills

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation