Consumer complaint received 2022-09-16
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TN
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
I am an account holder at CitiBank. This letter is in reference to the theft by Citi of {$50000.00} from my CitiBank savings account on XX/XX/XXXX. I have never received such poor service and with higher stakes than at the hands of CitiBank. Countless hours have been spent on the phone trying to recoup my funds that were seized by CitiBank due to a bogus fraud freeze by them. I have been hung up on multiple times by Citi representatives, passed around like a rag doll from one department to another - none of whom are able or willing to help solve this issue, and I have been lied to daily since Friday XX/XX/XXXX. In short - I need your help. 

Below is a timeline of events. 

Friday - XX/XX/XXXX - I requested on the CitiBank website a wire transfer in the amount of {$50000.00} to be sent to my real estate closing company, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, TN. I am buying a home. The routing & account numbers were verified by my mortgage company and by me before initiating the wire transfer. I initiated the transfer request around XXXX XXXX and within minutes, I received an email message that the transaction was flagged and cancelled and my account was frozen for suspicious activity. I called CitiBank multiple times trying to regain access to my account. Each time, when I would give my phone number ( the only phone number I have had since XXXX ), I was told no - they needed another number. I was hung up on because I could not provide the CVC number on the back of my ATM card. I tried to explain that my ATM card was not XXXX branded XXXX so therefore, it does not have a CVC number on the back. I WAS TREATED LIKE A CRIMINAL AND HUNG UP ON. After calling back, I was sent to someone in IT who told me I would need to visit a branch to prove my identity. The problem is - Citibank bills itself as a " Global '' bank with an online presence. I am in XXXX, TN so my nearest branch by my estimation is in XXXX, IL. That is not a good policy or practical advice by your company. I was finally able to speak to someone in customer service, and after begging him to help me, was able to connect me to someone who would unlock my account. At this point - I have my account unlocked and the original wire transfer for {$50000.00} ( Citibank 's daily limit for my account ) was cancelled. But I still needed to initiate the transfer again because my closing date for my home was XX/XX/XXXX. In the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, I again called CitiBank wire services ( XXXX ) to notify them that I needed to initiate the wire. I was given the go-ahead by a very nice lady. But she told me to call another number on Monday morning to make sure they were aware and to verify the transaction ( XXXX ). I thought everything was taken care of and I went ahead and re-submitted the wire request for {$50000.00}. 

Monday XX/XX/XXXX - The total amount due from me at the closing table for my real estate transaction was {$98000.00}. Again, Citi limits wire transfers to {$50000.00}. Because it could take 48 hours ( or so I was told ) for a wire transfer to complete by CitiBank, I requested a 2nd wire transfer in the amount of {$48000.00}. After XXXX, I was able to reach a representative at XXXX who rudely dismissed me when I tried to call to verify that these were actual transactions. She didn't know why I was calling and was obviously inconvenienced, so she told me to call Citi Wire Services at XXXX ( remember - these were the same people who told me to call her in the first place ). I called Citi Wire Services and the representative seemed confused and assured me that the {$48000.00} transaction was received and would be processed. He told me the 2nd {$50000.00} transaction had been cancelled, however, which was confusing to me because both transactions showed pending in my account. So I waited. 

Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX - I was getting nervous at this point based on my experiences so far with CitiBank. I called again to check the status of the wires to make sure they were going to be processed for my real estate closing. I spoke to a nice gentleman who said that Citibank had been trying to contact me to verify the transactions ( no one had called my phone and no emails were sent ). He asked me some personal questions and stated he verified the transactions. This was untrue. 

Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX - Closing day. My wire transfers were still showing pending in my account. I contacted Citibank by chat, by phone, and finally spoke to someone who was able to verify the 2nd transaction for XXXX and pushed it through immediately. I saw the status change in my portal and was informed quickly that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had received it. But what about the {$50000.00} transfer that still showed pending in my account and had been debited from my balance? The representative stated that it had been cancelled by Citibank Fraud Dept., but that the money needed to be sent back to my account. She told me it would arrive in 15 minutes. It did not. I called Citibank back after three hours and spoke to a very nice lady named XXXX who told me the same story, but she said it would take another day to receive the funds back in my account so I could then re-submit the {$50000.00} wire transaction. I thanked her and hoped I would see my money restored in the morning. 

Thursday XX/XX/XXXX - Day 7. {$50000.00} is still missing from my account and I have a pending wire transfer that can not be explained by anyone because the Citibank representatives state it was cancelled by Citibank Fraud Dept. I started calling Citi around XXXX XXXX today and spoke to countless individuals. I was hung up on multiple times during " transfers '' to other departments and spent a total of nearly 3 hours waiting on the phone for answers. The last thing I was told today was that the Fraud department is currently conducting an " investigation '' into the {$50000.00} pending request for a transfer to the very same recipient that CitiBank approved me to send {$48000.00} to. I asked for a timeline, but this representative would not commit. I asked if it could be weeks or months ( as I have read about others ' experiences with Citi ) and she did not deny it. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - I have now signed closing papers for a home that I can not be given the keys to and that I am unable to fully fund because of Citi 's negligence, ineptitude, and apparent theft. I am now being accused by the seller of not having the funds to buy the home ( I did have the funds until Citi seized them ) and this will likely cost me thousands of dollars in litigation against me, additional interest charges if I lose my rate lock from my mortgage broker, or both. 

The homebuying process should be a happy time. A time for new beginnings. A time to reap the rewards of one 's hard work. And a time to celebrate a bright future. Instead, Citibank has not only stolen {$50000.00} of MY MONEY for my down payment, but it has also stolen my joy. I feel defeated by this turn of events and am now trying to go down every avenue I can to recoup my money. 

Please help me. If this were happening to XXXX XXXX XXXX accounts, how long would it go on? Give me the same consideration and experience. I appreciate the extra layers of fraud protection, but at some point, if the system is not working the customers are harmed. I have never had a mistrust for banks or financial institutions. In some ways, our local banks are cornerstones of our communities. But Citibank has shown me that there are bad players in the banking world. I just hope I don't become a permanent victim of their apparent malfeasance.

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