Consumer complaint received 2023-03-28
Company: Self Financial Inc.
State: DC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
Good afternoon, When I opened a 3rd Credit Builder savings account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was unaware that the funds would not be able to be added to the current secured credit card that I have with the company in order to increase my spending allowance and further assist with my credit building. I was able to do so once before after the initial setup of the credit card from my first savings account. When I read that there was a limit to the amount that I could have for the secured credit card limit, I requested to close the Credit Builder savings account and requested that the funds be returned. 

I read all of the information on the app and website regarding closing the savings account early. I followed those steps and closed the account on XX/XX/XXXX. I received an email from Self Financial, Inc. on XX/XX/XXXX stating that he account was closed successfully and that I would receive the {$860.00} funds that I paid to them on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from Self stating that my account was under review and that they would close the account if I did not provide them with a wealth of very personal information that would put me in extreme jeopardy for identity theft. The email requested the following documents, none of which I had to provide when I opened the account ( besides my SSN for them to do a credit check ). 

State Issued Identification Card Social Security Card Picture of Customer Holding ID Bank Statement ending in XXXX Bank Statement ending in XXXX Bank Statement ending in XXXX My first thought is that this was a hoax because I had never had a credit card company ask me for my bank statements. Secondly, I thought the account that they were referencing was the still open secured credit card account. I did not think the review and potential closure had anything to do with the " already '' closed Credit Builder savings account for which I had the email indicating it was already closed on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I called Self Customer Service to get a better understanding. I was informed by Customer Service that I would need to provide all of the requested documents from the email. I sent an email to " XXXX '' and to " XXXX '' to no avail. They both stated that I would need to provide all of the requested documents because the account was under review. 

I could not imagine that a credit card company would put me in jeopardy of identity theft by asking for all of my information when they already had my SS number and credit report, along with my rent and utility bills information. I did provide them a copy of my drivers license. I contacted customer service again after providing the picture ID. I was told that Self still needed all of those documents and even if I decided to let the account just close, I would still not be able to receive my money back until l provided the documents. 

After reading their requirements again, I noticed that it did state on their website that they could legally ask for more information to verify an account. However, it did not specify that they would ask for personal documents such as all of my bank statements. If I provided this information to them along with my SS card and picture ID, what is stopping them from wiping out all of my accounts.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation