Consumer complaint received 2021-03-06
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: KS
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
Up until XX/XX/2021, I have not had a problem making a wire or ACH transfer from Citibank to another of my savings of checking accounts at other banks. 

On XX/XX/2021 everything changed and the nightmare begins. 

I tried to make a transfer from my Citibank checking account to my checking account at another bank ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). Each time my online Citibank checking account allows me to set up the transfer. The boilerplate notice tells me it can take up to three business days for the transfer to be completed. On the morning of the third business day, I receive a form email that states, " Unfortunately, the account provider has indicated problems with processing your request. As a security precaution, until this problem is resolved, we have put a hold on your ability to submit more of these transactions. For more details, please contact us by sending an email to XXXX or by calling us at XXXX '' And this is when you enter the black hole of Citibank. After speaking to the Citibank Representative who tells me to try again, I tell them that since I was succesful earlier in the month transferring via ACH to my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  account, I will initiate the transfer in the same amount to that bank. Citibank assures me that all is well and this transaction will go through. 

Except it doesn't. ( Please see all attached documents ). 

I call again. Each time the Citibank representative informs me there is a hold on the account. No reason why. They then direct me to the Fraud Department at XXXX. Initially, on XX/XX/2021, the fraud specialist tells me they do not have access to my account because it is under review. I will hear back in 1 to 2 hours. I do not hear back. Not that day. Or the next day. I call again. Exact same scenario. I will hear back in 1 to 2 hours. I never do. I continue to call each day, multiple times a day and then I am told that I will hear back in 48 hours. At this writing it is now XX/XX/2021. I have not received a call back. Even though I have requested some kind of response in writing, no written correspondence of any type explaining the issue has ever been received. Neither in email form or delivered via USPS.

I have had my son on the phone with me ( my son is in banking ). He has also tried to solicit an explanation from the Fraud Department. Ultimately, the specialist hangs up. On us. And the Fraud department has now either hung up or put me on hold for as long as 45 minutes before the line goes dead. This has occurred more than a dozen times now. I estimate I have been on hold with Citibank Fraud department for more than 10 hours as of this writing to no avail. Last night my son and I spoke with a Citibank Private Banking representative and detailed the entire saga. She was sympathetic. Tried to connect us to her supervisor. The supervisor said they could not speak with me. The supervisor instructed the private banker to send us to the Citbank Fraud Department. Been there. Done that. But hope springs eternal. Yet again, I spoke with a Fraud representative. And she followed precisely the same narrative script as all the others. I could barely hear her on the line because of roosters crowing in the background on her end. I am not making this up. The representative proceeded to utilize the same stonewall tactic. She could provide no information on why the account is under review because it is under review. Only that I will hear back in 48 hours.

At one point she called me by the wrong name. Said that there was an issue with my SBA loan. I assume she means a Small Business Association Loan. I am not a small business. I certainly fo not have nor ever have I had a loan from the SBA. I am a retired individual. My savings account and checking account are personal accounts. I remind her of this information. She tells me she needs to put me on hold. I beg her not to because the line always goes dead. She promises it won't this time. 45 minutes later the line goes dead.

I now live in an epic groundhog day scenario, in which each time I call the Citibank Fraud Department, the clock is reset with a 48 hour delay. I am at my wit 's end. HELP!

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