Consumer complaint received 2023-09-24
Company: TransferWise Ltd
State: IL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX : Tried to send money to myself from account A to B, USD to USD, was told the ACH method is unavailable to my account with Wise. Called in and was told they couldn't tell me a reason. I then proceeded to try with debit card to XXXXXXXX XXXX, both methods were rejected as well, the only method left for me to try was Wire transfer but I didn't use it because I don't feel comfortable with Wires. 

On the same day, I tried to add money to my Wise account using a different personal bank account and was able to. The status tracker showed that the money would be available to my account on XX/XX/XXXX, but later on Thursday, it changed to " your money is taking loner to reach us, we'll deposit it once we receive it '', even though the fund has been taken out my account the same day. Upon reading the message, I called Wise customer service, she assured me it was just a random regulatory check from their system and the fund should still be available on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX. I trusted her and decided to wait. The fund in question is around {$2500.00}, from hereon, this will be referred as Transaction A. 

Still on the same day, I initiated a second transfer using my account on file with Wise, it was able to go through and the status showed " your money is taking longer to us, it will be available on XX/XX/XXXX ''. The fund in question is around {$3800.00} and will be referred to as Transaction B. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Received an email from Wise says the following : " We need some more info from you before starting your transfer. 
Wise is a safe and regulated way to send money. And sometimes we need to double check that its really you sending money. 

That means we can only start your transfer of XXXX USD after you send us a proof of payment. That could be a PDF or screenshot from your online banking that shows : [ 1 ]. The name and logo of your bank [ 2 ]. Your name as the account holder [ 3 ]. Your bank details ( fully or partially visible ) [ 4 ]. Your payment to Wise including the amount sent, the date and Wise as the recipient If we dont hear from you in the next 2 days, well need to refund any money youve paid in. " Upon receiving the email, immediately called and emailed Wise to clarify how could I provide a document that satisfy requirement 4, when in fact you have paused the transfer and would not be pulling the money out of my account until I have provided you all the documents. Over the phone, customer service agent informed me to wait for a day and the transaction should show up in my account, the ACH debit. I informed her that the email clearly indicate that you wouldn't debit my account until I have provided the documents, I don't think such transaction would show up in my account, but she insisted for me to wait. I further asked her if she could put me in touch with the verification team itself, instead of some call center agent who doesn't have the authority to get this resolved and was told no. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I had no other choice but to wait to the second day and it was just like I expected, the ACH debit did not show up on my account. At XXXX, I got another email from Wise saying that this is a reminder email that they still haven't received my documents and they don't receive it the next day, they will cancel the transaction. 

At evening on XX/XX/XXXX, the ACH debit still hasn't showed up and the deadline is passing, so I decided to upload my bank statement which clearly contained information that satisfies requirement 1-3. I also wrote an email to their customer support because their phone line is closed, saying that 'I can't produce a document that contains a transaction has yet happened, please advise how to proceed '', but I haven't heard back from anyone. I was hoping maybe by Monday, I would hear something back. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Waking up to an automatic email sent by Wise at XXXXXXXX XXXX, saying Transaction B has been cancelled. This clearly tells me that nobody review my documents and just let their XXXX system cancel my transaction as if they did not receive my document. 

At XXXXXXXX XXXX, I received another automatic email from Wise saying that they are closing my account on XX/XX/XXXX, and they can't tell me the reason, following by instruction how to appeal the decision. But before the account closure, I'm still able to withdraw, send and spend the money in the account, but won't able to add more. That was ok with me as long as it was true. I immediately followed the appeal instruction and tried to login to my account to check the status of Transaction A, hoping that I would be able to send the money out. To my surprise, I couldn't log on nor appeal the decision like the email instruction says. After clicking the 'appeal our decision button '' it gave me the following message : " After reviewing your case we've decided to keep your account closed. 

If you had any pending transfers or money in your Wise account it has been fully refunded to the originating bank account ( s ). 
Wise has the right to close your account without notice, however you do have the right to complain about this through independent adjudication. '' So it basically didn't let me appeal or present my case at all. I wasn't able to upload any documents or whatsoever like the email showed. This is EXTREMELY frustrating and it's very unprofessional and unethical on Wise 's part. The communication process from Wise is antiquated and the customer service agents are clueless of what's going on, nor do they have any access or authority to resolve the issue properly, yet, I couldn't get in touch with anyone from the so-called mysterious " verification team '' who sends out XXXX and incoherent requests. 

Please look into their practice and help me out to get this resolved as soon as possible, thanks!

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief