Consumer complaint received 2016-12-02
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I have been a loyal customer of Citibank, and a Citigold member for years. On XXXX XXXX, funds in several of my accounts had been frozen, due to a name mismatch of the payee. The initial instructions given by the XXXX representative who contacted me were not accurate, as they asked me to bring a co-signor to the branch. The next morning, upon our arrival, I was told that my business partner could not co-sign because my account is frozen. If this was the case, why was this even presented as a solution to rectify the situation? My partner spent a workday in the bank with me and was n't even needed or able to assist in a viable solution. On XXXX/XXXX/16, after much time and effort, due to having to acquire a notarized affidavit, he completed and faxed an affidavit and was told that it would be resolved between 24-48 hours. As of XXXX XXXX, my account is still frozen. XXXX does not accept calls, and employees I contacted were increasingly rude and unhelpful, I resorted to tweeting XXXX, who discovered that the details from the fax were too dark to read. I do not understand why this was not communicated in a timely manner and that I had to inquire after waiting an extended period of time. Clearly, faxing is not the best way to send this information- they should have provided other options to send the affidavit and ensure a timely resolution. I now know that payments that came into my account had more than one name attached to them, and that to access my funds I will need each of these other persons to sign and send an affidavit. This is not a viable solution as the nature of my business makes this a nearly impossible feat. Because the bank allowed this to continue without issue for many months I was unaware there was an issue. I work with individuals across the United States and with many, I do not have a personal relationship simply a business relationship or contact. Obtaining an affidavit from each individual would be an enormous undertaking as these affidavits would have to be completed during regular business hours, due to the notarization requirement, and no compensation for the loss of time is available. 

I hold the opinion that I should have been privy to this information from the start. Since I previously had no issue with receiving payment in this manner for months, I had absolutely no idea what was happening, nor did I suspect that the outcome would leave me unable to access my funds, not only my earnings but those used to pay necessary associated business and living expenses. This is a systematic error and to freeze so many months of repeated payments at the click of a button, is unfair to the client especially when there is no viable solution and the institution is inflexible. This is a contrived issue as no court order was issued, no judgment rendered, nor fraud reported by any of the other named payees. I should have been told of any issues with my account from day one! As of the date of this complaint, the account is still frozen. I am both incredibly frustrated with the system, as well as with the staff of Citibank. On a number of occasions, the staff of Citibank was rude and provided misinformation in regard to courses of action. They repeatedly encouraged me to admit culpability for a situation that they created due to speculation instead of facts. Their conduct has made this terrible experience even worse. In many instances I had to call them, go into the bank, and go on twitter just to find out that there were problems that they had n't told me. I do not know when or if my account will be unfrozen, and can not access any of the money I 've worked so incredibly hard for. Their behavior is not only unethical but unconscionable and I respectfully request an investigation into their conduct and that you advocate for the rights of consumers like myself who have their money held hostage without sound reason

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation