Consumer complaint received 2022-07-24
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
XX/XX/2022 : I made an in-person deposit at the Citibank branch XXXX I deposited 13 checks totaling {$65000.00}. Everything looked fine and I walked out of the bank. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received an email at XXXX am stating that one of the checks had triggered a suspicious alert and my accounts had been locked for safety. The email instructed me to call the fraud dept. at Citibank. I called the number immediately and waited on hold for 45 minutes before reaching a human. This person asked me what the money was for. I told them in the most honest and clear way, what the money was for, and they claimed over the phone that the process would soon be complete and all was well, and that I would receive a letter in one week with more information. I told the representative that I would be out of the state and unable to receive an important letter, and they said to not worry about it. At this point I realized that my online bank account was not accessible - as if I had no bank account at all. The login process just refreshed to a blank login form, no information about whether this was a computer glitch or whether I was now banished from the system. No way to access my bank statements, customer service chat, etc. I was not informed over the phone of any details on the length of time it would take or whether the money was safe. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called the fraud department again because I was still locked out of my bank accounts and worried about the $ 65,000+ in my checking account. After one hour on hold this time, I reached a human. This person went through the same process as the first person, asking me what the money is for. I gave them the contact info of the issuer of the " suspicious '' check. I later learned that this person waited on hold for one hour, was treated rudely, and was hung up on when they called back the fraud dept. at Citibank. At this point I called my bank branch in XXXX and begged for their help. The personal banker whose name I did not record waved me off by saying that because this is a fraud case, they can not help me whatsoever. I believed him. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I called the fraud dept. and spent hours trying to get a human who could do more than just go through the same fraud detection process. I got nowhere. I called Citibank customer service and went through a runaround for hours trying to find a supervisor or manager who was willing to help. I was being told that my bank account was referred for closure and was not told whether I would have to recontact the 13 people who had issued the checks that are frozen in my account. No information whatever was available. I called my branch and reached the same personal banker who again dismissed me. I begged to talk to anyone who cared about helping me. I was then connected to the branch manager XXXX, who presented as an extremely caring and willing customer service provider. XXXX stated that because the issuer of one of my checks was using a smaller credit union, Citibank had probably triggered the fraud alert but had no way of contacting the credit union to resolve the issue, because they use two different systems of interbank communication. XXXX was knowledgeable and helpful. XXXX promised to call the fraud department right away and get this resolved. I did not hear back for 24 hours, so I called my branch and XXXX informed me she was still waiting to hear back from the fraud department. I have now waited more than four days and there seems to be no hope of ever hearing back. I still have no idea where the money is, whether it has been returned to the issuers or has been seized by Citibank. Citibank has left me completely in the dark holding my money hostage. As far as I know, the money is gone forever, or could take months to be returned to me. To say this has been inconvenient and stressful would be the understatement of the century. I am submitting this complaint in hopes that Citibank will improve their fraud department communications and improve their customer service.

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