Consumer complaint received 2021-08-25
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: VA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
Coinbase is refusing to send my remaining balance back to me. Their portal was locked to only displaying XXXX  and non US documents/addresses for several months with literally no indicated way to correct this. I finally found a way to contact their support and I was instructed to upload onerous sensitive PII ( personal identifying information ) in a context where there are public headline making massive corporate breaches all the time about {$38.00} of bitcoin just to " change the country. '' After uploading identity documents it still refused to allow me to transfer my own money to me and even specifically blocked sending it to my own already fully verified coinbase wallet address. Despite being instructed that I would be able to close my account and send the remaining deposit to an address of my choosing and that would be it, that failed. There is literally no XXXX issue over a transaction that doesnt even have a dollar value at current market prices of {$40.00}. This is like requiring your ID and physical home address to a shady corner store with busted security cameras that cant even display its menu properly XXXX see the top blue area what appears to be a graphical glitch in the uploaded pictures ) if you have the gall to ask for your change back.???????????????????????????????????????????? 

I work in finance and markets. Ive literally never had a single situation where it was necessary for a < {$50.00} transaction to return your own money to give this type of information not to mention when the accounts were already opened. It seems theyre intentionally trying to make it difficult to obtain your own client funds. Add to that theyve put an arbitrarily determined cap date on these at the end of the month. This is STEALING client money. Like many people I dont receive a mail statement for anything that would be sufficient for this. Its 2021. Ive also had repeated extreme problems with mail statements and people screwing with mail generally for years now. There are any number of transaction services that have had no prosecutorial/regulatory actions whatsoever for " lack of XXXX  '' that absolutely dont require this information for a {$50.00} or less transaction not to mention everyday transactions occurring at businesses literally all over the planet and the US. Its such a small amount of money as far as the federal government is concerned it isnt even more than the federal protection for fraudulent credit card transactions and yet they want another digital transmission of all of the pieces of PII required for full on identity theft! Make it stop! This is in effect oppressive, terrifying and it doesnt make any sense whatsoever. Just give me MY money back and stop putting at risk XXXX knows how many clients who have patronized your business. Who exactly are people actually hiring that somehow think this makes risk adjusted sense or that it is in any way legitimately necessary? 

Even in this literal complaint at the top it says : Do not include personal information, such as your name, account number, address, Social Security number, etc. We may ask for some of this information later, to help the company identify you and your account. 

Maybe this complaint with the CFPB will be enough to figure out I am who I say I am when they already have more than the necessary information and theyll just send my money back to me like theyre supposed to. 

Thank XXXX theyre regulated so they wouldnt be stealing US citizens client funds by intentionally placing unnecessary illogical hurdles to returning their own money to them or placing their clients at increased risk unnecessarily ... ... ... ...

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation