Consumer complaint received 2018-02-02
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX : I lost access to my account thanks to the 2FA and I was advised by coinbase support to open a new account for the funds to be transferred from my new account. Please see request below : Hi I've lost my phone number as well as the authenticator. I no longer have the authenticator seed to use the authenticator app on IOS manually. Please help. Thanks XX/XX/XXXX : Please see Reply from coinbase support : Hello there, Thank you for contacting Coinbase support. 
Im sorry for the trouble youre having accessing your Coinbase account. To help get you access to your funds, it will be necessary to create a new Coinbase account using a different email address at https : //www.coinbase.comXXXX, and proceed with the following steps : 1 ) Add and verify a phone number 2 ) Complete the ID verification for your new account at https : //www.coinbase.comXXXX XXXX Once completed, these steps will help verify your ownership of the previous account. Let me know when youve finished these steps, and once we complete a review of the information, we can look to transfer the balance from the inaccessible account to your new one. 
If you have any questions or encounter trouble in the meantime, please feel free to send me a message and I will be happy to look into it. 
For more info or question please visit our support website : https : //support.coinbase.com to find the best answer real quick. 
Thank you for using Coinbase. 
Kind regards, XXXX XXXX / Coinbase Support Representative XX/XX/XXXX :  Replied with the required information. Please see my reply below : Hi Ive now completed the account opening and verification. Please proceed to do the needful. Also please restore the buying limits and payment methods as per my previous account. 

Kind regards XX/XX/XXXX : Coinbase replies promising to complete the task within 4 to 5 working days.

See email reply below Hello again, Thank you for completing the account verification.

I have escalated your request for a limit increase to our specialists.

We do our best to complete all account reviews within 4-5 business days, though this may sometimes take longer depending on the case volume were experiencing. 
Limits are calculated by our automated system, which is something were constantly working on improving. Limits are adjusted dynamically by an algorithm using only the information available to us at the time. This sometimes results in temporary limit decreases for our good customers. 
We have these limits in place due to the irreversible nature of digital currency payments. Coinbase is a large target for scammers using stolen bank accounts, cards, etc., so we have to put in these types of measures to protect our company and the community. Improving this aspect of our product is a top priority for us, and Im sorry that your account was affected by this. 
If your limits are increased, you will receive a separate email notification of the change. 
I hope this helps explain our limits structure. Please know that we very much appreciate your patience with us while we review your account. 
For more info or question please visit our support website : https : //support.coinbase.com to find the best answer real quick. 
Thank you for using Coinbase. 
Kind regards, XXXX XXXX / Coinbase Support Representative XX/XX/XXXX : reply from Coinbase asking for my old account to complete the transfer. please see email from coinbase below : Hi again, In regard to your balance transfer from your old account to new account, may I have you old email address please so I can do the proper escalations for your funds to be transferred. Thanks. 
Kind regards, XXXX XXXX / Coinbase Support Representative. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I responded with the require details and got the following reply from coinbase : bare in mind I had originally replied to the email address XXXX Thank you for contacting Coinbase. 

In an effort to more quickly respond to requests, directly emailing XXXX is no longer enabled. 

To get a response from our support team, please visit the following page and complete the request form : https : //support.coinbase.comXXXX   Please use the email address that you use to log in to Coinbase, select the appropriate category, and include as much detail as possible when submitting your request. 

Thanks in advance for your patience and support. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Got the following email from Coinbase : The XXXX email address is no longer monitored. 

The Coinbase Support team will ONLY be able to respond if you submit a request via our support portal : https : //support.coinbase.comXXXX   Please use the email address that you use to log in to Coinbase, select the appropriate category, and include as much detail as possible when submitting your request. 

Thanks in advance for your patience and support XX/XX/XXXX : After getting no reply from Coinbase I was forced to raise a new ticket regarding the same issue. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Provider details of my old and new account to help with the transfer of balances. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Followed up with another email providing the two ticket numbers I had raised to resolve this issue XX/XX/XXXX : Got no reply from Coinbase and I had to send another chaser XX/XX/XXXX : Reply from coinbase claiming to has escalated the issue to a specialist although no SLA or ETA was provided XX/XX/XXXX : Chased for an update or confirmation and when my request to sort out my balance transfer issues will be completed XX/XX/XXXX : Could get hold of any support staff after waiting on hold for more than two hours. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Raised another ticket out of frustration to get Coinbase to response to my issue. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Got the following response from coinbase support Please see below : Hi there, Im working with a specialist to review and finalize your balance transfer. We will follow-up as soon as the transfer is complete, or if we have any further questions.

No further action is required on your part at this time. Please note, we are experiencing tremendous support volume that may delay response times. For fastest response time, please do not send more than one email response. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience. 
Thank you for your patience in the meantime! 
Warm regards, XXXX Coinbase Support XX/XX/XXXX : Replied providing the requested information to help my issue XX/XX/XXXX : Got the same old reply claiming the issue has been escalated to a specialist. By my count this is the second time coinbase has escalated the issue and still no resolution. 
XX/XX/XXXX : finally got hold of the customer support and they could confirm the status of my ticket number nor could they confirm when this was going to be resolved. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Still no resolution and I'm not sure when coinbase will resolve this issue

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation