Consumer complaint received 2022-02-20
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: WA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
I've had a citibank XXXX  savings account for several years that I was using to store money ( ~ $ XXXX ) for a house downpayment. Citi accepts ACH transfers, which is how I had slowly funded the account. 

I had an offer accepted on XX/XX/22, and needed to transfer $ XXXX out of my citi account for an XXXX money deposit by XX/XX/22. 

Citi evidently does not allow ACH transfers out -- only in. So I tried to initiate a wire transfer, upon which an online popup told me I needed a debit card to allow me to do that. Citis online service then promptly locked me out of my account. It makes no sense whatsoever to have a debit card for a savings account. 

I called citi and was put on the phone with a person who was verbally incomprehensible. I tried again with another call back and then had a completely useless conversation with another customer service agent who, it felt, was reading from a flow chart. The dialog went effectively : Me : Hi I need to initiate a wire transfer because I bought a house. 
Agent : Okay, what is your debit card number? 
Me : I dont have a debit card for this account. 
Agent : A debit card is required to initiate a wire transfer. 
Me : I dont have a debit card for this account. 
Agent : A debit card is required to initiate a wire transfer. 
etc. 

I attempted to ask whether someone had an alternative solution, whether I could speak to a supervisor, etc., with no help provided whatsoever. I called back several times and had similar conversations for XXXX hours, until I called a different service number and found someone who could issue me a debit card, but it didnt arrive for a week. 
Unable to get my money out of my Citibank account, I had to move money from another account ( that I wasnt ready to move quite yet ) and ask a family member to help me with the difference to make the deadline for the initial earnest money. 

Now, Im attempting another second transfer with Citibank ( basically to move my money pre-emptively to another account so I dont risk any more Citibank holdups before my home close on XX/XX/XXXX ), and have had to spend hours on the phone with them going in circles about my identity, debit card number, etc. to initiate that wire transfer. 

I recognize there is nothing illegal about terrible customer service. But, the spirit of this is not consumer friendly, so Im curious if there is recourse or corrective action so that other people dont have the same frustrating and stressful experience I did that almost killed my chances at being able to close on a house. In sum, Citibank makes it incredibly easy to put money into accounts there, but incredibly difficult ( not to mention expensive in terms of fees ) to get money out of accounts. From speaking to friends with Citibank accounts and reading online reviews, so many other people have had similar experiences and Im not alone in this.

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