Consumer complaint received 2018-03-16
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I established an account with Coinbase, Inc in order to buy and sell cryptocurrency on the XXXX exchange available on their website. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I complied with Coinbase 's instructions ( from their website ) for wiring funds domestically from my personal bank account into my Coinbase account. Specifically, on XX/XX/XXXX, I visited my bank XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and initiated a wire transfer in the amount of {$37000.00} from my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX bank account into the designated bank account for Coinbase ( per their wiring instructions ). The wiring instructions on the Coinbase website listed their bank account number as XXXX and their bank routing number is XXXX. I also included the reference code " XXXX '' in my wire transfer, as directed by the Coinbase website wiring instructions. My domestic wire transfer in the amount of {$37000.00} was completed on XX/XX/XXXX. 
After accessing my Coinbase account about a week and a half later, I was shocked to learn that none of these funds were ever credited to my Coinbase account even though the entire {$37000.00} was transferred out of my personal bank account. I called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and was provided with an XXXX number confirming that my {$37000.00} was successfully transferred from my personal bank account into the bank account designated by Coinbase. This IMAD number is XXXX. 
My attempts to contact Coinbase in XXXX by phone failed because their answering service stated that they can not resolve wire transfers over the phone. In addition, when I called a second time in an attempt to speak to a person, I waited on the phone on hold for over an hour before giving up. 
In response to a complaint I filed with Coinbase Case ( which Coinbase regarded as Case # XXXX ), I received a generalized email from their support staff on XX/XX/XXXX stating in part that " Bank wires will be automatically credited to your account when received. '' In response, I checked my Coinbase account and surprisingly did not see any funds credited to my account. I then replied on to Coinbase Support on XX/XX/XXXX complaining that I still have an outstanding issue with my {$37000.00} bank wire initiated on XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, Coinbase Support emailed me back and stated in part that " From this end, it appears that your transaction has now been verified and you should be all set. '' After checking my Coinbase account and again not seeing any credited funds, I replied via email on XX/XX/XXXX complaining that " This issue has not been resolved. The {$37000.00} that I wired to Coinbase over 4 weeks ago has not been placed into my Coinbase account. '' In this email to Coinbase Support, I also attached a printed receipt verifying the wire transfer, I provided the XXXX number, and I also attached a screen-shot of my Coinbase account revealing no transactions relating to the wire transfer. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, Coinbase Support emailed me stating in part " Having investigated the issue, I am working with a specialist to address it properly. We will follow-up with you as soon as we have an update. '' I emailed Coinbase Support on XX/XX/XXXX, stating that the " {$37000.00} wire deposit into my account has not been resolved. I just checked my account and there is still a zero balance. I have just verified that my money has not been placed into my account. '' As of XX/XX/XXXX, Coinbase failed to follow-up with an update. Therefore, I emailed Coinbase Support complaining that it has been over 6 weeks since the wire transfer and demanding they grant me access to my {$37000.00}. 
As of XX/XX/XXXX, Coinbase still failed to follow-up with an update. I emailed them on this date stating again that the funds were deducted from my XXXX bank account but were never placed into my Coinbase account. I also provided my XXXX number again. In this email, I characterized Coinbase Support 's statements to me as " misrepresentations '' wherein they claimed my transaction has been verified and the money is set up. In this email, I warned that further failure to provide me access to my money would result in a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Board. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, in a very generalized email, Coinbase Support emailed me with apologies for the delayed response and an excuse that they have received a significantly increased number of requests recently. 
As of the time of the drafting of this complaint XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, I checked my Coinbase account only to learn that none of the {$37000.00} wired to Coinbase 's bank account have ever been credited to my Coinbase account. In addition, my wired funds in the amount of {$37000.00} were never returned to my personal XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX bank account. 
On their website, Coinbase states that wire deposits will typically arrive within 1-2 days, and Coinbase also states " Bank wires will be automatically credited to your account when received. '' On their Coinbase Support page in XX/XX/XXXX, they declared outgoing wire delays but that " Deposits via wire transfer are not currently delayed. '' No such degraded service announcements exist on their support page as of today. In the unlikely event I somehow made an error in the wire transfer, the Coinbase website explains that " Wires not meeting this criteria will be returned to the originating account after several business days. '' By all accounts, Coinbase , Inc has received my {$37000.00} and refused/failed to either credit my Coinbase account or return my money to my originating bank account at XXXX. Their representations about the transaction being verified and the funds set up are erroneous and fraudulent. Their promises to look into this and follow-up with me with updates are equally false and fraudulent. Based on their action and inaction, I believe Coinbase, Inc has no intention of granting me access to my money as promised and has scammed me out of {$37000.00}

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation