Consumer complaint received 2020-10-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: SC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
I opened a Savings Account with Citibank on the XX/XX/XXXX. I went through all of the normal setup steps and chose to immediately fund my account with the required {$500.00} minimum balance needed to avoid the associated fees. 

The next day I checked my XXXX XXXX account to make sure that the funding had been successful and found an ACH debit to my account for {$40000.00}. Obviously an error as I don't have that sort of money. I immediately called XXXX and put a stop to the transaction as it was thankfully still in a pending state. 

From here the issue was mostly resolved by my actions but the mishandling was not explained so I went looking for answers. 

I called XXXX 1800 number at XXXX on the XX/XX/XXXX,  2020. After being 'blind ' transferred at least five times, meaning that I had to explain my issue every. single. time. to a new person I was finally speaking with someone who I believed could explain how this could have happened. 

This woman proceeded to tell me that the issue was not caused by Citibank as the new account funding department prints out a physical check and that all she was able to see and that it had been correctly filled out. I asked her how this problem could have been caused and she was simply adamant that it wasn't Citibank and that she felt that I wasn't 'lying ' and that I was 'seeing what I was seeing '. I offered to give her the transaction information from my XXXX account so that we could track the transaction and find where it had been changed from {$500.00} to {$40000.00} and was told that she did not have that ability and could not use the information. Ultimately, she threatened to hang up on me instead of attempting to find a cause for this massive mistake that I was looking for an explanation for. Her final solution to her problem of me was to again 'blind ' transfer me to a department that I was told could process another transaction for me to properly fund my new account. They could not do so and had no information as to why I was speaking with them because she had not explained the situation to them. I gave up at that point for the day. 

I called again on the XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with a XXXX who hung up on me after I asked to speak with the legal/complaint department and a XXXX who provided me with XXXX number where I was unable to get a hold of an actual human being and that did not lead me to a complaint or legal department that could handle my issue or answer my question. 

At this point I have been unable to find out how this mistake could have been made and am left with a new account that I am unable to fund without setting up a new transfer someway else, but I am not sure how. 

I would like an explanation for what happened, assurances that this issue of a MASSIVE {$40000.00} typo has been resolved and that however the mistake happened it will not happen to me, or anyone else again. I would also like to have my account correctly funded with the information that I have already provided and no more legwork on my part.

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