Consumer complaint received 2021-10-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
My checking account was blocked after i made a {$6000.00} withdrawal to purchase a vehicle. I contacted customer service after a XXXX transaction and also a XXXX transaction did not go through. I was informed of the block and that my account was now being handled by citi 's " specialty department '' and i would need to answer a series of questions regarding my business which i did assuming these questions were in regards to 2 ach transfers from the us treasury totaling $ XXXX from grants from the SBA. after i answered the series of questions i was then informed i would need to bring documents to my local branch which included my original sba loan application number, I informed him the money deposited was not from a loan as the sba had declined my loan application but approved and funded me for a $ XXXX and a $ XXXX XXXX, the agent assured me the original sba loan application number showing my name is what i needed to take into the citibank branch. I did so the following Monday XX/XX/21 but all of a sudden when I went in person and the branch manager was now aware of my XXXX, he went to a back office for about 10minutes, then came back and informed me the document i brought including my original sba loan application number, my name, status of loan, and status of grants was not sufficient, even though this is what the customer support agent specifically told me was needed by citibank, and then made some phone calls in my presence and came up with a list of " acceptable documents '' for account verification. the list included several documents like a resellers permit or a dba certificate, etc. that would verify my business, not me or the ach deposits which were in my name not a business name. the list did include an independent contractors agreement so a few days later on XX/XX/21 i emailed 2 of my independent contractors agreements and also an irs letter including my name and XXXX to XXXX, no response. XX/XX/21 I faxed the same documents to the fax number i was given by the XXXX, CA Citibank branch manager at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX branch XXXX, no response. XX/XX/21 visited the same branch again asked for manager and was told he was busy and wouldnt be able to see me so i left the same documents which i had previously emailed and faxed to citibank with the teller and she informed me she would forward them to the manager when he became available. no response. XX/XX/21 i emailed the same documents to XXXX. response received stating that was the email address to the XXXX branch so they were unable to help me in regards to my US checking account. XX/XX/21 i emailed the same documents to XXXX, address came back as undeliverable. XX/XX/21 emailed same docs to XXXX, no response. XX/XX/21 forwarded docs to XXXX, no response. XX/XX/21 forwarded docs to XXXX, no response. XX/XX/21 visited XXXX CA Citibank branch on XXXX XXXX and was told my account is being handled by " specialty dept '' so the employees at the branch couldn't help me, i was then given the " specialty dept '' 's phone number whic i called and found that it was the fraud line. informed agent of my situation and was told i had been faxing the wrong number and should fax docs to XXXX i also asked to speak to someone else who could explain what was going on with my account and why and was told all he could do is forward a message to the " back office '' and they would return my call within 24-48 hrs i agreed and then faxed docs to the fax number he provided, no response and no call back, i then called SBA to inform them about the ach transfer they deposited to my citibank acct and the way it was being handled by the financial institution and also asked if there were any eligibility concerns regarding the grants i was approved for by them and they told me there were no issues with me regarding the funding. XX/XX/21 faxed a letter to XXXX informing them of my conversation with the SBA, no response. XX/XX/21 called the fraud line informing them that i was recording the conversation, explained my situation and that no one has ever acknowledged or responded to any of my inquiries or even explained why the block on my account ever happened so at this point they are blocking access to my funds without explanation, cause or reason, was told all he could do is forward another message to the " back office '' and someone would call me back in 24-48 hrs. XX/XX/21 faxed a letter to XXXX explaining my situation, included copies of notes I had been keeping logging all contact with citibank with dates and outcome, no response. XX/XX/21 - access to citibank app blocked, called fraud line informing them that i was recording the call and was told my account had been reviewed and closed as the review determined citibank could no longer do business with me based on the terms and conditions of the checking accnt. i asked what that means and was informed i would receive a letter explaining the closure. i asked why the review and block were ever initiated and was told i would receive a letter explaining that. i informed her that i was previously told that i would receive a letter explaining the block in the first place also but i never received any letter from them except a letter confirming my change of address and that i had a screenshot from the app showing all notices and tax information correspondence from citibank to me which did not include any. notice or explanation of the block on my account so i do. not trust that there will be any letter of notice or explanation of closure either. i informed her that i needed an explanation of the block on the account and a copy of all findings from the review of my account that determined that my account would be closed. i was told all she could do was forward a message to the " back office '' and someone will. call me back within 24-48 hours. when i asked about the balance in my account of {$4300.00} and was informed that i will receive a certified citibank check within. 30-60 days in the amount of my balance but she did not confirm the amount. i do however have screenshots of the daily alerts i get from citibank informing me of my current balance. After this call i looked up citibank on the XXXX website and found 358 consumer reviews which were all negative, many of the reviews were consumer complaints regarding citibank freezing or blocking their accounts and disabling consumer access to their funds. Citibanks rating by the XXXX which does not include consumer review data is an F. I am not the only one that they have done this to creating extreme financial hardship without cause or explanation

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