Consumer complaint received 2023-03-26
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
On the week of XX/XX/XXXX I opened my citibank mobile app and my account was shown as blocked. I reviewed my emails from citibank and there was no correspondence or notices regarding this account block. I changed my password in case it was a fraud attempt on my account. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I took multiple actions to inquire about the account block however after 2 and a half hours of phone calls, going into a local branch, using the online chat feature, and more phone calls, the only information I could receive is that my account was being closed, no one can disclose why my account is being closed, I will receive a letter in the mail explaining why the account is being closed, and I will receive a check in the mail for the account balance in 30-60days. 

I spoke to several people from unknown departments, two different fraud departments, an accounts department, the tellers at a local branch in XXXX, and the IRU department. On two of the phone calls the person hung up on me. More than one person told me that the account was closed my the fraud department however when I was subsequently transferred to the next department that was supposed to be able to provide information they either redirected me to another department or advised they couldn't disclose why the account was being closed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter in the mail however the letter was requesting me to update the information on my account such as income and other information and no information regarding the account closure. I took this letter into a larger citibank branch in XXXX and requested to sit down with an Personal Banker to resolve the account block. With the information he had access to, he also did not seem to have information regarding was the account was blocked however stated that on his screen it appears to have been going on since XXXX and not just XXXX. The personal banker attempted to help resolve the issue and called different departments. He was patient however he was additionally bounced around multiple different people on the phone for approximately 45minutes and subsequently received the same information I had received the week prior. They told him that on XX/XX/XXXX Citibank decided to close my accoutn and that I would receive a letter in the mail explaining why and a check in 30-60 days. The personal banker requested if he could receive a copy of the letter to print out since I was here in person and they told him no. I expressed this is unacceptable and that my tax return was deposited into the account over the past week and I need access to my money. I requested the bank to close my bank today and receive a check for the account balance however they told me I couldn't because the back office already initiated their closure. Addiitonally I advised it is not acceptabel to hear that the closure is dated XX/XX/XXXX because this means they locked my account in XXXX, let it sit in limbo for a month, and then didn't take any action to notify me or start the closure process until I reached out. I then requested to speak to the branch manager. 

The branch manager then spoke to me however was not able to help. She advised once the back office decides to close the account the branch level is unable to do anything. I requested again to receive a check for the account balance however the branch manager said they can't because the corporate office will still end up sending out a check for the balance if they were to do it, which I expressed makes no sense considering they are a bank and can cancel their own check or put a note on the account. The branch manager also advised that someone should have reached out to me 30 days prior to the closing to notify me, however I never received such notification. I received my monthly statements, I received weekly emails of my account balance and any alerts, however there were no emails, alerts, or mailings regarding the account closure. 

I have seen other people online say this has happened to them and they advised the letters they received didn't express why the account was being closed and some people were still waiting on a check over 90 days after the account closure. I do not want to be stuck waiting for my money. If the bank wished to close the account they could issue me a check for the account balance immediately and then close the account. It is wrong to withhold thousands of dollars of my own money without even providing a reason. This is a stressful experience and I just want a quick resolution and clarity on the situation.

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 non-monetary relief