Consumer complaint received 2017-04-24
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (NJ)

I posted my furniture on  XXXX  on  XXXX   XXXX ,   XXXX  . A man named  XXXX   XXXX  replied to me via text message saying he is interested in the furniture the same day. He said hed send me a check and a portion  XXXX  $  (  my furniture plus  XXXX  for keeping it in his favor ) would be mine and the rest  XXXX  should be deposited to his mover. The teaching number for  XXXX  was  XXXX . I figured the mover fee could be for multiple things hes moving around in my area. A week later, I received the check and deposited it right away in order to speed up the process of selling the furniture. The day after, a Monday,  XXXX  texted me that he would like to pick up the furniture ASAP so to please deposit the fee into  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  's  XXXX   XXXX  Account  XXXX , which I asked my mom to do. However, she cautioned me that before doing that, I should call Citibank to make sure the check cleared. I called and they assured me the check was clear and all the funds were available. My mom was still skeptical so I called another three times to make sure the check cleared and the agents assured me the check was clear. It was then when we decided to deposit the money into the  XXXX   XXXX  Account.  XXXX   XXXX  and I agreed to meet at  XXXX    XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   so that I can give him the furniture. Later that day, he texts me that his father got involved into a serious car accident and he will need the remaining  XXXX   . Th is is when I became skeptical about the entire transaction. I told him I was not able to immediately deposit anything because I am in class all day until  XXXX   XXXX . Nevertheless, he gave me a name,  XXXX   XXXX  in  XXXX  California, zip  XXXX  and told me she would be waiting in California for the funds in a  XXXX . In order to see where this was going I told him I deposited the money and he became very persistant on getting a confirmation number and threatening me with I will be very upset at you if something happens to my father. I told him I was going to make a police report and a claim with Citi because I was not convinced that this transaction was legitimate anymore ( I attached the texts for proof ). A couple of days later, the check bounces, and my Citi account is left at a negative. I had  XXXX  direct deposits go in there the same week of my spring break vacation which left me even shorter with money. My complaint with Citi is the following : If they had not cleared the check, I would have never deposited money into this scammers account. In addition, I called a total of 4 times before releasing any of my own funds to someone else. I am highly upset because I am not left with a negative account and Citi will not take responsibility for this. If that had followed procedure and verified the check before mistakenly clearing it, I would not have given anyone my money.     After making a claim with Citi, they gave me a claim number. Now, every time I call them, they ask me Who gave you that claim number, no one should have opened a claim for you. I have spent a total of  10  cumulative hours talking with them on the phone and they give different information every time. The first time they gave me faulty information was when they cleared the check without making sure it was actually clear. Then, they gave me a claim number because this was going under investigation. Now, that I am demanding a formal investigation, they are telling me whoever opened a claim should not have done so.     I am not a citi employee, nor am I a banker. I was counting on Citi to do their job, as it is not my job to clear checks. I am now paying the consequences for their mistaes and they are refusing to own up to anything. I really need a formal investigation to be conducted because I am a college student and my account is at a negative, This whole experience has been nothing but stressful.