Consumer complaint received 2024-07-02
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account — Problem accessing account
Company: ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC. (TX)

Hello, I have had a Robinhood account since they launched in XXXX. My account was upgraded to authorize options trading and option spreads, and I've been a paying Robinhood Gold member for several years. I make a handful of trades a week, nothing excessive, no day-trading, no meme stocks, no margins. I even got a small bonus for referring a friend to join Robinhood with my referral code - just a single one who has since put several XXXX dollars into their account, not like posting it to a website and having thousands of strangers or fake accounts sign up. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sold some option contracts ( I don't think it's relevant, but it was 12 contracts of XXXX {$18.00} Call XXXX ) - just like I've done nearly every Monday since XXXX. Ten minutes later I received an email that my XXXX XXXX  was cancelled, then a cryptic email that stated " We regret to inform you that after careful consideration, Robinhood will no longer support your account. '' I immediately emailed customer support - their phone number only does automated trades, and their live chat is just a bot ; email is the only support option - but didn't hear back. I emailed several more times over the next couple of days. Finally, on XX/XX/XXXX, more than two weeks later, I received a response, saying they were escalating my case and giving me a reference number, XXXX. 

It took another week before a representative going by " XXXX '' finally reached out, XX/XX/XXXX. He informed me that my account was closed, and added, " Please note that this decision remains final and no additional information will be provided. '' I asked several times what was going on and why this was happening, but true to his word XXXX simply stonewalled and refused to provide any answers. 

Because my trading has been basically the same for years, and I don't make many deposits or withdrawals ( I've only made a single withdrawal to date since XXXX ) I believe Robinhood has closed my account as retaliation for my answers to a recent customer survey where I stated that I didn't " trust '' Robinhood as a company - because they use XXXX their priorities naturally put their wholesaler ahead of me as a customer. This seems unethical to me and I want to make sure it comes to light. 

I also want to force Robinhood to explain their reasoning : shutting down an account with no warning and no explanation, and announcing immediately that " this decision remains final, '' is just very sketchy. Refusing to give justification tells me that they have no justification, and their Terms of Service are then meaningless. They have the right not to do business with me for any reason, but if they have no reason they should have to say so - not give me cryptic messages, ignore my support tickets, and leave me in limbo wondering if my normal behavior is somehow going to get me blocked from other platforms. 

As it is, I have no way of telling if I'm being discriminated against, if Robinhood has a rogue employee with a grudge, if they have a bot that just closes accounts randomly, if their database got corrupted, or if something I thought was normal is suspicious. 

Thank you.