Consumer complaint received 2024-05-10
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. ()

The XXXX of XXXX I lodged a complaint here for the following reason : My Citibank checking account was blocked on XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX weeks despite reaching out to them XXXX times without receiving any solution. 

On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I made a {$30000.00} transfer from my personal Citibank account to my business account, also with Citibank. I've made transfers before without any issues. 

On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Citibank asking me to contact them to verify the transaction. I called the same day, spoke with a Citibank advisor, answered security questions, and went through verification. They assured me everything was fine and that the transfer would proceed. 

On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email stating that the transfer was canceled, and the money would be returned to my checking account. However, when I checked my account, my checking account was gone, along with the money. 

I contacted my personal banker, who informed me that the account was blocked due to suspected fraud, likely because of this transaction. They gave me the number for the risk department to call. 

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I called and spoke with another Citibank advisor, explaining the situation. They confirmed the account is under review and that I need to wait XXXX to XXXX hours for a bank account specialist to complete their review and unblock the account. 

By Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, after XXXX business hours, my account remained the same, without access to my checking account or the ability to withdraw my money. I called again and recounted everything to the advisor, who said the account is still under review and that they hadn't received a response from the account specialist. They promised to prioritize my case and provide a response by the afternoon. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the situation remains unchanged.. When I spoke to another Citibank advisor, they informed me that they still haven't heard back from the account specialist and that I should wait another XXXX hours, which is unacceptable given the length of time I've been dealing with this issue. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called again, and still the same thing, without any solution. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Citibank called me thanks to the complaint I made here, and they unblocked my account. Citi sent me an email stating the reason why they had blocked it, mentioning that they had completed all verifications and everything was okay. During the call, they unblocked my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I did a XXXX transfer to my dad which is algo with Citi bank of {$1.00}. 

Today, XX/XX/XXXX, they have blocked my account again. I went directly to the XXXX branch, called with my personal banker, went through all the verification processes, and once again, I was told that I have to wait a week until an account XXXX contacts me. 

This means it's going to be a month with my account blocked, which is unacceptable considering that on Tuesday it was unblocked with an email from Citi stating everything was okay. I haven't been able to pay my bills or access my money. I truly need a solution as soon as possible. Every time I call a Citi advisor, they tell me they can't do anything and that I have to wait for an account specialist to review and unblock my account. It's unacceptable that they unblock it and then block it again XXXX days later. I can't even access the app. 

I am attaching the complaint I did before and the email that Citi sent me on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX responding to the complaint that everything was okay.