Consumer complaint received 2024-02-04
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Funds not received from closed account
Company: Credit Karma (WA)

On XX/XX/2023 Credit Karma froze my checking and savings account with XXXX notice or seeming provocation. I was told it would be unfrozen within XXXX hours, but was not provided a reason it was frozen. Through my own investigation I discovered my grandma had misreported a payment she made me via XXXX as fraud because she didnt recognize it when she saw it in her account, but as soon as she realized she was mistaken she let both her bank and XXXX  know that a genuine mistake had been made and it wasnt fraudulent. That was only a few hours after the claim had been made and the same day my account was frozen. It is my suspicion that this is the reason my account got frozen but I still honestly have no clue. I made many attempts to inform credit karma that the fraud claim had been revoked but repeatedly was told by customer service that they didnt handle that department, but that I would get an email from the ones overseeing my account closure. There was NEVER any email sent. I also attempted to contact XXXX  to get them to contact credit karma to tell them the fraud claim had been revoked, but it was impossible to get anywhere with their support. Regardless this complaint is about credit karma. 

Credit Karma was my primary financial institution, and I had absolutely no money in any other account nor did I have any physical cash at the time it was frozen. I made multiple attempts nearly daily to get some information about the accounts freeze or access to my money and almost every single time their customer service would immediately end the support chat at my first mention of why I was contacting them. They made it impossible to even speak to someone let alone receive any information. 16 days from the date the account was frozen, on XX/XX/2023, they sent me an email that my accounts were being closed. Once again I was not provided any reason, and I never did receive an email from their customer service who was in charge of it being frozen like Id repeatedly been promised. 

Shortly after the initial freeze realizing that this could end in account closure due to know one telling me what was going on or why itd been frozen at all, I attempted to update my connected external bank account as the one linked to my credit karma account was no longer active. Frustratingly I was told I could not update that to an active account because of the account being frozen. Immediately upon getting the closure notice I contacted them again attempting to update the external bank account so they could send my balance now that it was being released to me. I was told that would not be possible and that a paper check would be sent to the address on file. However I was no longer living at that address and did not have anywhere to have mail forwarded. They didnt care. They sent a paper check, and as I couldnt pick it up, it was sent back to them by someone living at the address where they sent it.

After theyd finally realized it had been sent back I once again attempted to get them to reissue the check, only I had a new address where they could send it, which happens to also be the address on my ID. It is my grandmas house so while I dont live there, I can receive mail there. It was literally two months of back and forth trying to get them to send the check to that address. The fact that it was the address on my ID was not sufficient. They wanted utility bills with my name and that address, but as I dont live there, I obviously did not have those. Bank statements were not sufficient either. The alternatives I was provided if I wished to have the check sent to an address id actually receive it were to send them a picture of my social security card or my birth certificate, but both documents had to be front and back. However in XXXX I lost absolutely everything I owned when my XXXX was stolen off XXXX XXXX in XXXX so while I had pictures already of both of those documents, they were only pictures of the front, not the backs. I was told if I sent pictures of both documents theyd honor the address change without the backside photos. I sent those immediately. WEEKS later I received an email stating that actually they still couldnt process the address change with that, they had to have photos of the backs. 

As Id already submitted a mail forwarding request with the post office, I surrendered and told them to send the check to the old address and let XXXX forward it. I dont understand why but once again it took several more weeks before they agreed to this, and then they needed utility bills for the OLD address that theyd sent it to the first time. Suddenly no address would be considered without massive amounts of unnecessary documentation. The entire time I repeatedly begged them to just let me provide them with a different bank account for an XXXX deposit but they just ignored those requests entirely and never once acknowledged my asking them. Finally XX/XX/2023 they confirmed theyd be sending the reissued check to my old address. But they never sent it. 

Since XX/XX/XXXX I have sent several emails asking them to please send my check, asking them why they said they were sending it and then never sent it, and absolutely no one responds ever. It may be an insignificant amount of money to credit karma, but it is quite significant for me. I want my money, totaling {$73.00}, returned to me immediately. It has been held from me since XX/XX/XXXX with no reason ever provided to me as to why. I want it to be deposited VIA XXXX into a different bank account in my name. If for some reason ACH is really truly impossible on a LEGAL level then I went the check sent to the address on my ID where I can actually receive mail. In addition to being on my ID I have provided bank statements and direct deposit request forms that show that as my address AND Ive submitted to them both a copy of my social security card and my birth certificate to verify my identity. ENOUGH. It has been over 5 months and I still have never been refunded the money from my account. I want it refunded immediately. 

Attaching a selection of emails to this report. There are over 30 more I can submit if the incompetence of their support isnt evidenced enough by the few Im including.