Consumer complaint received 09-12-2017 about Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service (Domestic (US) money transfer) with Coinbase, Inc. (VA).
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint: Coinbase received a total of {$25000.00} in funding from me, and then required a verification through a third party vendor in order to buy/sell, withdraw/deposit, or close my account. The third party can not verify me and my account is essentially locked. Coinbase has not been able to provide any support. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX I created a Coinbase account. I verified my bank information and identity on XXXX XXXX XXXX. My identity was verified via the mobile Coinbase app by taking a photo of my drivers license and face. My bank account was verified by reporting 2 small deposits. I initiated an ACH transfer for {$5000.00} from my XXXX account and placed an order for {$5000.00} work of litecoin. The same day I also initiated a wire transfer in the amount of {$20000.00} and it was processed within 2 hours. I attempted to purchase an additional amount of litecoin, but was informed via a prompt Before you will be able to complete this transaction, you must provide additional information at https : //www.coinbase.com/ssn Upon visiting the link I was further informed Identity Verification Required. We are periodically required to identify users on our platform. Please provide additional information to continue this action. Add SSN Information. My name, address, and date of birth are pre-populated. I had to enter the last four digits of my social security number, select a use of coinbase, select a source of funds, and provide current occupation information. After a select number of tries users are locked out for a 24-hour period. Over the course of the next 4 days I tried approximately 25 different permutations of previous addresses and first, middle, and last name order. Nothing worked and the following message is received : Unfortunately, we could not find an identity matching the one you provided. This is common for those that are considered minors, between the age of XXXX, or those that may be new to the country and have not established a presence in public data. It should be noted I am a home owner that has resided at my current address since XXXX XXXX. Further, I have 21 years of credit history and have always lived in the U.S. Until my  additional information is verified I can not buy/sell, deposit/withdraw, or close my account. 

Between XXXX XXXX and XXXX, I reached out to Coinbase twice via twitter message, once via a twitter post, once on reddit, and four times via their email support on. I also left a message on their fraud hotline on XXXX XXXX. Coinebase does not offer phone support or chat support. Requests were specifically made to close my account on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX and to return the funds via the same method used to deposit. Coinbase has responded twice, both on XXXX XXXX and in response to an email request. The representative provided suggestions on how to become verified and indicated verification was done via a third party. The rep, XXXX, also advised specifically unfortunately, theres not much to be done in these cases but to continue trying the quiz. My request to close my account and withdraw funds was ignored. I made request to my bank, XXXX, on XXXX XXXX to initiate an investigation into the {$5000.00} ACH transfer and the {$20000.00} wire transfer. There are no results at this time from the investigation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation