Consumer complaint received 2024-12-03 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: Payward Ventures Inc. dba Kraken
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
Trouble with Kraken!! I opened a Kraken ( crypto exchange ) account on XX/XX/year>. I transferred some money into the account using a wire transfer from a XXXX account. I then bought some crypto and attempted a purchase of some computer hardware using the crypto. I first transferred a small amount to test the connection and this went fine. I then transferred a larger amount to make the purchase. Kraken showed the transaction and took the crypto from my account but never sent it to the destination. I got no explanation and calls, emails, etc went totally unanswered. ( their customer support is only by email and is horrible ). After a few days of zero information from them, I get an email saying they are closing my account and demanding I sell all crypto in the account and transfer the money back only to the original bank that transferred money into the account from. They also stated that I could never open another account, essentially banned for life I guess. This was certainly a shock. Their email also stated that for security reasons, they could not tell me why they were taking this action. After a few more days and many unanswered emails and calls, I got a phone call from Kraken but it was little help. The person was very ill informed and stated things that were flatly untrue. First, he tried to say this account that I was purchasing from is a bad account and I would never get the hardware. This is untrue as I've had several friends purchase from this exact same account and have received hardware with no problems. Second, he stated it was illegal to purchase things overseas with XXXX! This is also untrue - people purchase things every day from companies like XXXX and many other overseas companies with many forms of currency. Third, he tried to say this looks like money laundering, which is also flatly untrue. Money laundering is taking money obtained illegally ( " dirty money '' ) and making purchases to make it look " clean ''. My transaction is exactly the opposite. I took money from a XXXX account and made a purchase with some crypto. The person was seriously ill-informed and was zero help and had a horrible attitude. I tried to comply with their demands to close the account but now they've held up this transaction also and are keeping my money and keep asking for more personal information that is none of their business ( now they want a full XXXX  statement of my account ) I was transferring the entire amount right back to XXXX  like they demanded and still they will not transfer. I also demanded they refund all my fees from them since they caused all this ( {$390.00} ) but they will not respond on this demand. They've also never explained a reason for their drastic actions and treatment of my account. They act as if they are unaccountable to anyone and can do as they please with peoples money.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation