Consumer complaint received 2025-12-22 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
Summary : I have {$50000.00} in a Citibank Checking account and am unable to access it due to the account having been made inactive. I did not receive any notice from the bank via postal mail, email, telephone, or via the online banking portal that my account was about to become inactive. The Citibank customer support team is currently mandating that I go through an arduous and time-consuming process to regain access to my funds. 

Further details : On the night of XX/XX/XXXX, I tried to transfer funds out of this account, but was unable to do so, despite the online account showing my funds as available. I was unable to link other bank accounts or initiate an outgoing transfer, and was not presented with a clear reason for the failures. After hours of searching, I came across a message on my account ( far downstream of the main account page ) stating that my account had been made inactive due to a lack of activity. I log in to my online account periodically to check my funds, including a recent login prior to the time the message stated my account was inactivated. At no point was there an evident alert indicating to me that my account was about to be inactivated, and the online portal and mobile app both currently show my funds as " available '' even though I'm unable to access the funds in actuality. 

I contacted the Citibank customer support team today ( XX/XX/year> ) and was initially told by a supervisor that I would need to make a deposit at an ATM in order to re-activate my account. I drove to an ATM to attempt this, but discovered that there are no ATMs in my state which accept deposits to Citibank. I contacted customer support again, and asked to speak to the previous supervisor, but this request was denied, with no reason given. I was told that this supervisor had given me incorrect information, and that I would need to either visit a bank branch ( which is impossible because the nearest branch is in a different state, XXXX miles away from where I live ) or mail a notarized letter to a bank XXXX XXXX XXXX Needing to mail this letter means that I will be unable to access the {$50000.00} in this account for the next 2 or more weeks, with no exact timeline provided by Citibank.

I am filing this complaint because : 1. I did not receive any warning of the inactivation ( Citibank claims to have mailed letters, but I did not receive them despite checking mail regularly ). 
2. The information provided by Citibank on their online portal and mobile app is misleading, falsely representing my funds as being available, and providing no clear error message for failed withdrawals/transfers.

3. We were given conflicting information by Citi 's customer support supervisors, with no accountability for the inconvenience caused to us. We were repeatedly placed on hold for long periods of time and told to call back, starting the process from scratch. We were told that we could not escalate our request. When we asked to be provided documentation of the bank 's policy on this matter, this was not provided to us, and we were told to accept a verbal claim with no accompanying accountability. 
4. The bank 's process for re-activation is arduous, costly, and time-consuming.

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 non-monetary relief