Consumer complaint received 2025-03-23 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I received my IRS check on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX dollars. 

I went on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX to my local Citibank to deposit my check via their ATM and left. 

On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed I had trouble logging into my account and I had to call them myself to only get a response that my account was frozen due to suspicious activity. No one informed me of this. I had to call to figure this out. I was then asked a series of questions to verify my identity and to verify where the check came from. I let them know that it was a tax refund check and it was from the IRS. They told me it would take XXXX hours to unfreeze my account. 

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email at XXXX from Citibank that stated that my account will be closed and if I would receive my money back in 60 days ( which is how long it would take to close the account. ). If I felt that I needed my money sooner than that, I could give them a call or could go to my local branch. 

I arrived that same XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX at Citibank and the bank teller did her best to help me but they also seemed to be at a loss since my account was frozen and should not be closed. I was told to sit and wait. A few minutes later, one of their agents came and had me sit at her desk while she contacted the fraud department. I was then told that my check was being investigated by the fraud department and I was asked if I had any proof that the check was for me and for the right amount. I showed her the email regarding the account closure, the deposit slip that had an image of the check and I also showed her my XXXX forms for mXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  that showed my name along with the amount. She then was able to fax them over to their fraud department. I was then told that these forms would help unfreeze my account to which I showed her my email that my account was to be closed and if I could just get my money instead since I didnt feel comfortable using their bank anymore. She said that unfortunately my check was still being investigated by the fraud department and I needed to wait another 24-48 hours but since it was the weekend, I might have to wait until Tuesday. I told her that was a major inconvenience for me since I have bills to pay and that account had money I needed to buy food and pay for gas to get to work. She shrugged and said there was nothing they could do and I needed to wait. I then asked her how long does it take a bank to verify a government check and she said she wasn't sure since this was the fraud department. I noticed I wasn't going to get anywhere with them and I left. 

I just dont understand how this bank can get away with treating their customers like this. I have gotten deposits into this account. This wasn't some written check, it was a U.S Government check, it shouldn't take more than a few days to verify it's validity. I just want to make sure there is a paper trail of this behavior since I've read from many sources that this is not new with this bank and many people have been in my same situation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief