Consumer complaint received 2025-04-30 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:
XX/XX/XXXX - I create a Citibank checking account and a debit card arrives a few days later. My hope is to transition back to a major brick and mortar bank instead of using XXXX or any other alternative online institution. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I link my XXXX account to my Citibank account, and begin using my debit card normally, preparing for a work trip to the XXXX by making purchases as needed before leaving in less than a week. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My first direct deposit for this Citibank account from my company successfully settles into the checking account. 

XX/XX/XXXX - Transactions start to decline on my debit card. There are no notifications or alerts. I'm forced to start calling Citibank customer service to get it resolved. I eventually get the account unblocked, after spending a good deal of time on the phone with representatives who go through a redundant process of verification. 

XXXX - There is a pattern of my card declining after every successful purchase. I call Citibank initially to put a notice of travel on my account for my trip departure abroad. Right after, I try to make a purchase at a local smoke shop, it declines. I call back and go through the same process of unblocking my card. I use the card and it gets declined again. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I go to a local branch office to pull out money from my account in fear of my account not working while I am abroad. I notice my account is working again after I pull out some cash, so I re-deposit some of it because I feel like I have too much cash on hand. This is a mistake. Re-depositing some cash a few minutes after pulling it out from the teller triggers another decline. I call customer service again to get it fixed, and this time they tell me they need to review my account for XXXX hours for fraudulent activity. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I'm officially outside of the XXXX for my trip, and I call to check in on the review process. They say the review is still pending and to check after XXXX hours. I have nothing but a bit in cash in a foreign country where I have no access to the rest of my funds. I ask friends to help out in this situation, and they loan me some money. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I've called the fraud department an hour too late today, and the debit card is still inaccessible. Apparently the fraud department closes around XXXX XXXX. The next time I can reach them again is going to be on the following XXXX, because the department is closed on the weekends. This means I will continue to have no access to any of my resources for the remainder of my trip, as I leave on XXXX. I continue to rely on friends and co-workers to help in this situation for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX - I've arrived home the day before and I call the Citibank Fraud department as soon as I am able to connect with them in the morning. I mention to them that it's now been past XXXX hours and my account is still blocked. The Citibank rep says they will go ahead and expedite the review process, and within a few minutes my account is working again. This makes me seriously question the significance of the review and the level of empathy the customer service reps + team has for their clients and their hard earned money. 

XXXX - I start to send XXXX / XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX friends and co-workers that I owe money to. But keep spending to a minimum in fear that something happens to my account, especially as I'm expecting a big commission payment + regular paycheck from my company at the end of this week. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I see that my XXXX account gets the 10 % of my paycheck that I have asked my company to distribute to my account. I immediately try to log onto my Citibank account to see if the remaining 90 % ( over $ XXXX ) has settled, and it says XXXX - account blocked. This is the first time I am seeing this notice, and it tells me to reach back out customer service. I call them, they refer me to the Fraud department who tried to verify me, but this time, they tell me that the phone number I had been using to this point to verify my account is not correct. I'm confused because this is the ONLY phone number that I have and can verify with, and they tell me that I must now wait for physical mail to arrive in XXXX business days time to my address. I'm furious, and hang up to go to the closest branch office near me. 

I speak to someone named XXXX at the XXXX XXXX location, who checks my account and assures me that the direct deposit DID NOT settle in my account. I ask what happens to the direct deposit, and she assures me that in a situation like this, where a direct deposit has been sent to a blocked account, that the deposit would be sent back to the sender, my company. I'm relieved to hear this, and ask how long that would take. She says XXXX business days. 

I go back home, and let my company 's accounting team know about the situation. They also reach out to Citibank and confirm the same thing, that the money would be sent back to my organization and that from there, my company can just send it to my other account that HAS been working. 

XX/XX/XXXX - It's my birthday today, and the day that I am expecting the direct deposit to settle. I call Citibank, and they tell me that the account has still not received any direct deposit. They again confirm that the direct deposit should be sent back to the sender. Again, it should take XXXX business days. 

I wait for a few days going through the same process to check, and finally I call again on... 

XX/XX/XXXX - The automated system on the customer service line tells me there is now over $ XXXX that has settled into the account. The direct deposit did NOT get sent back despite various Citibank reps telling me as such. I'm livid at this point and try to get some help again, and the only response I get from Citibank is that I must wait the XXXX business days for the mail. 

No matter how high up I get passed along internally during the next few days in the Customer Service or the Fraud department everyone tells me the same thing, that they can not do anything for me until I get the mail that they have sent on XX/XX/XXXX, and read them a verification code to unblock the account. They can not even confirm with me the address they have sent it to, and now tell me it will take XXXX business days from when they sent it the letter out. Not only does the ambiguity around the timeline of when to expect the letter scare me, but they also tell me that I should simply " check every address that I've lived at '' for the mail as they are using my phone number and address from " public record '', hence admitting that they are using THIRD PARTY INFORMATION to verify me, and on basis of relying on such information, they have BLOCKED access to my account containing over $ XXXX. 

From this point I go into the Citibank branch again, and speak to someone named XXXX in hopes that MY PHYSICAL BEING along with MY PASSPORT and BIRTH CERTIFICATE + Utility Bills named and addressed to myself is enough PROOF that I am the person I claim to be to get rid of this fraud case. My intent at this point is just to take out ALL the money I have earned, and move it somewhere I can access it normally without concern for being blocked out of it. 

The only thing XXXX is able to do is confirm that the letter has indeed been sent out to the address that I currently reside at, and let me know that there are already complaints that have been filed on the account on my behalf. I ask him to read the complaints out to me to see if the Citibank representatives have fruitfully captured my concerns, and the content of what is written is along the lines of, " Client is upset that he has to wait for a letter. '' After seeing how ridiculous the complaints on the account are ( they are simply unhelpful interpretations of interactions that reps have had with me ), I ask XXXX if I can self-report a complaint and he says that there is XXXX XXXX for clients to do that. I then have XXXX enter in XXXX separate complaints that I have written on my phone in verbatim, without a single word missing to get the point across on how meaningless it is for the reps to file complaints from their own subjective perspectives and interpretations of the situation. 

Before I leave, I grab the business card of the branch XXXX at the location that XXXX and XXXX work at. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I send the branch XXXX an email from my personal email address citing all my concerns and begging for help to resolve this situation. I call Citibank Fraud Department and ask for a supervisor to help. I explain to them that the money in my Citibank account represents the entirety of my wealth, the letter has still not arrived, and that this is impacting my living situation at this point. They tell me they can not do anything until the letter arrives. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I get a call and voicemail from the branch XXXX. This represents the one moment that Citibank seems to care, but I call back 5 times throughout the day in hopes of connecting. Keeps going to voicemail.

I instead call the customer service line and ask for an American representative in the Fraud Departme
nt, I get connected with one, explain that the lack of access to my paycheck is starting to look like a potential eviction situation for me from my home as I MUST pay rent on the 5th of every month. They too tell me that they can not do anything but wait until the letter arrives in my mailbox. They ask me if I'd like for a new mail to be sent over to my home. I tell them I'm in a predicament because if I tell them that I do, and the first letter arrives tomorrow, then that letter, which would free me from this situation, would no longer be valid for verification. So I come to the conclusion that it is probably best for me to wait until the 10th business day because I can not afford to wait another 10 business days for a new letter.

I end the day asking the branch manager to let me know when he is free to connect via email. 

XX/XX/XXXX - the letter has still not arrived. At this point I have checked my mailbox every day since XX/XX/XXXX, and there has not been a single piece of mail from Citibank. It is the XXXX business day of XXXX business days, and it seems unlikely that the letter will arrive. 

The branch XXXX emails me in the morning that he will reach out in the afternoon. 

I call another XXXX XXXX Department rep, tell them the situation, and they say the same thing. That they can not do anything until the letter arrives. They also go ahead to inform me that they DID INDEED SEND A NEW LETTER YESTERDAY. I'm beyond frustrated at this point, but don't have the emotional strength to probe any further. I ask them if they understand the situation that I'm in has a fellow human. They say they do, but that they can't do anything to help. They let me know that they will take my number for a callback with a supervisor, that I can expect the new letter mid next week at the latest and I get off the call. 

I get a missed call from XXXX XXXX number. The voicemail explains that it is the Citi XXXX XXXX XXXX, and tells me to call back. I call back, speak to a representative who tells me that the person who called me is busy, and asked for a callback number. I give them the callback number. 

That brings me to now. I've come onto the CFPB to submit this complaint, in hopes that it will reach someone who can help.

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