Consumer complaint received 2024-11-30 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
ISSUE DESCRIPTION On the morning of XX/XX/year>, I joined XXXX XXXX XXXX, opened a savings account, and deposited funds. Following this, I connected my new savings account to my almost decade-old Coinbase account through XXXX and initiated a deposit and a buy order. Immediately upon submitting the transaction, a window appeared stating, " Buy Services Disabled. '' ISSUE RESOLUTION ATTEMPTS Coinbase Chat Support : I initiated a chat with Coinbase support, waiting approximately 4 hours to connect with a live agent, XXXX. 

XXXX informed me that my account was " under review '' but refused to provide a specific reason for the restriction. Instead, I would receive an email update within 1-3 business days.

When I asked under what circumstances Coinbase would not lift the restrictions and what actions I could take to restore full functionality, XXXX vaguely mentioned that they may request additional documents to confirm my account. However, she did not specify what documents or provide clear instructions. 

XXXX also emphasized that the restriction was due to " security reasons. '' Despite this, other features of my account, such as deposits, sales, and withdrawals, remained fully functional. This contradiction raised serious concerns about the rationale for restricting only the buying feature if my account was genuinely " under review '' for security reasons. 

When I continued to press XXXX for specific details and actionable steps, she abruptly ended the chat. 

Coinbase does not persist chat records, meaning all details of my conversation with XXXX were lost when she closed the chat. 

Coinbase Phone Support : Concurrently, I used Coinbase 's " request a call '' feature for phone support. 
I was placed on hold for an additional 5 hours and ultimately never received a response. 

COINBASE 'S FOLLOW-UP EMAIL : On the morning of XX/XX/year>, I received an email from Coinbase, which read as follows : " Hi [ Name ], We have completed your account review, and buy/deposit services remain disabled at this time. 

You are still able to send/sell and withdraw any cryptocurrency you currently have on Coinbase and withdraw funds to your existing payment method.

As a trusted crypto exchange, we take a number of steps to keep all accounts safe, and we regularly monitor customer accounts to ensure compliance with our terms of service. For security reasons, we're not able to provide you with any additional information at this time. If you need support with the enabled services on your account, please reach out to Coinbase Support. 

Regards, The Coinbase team '' Despite claiming to have " completed '' the review, Coinbase : - Provided no actionable steps or recourse to restore my accounts buying functionality. 
- Failed to request the " additional documents '' XXXX mentioned in the chat. 
- Refused to disclose the specific reason for the restriction, again citing vague " security reasons. '' Note that Coinbase sent this email at XXXXXXXX XXXX in the middle of the night, all but guaranteeing I wouldn't see the email for several hours and delaying my response. 

UNREASONABLE, CONTRADICTORY ACTIONS Coinbases actions contradict themselves and lack transparency. If they genuinely placed my account " under review '' for " security reasons, '' it is illogical and inconsistent to restrict buying and deposit services while still allowing other functions, such as withdrawals, sales, and deposits of cryptocurrency. This inconsistency undermines the credibility of Coinbase 's rationale and raises serious concerns about their practices. 

COINBASE 'S CASE HANDLING ISSUES 1. Lack of Transparency : Coinbase failed to provide specific reasons for the restriction, actionable steps to resolve it, or clear communication about the circumstances under which restrictions would remain. 
2. Unreasonable Wait Times : I experienced 4 hours of waiting for chat support and 5 hours on hold for phone support, neither of which resulted in a resolution. 
XXXX. Failure to Provide Recourse : XXXX mentioned the possibility of requesting additional documents, yet the follow-up email contained no such request or path to restoring account functionality. 
XXXX. Lack of Persisted Records : Coinbases failure to retain chat records resulted in the loss of critical information from my conversation with XXXX. 
XXXX. Contradictory Policy Implementation : Restricting buying services while leaving other features operational is inconsistent and raises questions about the validity of the " security reasons '' justification. 

REQUESTED RESOLUTION I demand the following : XXXX. A specific and immediate explanation for why my account was restricted. 
2. Clear, actionable steps to restore full functionality to my account.

3. A review of Coinbases support practices, including chat record retention, response times, and communication clarity.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation