Consumer complaint received 2026-03-19 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: NE

Complaint narrative:
I am a XXXX veteran, and Ally Bank froze my account immediately after I tried to move my own money to my verified XXXX and XXXX accounts so I could close the account. My entire balance is now locked, and I can not pay for basic needs. I opened the account less than a month ago. I used Allys bucket system exactly as advertised to organize my bills. Ally counted more than 18 internal bucket transfers as withdrawals, even though these were not external transactions. By the time they warned me, I was already at -8 transactions for the month. This made me feel unsafe, so I decided to close the account. I initiated transfers of my remaining balance to XXXX and XXXX. Both accounts were already linked through Allys system with full nametoname verification. Ally had also accepted a {$14000.00} deposit check from my XXXX account with no issues. The funds cleared. But when I tried to move that same money back to the same verified XXXX account it came from, Ally flagged it as suspicious and froze everything. Both XXXX and XXXX already show the deposits posting on their side, but they are held up by a network error from Ally, which means the funds never actually left Allys internal ledger. I am stuck in the middle with no access to my own money. I received no notice of unusual activity until the second business day of the hold, which was already past the normal 3day availability window. Ally froze my account at XXXX XXXX on a Friday. The alert said, If these transactions were NOT you, call us. But the transactions were mine. They were transfers to my own verified accounts. There was nothing unauthorized to report, and Ally already had the linkedaccount information needed to verify them. I called Ally twice. Both times, the answers were the same : My case number was confirmed They said only unusual activity They said they did not need anything from me They said I could not speak to anyone who could review my case They told me to send documents to XXXX with no confirmation anyone would see them They said there was no timeline They said there was no way to request a manual review They said there was no way to access even a portion of my funds I explained that this is my VA XXXX income and my only source of money for food and bills. I was still told there was nothing they could do. I have attached the same organized ZIP file I sent to Ally, including identity verification, proof of residency, my VA XXXX income letter, screenshots of all transfers, bucket activity, scheduled payments, and the XXXX error message showing network error from Ally. I am requesting a human review and the release of my funds to my verified XXXX and XXXX accounts. Both receiving banks already show the deposits posting, but they are blocked because Ally has not released the funds. I am asking for a written explanation for the freeze and for access to my own 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 non-monetary relief