A Citi Bank customer recently shared the story of how his account was abruptly closed.
They said the bank offered no explanation and it took months to return their cash.
The client took to Reddit to share their story and ask for advice.
The post garnered a thousand upvotes and hundreds of comments.
The banking horror story began when the client transferred a six-figure sum into a new Citi account.
They said they only occasionally used the money, but always without incident.
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Then, the account was closed due to a sudden, apparently erroneous, fraud alert.
Bank representatives said an explanation should arrive in the mail in 60 days, according to the Reddit post.
After 60 days, no explanation had arrived.
After showing up at a bank in person, an employee said his check would arrive in a few business days.
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Then, after another month with no communication, he called the bank again, and was told that the money was “not due to him.”
Their hundreds of thousands of dollars had been taken by the bank.
Citibank declined to comment on the story.
THE SOLUTION
Following advice from fellow Redditors, the client reached out to federal government agencies for help.
After filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Citibank finally contacted the customer.
The bank’s executive response unit, which is tasked with handling such cases, requested proof that the customer had in fact owned the money.
Luckily for the customer, careful bookkeeping solved the problem: A document from their previous bank showing the transfer to Citi was enough proof.
The bank then sent a check, but with no explanation or admission of wrongdoing.
The client said they were “immensely" relieved.
“Still absolutely bonkers to think that there was no available recourse internal to Citi,” they said. “They’d be happily holding my money to this day if external federal agencies didn’t compel them otherwise.”
They added: “Stay as far away from Citi as you can.”
BANK BUMBLES
This is not the only time Citibank has come under fire for abruptly shutting accounts.
One customer recently shared how their account was canceled after receiving checks from his employer — a legal cannabis company.
This was deemed suspicious by the bank.
Meanwhile, another bank closed an account after a client deposited too much cash by mistake.
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A Bank of America account was recently closed without explanation.
One Chase Bank customer recently revealed why her account was closed.
