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This is such a bullshit, CYA response. He doesn't in any way address the issue that Citibank, or any one of its employees, can and will freeze any of its custo
by bbatsell 17y ago
This is such a bullshit, CYA response. He doesn't in any way address the issue that Citibank, or any one of its employees, can and will freeze any of its customers' cash, for an undetermined length of time, for "noncompliance with standard policies", with absolutely no explanation when it happens.
Until Citibank disclaims any ability to freeze funds unless under court order, they will never have my business. What happens the next time it happens to someone who doesn't have quite so easy access to the media or a story so easily seen as blatantly discriminatory?
- jrockway 17y agoBanking regulations force big banks to do things like this. If the OP ended up doing something illegal with the account, Citi would be stuck with a big fine and would be out whatever money the OP used. If they made a policy that says, "we will not touch your account without a court order", they would be out of business tomorrow because that is the same as, "we are knowingly going to violate the law." Banks are financially liable to the government if they do not police new accounts aggressively. Banking regulations in the US suck, and this is exactly the unintended consequences that these regulations have. (If you care, google "know your customer".) (I work at an investment bank as a contractor and had to take a course on detecting consumer banking fraud. Absolutely nothing to do with my line of work, but that's how paranoid the banks are of the government.)