🚨 Y’ALL… I NEED SOMEBODY TO EXPLAIN THIS TO ME.
Because how does a bank decide that I can’t access MY OWN MONEY for 30–60 DAYS?!
Let me tell y’all what happened with Citibank.
I recently opened a Citibank account thinking, “Hey, this could be a good account to have.”
Yeah… red flag. 🚩
Almost immediately after opening it, my debit card was locked. I had direct deposit going into the account, so I called.
I’m thinking, “Damn, y’all move FAST. I just opened the account!”
Then it happened again.
And again.
It seemed like every few transactions, my card would get locked.
🚩 Red flag #2.
Eventually, it stopped happening, so I figured maybe they had worked out whatever issue they were having. I kept the account and deposited around $400 because I had a few bills coming out of it.
Then we get to September 2nd.
Now, there’s a whole OTHER story involving me getting scammed out of $2,500 that I’m not even going to get into right now. 😩
But because of that situation, I had money orders that I needed to cash/deposit because I had moving expenses coming up.
I needed money for a U-Haul. Storage. Bills. I also needed to send my sister $200 for letting me stay at her house.
REAL LIFE STUFF.
I tried to cash the money orders at Citibank.
They told me there would be a hold.
Fine.
I went somewhere else, handled what I could, and then deposited the money into my Citibank account because I needed to USE MY MONEY.
I go to use my debit card.
DECLINED.
Try again.
DECLINED.
At this point I’m like, “Oh, here we go again.”
I call Citibank.
They tell me there’s a transaction from August 9th that needs to be verified.
I couldn’t even remember exactly what the transaction was, but I said:
“VERIFY IT. I don’t care. Just give me access to my money.”
They transfer me to another department.
That department tells me:
“You have to go into a branch.”
Okay.
I go into the branch.
The banker calls.
They tell him:
“24 hours.”
Okay… weird, but whatever.
I wait.
I come back 24 HOURS LATER.
And NOW I’m told:
“It’s going to be a 30–60 DAY HOLD.”
EXCUSE ME?! 😳
30 TO 60 DAYS?!
I told the banker, “I NEED MY MONEY. I have NOTHING right now. I need every dollar I have.”
The banker calls again.
They say they’re trying to expedite the process and maybe I’ll hear something tomorrow.
Tomorrow is Friday.
Monday is a holiday.
And I’m sitting here with a quarter tank of gas, nowhere to go, expenses piling up, and MONEY SITTING IN A BANK ACCOUNT THAT I CANNOT ACCESS.
And let’s be very clear:
MY TRANSACTIONS ARE LEGITIMATE.
I work for a hospital.
My income is legitimate.
The money orders were legitimately purchased using my Capital One card — the same account I normally use for my direct deposit.
I’m not asking for somebody else’s money.
I’m not asking for a loan.
I’m not asking for anything extra.
I’M ASKING TO ACCESS MY OWN MONEY.
So now I’m sitting in my car trying to figure out how I’m supposed to pay for a U-Haul, storage, bills, gas, and everything else when my bank has decided my money belongs to them for the next 30–60 DAYS.
And the craziest part?
I opened this account because I thought having another bank account would make my life easier.
😭😭😭
CITIBANK… WHAT ARE WE DOING?!
Because I genuinely need somebody to explain to me how this is okay.
And before anybody says, “You should’ve just used Capital One”…
I KNOW.
That’s literally where my direct deposit normally goes.
I only used Citibank because I needed a convenient account with access to an ATM.
Lesson learned.
🚩 RED FLAG #3: Maybe opening this account was the mistake.
Now I just need my money back.