Bulwark writer Will Saletan has accused Citibank of permanently locking some customers out of their bank accounts, even if they show up in person with an ID. Saletan claims that he was made aware of this when the bank prevented his son from accessing his money.
“Several weeks ago, I learned that [Citibank] locks some customers out of their accounts and refuses to release their money even if they show up with ID,” Saletan tweeted Monday. “This week, [Citi] sent an email explicitly affirming its right to do this ‘without cause.’”
Several weeks ago, I learned that @Citibank locks some customers out of their accounts and refuses to release their money even if they show up with ID.
This week, @Citi sent an email explicitly affirming its right to do this “without cause.”
Your money is not safe at @Citi. 1/8— Will Saletan (@saletan) September 27, 2022
In an email to Saletan, Citi claimed that they “reserve(s) the right to close an account at any time and for any reason, with or without cause”.
Citi will only return funds they “deem” as “belonging” to the customer, Saletan alleged in a subsequent tweet. “[Citi] reserves the right *never* to return the money,” according to Saletan.
We have been seeing stories pop up like this repeatedly over the past year. Customers are having their money confiscated and being locked out of their accounts without ever committing a crime and without any reason being given.
This is something that I have been warning about for awhile and it’s going to get worse. . We keep hearing this narrative from the White House, DOJ, FBI, DHS, that those on the right are “domestic terrorists” and “extremists”. They have accused concerned parents speaking out at their school board meetings of being potential terrorists. If they really believe that a large percent of this country is a domestic terrorist just because they spoke out at their school board meeting, have spoken out against the government or voted a certain way, is it really that much of a stretch to say that your money isn’t safe and that they are going to come for it? I mean, you are after all a “domestic terrorist” in their eyes so why wouldn’t they?
The best thing that you can do is pull your money out of the big banks and move it into local banks and even spread it out between several local banks. Get away from banks like Citibank.