Coinbase, Inc.
Consumer Complaints
There are over 2974 complaints on file for Coinbase, Inc.. Dated between 2019-11-25 and 2014-09-10.
Complaints Page 11
2018-07-25
San Jose, CA
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-25
Tracy, CA
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I have attempted to recover my missing funds in the form of bitcoin from Coinbase since XX/XX/2017. I have emailed them several times and spoken to their customer service and nothing has been resolved.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-21
Portland, OR
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: My phone was stolen, and my PC drive went bad in the same week, so I lost my saved authentication methods. There is a process to validate your identity and regain access to your account by scanning your photo ID, etc. My photo ID says " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ''. My account says " XXXX XXXX ''. There was no mention at the time of account creation that my account name had to match my photo ID.
XX/XX/18 - opened Case # XXXX with phone support XX/XX/18 - I emailed coinbase to check the status XX/XX/18 - they sent me the same pre-written " your case has been escalated '' email, with no further instructions are projected date of resolution XX/XX/18 - they sent me an email with a link to verify my ID. This was extremely insulting, as the reason I opened the case is that their method of ID verification can not work when your name does not match your ID.
XX/XX/18 - I called them, re-explained the issue and why the link they sent me is not useful, and they assured me " my case has been escalated '' for the umteenth time.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-20
Redwood City, CA
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-19
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-18
Mill Valley, CA
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: Date : XX/XX/XXXX Amount in transaction : {$200.00} ( including {$3.00} transaction fee ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I decided to purchase approximately 200 dollars worth of bitcoin through Coinbase. The transaction went through successfully. Following the transaction, a window prompted me to verify my identity. Part of verifying my identity included my date of birth, which is XX/XX/XXXX. Shortly after submitting my address and date of birth in order to verify my identity, I received an email from coinbase explaining that restrictions had been placed on my account due to the fact that I am under XXXX. Because of the restrictions, I am unable to sell the bitcoin that is in my account, or send it to another account. The bitcoin is laying frozen in my account, and I can do nothing with it. This effectively means that this company is withholding XXXX dollars from me.
At the time when I created my coinbase account ( over one year ago ), they did not have a policy stating that users had to be over XXXX. This new policy was implemented only a few months ago. I was never made aware of this change in policy - I never received an email, nor was I informed of this change when logging into the site. I think it is unfair that coinbase allows users to give them money without requiring identity verification, only to withhold that users money when they fail the ensuing identity test, especially when the user is never made explicitly aware of the policies & requirements involving identity.
I was unable to get a hold of coinbase through the phone, as I was repeatedly met by an answering machine. I sent a support ticket, but I am skeptical as to how effective this will be, as most people in my position have commented online that coinbase can take months to resolve similar issues.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-13
Las Vegas, NV
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I called and emailed Coinbase in regards to selling and/or transferring my Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrencies and eight months later the problem hasn't been solved. Also, I have USD currency in my account that I can't use to purchase cryptocurrency and/or transfer to external accounts. Coinbase keeps telling me they will assign a specialist to my case, they've assigned one six months after I filed my claim and he was unable to solve the problem. As of today, my situation hasn't changed but my account value has dropped by {$15000.00} USD.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-13
OR
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: My Coinbase account is " Account Restricted ''. Specifically when I try to buy or sell, the following message comes up : " Account Restricted You are currently unable to buy and sell digital currency on Coinbase. Please visit https : //support.coinbase.com for assistance. '' So around 4 months ago when I found out that I could not buy any cryptocurrency because of this, I sent an email to Support, and got automatic response, then I got a real response that they are looking into it. Then a few months later, I got another response that I had to close my Business Account ( as this was somehow linked to my personal coinbase account ). I did this and answered and this was several months ago. All my emails are attached.
Since then the value of bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, litecoin have all gone down in price. I have been trying to take my money out so I could pay some bills and help my mom who is fighting XXXX. Now it is less value.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-10
San Francisco, CA
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Domestic (US) money transfer
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-10
Quartzsite, AZ
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2018 {$500.00} worth of virtual currency were stolen from me, using a social media scam. I reported the theft to the company Coinbase, that I had used to transfer the currency. The company responded with an email that said that it was not possible to trace virtual currency transactions, and that transferring such currency was not only risky, but only possible thanks to a complete lack of consumer recourse. I told the company that my rights non-negotiable and then filed a complaint with the XXXX XXXX XXXX. The following Monday, XX/XX/2018, after having received the XXXX XXXX XXXX complaint, the company responded with another email that said it had now locked and disabled my account due to security reasons. This constitutes severe harassment and severe discriminatory practices on behalf of this company. So far Ive lost considerable sums, due to numerous factors.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-08
Lexington, NC
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: Had an outstanding balance at coinbase and contacted them on XX/XX/18 to pay it off by transferring bitcoin to my account. Sent them an email asking if that would be a sufficient means to pay the debt owed and unlock my account. This was their response on XX/XX/18 Hi, XXXX.
Thanks for getting in touch.
Your purchasing ability is currently restricted due to an outstanding payment of $ XXXX Please select your desired external payment method or deposit digital currency into your Coinbase wallet from an external source to at least the outstanding amount. You can select a payment method using this link : https : //www.coinbase.comXXXX Once the funds are deposited in your wallet, our system will automatically reclaim the owed amount within a short time. If you would like to deposit digital currency, you can find your Coinbase addresses here https : //www.coinbase.com/XXXX Thank you for using Coinbase.
Regards, Coinbase Support Regards, Coinbase Support At this point, I transferred the debt owed and a considerable amount more.
On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX EST, the money was recieved. What was explained to me in the email is that it would automatically pay the debt off or in a short period of time. A day went by, so I called in to the support. He explained to me he could send me an email with directions to unlock my account. This is the email sent to me Hi, XXXX XXXX for your call today.
I have checked that you have already done your part on receiving the funds for the payment of the balance.
As I mentioned, your purchasing ability is still currently restricted since the funds are still under your wallet.
Sorry, I will not be able to provide you a link for direct payment of the balance. I am working with a specialist to address it properly, we will be pulling out the funds from your wallet and lifting the restriction under your account. We will follow-up with you as soon as we have an update.
Thank you for your patience.
Regards, Coinbase Support Team Another day goes by, still nothing. I called in again and got the same explanation " your situation has been escalated ''. Told them that wasn't acceptable. I already contacted them prior to all of this happening and now they are not holding up their end of the agreement. That was on XX/XX/18. As of right now there is over XXXX bitcoin in my account that is fluctuating and I have no control to get the funds out before the value of it decreases. I've sent in 3 more emails since, and nothing has gotten a response. Also sent a complaint to the better business bureau on XX/XX/18.
I'm disgusted that a billion dollar corporation has the power to hold MY MONEY and keep it frozen out of my hands, when all I did was everything they asked me to do.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-06
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I tried to withdraw a sum of XXXX from coinbase on theXX/XX/2018, the withdrawal was supposed to arrive at my bank account on XXXX XX/XX/2018 but has still not arrived. I have contacted the company numerous times to no effect. I have not been given any reason or explanation for the delay. In fact as of now I don't know if I will ever see my money again. The customer service does not have a contact number where you can speak to anyone. The only communication I have had was 48 hours after I raised the issue. The response was that my case has been esclataed. 4 days later I have heard a single word from anyone. I am angry and frustrated and I feel helpless. This is not a fair way to treat anyone especially a customer that has helped the company make profit
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-06
Hilton Head, SC
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-05
Grosse Ile, MI
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I purchased Lite Coins for XXXX $ from Coinbase on XX/XX/2018, and since I maintain a XXXX credit card balance, I immediately paid off my credit card balance. The company appeared to have some glitch due to which they reversed or attempted to reverse recent transactions. But since my credit card was at XXXX balace their XXXX $ reversal did not go through. They did not realize this and in trying to rectify their error, they charged my card XXXX . I tried to work with their customer service for several months with no result. Eventually, in the month of XX/XX/XXXX, I disputed the amount with my CC company and they validated my disputed and cleared it for me. What Coinbase did now was they cancelled the purchase of my Lite Coins on XX/XX/2018 and took them away which is so wrong. I have been trying to reach their customer service, facebook, twitter but no luck anywhere. They just do not respond. I am so tired of their extremely poor customer service and just want my coins back and I hope to get help from here. Thank you very much!
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-07-02
Brooklyn, NY
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: Date : XX/XX/2018 Time : approximately XXXX On the above mentioned date and time I had an unauthorized purchase transaction commence. The transaction was only for {$4.00} ( {$3.00} ethereum, {$0.00} coinbase fee ) but it was still unauthorized. I had no reason to believe that my phone had been hacked or compromised and no reason to believe my password was compromised. My phone was literally in my pocket when I got the e-mail congratulating me on my purchase. This scared me because it could have been for a lot more money and also could happen again.
I immediately called coinbase and I got a phone representative whom seemed extremely unprofessional. I actually double checked the number I called and the e-mail to see if it was a scam e-mail and I felt a bit uncomfortable giving my information over the phone to this person so that they could verify me. However the phone number was legitimate and matched with information from the internet so I went ahead and gave the information, after all i needed to stop any future transactions from occuring before they happened. The representative sounded like he literally just woke up and that it was a burden for him to be on a call with me.
The rep gave me incorrect information saying I could just sell the ethereum back and get my {$4.00} back. I told him i would prefer to have the account immediately frozen so no future transactions could go through. He did this ( note it took him probably 20 minutes to freeze the account while I was on hold ).
Coinbase did their investigation and on XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX I got an e-mail from XXXX ( Coinbase Support ), who concluded that " our records indicate that the transaction in question was initiated from within the Coinbase mobile app. '' Also, that they couldn't process a refund. Also with some questions about if my phone is rooted or jailbroken ( which it is not ).
I have no reason to believe that my phone has been compromised as I hadn't installed any apps for maybe over a month, and no other accounts on my phone appear to have been compromised. I honestly believe that this was an insider transaction from within coinbase to try and steal {$1.00} in fees. Consumers are not likely to make a big deal about losing {$1.00}, however that's very unethical and illegal and I would like to CFPB to investigate to see if this is a common occurence at coinbase. Maybe they hope that most people won't complain about the small fee and target inactive accounts ( my account had been inactive for months when this happened ).
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-30
San Jacinto, CA
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I used the Coinbase app to invest in bitcoin, litecoin, and etherium XX/XX/2017 after some months of it sit I decided to withdraw the majority of it. I had {$5000.00} in bitcoin, {$100.00} in litecoin, and {$120.00} in etherium. I withdrew {$4000.00} from bitcoin but after that my spending limit was at its ends. I then completed the ID verification which said it was going to increase my spending limit and although it may have, I then ran into the issue of not being able to indetify myself no matter how correct I was with my information it just always says Verification Failed I have dmd them on XXXX multiple times and emailed them and when I call an actual person never answers the phone its always a machine with the same problems and useless solutions
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-30
Arco, CA
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I have had a " virtual currency '' account with " Coinbase '' ( a virtual currency exchange ) for over a year without incident. But, in XX/XX/XXXX I made a number of purchases using the " instant check '' feature. Unfortunately, my bank had decided that it would not accept payments to fund bitcoin accounts, so it reversed the checks, leaving me with a negative balance of {$2900.00} Within a few days of finding out about the bounced checks, I sent {$3200.00} ( in bitcoin currency ) to the account to cover the " bounced '' checks and bring my account to a positive balance. When I transferred the funds, what SHOULD have happened ( according to coinbase 's FAQ page, as well as multiple support hosts I spoke to, ) was the funds were supposed to automatically be taken from the " bitcoin wallet '' ( as opposed to the USD wallet, which is were the debt is shown ), since that had a positive balance. I waited for three days, but the funds were not transferred out of bitcoins and into dollars, despite their help information page stating that it would. In the meantime, the value of my bitcoins was dropping very rapidly, and in two days, instead of having {$3200.00} in my account, i had just over {$3000.00} and i became alarmed that the bitcoins would drop and not then be enough to cover my debt. Panicked, I transferred the bitcoins into the " vault ''. ( I thought that the vault would somehow magically keep my bitcoins from losing value, i didn't understand what the vault was, just a more secure location to store my bitcoins, not a " value freezer. '' Anyway, then just after they went in the vault, coinbase went into the other accounts ( bitcoin cash, alt coins ) that had a few dollars worth of currency in them, and took those funds, but they only covered a few dollars of my debt. ) It took me a while to get the funds out of the vault ( my phone was damaged and i couldn't log in to coinbase or get it out of the vault, I had to resubmit my id and get the XXXX XXXX. By the time I was able to get the funds out of the vault, they'd depreciated considerably in value. I also didn't know that i had to verify the request to withdraw from my vault via a secondary email, and so there were a number of days of delay when I tried to withdraw from the vault and i thought it was because i owed the XXXX. So i sent ANOTHER {$3400.00} to coinbase in bitcoins, thinking, this will cover what I owe them and then some, and they will allow me to withdraw my remaining {$3400.00} in currency now that I have the XXXX XXXX and have paid them what I owe them ( twice! ). well, that was at least 1 month ago, and I still have yet to receive any of my money back or even have my debt to coinbase settled.. they still show my account as XXXX in debt, and they won't allow me to convert my bitcoins into dollars or any other currency and they won't settle my debt from the nearly {$7000.00} i have sent them in total since this whole problem first started back in XX/XX/XXXX.
Please please help me. I have called, emailed, filed " cases '' in their online help module, only to just be ignored and mansplained to, without any resolution or explanation. Meanwhile, my coinbase wallet which should have a value of {$6600.00} ( the total amount I've sent in payments ) but it shows just {$4700.00} in value. and that's right this moment. Every single day it loses value, and I am helpless to stop it, because they won't allow me to convert it into dollars. I sent them bitcoins because that is what I purchased with the checks that bounced, and I was told by support hosts and the information pages on their website, that it was fine to repay my chargebacks with bitcoins. But they have taken my money hostage and will not assist me in any meaningful way. thank you for your assistance in this matter!
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-29
King, CA
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-28
Fort Worth, TX
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-27
Palos Park, IL
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: My issue is with XXXX. I set up an account and I want to cancel it and get my money refunded. XXXX said there were issues with my bank account when there were not. I tried entering new banking information and it would not take. Since then I changed my phone number and have been unable to log into my account because of their verification process. Every time I have called XXXX to complain they said they were aware of it and wait for my turn. I will know when its my turn when I get an email from XXXX telling me its my turn. Never got this email and it has been months. Every time I call I am told this same thing. It was only {$32.00} but now its the principle.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-27
Una, SC
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX my debit card was charged {$1000.00} for a second time. I had previously made purchases on XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX that were already charged to my card. Coinbase sent me an email on XX/XX/XXXX stating that they made duplicate transactions on all XXXX card members and refunds would be issued as soon as possible. 4 months later I haven't seen a dollar yet after communicating back and forth with them through numerous emails.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-26
Miami, FL
Problem with customer service
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Foreign currency exchange
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-26
Fresno, CA
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Foreign currency exchange
Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX I initiated a transfer into my Coinbase account. I requested the transfer go to my USD Wallet but instead the funds seem to be held up in my XXXX wallet. The transaction shows as " pending '' with Notes reading " Failed to instantly exchange XXXX ''. What does this mean? I have contacted Coinbase numerous of times. Their response was Our payments team and advocacy team are investigating. Weve marked this email thread as a top-priority case, and well provide info to you as it becomes available. Coinbase seemed to be focusing a lot more on expanding their operations instead of properly serving their existing customers.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-25
Bellaire, TX
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: Coinbase has locked me out of my account on their website and I can not seem to get it recovered. Trying to sign in with my username and password pulls up a prompt for a 2 Factor Authentication code texted to an old phone number that I do not have anymore ( I recently changed it and forgot to update it on a few sites online including this one ). The normal process for many websites and 2FA issues is to submit proof of identity, but I am having repeated issues doing this with Coinbase with little effort on their end to help resolve the issue.
After clicking the option that I no longer have the phone number ending in ( my old number ), I am taken to a " coinbase account recovery '' page that asks to upload my state ID and a picture of myself to verify that I am who I say I am and to recover the account. I am not sure what is wrong with their program, but I can not get the system to verify me no matter what I do. I have taken clear photos of my ID multiple times with my new XXXX smartphone, and for the picture of myself have used said phone camera as well as a laptop webcam, but no matter what I try to use their system refuses to accept the valid ID and photo of myself and will not recover my account.
After this, I tried contacting Coinbase customer support through an online field submitted to them, detailed with this information that I no longer have my 2FA phone number, that I can not sign in to my account, and that their recovery systems are not working and put in a request for another way to verify my identity and recover the account, such as sending a copy of my social security or birth certificate, for example, or having a support agent personally check the ID and " selfie '' online if their automated system is having issues.
I received an email from Coinbase Support within two days after, with what seems to be a canned response. It simply lists the steps to start an account recovery process using the automated method that above I stated is not working, so this was not helpful in recovering my account, as well as a few " tips '' for a successful validation that did not work for me. Furthermore, I was hoping to respond to this email with a further request for something to be done as this did not help me get my account back, but I have no further way to respond to the support ticket filed. The link in the email to follow to view the ticket status and add comments, etc does not work, clicking it simply redirects to the general support FAQ page.
The fact that I can't recover my account in a timely manner isn't even a big deal, what's frustrating is that their recovery systems will not work even though my identity is accurate and true on the ID and photo submitted, and when I inquired on why it wasn't working and how to get my account back if it wasn't working, they simply sent a canned response and won't even give me a method to reply back for a different solution.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2018-06-25
Titusville, FL
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation