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 6
2019-06-18
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: So my account on coinbase got temporarly locked and I should contact them to unlock it. I wrote them and got a response about answering some security question. I did that and it was on the XX/XX/2019. Now it is the XX/XX/XXXX and I still got no answer. The Case is : # XXXX.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-17
Queens, NY
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 at XXXX Eastern Time I received a text from XXXX indicating that my SIM card was changed. I proceeded to find a public phone to call XXXX immediately and suspend the line at around XXXX.
By that time it was too late, and the perpetrator was able to gain access to my XXXX ( XXXX ) reset the password and utilize that to gain access to my Coinbase account.
I had around 4-5000 USD worth of BTC in the account at the time, and the perpetrator continue to purchase additional coins inside my account.
Access to Coinbase and they are not responding to my active ticket inquiry.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-15
Atl, GA
Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-11
Harsens Is, MI
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 I submitted a support ticket to www.Coinbase.com stating that I had some suspicious activity on my email account associated with my Coinbase account, and a failed attempt to log into my Coinbase.com account. I however looked over my account and everything was fine, there was no breach of my account as I had all the extra security measure set up including 2 factor authentication. I explained this in the support ticket that I just wanted to change my email address as an extra step of security. I specifically said there is no need to freeze my account as no one except for me ( the account owner ) gained access to it. They immediately froze my account asked me to fill out a few questions and that they would investigate.
I filled out the form via email and waited. That was on XX/XX/2019. Since then I have not gotten a single response back from the company. I have call there support phone line over 15 times since then asking what is going on? They have no answer and can not give me any more information at this time but tells me they " properly escalated the ticket and should provide me with an update shortly '' They keep saying it is being " Investigated '' but there is nothing to investigate I already know the no " bad actors '' gained access to my account looking at my log in settings and all I wanted to do was change my email address. Also I would like to add that I have went through this same support ticket situation with 4 other exchanges ( XXXX, XXXX XXXX and XXXX ) all of which solved my issue and reinstated my accounts in 4 days or less.
How is it so hard to verify an identity and reenable an account/ This has gone on unresolved with no resolution or even an attempt at a resolution. I have what I consider to be a substantial sum of money in that account that I want access back to, at this point to just get my funds and close the account because I will no longer fund this company with my business.
I fully intend to file a small claims lawsuit against the company if this is not resolved in the next 2 weeks aka 60 days.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-10
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: International money transfer
Complaint: Back on XXXX XXXX 2019, several transfers were instructed from my Coinbase account, in the total amount of BTC XXXX ( EURO XXXX ) to a scam Binary Option / XXXX / XXXX XXXX dealer XXXX.
They did not invest my money, but only stole it. I submitted a recall dispute to Coinbase on approximately XXXX XXXX 2019. Coinbase replied with their final response on XXXX XXXX 2019. They confirmed that the merchant is a scam and noted that Coinbase added to their blacklist the relevant address so that no further Coinbase users can be scammed in the same way going forward and yet they declined my recall on grounds that it is impossible for them to reverse payments that made with cryptocurrency. I wanted to reply on their letter and try to explain that no services, investment or good were giving me in return to those payments. but Coinbase sends another email to me three days after, saying that the case has been closed.
Im aware that I can refer my claim to XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) in case I am not satisfied with the resolution of my complaint 's outcome, As I know Coinbase is registered in the USA, I would like your assistance in resolving my issue.
When I authorized the payments by my account, I did not know that the merchant is a scam, I discovered it later on. I asked Coinbase to take the responsibility and asked for a recall because no services or investments were supplied by the scam merchant.
XXXX is an illegal scam operator.
What is egregious is that I have found out that there were numerous warnings issued by scam broker investigators, and other regulators, warning against allowing the instruction of payments to this particular merchant : XXXX. How is it that Coin Base approved the transaction in the first place and didn't protect me, as their customer?
I've attached a statement of the full course of events along with other relevant documents.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-06
Indian Spgs, AL
Managing an account
Checking or savings account: Other banking product or service
Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-06
Key Biscayne, FL
Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Complaint: I am unable to withdraw funds from my Coinbase. I am not able to send money for the service that I needed to pay for with BTC, because my available balance shows $ XXXX/ {$200.00}. Since I was unable to send this money right away, I wanted to pull it out and place it back in my bank account. Coinbase says they are to hold my funds for at least 6-7 days. This is an isSue because I now will come up short on my rent as I needed to pay for this service through XXXX. This is illegal and terrible business practice. What right does coinbase have to withhold my hard earned money? How can they legally not allow me to access my funds especially after their service is useless to me currently due to the fact that I can not even send money to other wallets. I am extremely worried that I may face a hefty penalty for paying my rent late. I have emailed them twice and called numerous times. I got no help in the email response, and nobody to pick up the phone. I am finally writing yet another complaint that hopefully resolves this shady business practice.Thats the whole point of a currency, its to create an exchange market for transactions. Coinbase is preventing me from doing anything but buying more crypto in my account. I have a fully verified level 3 account. I have never heard of any company being legally allowed to stop you from closing your account and receiving the funds within it.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-06-04
Montevallo, AL
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I hope this message finds you and your families doing well.
This Complaint is for CoinBase Pro Trading Platform. I have approximately XXXX XXXX XXXX U.S. Dollars ( not cryptocurrency ) on the CoinBase Platform. Coinbase will not give me access to my Dollars. I have been locked out of my account and they will not give me access no matter how many times I submit a request to support. On XX/XX/19 I had an indication on my phone that someone was attempting to access my trading account without my permission. ( I have the 2 step verification set up and no one can access my account with out the pincode sent to my phone. ) I immediately called CoinBase Pro explained to them what had occurred. Coinbase said that " My funds were still available and that they would shut down the account so that no one including myself would be able to gain access. '' I explained to them that I was traveling and that it may be sometime before I could address this issue but would get back to them as long as my funds were secure. Coinbase assured me that my funds were secure.
They sent me an email on the XX/XX/19 indicating that the problem had been fixed on their end and that I should secure my email phone etc on my end.
On XX/XX/19 I have began to access my account with no success. Every support ticket I submit is returned " Account closed by an automated email. I have spoken to support on several occasions and they have said '' Your request has been prioritized and sent to a security specialist '' and I should wait to hear back form them.
I receive a ticket closed or I hear nothing back at all.
Since you are asking that I provide no personal information, or account information, this is all the information I can provide to you at this time.These people have in essence stolen my US Dollars and I want my money.
I hope you can help me with this problem and any other information such as account number and support ticket can be supplied to you at will.
Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-31
Las Vegas, NV
Other service problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: i have an acct w/coinbase.com - the garbage about that isnt that i forgit my emaik address but i forgot the password i used on gmail and the verification? s so XXXX wouldnt givr me a temp password and lets say you forget the pass ok ya coinbade acct the only way they will let you bacj on ya acct is by sending that emaik addy a temp password. even though i will enclose the name address and ssn on that account.., :i have emailed them one time every week for the past month anf theyve just ignored me.
i will attach solid proof of my old acct.
can you help me get on my acct w/my funds?
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-30
VT
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 I initiated a transfer of XXXX LTC ( litecoin ) to Coinbase Pro. The transaction displayed as a deposit within the Coinbase Pro web interface after 10 minutes. The deposit was displayed for the incorrect amount of XXXX LTC and was not added to my balance. After 10 hours the transaction disappeared from the deposit history on Coinbase Pro. No LTC was deposited into my account on Coinbase Pro, the XXXX LTC was not returned to the sending address. I contacted Coinbase support and was provided a boilerplate response after 2 days that did not address the issue in any way. They refused to even research the transaction. The LTC was transfered from the Coinbase Pro generated address to another address where it still is.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-29
Woodland, WA
Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX I had {$200.00} withdrawn from my account which I did not remember authorizing I called Coinbase and emailed them. While over the phone we were able to figure out that I did authorize the withdrawal 4 days later on XX/XX/XXXX I get an email from Coinbase that they have put my account on a temporary freeze due to the email I sent about the {$200.00} bank withdrawal. I have tried multiple times emailing and calling to have my funds released. But they have not been helpful Case number : XXXX
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-29
Lewiston, ME
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-28
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-25
Brooklyn, NY
Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Complaint: I used a high interest savings account to fund the purchase of Bitcoin through the Coinbase Exchange in early XX/XX/2019. Unbeknownst to me, there was a limit of ( 7 ) electronic transfers ( ETF 's ) per month on this particular savings account. I made transfer requests on Coinbase above and beyond the ( 7 ) allowed, by mistake. I understand Coinbase fronted the money in anticipation of payment by these additional transfer requests, above and beyond the ( 7 ) allowed. The requests were rejected and Coinbase locked my account. I resolved the problem as soon as I was made aware of it and made sure the payments arrived at Coinbase ( within 5-days ) from a different bank account. All should have been well and Coinbase should have released the funds. However, they didn't. They allowed me to sell the Bitcoin to US $ but to this day, will not allow me to transfer the US $ out from the Coinbase account a total of {$68000.00}.
Attached you will find : Two emails from XX/XX/19 showi
ng the sale of Bitcoin ( into the cash $ account at Coinbase ). Two emails from Coinbase (
XX/XX/19 and XX/XX/19 ) customer service showing my interactions with them. Trying to resolve the issue. You can see where in bold they say We are not able to provide you with any additional information.
I also have a problem where I deleted the XXXX XXXX app, so I lost my key for the XXXX XXXX verification. According to the sits FAQ ( attached ). They may need to perform a security reset so it reverts to the SMS verification so that I can do the final transfer, once the funds are released.
You can see in the attached site FAQ document " Coinbase Reset Broken XXXX XXXX '' on page 2, line item " I lost or broke my security key ''.
To reiterate my problem one more time ; Coinbase does not respond to my requests to transfer my cash out of their account back into my checking account. Nor do they respond to my requests to reset the 2-step verification.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-25
Chicago, IL
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I opened an account with Coinbase to buy cryptocurrency last month. I invested and deposited around XXXX $ in the Coinbase exchange and in XX/XX/XXXX Coinbase blocked my account and asked for some bank statement and ID card for verification. Its now almost two weeks and my account is still blocked and I have no access to my hard earned money which is stuck in their account. I called them 16 times and they keep telling me to wait. I have XXXX kids and have to run my personal expenses but I can not as my money is locked in their system and I have no way of getting my money back from Coinbase .i am loosing money everyday because the trade I did is now hanging in Coinbase with me no access to my account. Please help.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-23
Nyc, NY
Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Complaint: My Coinbase USD account sustained a loss of approximately {$60000.00} through a series of unauthorized transfers on XX/XX/XXXX. My account was a funded USD account ( not a cryptocurrency account ). I reported the situation to Coinbase support later that same day ( XX/XX/XXXX ), and the correspondence continued by email for the next three weeks.
Coinbase asserts that I am fully liable for the loss because they " had no reason to distrust the activity in question. '' - Because my funds were in a prepaid USD account and because I reported the breach within two business days, Regulation E limits my total liability to {$50.00}.
- To support their position that I am liable, Coinbase made several demonstrably untrue statements regarding the unauthorized activity, concealing and omitting events that should have raised their suspicion ( see attached email ).
In compliance with the Coinbase Terms of Service, I submitted a complaint on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX disputing Coinbase 's determination. The Terms of Service state that Coinbase will acknowledge receipt of the Complaint after it is submitted.
Coinbase has sent no such acknowledgment.
The full email chain of my correspondence with Coinbase is attached.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-22
Edgemont, NY
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-19
Louisa, VA
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2018, I noticed that my Coinbase account was restricted from making purchases. When I looked further, it was because they erroneously believed that my account owed them {$350.00}. This was an issue because I still had virtual currency in my account, and was now no longer allowed to liquidate it or to transfer money out of my account. As such, on that day I emailed Coinbase support.
Coinbase support then got back to me, saying to verify my account. I verified my account. Then, they got back to me saying that I was wrong, and that I owed them money. I called customer support, and they looked deeper into my account, and asked me to send details from my bank statements to prove that I do not owe them money. I complied with this. They then said that this would be escalated to a specialist to be resolved, on XX/XX/XXXX itself.
For the next 6 months, they continually ran me around, giving me various answers, and continually asking me the same questions regarding providing details and evidence that I did not owe them money. I continually did so. All correspondence is included in the attached email. Continually, they said that I owed them money, and when I explained and proved I did not, they continually said it would be referred to a specialist, and it never was. I have provided them with bank statements with highlighted transactions and highlighted refunds related to Coinbase ' double charge issue and all of the transactions balance out to {$0.00}, not the negative {$350.00} that they are claiming, but despite this evidence they have not even tried to rectify the situation.
Recently, on XX/XX/2018, they took the step of liquidating {$65.00} worth of litecoin from my account, and seizing those funds, without decreasing my outstanding negative balance by such. Currently, they still have a negative balance of {$350.00} on my account, and are threatening to try to seize even more funds. No matter how many times I try to rectify the situation, or provide them evidence to support my case, it is continually disregarded. It has been over one year since I first reached out to them, and they have still not provided me with any answer or even attempted to resolve my situation.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-18
Carlsbad, CA
Confusing or missing disclosures
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 I initiated an ACH transfer to Coinbase since my only given was the ACH.
I purchased XXXX dollars so I can exchange it to digital currency.
After the purchase according to the agreement the funds to be ready within 3-5 days and after were cleared and in the history section it will show complete in green.
I then waited and then when I checked my account the statement stated the transaction was complete. When I went to send the money out much to my surprise my account was a XXXX balance available to move. And I had a waiting period of 17 days before I can move or send money.
This was not disclosed otherwise I would never have done it.
I opened my account I went through various steps of identification. They validated my bank and debit card digitly and then I had to wait due to making sure than they were protecting me from fraud. I have a question if money was ached and then cleared there is no reason to protect my currency. Everything went fine. After much research i found out this happens to many many clients. Some never get their monies back. This is a scam and as a US based company it is a shame and a crime to nor have full transparency and disclosure policies.. The coustumer service is not helpful. Email goes to a deaf ear. It always is the same response to go and see question and answer pages. The company does not specify the holding time. Till your purchase is complete then it shows that your funds will be on hold for certain days.
They claim during the purchase it show the waiting but that is a lie and a misleading statement they try to confuse you and they do a great job. After all they have been practicing this unethical act for years.
I want accountability. They need be forth coming with their policies. They may not publish a partial part of their polices and expect us to read between the line. I have XXXX dollars as of now and it will fluctuate on the next few days.
Their terms should be visible requiring a digital signature and then maybe the consumer will choose not to sign up. They state that the personal information is not shared. Another lie. They track your spending which is a violation This is a platform only that states the owner of the account has complete power over their wallet.
Then why is my urgency held hostage? I like to see companies to take accountability and the greed not to take over.
My research of various sites such as FTc has indicated that this is done to gain interest while holding the currency. So if you are going to take money from me at least admit it and take accountability and donr act life a coward all my 12 plus emails have gone to deaf ears. They do not give you a choice but the ACH which they know they can hold the funds this is unethical/ criminal and needs to stop
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-16
Bohemia, NY
Money was not available when promised
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Domestic (US) money transfer
Complaint: Invested into XXXX using coinbase invested XXXX $ and went to withdrawal the money through wire transfer and never seen the money after 6 days I NEED HELP
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-15
Wrong amount charged or received
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-15
Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Mobile or digital wallet
Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 at XXXX XXXX, I transferred XXXX XLM from my Blockchain account to my coinbase account. I didn't add a memo due to it being labelled ( optional ) but realized it was needed when I sent the money over. I contacted coinbase and they said they would resolve this issue and have my money in my account within 5-7 business days. It is now XX/XX/XXXX and still no reply or money added to my account.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-11
Kendall, FL
Confusing or missing disclosures
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: This is going to lead to a suggested resolution to case XXXX.
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-10
Galena, OH
Other transaction problem
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: Coinbase disabled my account for no reason and no explanation.
I have placed multiple calls to their customer service line for over a month.
Their customer service tells me that they have escalated my case to a " specialist '' and states that they will get back to me within 5-7 business days but never has for over a month. They would proceed to close the case without resolving the problem or contacting me with any explanation. Their customer service is non-existent.
Referencing XXXX # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Company Response: Closed with explanation
2019-05-08
Federal Way, WA
Fraud or scam
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service: Virtual currency
Complaint: I set up an account with Coinbase out of XXXX XXXX, CA on XX/XX/XXXX. They required typical account opening information along with photo i.d . that I sent by using my phone to take a photo of the front and back. They also needed payment information for when I decided to do any transactions ( buying bitcoin or other such crypto currency ). I provided my banks routing number and account number. As of XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from Coinbase saying I was ready to buy. I was able to log in to the pc with my username and password. Please take note that I was never asked to submit a selfie when opening up my acount ... just the drivers license ( this is not a critical issue, but makes a point later ). I then began to make purchases of bitcoin on various days until I achieved how much I wanted. I then took a short break. While I was on vacation XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX I downloaded the Coinbase app on my XXXX phone. When I went to login it then asked me for an authenticator code. I did not have this on my phone set up so I just decided to do what I wanted from my pc when I got back. The next time I tried to log in and see my account was the morning of XX/XX/XXXX ( Tuesday ). All of the sudden the website was now asking me for an authenticator code. I tried to set this up from my phone, but realized that coinbase did not provide me a key to open it. Ok I thought, they have a customer service number so I can have someone just verify who I am and get me back accessing my account. I called at XXXX in the morning ( pacific ) and held until I talked to someone. The rep tried to talk to me about the authenicator, but realized we would have to go a different route. He said after I login I must click below the box on " unable to submit a one time code ''. Then he said I must follow directions to reset my account. He then said it will go in for review and TAKE 48-72 HOURS to review. WOW! I am now locked away from my funds for 3 days minimum! Unable to sell if I need to? Never heard of such a thing. I asked to be escalated to a supervisor, was put on hold ... and then disconnected. I started looking up more about Coinbase and discovered many other instances of this. Decided the best thing to do was try and reset the account by going through the directions to reset my account ... ..even if it was 3 days, I need to do something. I logged back in and went through what the site asked for. I submitted a photo of my drivers license ( front and back ) and then it wanted a selfie from my webcam. After I submitted these it loaded and took some time, only to come back saying it failed validation because a photo was too big a file. It did not say which one. I could only assume the webcam one because I submitted the photos of my drivers license the same way setting up the account. I tried 2 more times to submit the photos while trying to shrink the file of my selfie. Each successive try failed for the same reason. I called the customer support again at XXXX ( pacific ) and spoke with a woman who said I should try using my phone with the XXXX browser. She talked me through the process. She said to use the camera on the phone from the site to take the photos. I tried holding up my drivers license in the photo box ( she said it will not use the rear camera ) and taking the photos of the license that way. I submitted and I was denied again! This time because the photo of my drivers license was not clear enough. I tried again 2 more times with her on the phone. Each time being denied for the same reason. She then said she will have to put me in contact with " direct support ''. She said that they will email me and have me send in the stuff direct. I questioned her on whether I would get a call from " direct support '' or I could call them. She said that they do not call direct for security reasons. That seems odd and terrible! I said ok, and waited for an email from this " direct support ''. I did not receive anything but an email telling me what to do to upload photos. Decided to try and resubmit the drivers license and selfie on the website. This time after taking them it denied me saying I tried too many attempts and could not again for 24 hours. WOW! I then decided to call back at XXXX XXXX ( pacific ). I talked to a man who told me he did see that I was to be contacted by direct support. He said I should receive an email validating that. I said ok, but frustrated with all the run-around so far. I did get an email from coinbase saying that the support would email me and the reviews typically take from 4-5 business days, but sometimes longer ( I attached a screenshot of that email ). I decided there was nothing more I could do but research more on who could help me. This is where I found CFPB. Decided to sleep on it and take it up today ( XX/XX/XXXX ). Decided the first thing I would do is try again after the 24hours to resubmit the drivers license and selfie. This time I succeeded in getting the site to accept it. I now am waiting for the review and received an email saying it typically takes up to 72 hours ( 3 days ).
Here are my concerns. They should addressed by coinbase : 1 ) Why was it so easy to set up my account without the selfie provided, but once coinbase received deposits from me and I got locked out, suddenly I have to go through many more challenging hoops.
2 ) It is unacceptable when a trading company such as coinbase has nothing better than a 3 day turnaround for clients who got locked out of their account. Ive worked for investment firms dealing with such matters, I have investments elsewhere, and NOWHERE is it like this. They always have someone available who can gain me access almost immediately. I am now waiting 3 days with money tied up in a speculative investment and if I get uneasy about owning I have nothing I can do. This is wrong! Also ... I still am not assured I will get my account verified. I will only get an answer in a minimum 3 days.
3 ) The tools to upload requested documents when someone gets locked out are awful. have directions on what the maximum file size can be. If someone is unsuccessful then there needs to be direct support who can call or be transferred to.
Company Response: Closed with explanation