Topic: CoinBase has suspended me from buying bitcoin for 50 days (Read 281 times)

I have no words to express my frustration and dissatisfaction with CoinBase.  I have asked...three times now...what info they need to unlock my account.  (The excuse they gave, and continue to give, for suspending my account, is that they need more of my personal info.)  But they will not tell me what they want.  In other words, my account is suspended for 50 days (currently 47) or until I give them the personal info they want...whichever comes first.  But I don't know what they want.  And they won't tell me.  So by default, my account is arbitrarily suspended for 50 days.  Period. 

Well, F**K Coinbase.  I pulled all of my bitcoin out...except for approximately $10 USD...just before the suspension.  It will be a looooooong time before I put any more currency of any sort into that account again. 

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>
> OCT 26, 2017  |  03:54PM PDT
> sally replied:
>
> Hello there,
>
> Thank you for contacting Coinbase Support and sorry
> for the trouble.
>
> As a regulated financial service company operating
> in the US we are periodically required to identify
> users on our platform. This ensures we remain in
> compliance with KYC/AML laws in the jurisdictions
> in which we operate, something that is necessary for
> us to be able to continue to offer digital currency
> exchange services to our customers. For more details
> on what information we collect and how we securely
> store and protect these records, please refer to our
> Privacy Policy ID verification general guidelines:
>
> Most ID verifications must be completed either through
> the Coinbase website or the mobile app. We are not
> able to accept emailed copies of ID for verification
> purposes.
>
> For more issue resolutions in the near future you may
> want to check our support website at
> www.support.coinbase.com.
>
> Please do not hesitate to reply on this email if you
> need further assistance.
>
> Thank you for choosing Coinbase.
>
> Regards,
>
> Sally
> Coinbase Customer Service Representative
>
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>>
>> OCT 25, 2017  |  04:51PM PDT
>> [my message to coinbase]
>>
>> I think I must be failing to express myself clearly. i
>> Excuse me for not speaking in a clear enough manner.
>>
>> I've had this account since 2015. And have been actively
>> trading for the last six months. This suspension is a
>> NEW problem. Something has changed at your end.
>>
>> Also, I'm not bumping up against my caps or limits. I've
>> been suspended from buying bitcoin. This a time-delay
>> issue. NOT a cap or limit issue. Again, this is a NEW
>> event. I have not changed my habits, my bank, or my
>> debit card.
>>
>> You are implying that my ability to buy has been
>> suspended because of insufficient info. What happened?
>> Did you lose some of it? Again, please advise the info
>> that you are missing. The suggestion that I should
>> provide all the info I have, and that the suspension
>> MIGHT then be removed, is impractical and unreasonable.
>> 
>> I've tried my best to be as clear about this problem as
>> possible. I'm not angry...bitcoin is a new technology...
>> these things happen...but if it takes 50 days whenever
>> I wish to place a purchase transaction, then I cannot
>> continue to do business here. Experiencing a six week
>> turn-around on a trade is impossible for me.
>>
>> Please address the actual problem, and don't just tell
>> me that you need info, but cannot say exactly what you need.
>>
>>
>>
>>

Thanks for the reply.  Is there an exchange that you can recommend?  I'm getting qualified to trade on Kraken.  But I expect that USA required KYC and other old-school bank barriers will soon exist there also...if they don't already. 

This is what happens when you engage with an exchange that imposes arbitrary blocking and suspending of accounts. And this they do with impunity. Being FinCEN licensed, this they do with the blessings and green light of the US Department of the Treasury.

As you can see, they will remove the suspension if their mood allows it, not necessarily their so-called rules.

When you put your money in an exchange, always keep in mind that there is a risk of being defrauded and scammed. They brazenly and shamelessly advertise on their homepage that they are the easiest and safest way to buy/trade bitcoins and yet they contradict that basic statement on a daily basis by inconveniencing thousands of their customers.

This is an exchange managed and operated by fraudsters.

I was using a debit card to buy bitcoin on CoinBase.  I've been doing this on and off for many months.  Earlier this week, CoinBase imposed a 50-day suspension on my bitcoin purchases.  Note that this is a time-delay suspension.  Unrelated to the normal CoinBase caps.  At present, I have used less than 50% of all my buy/sell limits (as reported by CoinBase).  I've been in touch with customer service, but they will not tell me the reason this suspension is/was imposed, and they will not explain how to get out of it.  I've been told that it MIGHT be removed if I provide more personal info.   

From my perspective, CoinBase is interfering with (my) normal business for no good reason, in an effort to extort additional personal information from me.  No different from Wells Fargo or JP Morgan.  Time to move-on, I think.  I cannot post photos yet.  If anyone wants to see the screen caps, then send me a PM.