Cryptocurrency and blockchain are often heralded as the future of global finance. Cryptocurrency is decentralized and users operate anonymously, verifying the legitimacy of transactions through computing power in the hopes of mining rewards. But multibillion dollar hacks in the past few years have exposed the farce that blockchains are impenetrable. Vulnerabilities in the system or hacks such as SIM swapping can result in bad actors gaining access to your cryptocurrency wallet. If your Coinbase wallet has been compromised and you wish to file a formal complaint, read on.
The process is outlined in Section 8, Customer Feedback, Queries, Complaints, and Dispute Resolution of the Coinbase User Agreement. Coinbase requires that all legal documents be served on their registered agent for service of process. Coinbase’s registered agent for Florida service of process is C T Corporation System, located at 1200 South Pine Island Road Plantation, Florida 33324.
If the dispute cannot be settled at the outset, Coinbase users agree to use the Formal Complaint Process. You agree to use this process before filing any arbitration claim or small claims action. If you do not follow the procedures set out below before filing an arbitration claim or suit in small claims court, Coinbase shall have the right to ask the arbitrator or small claims court to dismiss your filing unless and until you complete the following steps.
The Formal Complaint Process
If your dispute with Coinbase is not resolved through contact with Coinbase Support, use the Complaint form to describe your Complaint, how you would like Coinbase to resolve the Complaint, and any other information related to your dispute that is relevant. The Complaint form can be found at: https://help.coinbase.com/en/contact-us/submit-a-complaint
Coinbase will acknowledge receipt of your Complaint form after you submit it. Within 15 business days of Coinbase’s receipt of your Complaint form, the assigned Agent will address the issues raised in your Complaint form by sending you an e-mail: (i) offering to resolve your complaint in the way you requested; (ii) offering to resolve your Complaint with an alternative solution; or (iii) making a determination rejecting your Complaint and set out the reasons for the rejection.In rare circumstances, if the Agent is unable to respond to your Complaint within 15 business days for reasons beyond Coinbase’s control, the Agent will send you a communication indicating the reasons for any delay in answering your Complaint, and specifying the deadline by which the Agent will respond to your Complaint, which will be no later than 35 business days from Coinbase’s receipt of your Complaint form.
If the dispute cannot be resolved through the Formal Complaint Process, then any dispute shall be resolved through binding arbitration. Subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements, you may elect to pursue your claim in your local small claims court rather than through arbitration so long as your matter remains in small claims court and proceeds only on an individual (non-class and non-representative) basis. Arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the American Arbitration Association’s rules for arbitration of consumer-related disputes.
One Response
Coinbase has a license to steal written into their service agreement with their clients, and they use it. This is what happened to me…
I opened a Coinbase Pro account in order to try to get some financial gains through crypto investing. Several weeks into the project, my ability to buy, sell, convert, or withdraw funds was blocked. No notice or explanation was given. When I submitted a support ticket to Coinbase, I was eventually informed that my account had been blocked for “security” reasons. Explanation was specifically denied by quoting the consumer agreement which Coinbase themselves had just violated by denying me the use of my account.
I was told I could find out after a one month wait if my account was “eligible” to be reviewed for reinstatement. I was forced to wait until December 10th, when I again asked for my account to be unblocked. I was required to go through the complete identity verification process again, including an additional verification from Microsoft. Now after several days’ wait, I have again been informed that my case is not even “eligible” for review to determine if they will bother to unblock the account. Again, any explanation or communication as to what triggered the issue, was specifically refused. The next date for an alleged consideration is January 17, 2022.
I have been denied access to my account for approximately six weeks now. Coinbase, contrary to its promise in the agreement to afford customers a secure platform to enter the crypto trading world, has unlawfully prevented me from having “full control of your crypto” and from being able to “invest, spend, save, earn, and use,” or withdraw funds. I have called on Coinbase to simply release my investments so I might remove them to an honest exchange and cancel my Coinbase account. They refuse. This is completely unreasonable. No other industry seizes customer assets for “secret” reasons.
Information on the internet confirms that this theft of private accounts is a common practice with Coinbase. They cite section 7.7 of their service agreement, claiming a “security issue” then they appropriate the assets. Since they refuse to identify the issue, one has no idea if the claim is real or fraudulent. No explanation or recourse is offered to the client. At this point, it appears that my crypto purchases are in far more danger from Coinbase than from any hacker. It is no surprise that there is a current class action lawsuit against Coinbase over this issue.
R. W. Boyle
Silver City, NM