Consumer complaint received 2019-02-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
Dear Sir or Madam, I reserved hotel rooms using a Citi credit card through XXXX and CANCELLED all the reservations WITHIN the cancellation period. I also received successful CANCELLATION emails from XXXX. However, Citi card has not issued the final credit owed to me. I have received only 3 of the 4 cancellation credits and I am paying interest for this 1 withheld credit. I most respectfully and desperately ask for your help in obtaining the final credit that is owed to me. 

If this was concerning a trivial amount, relatively speaking, I would just let this go. But the amount is {$870.00} and now larger, due to the interest I have paid, and I am not in a position to pay a credit card company my hard-earned money for something I did not purchase. 

Here are the facts, and I am grateful for your help and support : XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - CANCELLATION of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - CANCELLATION of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - CANCELLATION of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - CANCELLATION of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  reservation ( {$870.00} for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), through XXXX, Itinerary Number XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX - I called Citi to ask for missing credit. Citi responded that XXXX was responsible for the missing credit. I called XXXX to investigate, and XXXX said that all the hotel reservations had been cancelled and assured me that Citi was  holding on to my credit of {$870.00}. So I opened a credit dispute with Citi using the Citi mobile app and received a notice stating that I was to wait for the dispute to be investigated and resolved. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( 32 minutes ) - I called Citi because I received a letter that said that the dispute had been resolved in my favor, but there was no credit on my statement. This was most puzzling, and I re-opened the same dispute. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( 27 minutes ) - I called Citi because I  received a letter that said that the dispute had been resolved in my favor, but there was no credit on my statement. They told me to wait a few days because the credit would post to my account soon. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( 50 minutes ) - I called Citi because the credit they promised still had not posted to my account. Citi advised that they were still looking into the matter and to give it some more time. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( 22 minutes ) - I called Citi because the credit still had not posted to my account. Citi advised that I no longer qualified to re-open the dispute. I was appalled, and continued to fight this injustice. I was then told that I had to write a letter and mail it via US mail to re-open the dispute. So I did. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I mailed via US mail a full explanation of the facts and included all the hotel reservation confirmation emails as well as the hotel cancellation emails from XXXX. I also included my XXXX Trips history, which shows that all the hotel reservations in question were cancelled successfully within the allowed cancellation timeframe. 

XX/XX/XXXX - Citi mobile app was malfunctioning, and I was unable to schedule a payment for the minimum amount due. The app started working again on XX/XX/XXXX, so I paid the minimum payment for the month. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( 10 minutes ) - I called Citi to communicate 2 things : 1. The app was not working for a few days previously, so I needed to have the late fee and interest waived ; I had successfully paid the minimum amount due on the date of the due date but it was processed a day late. 2. To obtain a status update on the dispute. Citi responded that the {$870.00} in question was the aggregate of other purchases I had made earlier in the year and that the amount was not the same amount pertinent to the hotel reservation in question. So I asked Citi to recount which purchases she was referring to, and she could not provide an answer. So I asked for a copy of of my past statements ( XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ), as old statements were not available online, to see if any other purchases added up to {$870.00}. Citi said they would send them in 10 business days. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( 10 minutes ) - I called Citi to AGAIN  request a copy of my past statements ( XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ),  because they had not arrived yet. Citi said that they would send them in 10 business days. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( 31 minutes ) - I called Citi to  communicate 2 things : 1. I needed to make a payment over the phone because the mobile app had not been working the last few days. 2. After reviewing the XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX statements I received, I saw that there were absolutely no other charges that added up to {$870.00}, and that I had paid all other charges in full. I called Citi to inform them of my findings. Some background : my credit history will show that I pay all of my credit card balances in full and have done so since XX/XX/XXXX. The only credit card I am keeping a balance on is this Citi card in question - because it would be wrong for me to pay off something that I did not purchase. Citi told me that they would look into the missing credit again. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called Citi again to obtain a status update on the dispute. Citi employee " XXXX '' reviewed the letter I had sent to Citi as  well as all of my account details and agreed that it was crystal clear to him that I am owed a credit. He asked me to submit all of the details in an email as a final step. I was confused because he had confirmed that he already had all of the details needed to make the determination that I am owed the credit, but I obliged. XXXX also said that he would request a re-investigation from his end. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  - I called Citi to obtain a status update on the dispute email I had sent, and was told that it was still pending re-investigation. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I emailed all of the facts and details again to Citi,  and respectfully requested that they issue the credit owed to me. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter from Citi stating that the dispute had been resolved in my favor. But the credit was still nowhere to be seen. So I emailed Citi to ask why, if the dispute had been resolved in my favor, I had still not received the credit. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter from Citi stating that the charge in question is now permanent. I emailed Citi to ask why, if the dispute had been resolved in my favor multiple times, and the cancellations were all proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, I had to pay {$870.00} ( + interest ) for something I did not purchase. 

I have yet to receive a response to my last email. 

I find Citi 's behavior and treatment of me and their disregard for my time and money to be abominable and can only ask that they return the credit that is rightfully mine as well as more training for their employees so that they do not subject other customers to this kind of disrespectful treatment. 

Thank you again for your time and help. 
XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief