Consumer complaint received 2019-01-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX
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: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
My Citibank XXXX credit card information was stored without my permission by the XXXX, TX merchant, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, after it was called to service a water leak on XX/XX/18 at my house I rent in XXXX XXXX, TX. The leak was not fixed and water continued to leak the next day. The plumbing merchant was called back to honor its 30 day warranty on its plumbing work. Two days later on XX/XX/18, the plumbing merchant showed up and began to push for a flat rate contract for water remediation and water repair work totaling more than {$4000.00} minus a discount he said he was giving me. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX without my approval or authorization charged my credit card {$1700.00} on the evening of XX/XX/18 and then set up reoccurring charges of {$600.00} by FORGERY of an E Signature contract that was never signed or agreed by me because I did not agree to the terms and more importantly, I insisted to the plumbing merchant that I had called him to repair a water leak and not to perform water remediation and water repair work and that I needed to contact my home insurance company about the water damage that was actually perpetrated by the plumbing merchant when it did not repair the water leak when he was first called to fix the water leak on XX/XX/18. The plumbing merchant never fixed the leak and I had to call on XXXX XXXX to repair the water leak. ( Please, see documents attached ) A POLICE report ( see attached ) has been filed with the XXXX Sheriff Office for FORGERY against this plumbing company. This plumber can not provide an AUDIT LOG of E signature of his proposed water remediation and water repair work because I never signed his contract that would have its customers agree to satisfactory completion of work that was never performed by the merchant plumber. 
I would think Citibank XXXX would take fraud and forgery more seriously. The work proposed by the plumbing merchant was just an estimate but not performed because I refused to sign XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX contract that states I am " satisfied with the work as described above '' when it had not even been started! No person in their right mind would sign a contract like that. 
I am providing proof of work performed by another company that was referred to me by my home insurance company ( please, see attached document ) This plumbing company stored my personal credit card details when I made payment to the owner of the company, XXXX XXXX, for {$450.00} for the service call on XX/XX/18 enabling him to make the subsequent fraudulent charges of {$1700.00} and {$600.00}. I took action immediately on XX/XX/18 by telling the merchant plumber via text to cancel the unauthorized charge of {$1700.00}, but it did not respond to me, and right after called Citibank, within minutes of the charge having posted because I monitor and receive immediate notifications about activity on my account, to inform the Citibank customer service about the {$1700.00} charge that I had not approved and to cancel the credit card. Citibank mailed me another XXXX Credit Card that when I activated was then again charged by XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX for {$600.00} on XX/XX/18 after two hours of activating the new credit card Citibank sent me. That new card was also cancelled and Citibank sent me another credit card that I have decided to keep deactivated. 
Citibank is honoring the merchant plumber 's bank statement that the charges are valid. 
The merchant plumber 's bank states ( please, see attachment ) that a fee of {$140.00} for breaking/breaching contract is valid when there is no existing contract between the merchant plumber and me. Citibank is supporting that statement! Outrageous! Unconscionable! How can they support a contract that is not enforceable and more than that agree to a breaking of contract fee! Citibank is clearly leaving themselves wide open for a cause of action law suit. Please, help me to bring this to the public and to stop Citibank from treating a more than 30 year XXXX member ( since when XXXX was XXXX XXXX ) so unjustly. I do need to inform you that this merchant plumber has robbed at least 7 other of his " customer '' victims of check deposits for work he promises to do but instead vanishes and never realizes the work. This merchant plumber has done the same to at least two other people since he fraudulently charged my Citibank XXXX Credit Card. And, lastly, I was informed that the owner of this plumbing company, XXXX XXXX, has been accused, charged and convicted of the crimes of robbery, public intoxication and assault with a deadly weapon. He currently has a warrant for his arrest, according to the XXXX County Sheriff. And, to think that Citibank is siding with this character instead of a more than 30 year XXXX member ...

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 explanation