Consumer complaint received 2022-03-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CT
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Closing your account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
On or around XX/XX/2022, I received an email from a third-party credit score company telling me that my Home Depot credit card account was closed. I called the provider of the credit card, Citi Bank to inquire about the closed account. My first point of contact, a junior customer service representative told me that the account was closed due to inactivity. I told her there had to have been a mistake because Ive had this account opened for more than 14 years and it was in good standing : no late payments and prompt payment of any balance whenever there was one. She transferred me to a supervisor. 

The supervisor confirmed what the original customer service representative said that basically my account was closed for inactivity. I explained that I had never received notice by mail warning me that my account would be closed due to inactivity. The supervisor told me that by law Citi Bank is not required to give prior notice before closing an account. I then explained that this was unfair, considering I was a customer of theirs for at least 14 years ( 14 years and 6 months ). She told me she understood my plight and that she would forward my concern to someone within the department. 

I further explained to the Citi Bank supervisor that because of Covid-19, it was unfair to close an account without prior notice, especially when so many of us are trying to make sure we can pay our bills without overextending ourselves needlessly with credit purchases. She once again told me she understood and that she would forward my concerns to someone else. 

I find my account closure unfair for a few reasons. First, Citibank might not be required by law to inform me beforehand about closing my account, but as a loyal customer of many years they could have given me the courtesy. Not doing so speaks to how little Citi cares about me as a customer. Citi was very content and happy when Ive made purchases in the past, but when I was extra prudent and disciplined with my finances during the pandemic, Citi decided to punish me by closing my account. 

This brings me to my second point ; the closure of the account has negatively impacted my credit history. The closure of this account decreased the average age of my accounts by at least 9 months. Again, this was not by my choosing but a deliberate act on Citis part. The choice they made has affected my credit history. 
And finally, when I asked the supervisor if she could reopen the account because the account hadnt been closed for too long, she told me that was not possible and that I would have to reapply. I dont think this is correct. Credit card companies close accounts when credit cards are stolen, and the history of the old account transfers over. The supervisor could have reopened my account but was unwilling to do so. This means that if I applied and reopened an account with Citi, my credit score would be lowered by the hard inquiry. Also, the new accounts limited age wouldve brought down the overall age of all my available credit lines. Obviously, I did not reapply for the store card from Citi as the supervisor suggested. Wouldnt reopening my old account be the same as applying for a new one for Citi? From Citis perspective they would keep me as a customer, but as Ive already illustrated, this was not something they were interested in because their only loyalty to customers seems to lie when purchases are made regardless of need. Their loyalty to me began and ended when the profits did. 

As an aside the closure didnt bring my credit score down because I have other older accounts in good standing. Im mindful though, that someone with less credit history than me could see their account significantly affected by actions similar to what Citi did to me. Therefore, closing an account without prior notice can negatively affect people with less-than-perfect credit, a position many folks are in. Closing an account without prior notice decreases the overall average age of the accounts and lowers the credit score for the consumer.

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