Consumer complaint received 2017-05-19
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
A payment was due t o CitiBa  nk  on   XXXX   for {$99.00}. Prior to that date, I tried several times to make the payment online. I have always been successful with their online payment system - never any issues but in  XXXX , I received this error message 'Sorry, this feature is temporarily down '. So, I tried again a few times. Lost track of the dates and on   XXXX   XXXX   I tried  one last  time and got the same message so I sent an ECheck through my  Credit Union i mmediately. Please see attached bank activity repor t Page 1. In retrospect, I should have called CitiBank right away but I was just too  busy and not prepared to be on hold for so long. Already frustrated with their online system, I figured they were aware of the issues and would not charge me a late fee if it did arrive late. I still had a day!     I thought that was that and never heard anything from  CitiBank - no e mail ; no statement so on   XXXX   XXXX  , I went online to make sure payment was received and all was ok. I noticed I was being charged a late fee of {$26.00}.     I called immediately and explained why the   XXXX   XXXX  payment was late. Told the rep about the error message I was receiving and I was told it was because a new card was sent to me and was not activated. Never received that card either. Well, then why did the error message not say that? And why did I not receive any notification that I owed a late fee? Regardless, they refused to waive the late fee after being a customer for over 10 years and never ever making a late payment. And now I have a lost-card floating out there somewhere. So, I asked to have my account closed and to pay any fees I owed with her ( sorry, I do not remember her name - did n't think it would come to this ) Fee were paid on  XXXX , over the phone, in full - so I was told and my account was closed.  See Page 2 & 3 a ttachments. Payment cleared   XXXX    Page 4 attach ment shows the only email I received since  XXXX , saying that I owed  2 more lat e fees. Of course, I called immediately and asked to speak to a  manager. He info rmed me that I owed  XXXX  because I paid my late fee late on  X/XX/17    instead of   XXXX     and now it was  X/XX/17    ( see date of email ) and now I owed another late fee. Again, why did I not receive any other emails or statements? The only statement ever received since   XXXX   is  Page 5 atta chment which was received on  X/XX/17   , after the email on   XXXX     and after the due date of   X/XX/17    !     He insisted on me paying these fees despite the system issues ; despite the fact that I was on the phone with a REP on  X/XX/17    asking to pay my account in FULL and despite the fact that I was clearly a responsible customer who had always paid their bill. I believe that he was upset that I closed my account and this was retribution for doing that.     I told him I would never ever pay this bill. My account continues to accrue late payments and interest - can they get away with charging me  XXXX  each month for the rest of my life?     My credit is stellar - above  XXXX . I have never ever made a late payment on any of my trade lines. It is obvious that I am a responsible consumer and credible in my complaint here. I took full responsibility for making my  XXXX  payment late and I paid that fee and even asked if anything else was due before closing my account and was told no, everything is closed and complete. So, as an act of retribution, they decided to start charging me additional late fees - that is the only thing that makes sens e. Plus, the y should be held responsible for not having a working website. They ca n't be allowed to promise a feature that a consumer depends on and then not allow it to work!! That 's fraudulent advertising and almost entrapment.     Thanks for hearing me out.

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