Consumer complaint received 2023-04-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
My husband, XXXX XXXX, and I had a Citibank checking account ( XXXX ) opened in XX/XX/XXXX. My husband is XXXX XXXX and in XXXX we moved overseas. The checking account had been inactive with a zero balance since at least XXXX if not earlier. In late XXXX I pulled my credit report as we were preparing to change duty stations and planned to purchase a house. It was then that I learned I had a " serious delinquency '' on this account, or actually the overdraft account that had been linked to it. It took me some sleuthing to figure out which account it was as I did not recognize the overdraft account number and had thought it was a government credit card that had been attached to my husband. When we finally traced it to the overdraft account we learned that Citi had started charging a $ XXXX fee to the account in XXXX. Because the account had overdraft protection, they continued to pull the fee even though the account was at XXXX balance. Then, the overdraft account was charged late payment fees for several months as neither my husband nor I had any knowledge of the charges. When I contacted Citibank in XXXX to dispute the charges, I was told that they would " reverse '' the charges and close the account. I was satisfied with this result and thought that was the end of it. However, several months later, when I checked my credit report again, I saw that it showed up on my report as a " charge off '' of {$190.00}, which had significant adverse effects on my credit score. I have called and written both credit reporting agencies and Citibank to dispute the report. Just today I spent XXXX hours over XXXX phone calls with Citibank, repeatedly being transferred from XXXX department to another, always to be told I had the wrong department. If I had been given the choice in XXXX of paying {$190.00} or having a " charge off '' I would have paid the {$190.00} ( even though I don't think I owed it ) because the negative impact of having the charge off on my report has cost me 30-80 points on my credit score and $ XXXX of dollars in higher fees and loan terms. Each time I dispute the charge off, instead of having the charge off removed, it is reactivated, and my score drops again. I am very frustrated with the dispute process. Citibank made the error but yet they have 100 % control over the decision. No one calls me, interviews me, asks for my side of the story. I have no power or voice in the dispute process and when the results come back, not only is the charge-off not removed, but it is reactivated- further damaging my credit score. 

When my Citibank account was open, I was able to at least talk to an account representative but once it was closed, I can never seem to get a human on the line who is able to address my concerns. I would like to have the incident removed entirely from my and my husband 's account history and for the account to be marked in good standing from XXXX on ( if not XXXX ). This is fair and an accurate description of the account history. You can see from my credit history, this is the only delinquency on our accounts from XXXX on. 

Do I need to take legal action to get this matter resolved? 

Thank you, 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 explanation