Consumer complaint received 2023-04-08
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Didn't receive terms that were advertised

Complaint:
Since XX/XX/XXXX, I have pursued Citibank , N.A . Citi to fulfill the terms of their tiered Personal Checking bonus promotion ( please see attached file titled Citibank Member Cash Checking Offer Enrollment... ) and credit my account with the promised {$400.00}. Below, you will find a detailed timeline of my experience along with my commentary where appropriate. My complaint is supported by numerous documents attached for your review. Thank you. 

XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I applied and opened a checking account online. 
XX/XX/XXXX I deposited a check for over {$15000.00} to satisfy requirements for the {$400.00} tier bonus promotion. 
XX/XX/XXXX I met the requirements for the {$400.00} bonus promotion by maintaining a balance above {$15000.00} for 60 days. 
XX/XX/XXXX - According to the terms of the promotion, the bonus should have been received at the latest by this date. Terms : The cash bonus will be deposited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after you complete all required activities. 
XX/XX/XXXX I chatted with a Citi representative who opened CASE ID : XXXX. The representative wrote : " The investigation may take up to 5 business days. Responses will be sent after case completion. Your request is being passed for further research regarding your dispute ( XXXX credit total amount exceeds {$250.00} limit ). '' XX/XX/XXXX I called Citi customer service at XXXX. Provided Dispute Reference # XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX for an update. The representative said that the investigation is still in process and could not say how long it would take. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX. I was asked to wait another week and to call back if I do not hear anything. 
XX/XX/XXXX Citi both physically mailed and via secured message within online banking submitted a letter titled Our Research Results with Reference ID : XXXX. ( see Citibank Our Research Results Letter XXXX ) It states : Unfortunately, Promotion Code XXXX was not offered in conjunction with the above account. While Citi does offer cash promotions at times, those offers are only available to theindividual to whom the offer was addressed. 
Please provide a copy of the Promotion Disclosure that was addressed to you. We do not accept a print out of an on-line offer or blog. Please note, if you are unable to provide a copy of the Promotion Disclosure that was addressed you then Citibank will consider this dispute to be resolved. 
If you have any questions or would like to speak with a representative, Customer Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at : XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Received another secure message stating Your inquiry, XXXX has been resolved. Before I even had the opportunity to respond to the letters request, within less than 24 hours of receiving the letter, the XX/XX/XXXX letter was DELETED and replaced with a secure message that Your inquiry, XXXX  has been resolved ( please see attached files beginning with Citibank Secure Message.. for evidence ). Upon experiencing the deletion of the XX/XX/XXXX letter which prevented me from directly responding with evidence, I filed a CFPB complaint. Complaint ID : XXXX ( please see CFPB Complaint Citibank XXXX ). 
XX/XX/XXXX Citi Responded to CFPB complaint with an attached letter, stating " Our investigations have a resolution timeframe of 5 business days. You will receive a separate communication with a final decision on this matter .... For additional questions or concerns, please contact our Citiphone customer service at XXXX and reference your investigation number XXXX. '' XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX and spoke with XXXX. He said the investigation is still ongoing. He escalated the same investigation that was generated from the original CFPB complaint. He said that a letter would be sent to me within a day or two but may take a little longer due to the holidays. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX and spoke with another representative. She said that the investigation is still ongoing at the back office and that the officer reviewing my investigation is currently not available. She said, like each of the previous representatives, that it would take 5 business days even though this duration had lapsed repeatedly. She noted that I had called for a follow up. I inquired about speaking directly with the back office and she said that it is not possible. 
XX/XX/XXXX Citi electronically sent me a second letter titled Our Research Results with Reference ID : XXXX ( see Citibank Our Research Results Letter XXXX ) The letter contains the IDENTICAL TEXT as the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, the one previously mentioned in this timeline. However, oddly enough, the promotion code Citi referenced in the second letter is XXXX while the previous letter referenced XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX I chatted with Citi representative named XXXX. XXXX wrote " Thank you for your kind patience As I can check in the investigation process you are not eligible for the bonus Please do not worry you can contact the dedicated team once over the call they might have option to put the account as exception Here is the direct phone number contact our one stop sales unit at XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX. However, the representative I spoke with was unable to access my Dispute or any information regarding the CFPB complaint letter response from Citi. I then called XXXX as usual and spoke with a representative who instructed me to visit a Citi branch with the evidence requested by the XX/XX/XXXX Citi letter. The representative assured me that a banker at the branch would be able to forward the needed documentation. 
XX/XX/XXXX Met with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) at the XXXX XXXX XXXX located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX. XXXX was extremely methodical and thorough. Although he was initially unfamiliar with how to deal with my issue, he was ultimately able to access and review the entire history of my case/dispute. He was able to figure out how to upload the documents I provided using the Citi generated barcode that corresponds to my case Dispute Reference ID : XXXX. I provided him with the Citi email I received on XX/XX/XXXX which was addressed to my email ( the same email on file with Citi ). The email specifically confirmed my enrollment in the bonus promotion. XXXX XXXX and I were able to see the 12-page document that he had attached within Citis system for my case/dispute ( please see Citibank XXXX XXXX & XXXX Documents ). 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX for an update. I was told that the documents uploaded in branch by XXXX XXXX were attached to a case that is already closed. Turns out, XXXX XXXX was unable to identify this. The representative on the phone initiated a new case. Case ID : XXXX. The representative said it should take XXXX business days. 
XX/XX/XXXX - I called XXXX. The representative was able to locate the new case and said that it takes 10 to 15 business days from the date the new case was initiated. 
XX/XX/XXXX Given the upcoming CFPB deadline ( XX/XX/XXXX ) for my feedback for my original CFPB complaint, I provided CFPB feedback for Citis response to my original CFPB complaint. ( Complaint ID : XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX for an update. The representative was able to confirm that the documents that were provided to a banker in branch are attached to the new case number. The representative also confirmed that she is able to view them. She went ahead and noted the previous Case/dispute reference numbers to the new one and said that she will make a note to the back office that I requested an update. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX. Although 15 business days had passed since the new case was generated, I was asked to call again on XX/XX/XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX - I called XXXX. The representative acknowledged that this is the second case for this request and stated that it is still under Appeal Review. The representative said that they are waiting for the Special Investigations Unit to make a decision. She said she made notes to accelerate the process. I was recommended to call back in 5 business days. 
XX/XX/XXXX Citi electronically sent me, for a THIRD TIME, a letter titled Our Research Results with Reference ID XXXX ( see attached ). The letter contains the IDENTICAL TEXT as the letters dated XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX - previously mentioned in this timeline. The promotion code Citi referenced is the same as the XX/XX/XXXX letter, XXXX. 

Receiving this third letter, the same template letter as the previous two letters, despite having provided documentation in person at a branch, led me to conclude that I was not making any progress with Citi and I was stuck in an endless cycle. The third letter made no mention of the documentation I provided in branch on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Throughout this process, I have experienced inconsistent and contradictory communication, endless delays, no updates without my inquiry and a lack of specific and unified direction from Citi representatives regarding how to have my case resolved. 
The contact number provided in the letters is the same general customer service number I have called numerous times. Citi did not provide me with contact information to a specific department or team that deals with my specific issue. Documentation and secured messages made no effort to provide a clear, direct and easy way to provide the documentation that their investigation team required. One representative on XX/XX/XXXX suggested visiting a branch and assured me that the documentation would reach the correct team. 
Although I was very pleased with XXXX XXXX XXXX, professionalism and thoroughness to assist me during my branch visit, he was unfamiliar with the process and ultimately attached the document to a closed case that was already closed. He did the best he could and I am very appreciative of his efforts. 
I would like to emphasize again that the third letter dated XX/XX/XXXX I received made no acknowledgement of the documentation that I submitted in person at a branch to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX as a response to the identical, template Our Research Results letter with Reference ID : XXXX that I received on XX/XX/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