Consumer complaint received 2019-03-25
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NC
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:
Following the complaint is a timeline accompanied by attached documentation. 

On XX/XX/2018, my partner, XXXX XXXX, and I went into a local shop in XXXX, XXXX to by gifts for our family back in the United States. The items included two blankets, a belt, and a handbag. The clerk told us the price in Tunisian Dinar that was equivalent to {$130.00} US Dollars, and we agreed, and handed the clerk our Citi AAdvantage Executive credit card. When the clerk handed back the receipt requiring a signature, however, the price had more than quadrupled to a staggering amount equivalent to over {$530.00} U.S. Dollars. We told the clerk we did not agree to pay that amount, and he refused to cancel the transaction. We did not sign the receipt. We did not accept any merchandise. We left the store immediately and took nothing with us. The clerk and another man began following us through the streets, as we firmly told the two men multiple times that we would contact our credit card company to block the charge. 

As soon as we arrived safely at our hotel, we called Citi and explained the situation. The Customer Service Agent explained that Citi would cancel the card and close the account, that the transaction would not be processed, and that Citi would immediately ship new cards to our home in the United States with a new account number. 

The next day, XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Citi stating Your account has been closed due to a lost or stolen card. I felt confident that the situation had been resolved ( See Attached ). 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, the new cards were activated. 

We called CitXXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm that everything was properly disputed, since there was a new pending charge for the original amount on our new credit card. We reiterated that we did not accept the price or any merchandise, nor did we provide a signature for anything. The representative responded that signatures dont really matter when validating a charge, but also told us that no fraud investigation was ever initiated, and that they would look into it and contact us within a week with an update. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter in the mail from Citi stating After investigating the disputed charge ( s ), we determined the activity on this credit card was valid. If you still wish to dispute the charge ( s ), you will need to contact the merchant ( s ) directly. We could not obtain contact information for the merchant, nor did we feel safe contacting them directly. The Statement for the new account, dated XX/XX/XXXX, reflected a Reverse Security Credit with the posting date as XX/XX/2018, which was actually a charge for {$530.00}. 

We contacted Citi Fraud Services as soon as we could, XX/XX/XXXX, four times over the course of two hours ( the call kept getting disconnected on their end ), and spoke with several Customer Service Agents and eventually a Manager named XXXX. We were told again that there was no dispute currently being processed ; he began the process again, and said we would have a resolution within the next 48 hours. 

By XX/XX/XXXX, we still had not heard anything from Citi, so we called again. Once more, we were told that the dispute process had not been handled correctly by their fraud department, and that Citi would investigate and keep us updated. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we called Citi Fraud for the final time and spoke with the Fraud department for over an hour, and they finally confirmed that the dispute would not end in our favor. The representative told us that the dispute had not been processed correctly from the beginning because the first representative should have processed the charge as a billing dispute instead of as fraud, but that it was the consumers responsibility to know which path to take when contacting Citi in the first place. The representative stated that the most Citi would do would be to credit back just over {$200.00} in charges as well as some of the interest that had accrued. We did not give them the authorization to do that, and we told them we would seek out other legal means to get our money back. However, they went forward with that partial refund. I received an email shortly after the phone call that stated Weve Resolved your Dispute - Youll see the credit in the next 2 days. This credit is permanent. Only {$250.00} was credited back to account ( Dispute ID : XXXX ). 

Upon confirming the XXXX statement, we filed a Complaint with the Department of Justice, which resulted in the DOJ instructing us to file a complaint with the CFPB instead. 

Ultimately, Citi Group violated its own internal policies as well as industry standard procedures in handling this dispute. At no time have I known of a credit card company that forces its customers to pay for merchandise they never accepted or received. We are asking for the remaining balance of the dispute ( approximately {$300.00} ) and any accrued interest to be issued via check, since we will not be using this card ever again, in addition to a refund of our $ 450 yearly fee since this credit card clearly does not offer the consumer protection it claims to. 

TIMELINE : XX/XX/2018 : Merchant quoted {$130.00} for common goods, card charged {$530.00}. Declined to purchase items, left store with no merchandise, and did not sign anything. 

XX/XX/2018 : Called Citi at XXXX, and spoke for 14 minutes, costing us {$7.00} in international calling costs ; XXXX said that it was a simple fix, and that account ending in XXXX would be closed due to a lost or stolen card and the charge would not be processed. 

XX/XX/2018 : Email sent from Citi stating account ending in XXXX has been closed due to a lost or stolen card. 

XX/XX/2018 : Called Citi at XXXX to confirm dispute was being handled, since original charge was showing on new card number. 

XX/XX/2018 : Letter received in the mail from Citi stating after investigating the disputed charge ( s ),  we determined the activity on this credit card is valid. ( See Attached. ) XX/XX/2018 : Online Billing Statement reflects a Reverse Security Credit on XX/XX/2018 for {$530.00}, Reference number : XXXX ( See Attached ). 

XX/XX/2018 XXXX XXXX. : Called Citi Fraud 4 times for over 2 hours, finally being able to speak to a manager ; dispute process initiated again and told resolution would happen within 48 hours. 

XX/XX/2018 XXXX ( 26 min ) : Called Citi after no response and was told again that the dispute process was not being followed correctly by Fraud Department and that Citi would investigate and update us accordingly. 

XX/XX/2018 XXXX XXXX. ( 1hour ) : Called Citi Fraud for last time ; told that Citi did not ever process dispute correctly ( billing dispute versus fraud ) ; blamed the consumer ; stated that Citi would only credit {$200.00} plus some accrued interest. 

XX/XX/2018 XXXX XXXX. : Email from Citi stating Weve Resolved your Dispute - Youll see the credit in the next 2 days. This credit is permanent. Only {$250.00} Credited back to account. ( See Attached. ) XX/XX/218 : The XXXX statement clearly states This Dispute has been resolved in your favor for {$530.00}, yet only {$250.00} was credited back to account for dispute ( See Attached ). 

XX/XX/2018 : DOJ Complaint Filed, DOJ instructed us to contact CFPB ( See Attached ).

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