Consumer complaint received 2023-06-02
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: PA
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: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
I am seeking a credit of {$1800.00} from Citi for merchandise that was not provided to me by XXXX XXXX ( merchant ). 

XX/XX/XXXX ( Order 1 ) : I ordered a sleeper sofa from XXXX XXXX  ( merchant ) for {$2600.00} using my Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select credit card. The estimated delivery time was 20 weeks. 

XX/XX/XXXX ( Order 2 ) : I ordered two sofas from XXXX XXXX ( merchant ) for {$3400.00} using my Citi credit card. The estimated delivery time was 20 weeks. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I realized the two sofas would not fit in our space, and I canceled one of the sofas and received a credit from the merchant for {$1500.00} on my Citi card. The remaining balance was {$1800.00}, which is the amount that eventually became an issue on which I opened a dispute with Citi. It is the amount I have been seeking from Citi since then. 

XXXX, XXXX : I received updates from the merchant that my two furniture pieces were being manufactured and were expected to be delivered as scheduled in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX- and all seemed good. 

XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : When communication with merchant indicated there were delays in the delivery, I contacted Citi Cards dispute department by phone to open a dispute on the sleeper sofa bed ( {$2600.00} ) and the sofa ( {$1800.00} ). However, the dispute on the sofa was credited incorrectly for the original full price of {$3400.00}, and Citi credited my account while they investigated the dispute. In the meantime, I pursued the issue directly with the merchant. 

XX/XX/XXXX : It appeared that I had resolved the issue with merchant, and in order for the furniture to move forward, I needed to cancel the disputes with Citi, which I did. The XXXX XXXX merchant then experienced additional delays with the sleeper sofa bed ( Order 1 for {$2600.00} ), and I eventually received this piece in XX/XX/XXXX. There is no current issue with Citi on this item. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I again became concerned with delivery of the sofa ( Order 2 ) and again contacted Citi to open a new dispute for the single item for {$1800.00}. I was assured by the agent in the dispute department at Citi that this was opened as a new dispute. 

XX/XX/XXXX : In early XXXX, I received a form letter from Citi stating that there was nothing they could do because I had closed the dispute for the amount of {$3400.00}. This was reference to the previous dispute, not to my current dispute for {$1800.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The merchant closed its doors and shut down. On my own, I have pursued the sofa through the new ownership of the merchant company, and they initially were encouraging that I would receive the sofa ( Order 2 ). As noted above, I did receive the sleeper sofa bed ( Order 1 ) in XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Upon learning the status of the merchant company, I again contacted Citi dispute department by phone regarding the response to XX/XX/XXXX letter and again explained this was a new dispute and was told by the dispute agent that my request would be investigated. 

XX/XX/XXXX : While I had an open dispute with Citi as described, I continued to pursue the sofa with the new ownership of merchant. After a series of back and forth with them, I was notified that I would not receive the sofa for which I had paid the previous company ( that this new company had taken over ). I was out {$1800.00} and was not getting my sofa. 

XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX : I made two additional calls to Citi to check on the status and was told that it was still being investigated. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received the same form letter from Citi stating that there was nothing they could do because I had previously closed the dispute for {$3400.00}. This letter was in reference to the previous dispute, not my current dispute for {$1800.00}. 

I realize that Citi is not responsible for what happened through the merchant closing it's doors. However, one of the reasons to use a credit card is to have some sort of back-up when issues like this occur. 

Here I am today contacting CFPB to see if you can assist me in getting my money back through Citi.

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