Consumer complaint received 2018-09-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
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 made a reservation for a XXXX XXXX hotel in XXXX on XX/XX/2018. I initially was going to stay the hotel from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately cancelled the reservation after reading reviews about the hotel. I cancelled within the hotel 's deadline and received a cancellation confirmation from the hotel. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I got email alert that my XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX card had a balance of {$1000.00}. I immediately logged on to my account because I knew that this balance should have been XXXX because I hadnt used the card for any purchases since XXXX and the full balance had been paid off. 
When I accessed my account, I realized that I had been charged XXXX charges of {$510.00} ( which amounts to the {$1000.00} ) for a XXXX XXXX Hotel in XXXX. Initially I did make a reservation for this hotel back on XX/XX/2018 but after reading the reviews about the hotel, I decided that I did not want to stay there so I went online and cancelled the reservation in the same day. I got a confirmation number for the cancellation. So, I was baffled as to why I was charged when I had indeed cancelled my reservation. 

immediately called the hotel as soon as I saw the charges. When I called the hotel, I proceeded to tell the staff member that I was charged for a stay and I had never checked in to their hotel. She looked up my reservation and she said something about I checked into some room and then was moved to another. I said no, I never checked into your hotel and she asked me to hold. I stayed on hold for maybe XXXX minutes and when someone finally came back, it wasnt the initial person that answered. I relayed the same information to the young lady that answered the phone and she took my name and number and said that a manager would call me back. This all occurred on XX/XX/XXXX 

I did not feel that anyone from the hotel would call me back because they just seemed very unprofessional, frazzled and disorganized based on the professionalism when they answered my call. Once I hung up with the hotel, I immediately called my credit card to inform them of the issue. I also put in a dispute online for the charges. 

Maybe a week or so after I called about the charges, I logged on to my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX card and noticed that the hotel had reversed the XXXX charges that initially was {$510.00}. Instead, they subtracted the XXXX charges to {$420.00}, leaving my account still with a charge of {$180.00} that still should not have charged because I never checked into this hotel. 

My husband then got a call from someone from XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX which I believe was on XX/XX/XXXX. While the credit card account is in my husbands name, he wasnt entirely familiar with the situation because I was the one that made the complaint. I called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX back that same day and spoke with someone about the charges. The rep went over the information with me about the charges to the card and she stated that they would reverse the {$180.00} and that the XXXX   XXXX hotel would have 30 days to dispute the charge. 

I never denied making the reservation for the hotel, but this matter has become increasingly frustrating because I never checked into this hotel. While I understand that the credit card company had to do their due diligence to investigate the matter, the fact that the hotel sent them a copy of some hotel registration forms with my name on it but no copy of any identification from me, baffles me! 

In all my years of making reservations and checking into hotels, Ive always had to present my identification when checking in. If I had indeed checked to their hotel, why didnt they send a copy of my id that I presented when I allegedly checked in! 

On the date in question, I was in a whole another state. I was in XXXX Virginia from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. I could not possibly be in two places at the same time. 

I recently wrote a letter to my credit card company and faxed them all of the evidence I had to support that I never checked into the hotel. I even submitted a copy of a review from a website that showed another person who was charged for a stay that they cancelled and never checked in to their hotel.

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