Consumer complaint received 2023-03-03
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: FL
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:
This complaint has XXXX components ; XXXX ) a complaint against a company which wrongfully charged my credit card ( XXXX  ) and ; XXXX ) a complaint a against my credit card company for mishandling the dispute which I filed with them ( Citi Card ). XXXX ) I will first explain the fraudulent charge, XXXX ) next the botched dispute process I am still engaged in, and finally, XXXX ) the steps I am taking to continue to try to resolve this matter. 

XXXX ) Regarding the fraudulent charge by XXXX  : In XX/XX/XXXX, I hired XXXX to install a new air conditioning unit at a property I own in XXXX XXXX XXXX, FL. XXXX is the company name. The owner is a man by the name of XXXX. That is all the identifying information I have on the owner. He is a small business operator with a company, who runs his business from his home, and was referred to me by a resident in the neighborhood. 

I used my Costco Citi Visa to pay for the equipment. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was charged by XXXX {$2800.00} with my knowledge and consent. The service was fulfilled by the vendor. Citi Card paid the vendor for the service, leaving me with a debt to Citi Card. 

By XX/XX/XXXX, I had paid that balance off to {$0.00}. Meaning all obligations to Citi Card and XXXX had been fulfilled, and I owed no further money related to the AC installation. 

The XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX bank statements have been included as an attachment I have also included a copy of the air conditioner warranty dated XX/XX/XXXX, to help denote the time of this transaction. 

My card balance remained at {$0.00} until XX/XX/XXXX. That is when XXXX charged and then immediately returned another {$2200.00}. I was completely unaware of this charge because, ultimately, my balance still ended up at {$0.00} thus I did not examine my statement that month. This charge was made without my knowledge and without my authorization. That XX/XX/XXXX statement has been attached as well. 

I was made aware of the XX/XX/XXXX charge when, in XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX charged my card for now a third time in the amount of {$2900.00}, and a Citi Card employee pointed it out to me. This XXXX charge stayed on my account and thus it immediately caught my attention. I immediately filed a dispute. This charge was also made without my knowledge and without my authorization. The XX/XX/XXXX statement has been included as an attachment. 

It is clear to me that XXXX, the proprietor of XXXX, retained my card information and used it to extract money from my account for his own personal gain. I did not do business with this person or company after the initial service in XX/XX/XXXX. This business / person was not authorized and had no cause to charge my account any time after XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX ) Complaint against Citi Card : The above narrative along with copies of my credit card statements and other documents were given to Citi Card verbally and in writing multiple times starting in XX/XX/XXXX when the charges were first discovered. Despite having followed Citi Card 's dispute process, the credit card company continually asked me to submit the same information multiple times ; opened, closed, and reopened my case several times; reclassified my case twice ; and generally gave me the run-around while offering no real assistance for 7 months. Finally, in XXXX of XXXX, Citi Card declared that they could not take any action on case because 'too much time had passed '. This stunned me as I had filed my dispute in same month the fraudulent charge was made and submitted the forms and statements that Citi required. All documentation that I have access to has been included. 

I submit that it is their own convoluted processes that caused the major delays and that they were attempting to deny me the consumer protections they should be providing to its customers. There is an additional statement regarding Citi Card 's next declaration I will explain in the next section, as I am trying to narrate this chronologically. 

XXXX ) Steps I have taken outside Citi Card 's process and against Citi Card : After receiving no satisfaction with Citi Card, I filed a complaint with the both my local police department and State Attorney 's General office against Citi Card. Those emails have been included. I also attempted to retain legal representation, but no law firm was able to take this case without it actually being in collections. 

After this complaint to the AG, Citi Card responded to me in XX/XX/XXXX by saying that, 'since I reported my card lost or stolen, they were referring my case to yet another department within the company '. I responded to Citi Card by refuting their claim that ever reported my card lost or stolen. I never gave them any such indication and this demonstrated another example of how Citi Card is giving me the run-around, attempting to scapegoat me, and eluding their responsibility to protect me as a consumer. 

My primary complaint right now is with Citi Card. I believed that when I initially filed my dispute, my case was clear and my credit card company would protect my interests. This did not happen. My next step of recourse is to file this complaint with your office. All documents that I have access to have been included. They are provided in reverse chronological order with the most recent correspondence appearing first. 

AFTER TYPING THIS NARRATIVE, I ATTEMPTED TO UPLOAD THE PROMISED DOCUMENTATION. HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM REJECTED MY FILE BECAUSE IT WAS TOO LARGE. THE UPLOAD LIMIT IS XXXX. MY FILE IS XXXX MB ( XXXX Pages, PDF, INCLUDING CORRESPONDENCE TO AND FROM CITI, CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS, POLICE REPORT, CORRESPONDENCE FROM THAT AGs OFFICE, ETC. ). I ATTEMPTED TO ZIP THE FILE, BUT IT STILL EXCEEDED THE LIMIT. I AM HAPPY TO PROVIDE MY SUPPORTING DOCUMENT ANOTHER WAY.

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