Consumer complaint received 2020-03-23
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
I XXXX XXXX am writing this complaint to report Citibank Citi Cards unexpectedly closing my Citi Costco Anywhere Visa Card account number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX resulting in a dramatic drop in my FICO credit score among other negative results. 

I opened up my first and only Citibank Citi ThankYou Preferred Visa sometime in XXXX and have been a loyal customer with an exemplary credit history. In the 28 plus years of being a Citi Cards Citibank Citi ThankYou Preferred Visa loyal customer, I maintained an excellent payment history, never had a missed payment, never exceeded my credit limit nor had any other type of issues with them until recently. 

Sometime in XX/XX/XXXX, my Costco XXXX XXXX credit card account automatically transferred me into a Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa account being that Costco no longer was conducting business with XXXX XXXX. I was then issued a Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa Credit Card number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX as part of Costco 's transition. 

With that said, i continued to maintain both credit cards in exceptional standing. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Citi Cards to see if they can either combine my two credit card accounts into one as opposed to having two separate Citi Cards Visa Credit Card accounts or request if they can lower my interest rate as they were both above 16 % interest rates respectfully. During our telephone conversation they stated that they can not lower either of my interest rates nor can they combine both cards into one account. 

The representative/account specialist offerred me the option to put me on a 60 month payment arrangement plan with a 9.9 % fixed rate and no penalty on my Citibank Citi ThankYou Preferred Visa account. In addition, I was told that my Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa account would remain the same and the payment arrangement would not affect my credit report because my account is " not delinquent and is not past due on their records ''. I agreed to the payment arrangement plan effective XX/XX/XXXX and have been paying faithfully and on time it since without any issues. I received a follow up letter dated XX/XX/XXXX for the payment arrangement plan. ( See Attachment # 1 ) On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, I received an email from XXXX stating that " Your credit card account will be closed '' for my Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa card without any reason listed in the body of the email why they were closing my account. ( See attachment # 2 ) It also stated " You have a new message '' in my " Statements and Communications Center '' but no message was found when I accessed the feature in the  Citicards app. 

The following business day, XX/XX/XXXX, I checked the " Statements and Communications Center '' feature again in my Citi Cards app but no message was found about why my account was closed. I proceeded to call the Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa phone number listed in the body of XX/XX/XXXX email ( XXXX ) and the representative replied that he could not give me the reason why my account was being closed other than " wait for your letter in the mail ''. I ended my call and panicked because I could not understand why they were closing my one and only credit card.

I also called my Costco Wholesale Membership number to report my issue to them about my credit card account and they could not believe that my Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa was being closed unexpectedly nor could they help me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, sometime during late afternoon/evening hours, I accessed " Statements and Communications Center '' feature again in my Citi Cards app and noticed the letter was posted. ( See Attachment # 3 ). The letter stated " Your account will be closed ''. The first paragraph stated : " Hi, XXXX. We reviewed your Costco Anywhere Visa account since it's expiring soon. We're unable to issue you a new card because you're currently enrolled in repayment program for this account or another credit card issued by Citi. 

I was totally blind-sided by this and could not understand why I was not made aware of this when I first signed up for the payment arrangement plan with Citibank Citi ThankYou Preferred Visa account. This left me without any credit cards. I made numerous calls to Citibank Citi Cards requesting an explanation on why I was not warned ahead of time and worried that this would affect my Costco Warehouse membership. Surely, would I have known this was going to happen, then I would of left my Citibank Citi ThankYou Preferred Visa account open.

Prior to this, I maintained an exceptional FICO credit score and credit report. My FICO credit score dropped dramatically because of Citibank Citi Cards actions. In addition, I was told by a Costco Warehouse Membership services that I will all lose my accumulated Costco Cash Rewards earned to date in the amount of {$130.00}. To add insult to injury I am unable to obtain a new credit card after being declined by XXXX and XXXX bank institutions because of Citibank Citi Cards actions. 

To make matters worse, on XX/XX/XXXX Citibank Citi Cards mailed me a letter received on XX/XX/XXXX stating that " Your account terms are changing ''. The body of the letter states that they will be penalizing me with a " Penalty APR '' effective XX/XX/XXXX billing cycle increasing my minimum payment due on my account with a 29.99 % APR. Once again, they initially told me when I signed up for the payment arrangement plan on XX/XX/XXXX, I will not receive any penalty as a result of my payment arrangement. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, I called Citibank Citi Cards : ( XXXX ) in an attempt to resolve my account issues and the representative " XXXX '' could not help me. XXXX stated that my account was closed back on XX/XX/XXXX and I was not made aware of anything until XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX transferred me to an Accounts Manager named " XXXX '' who clearly stated that there is " NOTHING HE CAN DO NOR CAN HE CHANGE ANYTHING ''. I ended my call without any resolution. 

Bottom line is my credit card was not shut down for any bad reasons. Citibank Citi Cards destroyed my credit report and credit score without giving me any advanced notice so that we could move forward with a resolution. There is a strong possibility that they have ruined my reputation with Costco Warehouse. I am now without a credit card, lost a significant amount of points on my FICO credit score, lost my Costco cash rewards and unable to obtain any new credit card accounts. 

I would appreciate if your agency can investigate Citibank Citi Cards and have them reinstate or restore my credit score. In addition, I do not believe that it is fair that they are penalizing me with a " Penalty APR '' of 29.99 % on my Citibank Citi Cards Costco Anywhere Visa. I have maintained a polished credit report for over 28 plus years and Citibank Citi Cards tarnished my report.

Your help and efforts is greatly appreciated in pursuing this investigation of Citibank Citi Cards financial institution especially during these challenging times of the Coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic. 

Should you have any further questions or need any additional information, feel free to contact me anytime using the following contact details : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NY XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX - ( Cell phone )

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