Consumer complaint received 2023-12-11
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit 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 writing this complaint to seek assistance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in informing others that Citibank provides no protection for consumers when dealing with hotels when the room you paid for months in advance is not the room you receive at check-in after seeking resolution through the Citibank Dispute Department XXXX I was disappointed to learn today that the Costo Citibank Visa fails to offer protection in such cases. 

On XX/XX/2023, I spoke with a Citibank representative named XXXX, who informed me that Visa and Mastercard always side with hotels in such situations because the registration card signed upon check-in is considered a contract. When I asked for documentation to support this policy, the representative could not provide it but suggested it could be available online and that I should " XXXX it. '' My contact with Citibank 's Dispute Department began on XX/XX/2023, when I submitted a dispute for {$680.00} for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The hotel should have provided the room I had initially booked on XX/XX/2023, for which I had paid a deposit of {$680.00} using my Costo Citibank Visa. 
( For your review, the additional details of what happened on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, 2023, are outlined in the attached document. ) On XX/XX/2023, I contacted Citibank to file a dispute regarding my stay at XXXX XXXX. The bank issued a temporary credit of {$680.00} on XX/XX/2023. 
A few weeks later, Citibank received a response from XXXX. The hotel provided a folio and registration card in response to the dispute. 

However, the documents provided by XXXX XXXX did not address that the room I was given on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, differed from the one I had booked on XX/XX/2023. Additionally, the folio provided by the hotel falsely stated that I had stayed for two nights, which was not true. 

I was quick to point out in my response that the registration card is a necessary document for check-in, as guests must sign it to access their hotel room, and it has nothing to do with the fact the room I was assigned was not the room I paid for. 

In fact, on the afternoon of XX/XX/2023, after speaking with two XXXX employees ( XXXX and XXXX XXXX and reaching a resolution on XX/XX/XXXX. I would return the keys to the room I had been given at check-in. 
In exchange, I was offered food and beverage credit and a new room, which was the type of room I had initially booked. Unfortunately, a traumatic encounter with two different XXXX employees occurred later that day, which caused me to leave the hotel on the afternoon of XX/XX/2032. The folio and statement XXXX provided to Citibank are bold lies. 

In a detailed statement to Citibank Visa, I did not receive the room I had paid for and left the hotel on the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX. I filed a dispute with Citibank on the evening of XX/XX/2023. 
After providing the details of what happened that evening by phone, the conditional credit of {$680.00}. 
However, a few weeks later, I received the XXXX ( the XXXX ) response to Citibank on XX/XX/2023. The letter provides a limited explanation for why the conditional credit was reversed in the XXXX 's favor on XX/XX/2023. 

I contacted Citibank 's Dispute Department for more information. I was told that I would need to respond in writing, provide a detailed response/ explanation, and ask for the credit to be resorted after submitting the additional details. The credit of {$680.00} was restored on XX/XX/2023. 

I responded to the request for more information by providing the Citibank Dispute Department additional information that included a signed XXXX letter with images of the room in question and further supporting details, including reviews of other guests that experienced the same mistreatment, website data that XXXX made changes to their website after my encounter, regarding the room types and booking options. 

The information I provided to XXXX clearly outlines the dishonesty and mistreatment I received from Circa to the XXXX XXXX Department. 

A short time later, I received a letter from XXXX stating that they had contacted the Merchant regarding the credit and XXXX would contact me if there was an issue. 

On XX/XX/2023, Citibank again reversed the credit of {$680.00}, finding the XXXX 's favor yet again and without explanation. 

I contacted Citibank on XX/XX/2023, for an explanation as to why, after all the detailed information I provided, I was still responsible for a service I did not receive. 

The first Citibank representative could not explain ; he could only say that it was the decision of the XXXX Department and that there was nothing more that Citibank could do for me. At this point, I asked him to speak with a supervisor. 

Initially, the Citibank supervisor, XXXX, could not explain why the charge was upheld in the XXXX 's favor. I asked to speak with the Dispute Investigator and was told they are only available by correspondence ; I asked for an email address. XXXX could not provide me with any information, including a contact email for the specific person handling my dispute. 

However, moments into the conversation, XXXX made a claim that struck me as odd. 

She informed me that Visa and Mastercard always side with the hotel because the registration card is a signed contract. 

Even if the hotel does not provide the services you paid for, if they produce a registration card, you have XXXX recourse as a consumer. She went on to state that this is XXXX and XXXX policy, and XXXX must abide by this policy. 

This was a policy I was unfamiliar with when I asked for that documentation. XXXX told me she didn't have it, but I could XXXX it. 

To be clear, I asked her again. If I sign a document expecting a specific service and the XXXX doesn't provide that service, I'm just out of luck. 
She apologized and said that, unfortunately, when it comes to hotels, she is afraid so. 

I asked her what protection I would have, and she said very little, if any ; again, I signed a contract. 

I have never heard of any such policy, and I have yet to be able to verify this policy that Visa and MasterCard supposedly have in writing somewhere on the internet. 

I selected the Costo Citibank Visa because of the supposed consumer protection. 
If that policy exists, what protection does Citibank offer its customers when services are not provided? 
According to the representative named XXXX, there is XXXX protection if a consumer signs a hotel registration card. 

A signature, ID, and credit card are required at the time of registration for any hotel. It was only after my husband and I got to the room that we found out the room they assigned was not the room I had reserved. 

I was shocked to hear that a Merchant can produce fraudulent documents and refuse to provide the service the customer has paid for, and Citibank will always find in the Merchant 's favor... 


I am disappointed as I believe that Costco Citibank has mistreated me again. 
having found out today, from a Citi Bank representative that the Costco Citibank Visa card does not provide any protection against fraudulent activity. 

According to Citibank, Visa, and MasterCard ignore the dishonest behavior exhibited by companies like XXXX XXXX and XXXX based on a policy that the Citibank employee I spoke with today could not locate. 

I want to bring to the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that the experience I had with the staff at XXXX XXXX is not unique. Many other guests have reported similar behavior from the establishment. 

The issue is that guests often reserve a specific room, but upon checking in, they are given a different room from what they paid for. I have come across various online reviews where guests have expressed their frustration with the dishonesty and aggression shown by the staff at XXXX. 

Knowing that Citibank is willing to support fraudulent behavior based on an unwritten credit card policy is disheartening. I am disappointed that Costco Citibank offers no protection to consumers in good standing like me. It is even more concerning that representatives like XXXX disseminate unsupported claims about XXXX and XXXX. 

In summary, I feel let down by Costco Citibank, and I hope that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will investigate this issue and help end such fraudulent practices.

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 non-monetary relief