Consumer complaint received 2017-09-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
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 have been disputing a charge on my husband 's credit card since XXXX XXXXXXXX 

Here is the information : XXXX {$4200.00} XXXX dispute amount is {$4000.00} XXXX Master 's Dog Training We have a XXXX XXXX XXXX male XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX we brought him to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX and we decided to have XXXX trained. It is a 21 day training and the dog is also boarded at the facility. 

When we brought XXXX home we told him some simple commands, sit and down, XXXX was not able to do them. We told him to come here, but he was n't able to do that either. 

XXXX was boarded for 21 days and received a lot of exercise, but that was it. XXXX was not trained. 

I called Citi Bank to find out their protocol regarding filing a dispute. I was told by your representative Citi Bank stands behind their customer all the time. Citi Bank has a no dispute / no fault policy and always sides with their customer. I told him I would call him back if I decide to proceed with the dispute. Later that day I did call back and the rep told me this dispute was already in process. 

If your rep would have told me that Citi Bank does n't always stand by their customer I would have possible gone in a different direction to resolve this issue. 

Here is a summary of many things that occurred with Citi Bank and why I am so frustrated. 

I was told by Citi Bank they would send me out a form to fill out. I did n't receive this form, so I called Citi Bank and they said they would mail out the form again. 

Once I got the form I filled it out explaining why I am disputing this charge. 

I received a letter dated XXXX stating Citi bank was denying my dispute because there was n't enough information to support my claim. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I called Citi Bank and spoke to XXXX, a dispute XXXX, and explained why I am disputing this claim. She said the claim was opened incorrectly and she will email a form that is slightly different than the original form. I received the form the same day and I filled it out and emailed it back to her. 

I received a letter dated XXXX stating " Please understand we are required to follow certain rules and regulations during the dispute process. We are unable to proceed with this dispute because you are disputing the quality of a service received. XXXX has no further recourse in this matter and can not obtain credit on you behalf ''. 

XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I called to speak to a XXXX. Your representative, XXXX, said all of the managers were busy, but someone would call me back. I asked the hours of the call center and XXXX said they are open 24 hours. No one called me back. Later that same night I called back and spoke to XXXX, located in XXXX, and he said the call center is open from 8am to midnight. Again I was given wrong information. 

I called Citi Bank again and the XXXX said they needed me to show them the contract. I told the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX never emailed me a contract. I also told the rep why should I present the contract. I am your customer and you should be standing by me. Instead Citi Bank has made me feel like a horrible person for standing up for the right thing. My dog was not trained and why should I pay for a service which did n't happen. I said it should be up to XXXX XXXX XXXX to show you the contract and prove these things. She said she agrees and would try to find someone to help us out. Of course this never happened. During this conversation I was told Citi Bank did not send this dispute to XXXX XXXX XXXX or their credit card company. Which means my credit card company Citi Bank did n't even try to fight for me and just denied my dispute. 

I received a letter dated XXXX stating based on the information available we are unable to assist you due to the services were provided and used. Since you are disputing the inconvenience due to the quality of the services you received, we do not have the ability to place a dollar value on the amount of compensation. I am not even sure what this means. 

I received a letter dated X/X/17 Your inquiry has been received by our XXXX XXXX XXXX. Rest assured, we 're looking into your concerns regarding your above-referenced account. 

XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I have attached a copy of this letter. It has many inaccurate statements and bold lies. It states Citi Bank previously requested documentation from you in our letter dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX to further assist with your dispute. Because you did not provide sufficient documentation, we were unable to substantiate a request for credit from the merchant. Again a bold lie. I sent in the documentation they requested. 

I have asked for months to have the tape pulled, so we can listen to my conversation with the rep telling me Citi Bank has a no dispute / no fault policy and always sides with their customer, but as of my last conversation with Citi Bank they still did not have the tape pulled. I would usually ask the rep about the tape. The reps would tell me yes we are going to get the tape pulled. Another lie! As of today no one has called or emailed me regarding that taped conversation. This tells me Citi Bank does n't want to hear the conversation because their rep did tell me Citi Bank will stand behind their customer no matter what. I am sure after a while these tapes are destroyed and maybe that is why Citi Bank has n't presented the tape. 

All the managers and reps that I have spoken with were all stunned that my dispute was being denied and none of them could tell me why. Nothing made sense to any of them. The managers and reps said they would look into and get back to me which of course never happened. 

We did send XXXX to another trainer. I will forward you his email regarding XXXX not being trained. 

Again if your rep would have told me that Citi Bank does n't always stand by their customer I would have possible gone in a different direction to resolve this issue. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I thought maybe if I call an XXXX of Citibank my issue might be heard. I emailed the CEO or CFO XXXX XXXX and explained everything. I finally received a call today from XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). She is a person who tries to resolve issues. She said XXXX XXXX receives a copy of all emails but he does n't answer them and XXXX is supposed to handle these emails for him. 

XXXX said Citi Bank has credited my account {$500.00}, but that 's all they can do. She said since it 's only the quality of service and that I did n't respond to a letter sent out to me ( which I did respond to ) and I stopped her at that point. I said it has nothing to do with the quality of service and yes I did respond to the letter mailed to me. It has to do with the Citibank rep telling me there is the no dispute / no fault policy and always sides with their customer. Otherwise I would have gone in a different direction. XXXX said there is nothing further Citi Bank can do but I should try to get a refund from the merchant. I said so you are not going to stand behind what your employee told me and she said no. I told her I was going to go public and also picket the XXXX store to make sure everyone knows how Citibank has treated me. I said I want to make sure that XXXX XXXX will know what XXXX is saying to me and that I am going public and going to picket the store. She said yes he will. We ended our phone call. Then I was thinking at this point our conversation was all hear say. I called XXXX back and it went to voicemail. I left her a message asking her to respond back to my email and let me know everything we spoke about. This way I will have something in writing. I have n't received an email back yet, so I am hoping I will get it tomorrow. 

It 's very disheartening that Citibank XXXX XXXX do n't want to make good on this dispute especially because it was their employee making the mistake. Why should I have to pay the price for a mistake I did n't make. Also I could have dealt with this in a different manner and maybe I would n't have XXXX months of anxiety and stress. 

I hope you can help me with this dispute. 

Thank you for your time.

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