Consumer complaint received 2022-02-01
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
I have been using Citi Credit Card since XXXX. In XXXX, I got a job with XXXX XXXXk in XXXX and called Citi customer service to check if there is anything special I need to do as I might not be using my credit card as much being out of country for extended period and was told no special action needed. In XXXX, I called again and informed that I have a special project and might not be able to travel at all to US for a few years and will not be using my card for 2-3 years and again was told that nothing special to be done and they have activated a " fraud alert '' to be sure no fraudulent activity and I might not be monitoring the card activity for an extended period. After XXXX, I travelled to US in XXXX and card worked perfectly. 

In XXXX, when I was abroad, my card expired so I called Citi to check if they could ship my new card to an address in XXXX and was told that they ship the cards in US only. I made arrangement to get the card shipped to a friend 's house which is where it has been since end of XXXX as Covid struck and travel restrictions started. As I have pre-existing XXXX XXXXXXXX my doctor advised that I be extra cautious and stay indoors which is what I have been doing for past few years. Few days ago my friend informed that there was a letter from Citi indicating that my account has been closed as it has been inactive for " several '' months and based on information from my credit report as my score was not high enough to keep the account open. 

The letter is dated XX/XX/XXXX and though Citi has my email address on file, no prior information was sent to me through email even though in my account, they have the record that I've been out of country since XXXX. Least Citi could have done was give a month 's notice to get my cash reward amount redeemed and arrange for an alternate credit card which I could use on my return to US as when I travelled out of country for an extended period, I cancelled all my other cards and retained only this Citi card based on my long standing relationship with them. 

I had {$75.00} as cash reward balance in this account when Citi decided to close the account unilaterally. I went online but could not do anything at all as it showed account is inactive. I called the customer service number on XX/XX/XXXX, day after my friend informed me of this letter and was given 3 different numbers to call as no one knew how to handle a closed account. On 3rd attempt, I was informed that Citi recently had a " change of rule '' and any card not used for 15 months, it will be closed. I asked for my reward point balance transfer and was told that there is nothing they can do and I was told to either send them a letter by post or a fax and the relevant department will see if there is anything which can be done for a closed account as any balance is deemed to be forfeited for a closed account. In today 's day and age, how can an organization not have an email address for customers to write to? because of my high risk conditions, I've been staying indoor since past 2 years and now Citi rep is expecting me to go to post office in XXXX to post a physical letter to Citi USA, that too with zero guarantee that the amount will be redeemed. Also, expecting a customer to have fax facility at home is a very unrealistic ask. How can they get away with not having an email or someone who can assist with this on phone is really beyond me and qualifies as harassment for the customer. My question to them is if I had a debit balance on my account, would Citi have still closed my account unilaterally and decided to let go of my payment? And if not, what gives them the right to forfeit reward points I earned due to my previous spending and not give me the opportunity to transfer them to my bank account before account was closed?

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