Consumer complaint received 2023-12-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MN
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with balance transfer

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I opened a Citi credit card for a 21-month period of 0 % APR on all balance transfers. Directly after being approved for the credit card, I initiated requests for balance transfers from three financial institutions : ~ {$4100.00} to XXXX XXXX ( this was a more exact dollars-and-change amount, like the others, but this transfer never went through, so I do not have record of the exact amount ), {$1000.00} to XXXX XXXX for an XXXX XXXX balance, and {$860.00} to XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX These amounts perfectly zeroes out the accounts as they stood on XX/XX/XXXX. I received no email confirmations that these transfers were initiated. On XX/XX/XXXX, after checking all of my balances multiple times per day for XXXX days, I called Citi XXXX XXXX customer service ( XXXX ) to ask XXXX ) if I have any pending balance transfers, as there were no pending transactions listed on my mobile Citi app in an area with the specific purpose of showing requested balance transfers, and XXXX ) if I have pending transfers, when they will appear anywhere in my app, whether in the list of pending balance transfers ( in a separate area from pending and posted transactions ) or in the list of pending or posted transactions ). The customer service representative, who I spoke to for XXXX minutes, told me that the request was not able to go through, but when I asked, she could not tell me why. I want to emphasize that she said the transfers were attempted, not that they were still waiting to be attempted. She said I no longer had any pending balance transfers, leading me to believe all three were attempted and failed. She said I would need to request them again online, and when I told her that their online balance transfer portal was not working ( a simple error message, saying to try again later with no error code ), she said I could request a balance transfer over the phone. So while on the phone, I read the credit card numbers for : XXXX, and requested a balance transfer of {$4100.00} ; the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and requested a balance transfer of {$1100.00} ; and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). After I read the XXXX card number, she told me that the credit union does not allow for balance transfers over the phone, so I would have to try on their website, which I again reminded her is not working, but I would keep an eye out for it to function properly again. I never did make a second request from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX because this had all been very stressful, and the interest rates at that institution weren't worth the headache of getting them waived by transferring them. On XX/XX/XXXX, the second {$4100.00} transfer from XXXX XXXX ( the one requested over the phone ) posted to my Citi account. On XX/XX/XXXX, the {$1100.00} transfer from XXXX XXXX also went through ( the one requested over the phone ). As these were the only XXXX I requested on the phone, in a phone call in which I was also told I had no pending transfers, I thought I was squared away. 

I was incorrect. On the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Citi ( see XX/XX/XXXX - Your balance transfer request ) : " Hi, [ my name ]. We've received your request for a balance transfer to your Citi Diamond Preferred Mastercard account. We're unable to approve the request because the transfer would have caused your account balance to go over your available credit limit. '' I was surprised, as I was told I did not have any more pending transfers. I went to check my Citi transaction listing, and I found two new balance transfers listed : one posted from XXXX XXXX for {$1000.00} and one pending from an unnamed institution for {$860.00}, which I know to be XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This newly posted XXXX XXXX XXXX ( though the first one I requested ) means I now have a debit of ~ {$1100.00} on that card because Citi informed me there was no existing pending transfer, so I requested another in the full amount of that debt. Neither of these transactions caused me to go above my {$7500.00} credit limit, leading me to believe that the email I received was concerning the initial ~ {$4100.00} requested balance transfer to XXXX XXXX, meaning that all three of those transfers requested on XX/XX/XXXX would eventually go through after my XX/XX/XXXX phone call, though I was told on that call that they could not go through, and that I would have to request the transfer again. Note how in the XX/XX/XXXX email, they fail to specify which balance transfer they are speaking of, and their suggested recourse is to call customer service, who, if my experience is any indication, will not know what balance transfers are of concern, nor even which are in their system as requested to begin with. Nonetheless, I did call customer service, and I requested they reverse the {$1100.00} transfer from XXXX XXXX, as it was only made because their representative told me there was not a pre-existing request. They said they are unable to reverse this transfer, and I would have to contact XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I had already contacted XXXX XXXX, who told me I would have to contact Citi ( see XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Card Customer Service ). Because no one else is taking responsibility, I'm contacting the CFPB. I also asked the representative to clarify that the {$860.00} and {$1000.00} would not cause my account to overdraft, and she said it would not. This then, in all likelihood, means that the email I received on XX/XX/XXXX, that a balance transfer could not be completed is regarding an XXXX XXXX pending transfer for ~ {$4100.00}, requested on XX/XX/XXXX, though I can find no record of this request anywhere in my Citi account ( see XX/XX/XXXX Balance Transfer - Status Page ). Needless to say, this also means I do not know if it will be attempted again, leaving me with a {$4100.00} debit in my XXXX XXXX, like the {$1100.00} debit in my XXXX XXXX account, which I do not want.

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