Consumer complaint received 2021-07-16
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: IN
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
I have been a Citi credit card customer for 20 years. I am getting ready to close on a rental property I own, and so have taken the unusual step of maintaining a balance to cover repairs etc. until the house closes. I had an Autopay set up ( for years, which I suspect was the problem ; my guess is that I've had the card on Autopay so long that they've changed their platform and the old Autopay doesn't talk nicely to the new one ) to pay my total balance monthly. This spring, I changed the Autopay to pay only the minimum payment temporarily. This resulted in a situation where BOTH Autopays were in effect, but I had the ability to only SEE or CHANGE the minimum balance one on my online account ( which was true, apparently, for the first-line customer service representatives as well ). 

In XXXX of XXXX, both payments ( the minimum payment and the total balance of around $ XXXX ) posted, causing an overdraft at my bank ( which I never have ) and great anxiety and shock. I called immediately, and they started a process to refund the balance payment. I was told it would take " 3-5 days '' to process the refund, but it turned out that the 3-5 business days was the requisite time to APPROVE the request, and the refund did not post until two weeks PAST the approval. I called multiple times during this process. 

I have kept a tight eye on this situation since then. Prior to my XXXX payment posting, I checked on my account, and noticed that while Autopay was set up to only pay the minimum payment, there was a statement on the landing page that told me that my " total payments of $ XXXX '' would be posting on XXXX. I called Citi in an absolute panic. The customer service representative told me that " I can see everything that is there, and I understand why you are concerned, but I promise you that only the Autopay of your minimum payment will post on the 5th. '' I asked what would happen if he was incorrect, explaining that I could not handle floating this much money again, and he said he would make a notation in my account that I had called, just in case. 

On XXXX, over $ XXXX was posted to my bank and once again, I was hit with overdraft fees and a situation of anxiety and panic - covering this much money is a massive hardship for our family. I called Citi at XXXX XXXX. on XXXX, and the representative could see the multiple payments debited, but AGAIN SHE COULD ONLY ACCESS ONE AUTOPAY. She elevated me to - what was described as " collections, '' which didn't make a lot of sense, but the ( domestic ) gentleman there said that he was able to see and remove the older autopay. 

I was so upset on this call. The first time this issue occurred in May, I took responsibility ( although it was not my fault ). The second time, especially after I had called and was given the guarantee that this would not happen again, I expected Citi to take responsibility for making it right. All of the reps I spoke with were polite. None of them seemed to have the ability to do anything about it. 

The person I spoke with the night of XXXX told me that my refund would be " expedited '' and that the money would be in my account in 3-5 business days. I explained that that had been what I had been told before, but my experience was that the actual process seemed to be 3-5 days for approval, with a letter following, and then the money returned in a couple of weeks. I told him that this time that was not acceptable, that because this was Citi 's error they needed to be responsible for returning my money more quickly. He promised the money would be back in 3-5 days this time and he told me he would have a customer service rep follow up with me. 

I was called on XXXX at XXXX by another rep. The conversation we had was similar in both theme, complaints, and plan as the conversation I had with the collections person the night before. She told me that she would make sure this was expedited, and that it would be XXXX business days for me to RECEIVE my money. 

It is now XX/XX/XXXX and the money is still absent. I received the same letter this week that I received in May, stating that " We're verifying recent payments on your account so we can process your request for a refund. Please allow 10-14 business days for us to respond to your request. '' I can not explain how stressed and angry I am. 

I called yesterday morning and spoke to a supervisor in the customer service department. He explained that the review of the refund request would be completed by XX/XX/XXXX, and that I should expect the money within 2-4 business days after that time. When I told him about the two calls on XXXX and XXXX, explained that both of those reps had told me the request would be expedited, and that I had clarified to both of them that I needed the MONEY in that time frame, not the APPROVAL in that time frame, he said, " Oh, it looks like in the notes the second person you talked to called and couldn't get you on the phone, so they left a voicemail on the 7th telling you they were sorry that they couldn't expedite the claim after all. '' I first said, " What? I answered every call I got! Maybe it was later that afternoon? '' And he said, " Yes, that afternoon. '' I then checked my call log and told him I had no calls or voicemails on the 7th other than the morning call during which I had spoken to the caller. He then said, " Oh, ma'am, it was the 8th. '' I said, " I have no voicemails or missed calls on the 8th whatsoever. '' He then returned to explaining the refund process again. He did promise to contact their payment center to see if they could expedite the refund process. I have no hopes for this. 

I asked if there was anyone else I could talk to, or if I could file a complaint with someone, and he said he could file a complaint on my behalf, which is what the rep said on XXXX. 

It is not right that Citi would be responsible for this issue and then I would be the one who undergoes the financial stress, hardship, and takes the hit on the bank fees. I have tried to be very fair and understanding, and I have been polite and respectful and personally kind to the people who have to implement this system. But the system should be held accountable somehow and I just can't figure out how to penetrate it. 

After 20 years, the second this rental sale closes, the very first thing I am going to do is to write a check and close my Citi account. I know they don't care, and that I'm a grain of sand on a large beach, but this is true malpractice and a betrayal of a customer relationship.

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