Consumer complaint received 2021-02-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Frequent or repeated calls

Complaint:
This complaint is for Citibank and affiliated with its Costco Visa Card by Citi. This is the most difficult time of my life : I am old, with many serious health problems, alone, without money and on fixed income. 
I needed money for myself and my family. Old people and sick people are inclined to believe that there are also people in our society that are ready to help. And very soon, in XX/XX/2020, a person who was taking care of the less fortunate, appeared and offered me financial help - a big winning check from XXXX XXXX XXXX that could solve my problems. But there was a catch : I have to pay a fee to get the check delivered. The check was going to be delivered at the beginning of XXXX, then, the end of XXXX, end of XXXX and finally it was never delivered. However, the requirement for the money I had to provide never ended. First, this individual used up the money in my Bank account, when it finished, I had to take a {$25000.00} loan from Citibank and send it to him. After 6 months I was a sick, old and poor woman. Then, I had to withdraw my money outside Citibank : my savings and IRA accounts. Because this was not enough, he took my credit cards and charged them to the top to make " more money ''. I insisted that he had to pay his debt and return immediately the cards but he didn't return them, nor he paid what he had bought, as he promised. The charges were done in XXXX, with XXXX currency and had a certain profile - building material. The person who bought the building materials was using hotels, restaurants and bars in XXXX. Because the card remained with him for more than 6 months, were not returned and I did not have any idea of what he was going to buy, my interpretation is that the card was stolen and used for fraudulent activity, something Citibank didn't recognize. 
The system of Citibank is good to serve the bank but not the customers. When my money finished, Citibank closed my account without any warning on XX/XX/2020 and almost immediately after that my on-line access. My accounts were paperless and as a result of this all needed for me information seized : activity in checking and other accounts. I was completely helpless. For a month I was calling all possible telephones of Citibank to clarify the situation but I was being transferred from one telephone to another, to a third and so on until my conversation was discontinued. I wrote a letter to Citibank on XXXX to explain the situation. No answer. Finally, due to two exceptionally kind people I collected the necessary statements but understood pretty soon that Citibank has ordered collection of debt on my loans and credit cards. This was the last thing I expected from Citibank. 
Let me explain to you the situation : My last purchase from Costco was in XXXX, 2020 and I paid the balance of {$2100.00} in XXXX. I didn't purchase anything after that. The following purchases done with my Costco credit card were done by the scammer in XXXX. This individual first robbed me, took all my money from my bank, my savings account and IRA accounts then took my credit card and never returned it or paid off his Jamaican purchases. 
As the XXXX statement shows, he owes {$8600.00} to Costco credit card. If he paid meanwhile something, it was to be able to charge the card again. 

At the end of XXXX, I wrote a letter to Citibank credit cards. However, I did not get an answer from them. I understood that the credit card companies didn't get my letter either. All Citibank did was to enforce collection of debt on my credit accounts. Nobody asked me any questions. I was on paperless billing and my on-line account was closed in XXXX. I asked for the statements since then but received them with delay. For a month I am calling Citibank to clarify the situation but I am being transferred from one telephone to another, to a third and so on until my conversation is discontinued.

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