Consumer complaint received 2019-06-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
On or around XX/XX/2019 I completed a credit application over the phone with Citibank and was told the account was approved. Citibank issued a letter dated XX/XX/2019 confirming opening of the account and detailing the credit limit. Approximately one week later Citibank issued the card and I used it for two transactions. 
Sometime around the end of XXXX or early XXXX I tried to use the credit account for a third purchase and the card was declined. 
After this I received the only other further written communication I would receive from Citibank, a letter dated XX/XX/2019 stating they would close the account on XX/XX/2019 ; an account which according to Citibank 's own documents was not even applied for and approved until the following day. 
The letter indicated they were closing the account because I provided a confidential address, instead of a physical address. My family has been granted a confidential address by the State of Washington because we are victims of violent crime. An Address Confidentiality Program is administered in each state and operated in Washington by the Secretary of State. 
When Citibank closed my account after accepting and approving my application for credit, they illegally discriminated against me based on my participation as a victim in the Address Confidentiality Program. Because my participation in the ACP is a result of domestic violence committed against me and my wife  and we are both protected parties in a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, federal Violence Against Women Act laws prohibit discrimination against victims of domestic violence including using a victim 's status as a reason to deny credit. 
In addition to this discrimination, Citibank never sent me an account statement. When they cancelled the account I no longer had access to any information about the account. I never received any instructions for where to send my payment, never received a statement or any documentation regarding the amount due, interest or fees charged, and couldn't access the account online because the account had been closed. 
On XX/XX/2019 my wife received a phone call from Citibank on her cell phone indicating the payment was late and asking for payment. My wife was not a co-applicant on this line of credit. Because the call came from an unrecognized number and we had received no other communication from Citibank in months, she refused to provide any financial information. She told the Citibank representative they needed to mail a statement and the representative said they could only mail a statement if I personally called them and requested one. The terms of the account did not include a requirement for me to call and request a copy of my statement each month. 
The representative, " XXXX '', claimed they had emailed statements to my wife 's email address she had on file with XXXX. I never gave Citibank permission to email my statements and never opted in to any electronic communication agreement with Citibank. The representative confirmed they had no record of my election to receive statements or other communication by email. The email address they used is my wife 's 'junk ' email that she provides to retailers who frequently email coupons and promotions - it is not an address we use for business communications or finance. 
The representative further confirmed there was no record Citibank had ever mailed a copy of my statement. 
Citibank continued to call my wife 's cell phone several times a day, even after this interaction ( at which time she had informed the representative the number they were calling was not my phone number ). 
On XX/XX/2019 I was present when Citibank called my wife again. I spoke to the representative and explained I had never been mailed a statement. The representative attempted to request payment information over the phone. My wife, overhearing the conversation, informed me while I was on the phone, with the representative able to hear her, that they had reported erroneously to the credit bureau that my payment was late. She said they needed to correct that report and retract the late payment report as they had not complied with the terms of the account and that they should provide an account statement. 
My wife and I continued a speakerphone conversation with the rep who insisted there was nothing he could do, and that we would have to gather evidence and documentation of the error and provide it to Citibank for them to handle the dispute. We expressed to the representative that we were familiar with credit report disputes but that it was Citibank 's responsibility to correct the error that they admit was made when they failed to issue a statement of the account or documents indicating the amount due. 
When the representative insisted Citibank couldn't correct the report but that we should provide a bunch of documentation and paperwork to Citibank for them to handle the dispute, my wife and I requested to speak to a supervisor. We were transferred to another department where we explained the entire situation over again, and again the new representative insisted Citibank couldn't correct the erroneous report to the credit bureau. 
My wife explained to the rep that they could either issue an account statement in accordance with the terms of the credit account, or we would be disputing the report to the credit bureaus & filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Bureau.  Again, the rep refused to take any step to correct the report or communicate the need for the correction to any other person or department with Citibank. When she insisted the rep send an account statement the rep said he couldn't do that unless I requested one. I spoke up and said, " Yes, I want you to send it. '' And finally the rep said he would send one in 7-10 days.

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