Consumer complaint received 2019-03-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
My car broke down in XX/XX/XXXX, so I had to rent cars from XXXX XXXX Rental. After I turned my rental car in on XX/XX/XXXX, I received toll charges for {$150.00} from XXXX and XXXX XXXX charged to my Citi Card on XX/XX/XXXX, that I didn't incur. I immediately contacted XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX after viewing my Citi Card statement and they told me to contact XXXX XXXX. I then called XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX and when they didn't respond, I emailed them. Since the XX/XX/XXXX was a holiday, I waited until XX/XX/XXXX to dispute the charges at Citi.com and do a chat. I did a chat with a person named XXXX and he or she gave me a conditional credit of {$150.00}. During the chat, he or she let me know that 'Your card comes with 100 % fraud protection. If you have not authorized the charge, you are not liable to pay. ' Well, this isn't true! 
I then answered some basic questions about my dispute and in the next week, I received a couple electronic message in the secure message center at Citi to mail or fax my proof to the Citi Billing Dispute Department. So on XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed a certified packet to the Citi Billing Dispute Department, which included letters, receipts, maps, and statements from my co-workers. I thought with all this strong proof, I would immediately be vindicated by Citi, but I was wrong! Citi kept sending me emails that 'Action was Required ', but every time I checked, there was nothing new in the Secure Message Center. I then grew frustrated and contacted the Executive Response Unit, which was a big mistake! A lady by the name of XXXX XXXX handled my case. Apparently, she tried to call me twice to ask me when I had contacted XXXX XXXX. But the phone number she was trying to reach me at was my mother 's who I added when I first opened my account. My mother who is elderly and sickly, never answers her phone unless it is me and she never listens to her voicemail. 
But there was no need for XXXX.XXXX to call me in the first place, because all she had to do was contact the Citi Billing Dispute Department like I requested and she would have received the answer to her question right away. It's obvious that the departments at Citi don't communicate with each other! So after XXXX XXXX couldn't reach me, she reversed the conditional toll charges to my account, charged me {$59.00} in interest and reported me to the three credit bureaus!

Needless to say, I was livid and I sent two emails to the Executive Response Unit asking for my documents back and telling them that I was going to close my account, pay off the balance excluding the {$150.00} regardless if it messed my credit up or not because I wasn't guilty. They never responded except for the automated message!

After Ms.Taylor reported me to the three credit bureaus, she tried to pacify me by adding a note to my credit file that the {$150.00} was disputed, but all the credit bureau sees is me losing my dispute challenge ( since Citi reversed the charges ), me being late for two months and not making a payment! This is also, going to affect me when I try to purchase a car this summer.  Instead of XXXX. XXXX waiting to see if I was innocent until proven guilty, she automatically assumed I was guilty until proven innocent and based her decision on her emotions. 
About a week later, I received a letter from her explaining her actions and telling me I have five days to contact XXXX XXXX with my evidence. So, why didn't XXXX. XXXX wait to see XXXX XXXX  's response from the beginning, before reversing the charges and reporting me to the credit bureau? That tells me she automatically sided with Plate pass without reviewing any of my evidence and thought that they would rule against me. I immediately called XXXX. XXXX after receiving her letter and explained to her that she was calling me on the wrong phone number and I then gave her the correct number. I also told her the date I contacted XXXX XXXX and let her know I had already mailed this info to the Citi Billing Dispute Department on XX/XX/XXXX. She never has responded to this day. 
Furthermore, what happen to the Citi Billing Dispute Department vowing to fight for me and thus forwarding my documents to XXXX XXXX? It now became apparent, I had to fight for myself! So on Sunday XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) I emailed XXXX XXXX the same evidence I mailed to the Citi Billing Dispute Department and on Monday ( XX/XX/XXXX ) they ruled in my favor within two hours and refunded me back my {$150.00}. It usually takes five days for XXXX XXXX to make a decision. 
Citi is not a company of their word and as long as they have overzealous people like XXXX. XXXX XXXX working for them, no one will ever win a dispute. I have been a customer of Citi for a long time and this is the first time I have ever disputed a charge. My interest rate is decent and the bank seems to be a good place to do business in many other ways, but please DON'T ever dispute a credit card charge, because it will literally become a nightmare! The Citi Billing Dispute Department and the Executive Response Unit are very inefficient!

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