Consumer complaint received 2021-10-26
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: VA
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: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX my husband and I requested a car rental from XXXX XXXX XXXX ( service provider ) for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Alaska. On XX/XX/XXXX we went to pick up the car and the service provider was unable to meet any appropriate standard for a car rental service ( see Exhibit A ). We were picked up from the airport and driven to a junkyard containing several dilapidated vehicles. Our first glimpse of the car revealed a hole in the hood presumably caused by an axe and blinking warning lights such as check engine and tire maintenance. We felt unsafe in this isolated and unfamiliar environment in Alaska and wanted to get out of there before we could ask the merchant for a replacement vehicle. 

As we drove the car, we discovered that basic safety features such as airbags, an engine which operated safely, and tire pressure maintenance systems were all not working on the car. This was communicated to the merchant multiple times ( see phone records and text messages in Exhibit B ), and he confirmed Some more vehicles coming in around [ XXXX XXXX ] guaranteed ( bolded for emphasis ). As you will see in Exhibit B, this replacement guarantee was not met at all and eventually correspondence went unanswered for several hours. We were eventually able to return the car to the service provider later that evening check due to the aforementioned safety concerns and the failure to provide a reasonable car rental per our agreement. When we spoke to the service provider at the car rental lot, they stated they were unable to access their credit card accounts due to an ongoing bank issue and thus requested us to do a chargeback in order to process a refund on the card. 

We would also like to note that we subsequently found that the owner and operator of the service provider was found guilty and sentenced in XXXX by the State of Alaska for reasons related to his involvement in the car rental business ( see http : XXXX XXXX ) and the merchant may want to reconsider doing business with an individual who has recent convictions in related businesses. 

We have been in communication with Citi since these events unfolded in XX/XX/XXXX via phone 7-8 times, each call lasting 30-60 minutes. They have been inconsistent with their responses, with various customer care executives claiming different narratives on process and resolution. They deliberately misguided us more than once by claiming that they will give us a refund or chargeback and not delivering on that promise. I would like to terminate any transactions on this card as soon as this issue is resolved. 

As such, I am requesting a refund due to ( 1 ) the service providers own advice to do so, ( 2 ) the inability of the service provider to provide the agreed upon car rental service, and ( 3 ) the merchants dispute response packet did not include any charge authorization by us, including signature, or evidence of the service being delivered. I do not accept this charge and request a full refund of the amount.

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