Consumer complaint received 2017-08-08
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
Account closure due to company negligence, my account was closed XX/XX/XXXX due to a return payment in error. The payment returned as not authorized, I spoke with customer service and my bank : XXXX XXXX prior to the closure to confirm that it indeed was an error and they 've never received a payment request or transaction from the merchant other than debit card payments I 've made in the past. Upon speaking with XXXX XXXX customer service about the service error ; I was in formed the code designated fraud and that my identity is n't associated with the account. which of course is untrue. So I put in a request to have this researched and reviewed. There after my account was transferred to fraud rather than payment investigations department. I was attempting to make a purchase two days before my account closed which was on a Saturday, and the fraud department sent me a msg to confirm if I was person making the transaction and I confirmed, then I proceeded to make my purchase. That Monday the fraud analytics department closed my account under a revoked status. My account should 've never been in that department, no one ever investigated the payment issue as to why I received a not authorized error code. I called the fraud analytics department for over 6 months attempting to explain to the them that I was the person who made these payment and purchases and this was suppose to be investigated and resolved by the correct department. They denied to assisted me, they told my account would n't be reopened.I 've also spoken with management in that dept who declined to review my account dueto its revoked status. One day I called in and spoke with manager in a different dept and explained  the situation to him and he confirmed with me that the reason the account closed not just my XXXX   'saccount " they closed my XXXX and Bloomingdales account '' because XXXX does n't accept  XXXX XXXX XXXX, He also informed me that upon presenting my payment method to the customer service representative who was processing the payment, they should 've informed me that the company does n't accept that particular bank. There after he escalated me to someone he felt could help me, then that person escalated me to there manager and her name Is XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX and i went over the details of my account. This is in XX/XX/XXXX, we call my bank to confirm this information and this confirms it was an error on the behalf of XXXX. At this point she is still unwilling to reopen my accounts. So she has an idea to contact someone within the executive office whom confirms with her this was an error and this has also happened to other clients. With this information she now agrees to reopen all three of my accounts. So begins by removing the accrued delinquencies from my credit report and interest. I was disputing some of the balances because I previously calculated the balances with collections prior to this resolve, so I was well aware of what the balances should of been. At that time she told me that I needed to make a payment before she reopens the accounts. Remind you I made payments the month before on all three account. However since I was still disputing the balances we held off on that. She however made clear to me on XX/XX/XXXX that if I did n't make a payment on the agreed upon balances that she would n't further re-age my accounts. Within the same conversation, I agreed upon the Bloomingdales and the XXXX balances. But for some reason there stating that I agreed upon all three ; which is untrue. Because subsequent to that phone call I immediately contacted the executive office to open a compliant about further disputing the XXXX balance. Also an incentive I was suppose to receive in a form of a gift card that was never honored and the XXXX dollar deposit that was placed on a furniture order that was never refunded to my card. They sold the furniture that I custom ordered and never refunded the deposit. The executive office never contacted my back in regards to my compliant, ever. Subsequently I was In a car accident on XX/XX/XXXX which I was hospitalized for 34 days and there after in physical therapy. So I was unable to have any contact with the company. When I was in better health I contacted the company to resume the matter. I contacted the executive office and spoke to a liaison by the name of XXXX flint whom was n't very helpful and was very confused on the matter. She informed me I was never told my account were going to be reopened, which is untrue and the notes within my account state the truth. Then she wanted to re investigate my accounts after I spent close to a year doing so. She continuously had incorrect information and she and I were in contact for 4 months. Then I asked her to to put me in touch with her manager she was no help as well and she did n't want to escalate my concern for additional help.I offered to send her documentation confirming my accident and hospital stay to validate why I was n't in contact with the company and why I did n't make a payment. She declined to accept it and considers It a personal matter. She stating that she 's unwilling to reopen my account as the company stated they would because I did n't make a payment, then she unwilling to accept the reason why and any affirming documentation. My accounts were sent out to a collection agency, I contacted the company and explained my case and thereafter had the accounts placed under dispute and all of a sudden I received a letter stating i'am being sued for two accounts. My XXXX account current balance : XXXX and the correct balance is : XXXX XXXX store account current balance : XXXX the correct balance is : XXXX. I'am the authorized account owner for a checking account and paired debit that I have with XXXX XXXX. The bank requires authorization of a payment if it exceeds the amount of XXXX. I also contacted Citibank who is the financial backing for XXXX and they also informed me that they do not accept XXXX XXXX and consumers are to made aware of that by customer service. If my account was investigated when I made the compliant my account would 've never been closed and this very situation could 've been avoided. The company has not taken any responsibility for the actions.

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