Consumer complaint received 2023-11-08
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NC
Product: Credit 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/2023, I noticed fraudulent transactions for XXXX  XXXX  services ( a service I have never, ever used, because I am an adult and not a teenager that plays video games ), and realized when I had recently lost my wallet at the airport, my Citi card must have been stolen from my wallet. I immediately reported the concern to Citi. The service representatives were inept, unskilled, and struggled to understand the very basic concepts of fraud. I was repeatedly put on hold, the call dropped, had to call again, and then speak to a supervisor. I attempted to explain that I wanted to report the charges as fraudulent and the card to be cancelled, but did not want a replacement card at that time, because I was traveling, and did not want a new card sent to my home when I wouldnt be there to get it ( I previously had an issue where Citi sent my credit card to the wrong address, and because Citi for reasons that are inexplicable to me, includes a pin and instructions to activate the card for whomever gets the package to activate it, it was activated and fraudulent purchases were made ). The CSR was so inept, they kept attempting to close my account, which I did not want. I was told repeatedly not to worry, and all would be okay. The transactions would be reported as fraudulent, they would not send a new card until I contacted them again, and no further charges would go through on the card. 

About a week later, I got a fraud alert and once again called Citi. When I spoke to the CSR, they were totally clueless about my previous call and requests. They once again tried to send me a new card, and once again, when I told them I could not receive the new card, tried to close the account. I once again had to walk them through what was going on : I wanted the old card blocked, the charges reported as fraudulent, and not to send a new card until I was back from traveling. 

It is now XX/XX/2023, almost an entire month later, and I notice that the fraudulent charges are still showing on my account via the app. Because a payment is due, and I always pay the balance in full, I call Citi YET AGAIN. YET AGAIN, the XXXX has no clue about any of my previous calls, and attempts to walk me through the entire fraud process from the very beginning once again. ONCE AGAIN, I have to explain that I dont want to close the account ; I just want to block the old card, report the fraudulent charges, and not receive a new card until I have returned ( I am on a long term travel work assignment and will continue to be for several months ). I asked to speak to a supervisor, and after being placed on hold for over XXXX minutes, the XXXX came back on the line and said : We are experiencing a systems upgrade and unable to access any accounts. Please call us back after an hour or XXXX. I can only XXXX that when I call again tomorrow there will still be no record of any of these issues, and I will deal with yet another XXXX that will treat the issue as if it is happening for the first time. 

The fact that Citi has let these fraudulent charges sit for over a month, and has not addressed the issue, is pathetic at best and a blatant violation of customer trust and false advertising that they protect their consumers from fraud. The fact that I have had to call on multiple locations, and there is no record of me reporting the fraud shows that fraud monitoring is unacceptable, their risk controls weak, and their ability to conduct financial business a danger to US consumers. 

I implore the CFPB to investigate this matter thoroughly and apply the appropriate reprimands and sanctions against Citi. The fact that they cant accurately monitor fraud or protect their consumers makes them unfit to sell financial products.

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 non-monetary relief