Consumer complaint received 2018-09-29
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
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:
This complaint is being filed for my XXXX XXXX Visa Card ending in XXXX regarding a billing dispute in the amount of {$510.00} with the merchant XXXX. A hotel stay was booked through the site " XXXX '' from XX/XX/2018 to XX/XX/2018. As mentioned in the in initial dispute, the room I was booked in at the hotel I was staying at was horrendously unsanitary and filthy. From the second I was inside of the room, I noticed a pungent and overwhelming smoke and XXXX odor lingering within the room. From there, I noticed that there were bugs and roaches, small and big, crawling in the sink, bathtub and living room area. Furthermore, there was a leak in the ceiling in which sewer water was dripping down into the restroom area - the smell reeking of human XXXX and XXXX. The smell was vomit-inducing To top ALL of that off, the bed had roaches as well as bedbugs crawling nonstop. I was bitten by a few of the bedbugs on my first night there. 

This room is one that is uninhabitable by any means. Words alone can not do proper justice when describing this dilapidated room which looked un-cleaned for months, if not a year. Hotels, in any area, have the one basic requirement of providing a livable area absent of roaches, sewage leaks or any other fixable defect. 

As originally mentioned, I only spent 1 night at the hotel ( maximum 8 hours ) before I left and never came back. Multiple and repeated attempts were made with the merchant to rectify this situation to no success. The merchant denied any and all responsibility for this broken-down room and refused to issue any form of credit/refund. 

Overwhelming evidence was provided during the initial dispute of this charge in the form of photographs showing the roaches, bedbug bites as well as the leak in the ceiling. Every single piece of evidence, as well as an explanation, was provided during the initial opening of this dispute to Citibank. As such, a full credit is due at this time for this charge. I expect this resolution due to the plethora of evidence submitted which fully backs up my statements provided. 

A full credit is also due because I DID NOT stay at the hotel for longer than 8 hours on the first night - after which I LEFT AND NEVER CAME BACK. As such, no further services were provided by the merchant after I left. A full refund is also due on that SOLE BASIS. 

There are multiple avenues to go down here with regards to this charge - all of which leads towards a full credit/refund. To break this down simply, a statement was provided during the INITIAL dispute process explaining the nature and circumstances surrounding this dispute. In addition, photographs were taken of the filthy and unsanitary room which further fully and unequivocally, backs up my statement. Layered on top of all that is the fact that this stay at the hotel did NOT, under any circumstance, last longer than 8 hours on the first night ( XXXX XXXX Monday, XX/XX/2018 to XXXX XXXX   Tuesday, XX/XX/2018 ) - after which I vacated the premises and did NOT return. The merchant provided NO services after XXXX XXXX XX/XX/2018. As such, on that basis alone, a FULL refund should without a doubt be issued. 

The plethora of evidence is overwhelming which supports, verifies and backs up my statements provided. The merchant should be held FULLY accountable for this disaster of a room provided to me, which is un-livable, no matter how this is manipulated. A full refund of {$510.00} is expected an deserved in this case.

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