Consumer complaint received 2021-02-12
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Frequent or repeated calls

Complaint:
This complaint is for Citibank and affiliated with its Sears Mastercard. This is the most difficult time of my life : I am old, with many serious health problems, alone, without money and on fixed income. 
I needed money for myself and my family. Old people and sick people are inclined to believe that there are also people in our society that are ready to help. And very soon, in XX/XX/XXXX, a person who was taking care of the less fortunate, appeared and offered me financial help - a big winning check from XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX that could solve my problems. But there was a catch : I have to pay a certain amount of money to get the check delivered. The check was going to be delivered at the beginning of XXXX, then, the end of XXXX, end of XXXX and finally it was never delivered. However, the requirement for the money I had to provide never ended. First, this individual used up the money in my Bank account, when it finished, I had to take a {$25000.00} loan from Citibank and send it to him. Then he said he has " opened an account in my name in XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX '' ( Routing number XXXX, Account number : XXXX, XXXX, Iowa, XXXX ) with {$40000.00}, so that I can start paying the credit card debts. I used efficiently the money to pay partially the credit cards. However, the same day, on XX/XX/XXXX, the checks were returned, because the bank declined the transactions. When the credit cards were blocked by the bank, he started squeezing all my savings accounts. To all my complaints, the answer was that if I did not agree, he was going to donate the check to charity. After 6 months I was a sick, old and poor woman. Then, I had to withdraw my money outside Citibank : my savings and IRA accounts. Because this was not enough, he took my credit cards and charged them to the top to make " more money ''. I insisted that he had to pay his debt and return immediately the cards but he didn't return them, nor he paid what he had bought, as he promised. The charges were done in XXXX, with XXXX currency and had a certain profile - building material. The person who bought the building material was using hotels, restaurants and bars in XXXX. Because the cards remained with him for more than 6 months and I did not have anything to do with his purchases ( they were done behind my back ), my interpretation is that the card was stolen and used for fraudulent activity, something Citibank didn't recognize. 
The system of Citibank is good to serve the bank but not its customers. When my money finished, Citibank closed my account without any warning on XX/XX/XXXX and almost immediately after that my on-line access. My accounts were paperless and as a result of this all needed for me information seized : activity in checking and other accounts. I was completely helpless. For a month I was calling all possible telephones of Citibank to clarify the situation but I was being transferred from one telephone to another, to a third and so on until my conversation was discontinued. I wrote a letter to Citibank on XXXX to explain the situation. No answer. Finally, due to two exceptionally kind people I collected the necessary statements but understood pretty soon that Citibank has ordered collection of debt on my loans and credit cards. This was the last thing I expected from Citibank. My telephone started ringing 10 times a day for collection of debt. The creditors wanted to collect the money ( plus penalties and interest ) in two billing cycles. No question whether I could or not. I wrote a letter to Sears Master card ( Attachment 1, 2 and 3 ), no answer.

Citi Sears Mastercard, billing period ending XX/XX/XXXX, has currently balance of {$11000.00} ; increment from the previous month {$280.00}

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