Consumer complaint received 2023-03-03
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Account opened as a result of fraud

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : My name is XXXX XXXX and I am a Citibank customer. I am writing this letter to report the inappropriate behavior and misconduct of two Citibank employeesBranch Manager, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ID XXXX ) and Personal Banker, XXXX XXXX the XXXX, Maryland branch ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). I believe they are collaborating to defraud me and cause me economic losses. 


On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX recommended a Citibank promotion program to me. She said if I deposit {$30000.00} for half a year, I would receive a {$500.00} bonus reward. On the same day, XXXX XXXX set up a new account for me, processing my {$30000.00} deposit ( see Evidence 1 ) after asking for my personal information and reviewing my previous deposit records with Citibank. XXXX XXXX also said that I could withdraw from the {$30000.00} and leave only {$1500.00} to keep the account open by the end of XXXX to receive the {$500.00} reward 6 months after the deposit ( see Evidence 2 ). 


On XX/XX/XXXX, I inquired about the account status. Citibank told me that the {$500.00} reward had not gone through, but I could go ahead and withdraw the {$30000.00} deposit and keep {$1500.00} in the account ( see Evidence 3 ). On the same day, following Citibanks regulations and recommendation, I withdrew the rest of the money and left {$1500.00} in the account. 


After months of waiting, I still had not received the {$500.00} reward. On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to Citibank to get a status update on the reward. Another Citibank employee reviewed my account and told me there was a problem. She said that in order to be eligible for this promotion, I must be a new customer with no existing account at Citibank for 6 months ; my last Citibank account was closed on XX/XX/XXXX and I was not eligible for this program. In sum, opening the account was a violation of the Citibank promotion policy. 


XXXX XXXX lied to me and lured me into opening a new account and transferring large sums of money into Citibank under the notion Id receive a {$500.00} bonus reward. She had verified all of my personal information, account history, and made it crystal clear that I was qualified and eligible to receive this promotion. This was the only reason I opened this account ; had I not been eligible for this promotion, I would not have opened this account. XXXX XXXX did not understand the terms and conditions of this promotion. Not only that, she lied and falsely advertised the promotion to me and misled me into opening this account. 


To move forward and resolve the problem, I met with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. He said he understood the issue and would help me, but instead, he was extremely rude, unprofessional, and overall, provided an awful customer experience. I asked him three questions during our conversation : 1. Is it the responsibility of Citibank employees to inform customers of terms and conditions when pushing a customer to sign-up for a promotion program? He said Citibank employees had no such responsibility. 
2. Is it the responsibility of Citibank employees to verify whether a customer has met the terms for a promotion prior to pushing the promotion on them? He said that Citibank employees didnt have to. 
XXXX. Is Citibanks system able to check whether a customer meets the terms of a promotion? He said no. 


Based on his responses, its clear that Citibank and its employees have no responsibility to tell customers the truth. They can lie, make false claims, and withhold terms and regulations in order to get customers to open new accounts, sign-up for promos, and deposit large sums of money in a Citibank account XXXX Then, when customers ask for their promotions to be upheld, they will make excuses and do anything in order to not have to pay the reward it owes customers like myself. This is an awful customer experience. I would like for you to take this claim seriously, ensure that Citibank employees are transparent and tell customers the truth, and compensate me for my economic losses. Id like to resolve this problem as soon as possible and get the money Citibank owes me. Please let me know how we can do this amicably. Thank you. 

Regards, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX,

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