Consumer complaint received 2018-08-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: WA
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:
Hired merchant for house work XX/XX/XXXX. Paid 50 % ( {$1500.00} ) deposit and 50 % ( {$1500.00} ) after completion of work with XXXX anywhere Citi visa. Few weeks later ( early XXXX ) we noticed the merchant did not resolve the issue they were hired to do and in fact worsened the condition of our home. Went back to merchant and asked for money back so they we could hire another company to re-do the work. Company offered only a 50 % refund for the issue and would only make monthly installment payments over the course of 1 year. As we didnt feel this was a fair solution to the consumer, we contacted Citibank to dispute the initial charges. 

Citi initially issued conditional credit for both the charges. They reached out to merchant, weeks later the merchant provided response and Citi immediately reversed the credit they had granted on our account. When I contacted Citi,  they stated that whenever merchant provides response, they consider the issue resolved but will go back to merchant again if you provide additional paperwork. I then submitted their requested information ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and waited a few weeks to hear back again. Eventually, the merchant responded back again and Citi agreed to credit back one of the charges. I then again reached out to Citi to ask about the status of the secondary charge since it looks like they agreed that funds were due back to consumer as the merchant didnt perform hired service ; and I asked if any additional information was needed from my end to close the dispute. Citi agent stated they had everything and that they were waiting to hear back from visa. I called a second time and said that a resolution should be issued soon. About a week letter I received email that the second claim was denied due to not receiving requested documents. I called Citi once again and asked about it. The agent confirmed they had the documents in file and then noted that one document was missing a signature. She suggested that I scan get document to Citi immediately and explain the situation. I sent the email as requested that same day ( XX/XX/XXXX ). A week later, I got another email that the claim was still denied and that they couldnt do anything because the date had passed. 

The reason for this complaint is for the following reasons : 1 ) the merchant didnt perform job as hired which entitles consumer the funds back 2 ) Citi acknowledges that they agree with this states in that they credited back half of the charge but failed to credit back the second half 3 ) consumer ( myself ) provided documents as requested and followed up with Citi several times and was assured that they had everything they needed in order to process dispute and wasnt made aware of missing signature until after Citis documentation deadline 4 ) overall Citi failed to protect consumer against dishonorable company. 

**images, email communications with Citi and merchant can all be provided upon request.

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