Consumer complaint received 2018-05-17
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Charged too much interest

Complaint:
I have an AAdvantage Platinum Select Card by Citi. I am carrying a Balance from 0 % interest Balance Transfer Offer and have been making payment that exceed the minimum required payment. 

My XX/XX/XXXX Statement showed a Membership Fee charged on the last day of the Billing Period plus a small interest fee charged the same day. No other purchases appeared on the Statement. I called Citi to request that they remove interest fee as I was not given the Grace Period to pay off the Membership Fee. The representative agreed and credited the interest charge. 

My XX/XX/XXXX Statement showed no purchases made, an on-time payment that exceeded the sum of the minimum payment and the Membership Fee, but also showed a new " Standard Interest Charge ''. I again called Citi to request that they remove interest fee as I clearly met the Grace Period criteria to avoid paying interest [ 0 ]. The representative agreed and credited the interest charge. 

My XX/XX/XXXX Statement showed no purchases made, an on-time payment that exceeded the sum of the minimum payment and all previous fees & interest, but also showed a new " Minimum Interest Charge ''. I again called Citi to request that they remove interest fee as I clearly met the Grace Period criteria to avoid paying interest [ 0 ]. The representative agreed and credited the interest charge. 

My XX/XX/XXXX Statement showed several purchases made, an on-time payment that exceeded the sum of the minimum payment and all previous fees & interest, but also showed a new " Standard Interest Charge ''. I again called Citi to request that they remove interest fee as I clearly met the Grace Period criteria to avoid paying interest [ 0 ]. This time the representative decided to file a Customer Compliant with his Supervisor so that the Supervisor could resolve the matter. 

At this point, I believe Citi is intentionally overcharging customers interest. I can provide my statements to prove my case. I also believe Citi 's Consumer Rights Procedure [ 1 ]  place undue burden and risk upon the Customer for identifying, documenting, tracking to resolution their Customer Complaint. 


[ 0 ] How to Avoid Paying Interest on Purchases. Your due date is at least 23 days after the close of each billing period. We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your New Balance by the due date each month. This is called a grace period on purchases. If you do not pay the New Balance in full  by the due date, you will not get a grace period on purchases until you pay the New Balance in full for two billing periods in a row. We will begin charging interest on cash advances and balance transfers on the transaction date. 

[ 1 ] Your Rights What To Do If You Find A Mistake On Your Statement. If you think there is an error on your statement, visit us online or write to the Customer Service address shown on the front. 
In your letter, give us the following information : Account information : Your name and account number. 
Dollar amount : The dollar amount of the suspected error. 
Description of problem : If you think there is an error on your bill, describe what you believe is wrong and why you believe it is a mistake. 
You must contact us within 60 days after the error appeared on your statement. 
You must notify us of any potential errors in writing. You may call us, but if you do we are not required to investigate any potential errors and you may have to pay the amount in question. 
While we investigate whether or not there has been an error, the following are true : We can not try to collect the amount in question, or report you as delinquent on that amount. 
The charge in question may remain on your statement, and we may continue to charge you interest on that amount. But, if we determine that we made a mistake, you will not have to pay the amount in question or any interest or other fees related to that amount. 
While you do not have to pay the amount in question, you are responsible for the remainder of your balance. 
We can apply any unpaid amount against your credit limit.

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