Consumer complaint received 2020-11-01
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Application denied

Complaint:
All dates are on or about : XX/XX/XXXX - I was notified by Citibank that they had closed my account XX/XX/XXXX - I contacted Citibank customer service to inquire about additional details. I was told that my account because there had been no transaction in over 2 years. I challenged this and the representative confirmed that the last transaction was in XX/XX/XXXX, but it didn't matter because the account was already closed. My only option was to request re-opening of the account. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I contacted Citibank customer service and agreed to request re-opening of my account. I was informed that this was an application for credit and that my credit would be pulled. I agreed and they pulled my credit. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I was provided with an Adverse Action letter by Citibank citing that my application for credit was denied because " your credit report shows your revolving balances are too high. '' I was directed to contact XXXX to review my credit file. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I pulled my credit file from XXXX as directed and the file showed only a {$470.00} out of {$71000.00} balance for revolving line. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I contacted Citibank customer service to attempt to get further explanation on why my credit application was denied as my credit report showed no such high revolving usage. The representative said they had no access to any information, so all I could do is send a dispute to " Citibank Credit Dispute Unit '' XX/XX/XXXX - A formal dispute was filed with the Citibank Credit Dispute Unit via FAX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received another adverse action letter from Citibank in the identical form as the original Adverse Action citing " your credit report shows your revolving balances are too high. '' XX/XX/XXXX - I again contacted Citibank customer service to seek to understand the reason for my denial. I was told that my only option was to appeal the decision of the Citibank Credit Dispute Unit with the exact same Citibank Credit Dispute Unit. 

XX/XX/XXXX - A formal appeal was filed with the Citibank Credit Dispute Unit via FAX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter from Citibank stating that they needed additional information to evaluate my request. The information requested was my gross annual income and my mortgage payment. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I delivered via FAX the requested information to the Citibank Credit Dispute Unit XX/XX/XXXX - I received a letter via postal mail ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) from Citibank stating that they were unable to process my request without speaking to me. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called the telephone number provided in the XX/XX/XXXX letter. The representative appeared to have no knowledge about the request and would only offer to re-process a reopen request and started down the path of collecting information that appeared to be an application for a new line of credit. I stopped the representative and asked him if this was what he was doing, but he would not actually answer the question. I confirmed that I had provided the requested information for income and mortgage payment and terminated the call. 

XX/XX/XXXX - Based on information from a friend I contacted the Citibank Executive Support team in an attempt to get some answers as to the actual reason for denial of credit as the reason being provided on 2 occasions via adverse action letters did not match the information in my credit file retrieved from Citibank 's source. Another dispute was opened to investigate the issue. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received a telephone call from a representative in the Executive Support team who provided the same " your credit report shows your revolving balances are too high. '' line. I challenged that assertion and she would only state that I needed to take it up with XXXX. I stated that I had and XXXX was showing no such incorrect information. She further stated that there was no discrimination and Citibank has every right to close an account. I replied that I understand that the closure was within their rights, however denying my application for credit without a valid reason was not. I asked how I could resolve the discrepancy between what Citibank was saying was in my credit report and what the credit bureau was saying. She said I could only take it up with XXXX. I asked that the case be kept open, but it was closed against my wishes. 

XX/XX/XXXX - Still seeking answers, I am filing a complaint with the CFPB. No additional communications have been received from Citibank.

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