Consumer complaint received 2019-06-23
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
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:
This is regarding two dispute with Citicard ( XXXX, XXXX ). 

The two disputes are two card swipes ( about 10 minutes apart ) for the same intended purchase of one XXXX, at XXXX store in XXXX XXXX, NY ( store phone number is XXXX ), therefore each is {$730.00}. 

On last XXXX Friday, XX/XX/2018, I went to a XXXX store to purchase an XXXX. At checkout time, XXXX hand-hold order entry system froze after credit card swipe. Then the clerk restarted it and retyped my information and I swiped card again, and it froze again. After the 3rd or 4th try, store clerk was informed by their headquarter people about the technical difficulties, and said everyone have to pay by check from now on. I decided not to buy the phone. XXXX order entry system did not record this sale, in each case the system has never reached the step of asking my signature, and I did not receive any phone. 

I called Citicard customer service right away in the store, asking what will happen on the multiple attempted transactions on the XXXX system, because I did received text messages asking to authorize the transaction two times during this process. I was told " Don't worry, the card transactions will not fulfill unless XXXX confirm later. Since XXXX side failed, the confirmation will never come. So you are fine. '' However, two transaction amounts did show up in my next billing statement. 

After received the statement, I opened dispute with Citicard in XXXX. I also requested XXXX to open a case to investigate. XXXX spent many hours to check their system and accounting records, they did not find any transaction records for my intended purchase, and did not find any records of receiving money transfers from Citicard on my account. 

Since XXXX, we have been calling in Citicard Customer Services many times to ask for to resolve the issue. For six months, Citicard opened and closed the cases and changed stories many times. Citicard has never make a phone call to XXXX to find out, Citicard customer service even refuse to answer a phone call from XXXX store manager who want to help. 

As of today, Citicard has given me full credit for case XXXX, but refuse to solve the other one ( XXXX ), on the ground that their case handler did not file paper work on time so it is too late. In stead, I was given a {$200.00} credit for being a good customer for 23 years. I have called two times to make it clear that I refuse the {$200.00} credit for the 2nd case. Citicard is still using the delay tactics after more than half a year. 

Our complainant is this : Citicard refuse to do real investigation to find what happened in our cases. They made up stories on how they do investigations. Why? because we know it is a fact Citicard did not transfer money to XXXX, both transactions have never even reached the stage of asking for my signature! The ground they have given to refuse to solve the 2nd case is false. They are lying. They are trying to delay this forever.

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