Consumer complaint received 2019-10-02
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I received an email offer that was targeted towards me to earn XXXX XXXX XXXX miles after making XXXX in purchases within three months. I also received this email on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX Citi cards employee XXXX informed me that I would be getting the bonus miles next statement when the purchases are completed. After speaking with Citicards executive office on XX/XX/2019I was informed that they would not be honoring the XXXX miles. I also Per the terms and conditions on the email it says nothing regarding the two year language if I previously had the card I was not eligible. Before apply I carefully reviewed the w the terms on the email. It says nothing on the email. I was informed that it was on page 4. 
This should not have happened. A false claim is the characteristic of a goods or service is different than what is advertised. The email sent is misrepresented because its advertising that I am eligible for the bonus. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, advertising is seen as misleading if it involves false, misleading or deceptive information that is likely to cause the average consumer to act in a way they might otherwise not. Advertising may also be considered misleading if important information that the average consumer needs to make an informed decision is left out. Citicards left out the information about the two-year language when the email was sent. 

I received an offer from delta from XXXX XXXX, which limits one bonus per lifetime. However I got a targeted bonus and called them to double check I was eligible. XXXX XXXX application system tells me when I am submitting the application whether I qualify or not. It then asks me if I want to proceed. Citi cards should have done this. 

I have spent a lot of time on this issue and I am very disappointed with citicards. I also had a hard inquiry in to my credit report. They offered me XXXX miles, which is only 15 % of what they were advertising. That is just not enough points. So thats great how do I get my XXXX miles? This error is on citicards not me. If they include the two-year language on their email and do a better job of screening their emails then this would not have happened. I would also suggest not sending the same email to your clients when they are not eligible for it. 

I also want to say that I am also disappointed with Citicards over how they are handling a late fee of {$25.00} dollars and finance charges of XXXX dollars on XX/XX/XXXX. Their was an issue with my payment processing so it was late. They don't want to remove it because its valid. So the employees told me there is nothing they can do about it. So citicards expects their customers to follow the rules. Yet its okay for Citicards to send invalid offers by email. You can not have it both ways. You need to also hold yourselves accountable for what you are doing wrong. Sending invalid offers is not ethical

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 monetary relief