Consumer complaint received 2019-02-23
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
1. On XX/XX/18, a Home Depot Salesperson, XXXX XXXX, signed us up for two home improvement projects ( new rain gutters and a new sliding-glass door/window ). He never provided us receipts for these services nor has Home Depot or their installers, so we have no way of comparing prices to what we see on our Home Depot credit card statement.

2. Also onXX/XX/18 Mr. XXXX called up Home Depot 's Consumer Credit telephone line and signed us up for a Home Depot credit card promising us a 2-year interest-free promotion. He initialed our Consumer Credit Application " XXXX XX/XX/18 '' and the telephone representative confirmed the 2-year interest-free promotion on these home improvement projects, repeating various times that our call was being recorded for " quality assurance. '' 3. It took many weary, frustrating months to get Home Depot to schedule the installations of these projects, but they were finally complete just before XXXX  in mid-XX/XX/XXXX ( over 3 months after Mr. XXXX 's sales visit ). Again, we never received receipts or invoices for these repair projects, so we simply have to " trust '' that our bill is correct. However, the initial bills did NOT honor the promotional 2-years interest-free rate promised us by the salesperson Mr. XXXX, by the telephone consumer credit representative at the time we signed the agreements and application, and even by the Home Depot scheduler over the months it took to get the projects installed.

4. I wrote several complaints about the billing statements not honoring the 2-year interest-free promotional rate without resolution. It appeared a robot was responding to my complaints. I finally had to call the so-called " Consumer Care '' line during " business hours '' ( difficult for a full-time working mom/XXXX  ) to resolve the issue, as my bill said it would start accruing interest as ofXX/XX/XXXX ( i.e., 6 months interest-free, not the 24 months that I was quoted at the time of sale and application as well as repeated in calls with the Home Depot scheduler ).

5. Today,XX/XX/XXXX, I sat down to pay my bill that is due in XX/XX/XXXX, and I see that I have acquired a surprise interest charge of {$2.00}. No, it's not a lot, but it is a sneaky fee that makes me again doubt the business practices of this company that has offered my 24-months interest free. I further noticed that this is the first billing statement that warns me of a " revolving balance '' that can accrue interest. However, this information is buried on page 3 near the end of the statement, i.e., buried beneath all of this information : Summary, Payment Information, Promotional Balances, Advertisements for gift cards, Billing Coupon, Information About Your Account, Key Credit Terms, Change of Address Form, Another Advertisement for Nest, etc.

6. I have never seen a more confusing billing statement, and I have several credit cards and am vigilant about my credit, my debt, and my bills. For example, I have an XXXX XXXX Citi Master Card, a XXXX XXXX American Express Card, and a XXXX XXXX XXXX Visa Card. None of these billing statements from other companies have deceived me. I am confident in accusing Home Depot 's consumer credit card with deceptive business practices. In addition to not honoring quoted promotions, the billing statement buries fees and is difficult to read. It frequently has mistakes and it does not explain what the date or nature of each purchase. Instead of clearly marking a date and citing the transaction with something like HVAC service or window installation, window materials, or window down payment, etc. ; the bill simply lists as follows : " Revolving Balance NO INT FOR 24MOS-PMT REQ NO INT FOR 24MOS-PMT REQ NO INT FOR 24MOS-PMT REQ NO INT FOR 24MOS-PMT REQ. '' 7. To make matters worse, Home Depot and their service providers have provided no receipts for these services, so I have no way of comparing my billing statement to my receipts or invoices. In other words, I am at the mercy of Home Depot 's supposed honor system here, when I have already discovered various mistakes and problems with my bill.

8. It blows my mind that this company has such deceptive and incompetent business practices, and I would NEVER recommend this card to anyone else. I am tempted to just pay it off in full before the 24-month promotion ends in order to not accrue any more headaches with this company, but I do have other home improvement projects that I need to spend my available funds on.

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