Consumer complaint received 2023-05-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Problem with personal statement of dispute

Complaint:
My issues with Citibank started approximately four years ago. Identified approximate {$60000.00} with a fraudulent charges in XXXX using my card. In addition to these charges, the perpetrator of fraud gained access to my checking account making electronic payments to Citibank. The amount criminally withdrawn from my account was approximately {$18000.00}. In addition to the charges and checking account issues, my email, phone number and address were changed making access to my account near impossible. I made many attempts over a period of six months to communicate with Citibank to correct and reverse the fraudulent charges. It was clear the representatives felt I was the perpetrator of the fraud. Unfortunately, the Citibank representatives failed to make any corrections to my account. I was only able to make headway after having an extended chat on the Citibank website. It was a day after this conversation that a US based representative was able to initiate the investigation and soon the issue was resolved. Given the poor customer service at Citibank, I chose to not activate nor use replacement Citibank cards. 
Approximately 2 years ago, I was contacted via letter and phone by Citibank informing me of a balance due on my account. This was not the account number for any of the replacement cards sent me from the prior fraudulent charges. I called the Citibank representatives numerous times over several months and eventually the charges were reversed. It was my understanding this situation was resolved. However, I began to get phone calls and letters informing me of overdue charges on my account which was supposedly corrected. Again, numerous phone calls were made informing them of the prior fraud issues and these were likely more fraudulent charges. Despite these phone conversations I began to get repetitive phone calls, texts and letters regarding the overdue balance. Eventually, after many hours on the phone, I made contact with a representative who acknowledged the error at Citibank. The issue was related to service fees for the overdue fraudulent totally approximately {$300.00}. I was told this would be reversed and the issue rectified. Not long after this I received a letter from a collection agency for this {$300.00} balance. In addition, I found my credit rating dropped from approximately XXXX to XXXX. When calling the credit bureau ( XXXX ), they said Citibank sent negative credit rating for severely delinquent payment on the fraudulent charges and fees in my name. The collections company helped with getting the charges reversed by Citibank as they were known to be fraudulent. However, Citibank did not correct the issue with the credit bureau. More phone calls have been made without success or finding someone who has been able to make the changes to the credit bureau report that obviously need to be made. I filed a dispute for the second time with XXXX. They sent this to Citibank for review and I received a letter yesterday noting Citibank felt the negative report was accurate. 
I have run out of patience with this matter. Citibank is unresponsive, incompetent and negligent. A recent attempt to get financing for a garage renovation was rejected due to the Citibank negative credit bureau entry. I have not had any issue with credit in 45 years. My income yearly exceeds {$800000.00} and I always pay on time, pay balances to XXXX  monthly and usually pay off loans early. Citibank has severely impacted my credit worthiness due to their reckless practices. I have retained an attorney and plan to sue Citibank for damages. I would appreciate your assistance in punishment for their incompetence.

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 non-monetary relief