Consumer complaint received 2015-10-05
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
Product: Credit card
Issue: Identity theft / Fraud / Embezzlement

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX, I opened a Brooks Brothers Platinum MasterCard account with XXXX XXXX. From the time I opened the account until the time the account was sold to Citibank Retail Services XX/XX/XXXX, I used this credit card as my daily use card, and during that same period I charged approximately {$30000.00}. Also, during this time, I typically paid my monthly balance in full, and on the rare occasions I did not, I always paid a significant amount of the balance owed. 
Sometime in early 2015, which was when the Brooks Bros. portfolio was still held by XXXX, my credit card was skimmed. It took several months before I discovered this had happened, but the moment I did discover it, I immediately notified Synchrony. As such, XXXX blocked the card and initiated a fraud investigation to assist in relieving me of those charges that were fraudulently made. However, due to XXXX 's stellar customer service, a bulk of which is outsourced, XXXX somehow got the notion I was disputing the account 's existence and was seeking reimbursement for {$30000.00}. Because the account was opened for months and because the balance was consistently repaid, XXXX denied the fraud claim. 
XX/XX/XXXX, all Brooks Brothers accounts were transferred to Citi Retail Services ( CRS ) because XXXX lost the account. While words can not express how happy I am that this has happened, I remain stuck with fraudulent charges. Because I no longer have online access to Synchrony 's online statements, I am unable to view the statements so that I can provide Citi with an accurate accounting of the charges I never made or authorized. When I contacted XXXX to obtain the statements, they referred me to Citi, stating they no longer answer question about or service the Brooks Bros. portfolio. I was not surprised that they passed the buck. 
I initially contacted CRS about this issue in XX/XX/XXXX, just a few weeks after they took over the portfolio. Since that time, I have made about a dozen calls to CRS requesting these statements. I have also requested them online using Citi 's online account servicing. I 've spoken to countless individuals at Citi, confirmed there are copious notes on my account relating to this issue, and was even told that my request was being passed along to the individual who is acting in the capacity as a liaison between Citi and XXXX during this transition process. As recently as a week ago, I contacted Citi and again requested statements ranging from XX/XX/XXXX.-XX/XX/XXXX. However, in the three months since initiating contact with Citi -- and a total of six months since I first alerted XXXX of this situation -- the charges remain on my account and I have still not received the requested statements. 
In fact, I will point out that I have contacted Citi so many times both via telephone and online, each contact relating to the issue at hand, Citi 's Early Warning/Fraud Dept. has blocked my account and required me to complete a verification to confirm I 'm the one making these requests. At this point, I 'm reluctant to make any additional contact out of fear that my account will once again be blocked or possibly even closed. I certainly do n't want to deal with another account disruption, and the last thing I 'd want to ever happen is to end up with my account 's standing jeopardized simply because I 'm requesting statements. 
While I have repaid these charges, I only did so in order to protect my own credit rating and to maintain my account 's good standing with Citi. However, I have essentially given the criminal who used my account a pass because no one has been held accountable, and I am out of approximately XXXX- {$6000.00}, which is the total amount of the unauthorized charges. 
Please note this complaint is not really against Citi because I am all but certain if they had the statements in their possession I would have received the

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation