Consumer complaint received 2022-07-12
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022, I received a phone call with caller ID showing Citibank. The woman introduced herself as a Citibank Customer Service Agent. She was calling because she saw suspicious charges on account. She did not ask for any personal detail such as account number, or social security number. She said a charge of {$310.00} was attempted from a location in Florida. I asked if the charge showed the name of the merchant. She said XXXX. I said I did not recognize. I logged into my account at the same time to see what she was talking about. I did not see any charge for that amount. She said I would not see it because the bank blocked the transaction. She went further saying she saw a few transactions pending next day from XXXX for {$2500.00}. I asked if the pending transaction showed a name as I had created no instructions to send money to anyone for that amount nor was I expecting any. She said they would stop the transaction. In the meantime, they would block my account and issue me a new bank/ATM card. I tried accessing my internet banking account to try and change my password but could no longer get in. She said that I would be able to regain access to my account once I received my new card and activated it. She said that they would XXXX  my card in 2 days straight to my door. I continued to get XXXX  alerts for credits and debits to my account in various amount from {$1400.00} to {$2500.00} etc. After exactly 1 week, with no new card in the mail, I called my bank. It was during this call that Citibank informed me that they have no record of any calls being made to me nor any fraud claim case opened. I was scammed. Citibank at this time, blocked my account officially. I have a joint account with my husband. I asked whether he was compromised. They said he was not as the fraud was my from access. Temporarily, they would only block my husband 's card until we opened a new account as I told them I had my payroll being paid in my account the next day. They said the account can receive funds but debits/withdrawals would be blocked. I was asked to call the bank back the next day so that they would unblock the compromised account temporarily in order for me to transfer my payroll of over {$2800.00} into newly opened account which they were able to do. They said they would blocked the account until the investigation was complete. I asked whether I would need a new bank/ATM card and I was told no at that time as the card is now tied to the new account. My husband tried to purchase something at XXXX and the card declined so he called the bank and they were able to reactivate it for use. I tried using my XXXX card online XXXX and my card was declined on XX/XX/2022. I called Citibank thinking that maybe they hadn't reactivated my card. I was then informed that I needed to replace my card. No one I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX informed me I had to order a new card. Today, XX/XX/2022, my husband made a {$600.00} XXXX  transfer from his personal XXXX XXXX bank account to our Citibank account. The {$600.00} was credited to our old account that is currently blocked/under investigation and in negative. How was in account in negative? Citibank still allowed another {$1400.00} ( XX/XX/2022 ) to be debited from the account even after the claim was raised on XX/XX/XXXX. We only just realized that his XXXX  profile had not been updated nor linked to the newly opened account with Citibank. We called the bank and spent half a day being transferred between Customer Service and the Fraud team speaking with agents in the XXXX and who knows where else - none of them could help nor was in any position of authority to make a decision. We simply wanted them to move the money that was sent to the old account into the new which has a balance of {$4.00}. Everyone we were transferred to said the same thing - because the old account is in negative, we have to wait for the investigation to be completed. We tried and tried to make them understand that the {$600.00} was our money and not any of the money that is in dispute. The only thing that we got done today was to make sure that my husband 's XXXX  profile was updated and linked to the new account - something we expected the bank should have done or told us when we called on XX/XX/XXXX we needed to do. PLEASE HELP

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