Consumer complaint received 2017-02-23
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TN
Product: Credit card
Issue: Credit card protection / Debt protection

Complaint:
I signed up for a Best Buy credit card in XXXX XXXX. This card has been changed a couple of times and is now owned by Citi. I just noticed last month ( XXXX XXXX ) that I have been charged a fee every month my card has had a balance, for a " debt protection '' service I NEVER signed up for. I called Citi and told them I wanted a refund for something I never signed up for. They told me that is handled by a third party company and I had to call " Dept Protection '' service at XXXX. I did so on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and spoke to a woman who informed me that total this " dept protection '' service that I never signed up for has cost me {$1000.00} to date. She said she would cancel the service and put in a request for a refund. I told her I wanted a FULL REFUND for the {$1000.00} as I never signed up for this service and she could not produce any documentation that I did. She told me I should hear back within the month on whether I was getting a refund and I should wait and call back on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX if I did not receive a letter or a refund. I received no letter and a refund of {$66.00}, which was unacceptable since I requested a full refund. I called " dept protection '' back at XXXX on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and spoke to a man who said he would send in a second request for a refund. I asked him what the next step was if they refused the refund and he said I would have to write to a PO Box . I asked him who I could speak to there that had the authority to issue a refund and he said " no one '' and I asked if I had any other recourse and he said no. I received a letter in the mail on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX saying that all previous charges were valid because I purchased the service on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ( which AGAIN, absolutely no one can prove to me or verify ). I called debt protection yet again and told them I wanted a full refund the woman I spoke with told me there was nothing else they could do except write to the PO Box . I asked her what the legal name for the company she worked for was and she said CitiBank - which was surprising since during my first call to Citi they told me they did n't have anything to do with " dept protection '' and that it was a third party entity. So I called Citi customer service and told them this whole story and that I wanted a refund. The woman I spoke with said she would contact the dispute department to dispute the fees and hopefully get me a refund. After putting me a hold she comes back and says there 's nothing the dispute department can do and that I will have to contact the dept protection people. I told her I wanted someone to show me the contract where I signed up for this, since I did not and she said that it is a very small legal line with a check box that is " easy to miss '' and I immediately told her I was certainly not going to let them keep my money because some store clerk checked off a box after we filled out our application. She then said because we opened the account so long ago that she does n't have the contract but that I can write to ( ANOTHER ) PO Box to request a copy of my contract. I just want a full refund for the {$1000.00} these people STOLE from me without my consent or knowledge. I am holding Citi responsible as they are the owner of my account and I will not let this go, I do n't care who I have to call or how many complaints I have to make.

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 explanation