Consumer complaint received 2017-05-23
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
In  XXXX  I paid my balance in full and closed my credit account I had with Sears/Citibank. In  XXXX   XXXX  I received an email from  XXXX  that there had been a change in m y credit score. I logge d in to view the change and saw tha t Sears was reporting I was 60 days late. I immediately called Sears to inquire how this was possible. After many different transfers to several diffe rent departments, I was finally informed that there was a past due balance on the account that had been closed for almost 2 years. I was told that in  XXXX  of  XXXX  a payment was sent in by anoth er Sears credit consumer and that their account number was input wrong in to the computer system which happened to be my account number on the closed account with a zero balance. They said at that point a credit sat on my account for 90 days. After 90 days they said any credit on an account is then sent out to the consumer in the form of a check. Sears st ated they sent me a check in the mail for the amount of the credit, approximately {$500.00}. They said it was only after the check was sent out that they discovered the error in applying someone else 's payment to my closed account and at that point charged my account back in the amount they claim they sent me a check for. I informed them I never received nor cashed any check from Sears/Citibank. They stated they would have to open an investigation to determine what happened to the check, which I obliged to. I also told them that I would provide my bank statements showing there was no deposit from them. After about a week, I was contacted by  Sears who told me they determined the check was never cashed and the error would be updated and removed from my credit report. ( Error  to include 60 day late payment as I was never late, nor had I owed a balance on the account since  XXXX  ). They told me they sent all the information to the credit bureau to have my credit report updated. I checked my credit report again in  XXXX  and saw that the only update to my report was that the account was then reflecting a  XXXX  balance, however was still reporting that I was 60 days late in  XXXX . I called back and they told me that the balance update is much quicker than the late payment update ; they assured me the correct information had been sent in to all  XXXX  bureaus and would be removed. In  XXXX   XXXX  I applied for a home loan and received a copy of my credit report from my mortgage lender. Sears/Citibank is still reporting to the  XXXX  bureaus that I was 60 days late  XXXX . I contacted Sears/Citibank again and explained the situation.  XXXX   ( employee  ID  XXXX  ) apologized for the trouble I have had in almost the past year with the account. Confirmed that the notes reflected in their system on my account state that there was a mix up and I did not owe a balance, nor was I late. She stated it also stated the corrected information had been sent to the credit bureaus. She said she was submitting an urgent request to have the late payment removed from my credit report. I also asked if she could fax proof to my mortgage lender ; stating the 60 day late would be removed. She consented and requested contact number, which I provided. I was informed 2 days later that the mortgage lender received the fax, but the fax stated my credit report would not be updated because they are reporting the correct information. I then contacted Sears/Citibank again. I explained my situation again to the gentleman who answered my call for what seems like th e 100th time  to this company and again they were very apologetic about what was happening to me. He stated  XXXX  made a 'clerical error ' in selecting the document she sent my mortgage lender. The gentleman confirmed that an urgent request had been sent to the  XXXX  bureaus. He stated he would have a supervisor contact me personally to ensure they are doing what they can to fix this problem. I received a call on  XXXX / XXXX / XXXX  from a supervisor in the escalations department. She apologized and stated the negative information should be removed from my credit bureaus and that they could resend the correct fax to my mortgage lender. I have given them many opportunities to correct their error. No consumer should ever suffer in this form. Not only did I not owe a balance, I never received a phone call, a statement, or a check they claim they mailed but was n't cashed. They s ay one thing and  do another. And now I 'm in the process of buying a home and this is affecting the interest rate and my credit rating. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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