Consumer complaint received 2022-04-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge 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:
To Whom It XXXX Concern : My name is XXXX XXXX and I am writing regarding an ongoing situation that needs immediate attention. Firstly, I have XXXX and have asked Citi and its agents multiple times to communicate with me via email so that my communication accommodation support person can assist me with understanding and responding. stated that- Stated call or email Agent in XXXX stated that calling was not most efficient. He reported that due to XXXX he would present the dispute in writing for me. 
To reiterate the story again, I called Citi XXXX hours before purchasing the item in question and explained that due to my XXXX I could not read all of the product information and asked if it could be returned if it did not work for me in any way. Citi stated that I would need to notify them within 5 months that I wanted to return the item and that they would take charge of the process and ensure that the money was credited back to the account. I was able to try the item and decided that it did not meet my needs. I tried to send the item back to vendor, but it was sent back to me as refused in approximately XXXX of XXXX. Shortly after, I contacted Citi again and spoke to an agent. The agent stated that the charge would be disputed and put on hold for approximately three to four months. I asked the agent if I should send the item back to the vendor again to create a paper trail but was told not to send it back again as Citi had it from here. 
The purchase was put on hold in XXXX during the dispute process but was reposted to the account in XXXX. I called Citi again multiple times during the months of XXXX and XXXX. I was able to speak to a representative in XXXX who stated that calling isnt always effective and that I should be trying to correspond by email. As I dont have easy access to email and XXXX, it makes it nearly impossible to correspond without assistance. Utilizing assistance from my communication accommodation support person, I was able to see in a letter I received from you on XX/XX/XXXX that Citi is stating that too much time has passed since this transaction was billed to my account. Your suggested action is to contact the vendor directly, but I have made it very clear in all my past correspondence that the vendor has been unwilling to work with me from the very beginning. I hope you can see that I am incredibly frustrated as I have been doing everything necessary on my end even before purchasing the product. Citi, on the other hand, has not honored any of their agreements or promises made since before I even purchased the item. To be honest, I may not have even purchased the item had it not been for Citis guarantee that they would take care of the charge if anything was unsatisfactory. The charge was, however, reapplied to my account in XXXX and I still have not been given a good explanation as to why. 
I have always paid my bill on time and have never had any trouble like this in the past. I am not sure where to go from here. This situation is severely impacting my credit and it needs to be resolved quickly. I am incredibly frustrated and need assistance in closing this matter. I am extremely unsatisfied as I was told by Citi before I even purchased the item that they would handle the process of removing the charge if the item was unsatisfactory. It is nearly XXXX year later, and the charge is still on the account affecting my credit in a negative way. I have called multiple times since XXXX, each time explaining my situation and each time being told I need to speak to the dispute department. Each time, the agent would tell me they were transferring me to the dispute line, only for me to be reconnected with another customer service agent or to be disconnected completely. I am very dissatisfied with the way this series of events has played out by a company I have had a positive relationship with for years and up to this point trusted. Your company stated from the beginning that they would be able to get this charge refunded if the product didnt work for me and I needed to send it back. Again, I did reach out to Citi within the specified XXXX period and was told the issue was being handled. Your companys refusal to follow through on their promise is now affecting my credit and this relationship. I need someone to respond to me via email within 10 days to resolve this matter. I have not used this card during this process and need to know how Citi intends to proceed as soon as possible so as I can determine whether or not to continue using Citis services or if I need to find a new card provider who will work with me. Again, as I have stated multiple times, due to my XXXX, I struggle to process some of this information in letters or on the phone. As your company told me before I even purchased the item that it would be taken care of by Citi with no issues, I am requesting that you contact me by email at XXXX so I know where I need to go from here. In my frustration, I have also contacted XXXX who have reported that they will reach out to your media contact for more information. I am including copies of several of the emails I have already sent so you can see that I have been making an effort to get this matte resolved. 

XX/XX/XXXX I am writing to dispute a billing error in the amount of over {$2000.00} on my account. The amount is inaccurate because, before I made the purchase, I contacted Citi to ensure that Citi would work with me to get my money refunded if the purchase turned out to be unsatisfactory due to company reputability. I was told by the Citi agent that I would have up to five months to dispute the charge and to work with Citi to recover my money. I tried to return the item to the vendor, XXXX XXXX, but the item was sent back to me with no communication from the vendor. When the vendor was unwilling to work with me, Citi stated that they would file a dispute for me to assist me in recovering my money. I asked the agent if I should attempt to send the item back again and was told not to. I was told this item would be removed from my account while the dispute process was open. Then, on my XXXX statement, I noticed the charge had returned. I again contacted Citi to see why the charge had been returned to the account when I was initially told that the funds would be returned without issue and was again told I need to go through the dispute process. I was also informed that I needed to write a letter to present my side of this issue to Citi, which I am currently doing with the assistance of a third party due to my XXXX. I am requesting that the error be corrected, that any finance and other charges related to the disputed amount be credited as well, and that I receive an accurate statement. 


Please contact me at your earliest convenience to resolve this matter. I have been with your company for XXXX years and have always made my payments on time. I would like to remain a loyal Citi customer but feel this matter is urgent, important and needs correction. 

I have contacted Citibank multiple times to resolve this matter and have never once received a response.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation