Consumer complaint received 2015-11-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Issue: Closing/Cancelling account

Complaint:
In California we have this horrible program called the " Citi XXXX XXXX '', which offers its users 6 months of deferred interest for medical procedures. You see the little window decals in every Dr. office here. Basically if you find yourself at the hospital and you need something done, mine was a XXXX by a specialist, and you ca n't afford it the receptionist will get Citi on the phone and you can apply for this card. I did n't have the {$2000.00} that I needed for the operation and like I said I had seen these ads all over so I figured this was my best bet. 

After six months of making modest payments, I was unemployed for part of those 6 months hence why I needed the card in the first place, I was shocked to receive my monthly bill and see that my balance had climbed to {$2300.00}. I had no idea how this could have happened. I called them up and was told that the deferred interest rate that had been accumulating for all those months had now been added to my balance. I was of the understanding that the first 6 months of my credit was 0 % APR, not deferred. When I referred to my paperwork sure enough they were right, it was being saved up waiting for me. When applying for the card in the Dr. 's chair that information was not made crystal clear to me. I believe they purposefully leave that fact slightly muddled. 

Unfortunately a month after this realization I had some trouble making my XXXX student loan payments and I got dinged on my credit. Immediately when Citi got word of this they deactivated my " XXXX XXXX '' so I could n't use it anymore, they closed my online account and bumped my APR to 29 %. I requested that they " unlock '' my online account so that I can keep track of my finances and this account especially and they said they would n't do it. I asked for them to enroll me into paperless billing/communication so I could at least receive emails about the acocunt and they said they would n't. Because of my bad FICO warning they have shut me out of my account almost completely. Except for my monthly paper billing statement that comes in the mail. 

Today is Saturday XXXX XXXX, XXXX the only two days a week that I have off from work and I tried to call them to find out my actual balance as of today and they 're closed. I literally have no way of accessing my own financial information/account with this company. I ca n't confirm that they 've received my last {$400.00} payment since the only statement I have was sent to me about 30 days ago. 

With interest like this, 29 %, and the inability to access my own account information in any electronic way, I truly am bewildered about how this is legal. I believe that they knew about my financial situation, or at least had a somewhat good idea. When they ran my credit that day at the Dr. 's they would have seen the amount of student loans I have and that I had another ding from a year prior from XXXX XXXX about the same account. They new I was a risk and gave me the loan betting that I would n't be able to pay off that balance in those first 6 months. I believe they trapped my into this balance by betting on my financial vulnerability. 

None of this might be illegal, I 'm sure it is n't. I just wanted you to know about this horrible program and the usury rates they 're charging me and almost complete lack of communication and transparency.

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