Consumer complaint received 2021-07-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Problem getting a working replacement card

Complaint:
Summary : Citi has account verification/setup processes that are dubious at best, promoting identity theft at worst, and issues may result in customers being unable to access their account/services or pay their bills. 

Some background about me : I purchased my current residence in XX/XX/XXXX. I have never had a card or account with Citi before this occurrence. 

On XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX XXXX  EDT, I applied for a Citi XXXX XXXX Card using current, correct contact information, and my application was immediately accepted. After being accepted, I was invited to take advantage of a balance transfer offer, and I used it to transfer {$4000.00} of credit to the new account. They also added the {$120.00} balance transfer fee to the account. I received an email stating " Your account is considered open as of today, XX/XX/XXXX. Your new card will arrive in 7-10 business days. ". I waited for a couple weeks for the card, but it did not arrive. On XX/XX/XXXX, they processed the balance transfer, at least based on the credit card account I transferred from. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email stating " by now you should have received your Citi XXXX  XXXX Card in the mail. If you haven't received your card yet, please call XXXX to let us know immediately. " Upon receiving this email, I called the number and navigated the automated phone tree to request a replacement card, with the reason never delivered. The system told me Id receive my new card in 4-7 business days.

I waited a bit longer than that, but something seemed wrong, so I decided to call the support number and talk to a human on XX/XX/XXXX. I explained to the representative that I have not received my initial credit card, nor the replacement. They asked me to confirm the address Im at. I provided them with my address, and they said it didnt match what was on the account. They transferred me to somebody else. They again asked for my current address, and my previous address. Neither one matched the address on the account. They asked me if I had any idea what it would be, and I told them that I had no idea, since I dont have any other addresses to my name. 

They transferred me to a senior support representative, who again asked a lot of the same questions. I likely reiterated again that I had no idea what the address could possibly be. Finally, they said they would need to verify my identity. They asked for a phone number, so I gave them my cell phone number that Ive had for ~13 years. They came back saying it could not be verified, and asked if I had a different number. I dont have other numbers that I use regularly, so I said no. They asked if I had any other Citi accounts, or if I was at work ( presumably to talk to someone there to verify my identity ), to which I replied no to both. 

Some context on the phone verification issue, searching online citi phone cant verify yields numerous issues and complaints. Here are just a few : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX The gist seems to be that the verification process only works for landlines or numbers that have been published alongside the account holders name. This means that people with only cell phones, VoIP phones, or using an account owned by someone else will likely not be able to verify, especially if they have taken measures to avoid publishing their number. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 52.5 percent of homes had only wireless service during the first half of XXXX. Im sure that number is even higher now. I also believe this is a questionable security method ; it would not be impossible to register a phone number under a false name. 

After failing to validate my identity, they said the only option was to verify my identity by mail. This didnt make sense, since the original inquiry was about an incorrect address. Note that while I had provided my current address to all of the representatives, I told them I was concerned that the letter was being sent to the wrong address. They didnt seem to listen, and told me to wait for the letter in the mail. They also said that my account would be locked so new transactions couldnt be made. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an alert from XXXX that the new credit account had been posted on my credit report. I logged into my account there and pulled the report. The address listed on the card was not mine at all, but it was just a few towns over, which seemed coincidental. I did some research on the address, and discovered that it was the new address of the elderly couple that owned my house until XXXX. I disputed the address with XXXX  and had it removed from the report, for now. 

I called Citi immediately to try to see if knowing the address would help my case, but neither the system nor the representative would accept my security word any longer. They wouldnt really let me say anything ; they just told me to wait for the identity verification letter. 

I am still getting emails from them about bills due and such. I was initially worried that I would not be able to pay the bill, since I cant even log in to their website without the card number ( which I do not have since I havent received any cards ). I saw that bills could be paid over the phone or by mail, but I did not have the account number either, which is required for this. Luckily, I got the account number from my credit reports, so I am hoping I will be able to pay the bill over the phone or through the mail. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, I have not received any mail from them, including the identity verification letter that I supposedly could use to gain access to my account. I have been communicating with the previous resident who is receiving my mail, and I will hopefully be able to recover the mail and try to regain access to the account. 

In conclusion, I created a credit card application using my valid address. Citi disregarded the information I provided and used an unreliable source to set my accounts address without my authorization or any verification. This could have encouraged identity theft, depending on whose address the cards and documents were mailed to. Further, they provided no reasonably feasible or modern method to prove that I was the account owner without undue burden, and assumed that I must be in the wrong when trying to correct basic information about my account which occurred due to an error on their end. 

Note : The billing address ( XXXX ) that I filled out later in the form is the incorrect address that does not belong to me. The correct one is XXXX.

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