Consumer complaint received 2015-07-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Issue: Credit card protection / Debt protection

Complaint:
Best Buy_ Citi Bank XXXX " Debt Protection Scam ''. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I opened a Best Buy account. 

In XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I was and still am in financial peril and need some relief on this account. 
Prior to XX/XX/XXXX I had paid off a computer and have since with assistance of family member paid all of the account promotional balances. 

In XXXX XXXX a Best Buy customer service representative, located in the United States ( not XXXX ) informed me for the first time that since XX/XX/XXXX I had been paying " {$35.00} '' per month for Debt Protection and that money I was paying was not going towards the principal amount. The account just continued to grow over the XXXX limit with nearly nothing being applied to the principal. I learned that I had paid {$830.00} in alleged " Debt Protection. '' Best Buy and its agents fraudulently concealed the Debt Protection charge of {$35.00} as a " FEE '' in their monthly Statements. I never received, to my knowledge, any statement reflecting Debt Protection as a line item charge on any Best Buy monthly statement. Plus, Best Buy, XXXX XXXX, CA knew I was self employed. The XXXX point font fine print on the card they have presented to me which purports to be the Debt Protection agreement program was " not intended for self employed individuals '' and that I was not eligible for the program. I never would have agreed to pay {$35.00} per month to Debt Protection. I believed I was paying principal and interest the whole time. 

In XXXX of XXXX, at the suggestion of Best Buy, I called the prior card servicer and in a telephone conversation it was agreed I would be refunded the {$830.00}. Best Buy also had told me they were refunding those amounts but you had to call Best Buy has written records of this agreement. I had agreed to allow Best Buy to apply {$500.00} towards the balance and asked that they send me a check for the remaining {$330.00} There was no consideration backing the " : Debt Protection ''. I have sent a written demand to take them to small claims court but am separately complaining for fraud in the inducement. They showed {$35.00} per month as a " fee '' on the statements to conceal they were collecting debt. Now the balance with late fees and interest is back to almost the entire " Debt Protection '' amount of {$830.00}. Best Buy was also acquired by Citi Bank at about the same time this occurred in XXXX XXXX. I have written letters and received responses from XXXX XXXX refusing to return the money Best Buy took out of my pocket. XXXX XXXX advises that Best Buy, as a " customer accommodation '' refunded me {$93.00} of the {$830.00} they owed me. That is an admission that I was entitled to and promised a refund. XXXX and CITI bank interfered with the agreement to reconcile this account. 
There was also difficulty having the monthly charges removed because you had to call another bank. 
Best Buy never provided the Debt Protection on my account. Just the opposite is true. 
I have sent written demands for return of my money and would accept credit towards the account to pay it off with any amounts due to me to be sent to my address by check. ( See Attached. Demand Letter ) I want and am entitled as consumer the relief from these credit card predators that President Obama said would be done when he had the big Press Conference in the White House with the Credit Card Lenders.

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