Consumer complaint received 2016-06-10
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I received a promotion communication ( see Attachment 1 ) from Citibank regarding the new Citigold checking account offer in XXXX XXXX. I used the promotional code in the communication to apply for my Citigold checking account last XXXX and my account was reviewed and approved by the Citigold new account service team without any issues. After I met all the terms and conditions to obtain the benefits of this offer, the incentive was not credited properly to my account. Thus, I made the first inquiry regarding this promotion in XXXX XXXX ( see Attachment 2 ), and the customer representative indeed confirmed that I met the requirements for the promotion and suggested me to wait longer since the incentive should be credited no later than the end of XXXX XXXX. However, Citibank never issued the credit and subsequently claimed that I did not qualify for this promotion which should be targeted to customers who received the promotion communication, even though I do receive the communication and can provide a photocopy of the printout as a proof of eligibility ( see Attachment 1 ). 

I must reaffirm that the Citigold checking account offer was addressed to me and I have met all the terms and conditions to obtain the benefits of this offer. I should qualify for this promotion based on the following two reasons : First, I do receive a promotion communication regarding the new Citigold account offer and keep a physical printout of the offer disclosures ( see Attachment 1 ), which serves as a proof of eligibility. Second, I used the promotional code in the communication to apply for my Citigold checking account. My account was approved and the Citigold new account service team never informed me that I was not eligible for the promotion throughout the account reviewing/opening process. If I was truly not eligible for the promotion, my account application should have been denied at first place when I used the promotional code to open my account. However, I never received an error message nor notification informing that I am not eligible upon account approval. Furthermore, the customer representative has confirmed that I met the requirements for the promotion when I made the first inquiry regarding this promotion in XXXX ( see Attachment 2 ). 

Citibank should not take advantage of this misleading marketing advertisement to lure customers to open new accounts. Please keep in mind that there is also a relatively high monthly service fee associated with the Citigold account and it would take several months for new account holders to meet all the terms and conditions to obtain the promotional offer. It is not justifiable and should be considered fraudulent for Citibank to attract new customers using this false advertisement, collect high monthly service fee from new account holders, and not honor the promotional credit after customers opened their Citigold checking accounts, met all the promotion requirements and paid the monthly service fee accordingly.

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