Consumer complaint received 2021-06-17
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
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: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2021, between XXXX and XXXX PT, I received a text notification regarding a charge from XXXX for {$420.00} on my Citibank Costco Visa credit card. I was notified of this transaction immediately because I am enrolled in text notifications for any transactions that occur on my credit card. My husband, an authorized user of the account, also receives text notifications for transactions that occur on this credit account. My husband contacted me immediately to ask if I made a large purchase on XXXX. I told him I did not, and I verified with him that he also did not make any purchases on XXXX in this amount. I then checked my XXXX account, which I also share with my husband, and it showed no orders or transactions in the amount of {$420.00} in any of my past order history. After conferring with my husband, verifying that neither of us made this transaction and there was no such transaction in my XXXX account, I contacted Citibank Customer Service at XXXX. 

I spoke with a customer service representative who I explained the situation as above, and the representative stated that I would be transferred to the Fraud Department to speak with someone regarding the fraudulent charge. The representative asked me whether I enrolled my credit card into a Mobile Wallet app such as XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2021. I told him no, I did not enroll my credit card into a Mobile Wallet on that date, however, it had been enrolled in XXXX XXXX prior to XX/XX/2021. At this point, I was transferred to a person in the Fraud Department. 

The woman in the fraud department facilitated the closing of the credit card, and then had a new card reissued to me, and told me it would arrive within 4-7 business days. She again asked whether my card was enrolled in a Mobile Wallet app such as XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, etc. on XX/XX/2021. I reiterated that I did not enroll my card in any Mobile Wallet app on that specific date, however, the credit card was enrolled in my XXXX XXXX prior to XX/XX/XXXX. She then revealed that the reason why she asked was that the transaction came through XXXX XXXX. I told her that I do not own a XXXX phone, but I have an XXXX, and therefore do not have the ability to use XXXX XXXX with my phone. She asked me if I would like to dis-enroll the Citibank card from the XXXX XXXX, and I told her yes. She processed that request. I then asked her to also dis-enroll the card from my XXXX XXXX account as well, in case my XXXX XXXX account is compromised and the card will no longer be valid either way. She processed that request. She then informed me that the investigation will take a few days, and it usually takes about 4 days for them to process any conditional credits to my account, which would then be permanent credits after the investigation is complete. I thanked her for her time. 

On XX/XX/2021, both my husband and I received new Citibank Costco Visa credit cards in the mail and I activated my card. I then logged into my Citibank account in order to pay my statement balance, but when I checked to see whether the XXXX charge of {$420.00} had been taken off my account or if I had been given a conditional credit, I saw that the transaction had actually posted to my account. I called Citibank customer service at XXXX and spoke to a customer service representative. I explained the events that occurred on XX/XX/2021, and inquired as to why the transaction had posted to my account. The customer service representative then informed me that, for an unknown reason, the transaction had not been marked for review for fraud. She indicated that she will mark it for review at that time. Again, she explained that it would take around 4 days for the transaction to be reviewed and I could call again to follow up on the status of the investigation. I thanked her for her help. 

On XX/XX/2021, I again checked my account to see whether I had received any conditional credit for {$420.00} or if the transaction was taken off of my account. I discovered that the transaction was still posted to my account. At this time, I decided to go on the Citibank Mobile App and dispute the charge through the app. I received confirmation through the app that I would receive a letter shortly regarding the dispute. 

On XX/XX/2021, I called Citibank customer service to follow up on the status of the fraudulent charge. The representative indicated that the Security Department was closed at that time, and he was unable to look further into the transaction, and to call the next day when the department would be open so I could speak to someone in the Security Department directly. 

On XX/XX/2021, I called Citibank customer service again to follow up on the status of the fraud charge and asked to speak to someone in the Security Department directly. I informed the representative that I had been trying to get this transaction resolved for several weeks now, and I have not been provided with any updates as to the status of the investigation. She informed me that she was limited on what she could see on her end, and that I would need to speak to someone in their Security Department, which was only open during the weekdays. She provided me the direct number to the Security Department and the available hours I would be able to speak to someone directly. 

On XX/XX/2021, I received a notification via email that I had correspondence from Citibank. I logged into my Citibank Mobile App and viewed the correspondence, which was titled " An Update On Your Dispute. '' It was a simple form letter indicating that Citibank was looking into the unauthorized charge on my credit card and they would contact me if they needed additional information. At this point, I was satisfied to finally receive something in writing that Citibank was investigating the fraudulent charge. This is the only letter I have received from Citibank regarding this fraudulent charge to date. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after yet another week of no updates regarding the transaction, I called the Citibank Security Department directly at XXXX and spoke to a representative. I explained to the representative all the events as stated above, and that as of this date, I still have not received any further updates regarding this transaction, even though on two of the initial calls I made to Citibank, the representatives informed me that it would only take a matter of days to resolve. I was frustrated that I notified Citibank about the fraudulent charge immediately when it occurred, and after nearly a month, it had not yet been resolved. 

The representative then informed me that my fraud claim was denied. When I asked why, she asked whether I had an authorized user on my card. I stated yes, my husband is an authorized user on the account and is the only authorized user. She then asked if our cell phone service was through XXXX XXXX, and I stated yes. She then said that the investigation concluded that the transaction was made by an authorized user through a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that everything in the notes that she was reading indicated as such. I was confused how the investigation came up with that conclusion because the transaction was made using my credit card number. My husband has his own credit card as an authorized user and it has a completely different number, and my husband has never even used a XXXX XXXX before. Between the two of us, I am the only person who has used a Mobile Wallet and I only had it enrolled on my XXXX XXXX account. It had never been enrolled on any XXXX XXXX account that neither I nor my husband are aware of. 

The representative stated that she would " kick it back '' to the investigator and inform them that I am still disputing this charge, but that is the most she will be able to do for me. I then asked what I was supposed to do once it came time to pay my statement balance, because I do not want to pay for the {$420.00} transaction and be held liable for it. I stated that I can not dispute the charge with XXXX because there is no such transaction on my XXXX account in order for me to bring them a dispute to review. I am concerned about it accruing interest if that transaction lingers in my account for several cycles, seeing as it took Citibank a month to investigate and review this charge. She advised that I should at least pay the minimum balance due for the card so as to not adversely affect my credit score for non-payment. She then stated that it should take about 5 days for me to hear something about the investigation of this charge, and if it gets resolved, any accrued interest would be taken off of my account. I thanked her for her help. This was the last contact I made with Citibank prior to filing this complaint.

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