Consumer complaint received 2016-05-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2016 I opened a Citibank checking account ( Citigold ) under offer code XXXX. The promotion would credit my account with XXXX ThankYou Points ( redeemable for up to {$400.00} in gift cards ) if I " within 60 days after account opening, XXXX qualifying bill payment must be posted to the new checking account each month for two consecutive calendar months ''. 

I have the promotion disclosure that shows the promotion is attached to my account. 

I made my first bill payment on XXXX/XXXX/2016 on a XXXX credit card. 

I made a second bill payment on XXXX/XXXX/2016 on a XXXX credit card. 

I contacted Citi customer service after I made the second bill payment in order to confirm that I had met the terms of the promotion. 

Citi customer service sends requests for status on promotions to another group which I can not communicate directly with and that group sends me electronic letters with the result of each inquiry. 

The first inquiry, XXXX, indicated that I was not eligible for the promotion but also seemed to reference an incorrect promotion ( XXXX that rewarded XXXX XXXX AAdvantage miles instead of Citi ThankYou Points ) so I called Citi customer service and submitted another inquiry. 

The second inquiry, XXXX, stated : " Unfortunately, there was not ThankYou ( R ) Points promotion offered in conjunction with the opening of your account. While Citi does offer ThankYou ( R ) Points promotions at times, those offers are only available to the individual to whom the offer was addressed. '' I called Citi customer service a third time, indicating that I did receive this promotion and while I no longer have the original letter I do have the promotion disclosure indicating that the promotion code was attached to the account when I opened it. 

I received a third electronic letter from Citi client services ( XXXX ) again stating : " Unfortunately, there was not ThankYou ( R ) Points promotion offered in conjunction with the opening of your account. While Citi does offer ThankYou ( R ) Points promotions at times, those offers are only available to the individual to whom the offer was addressed. '' I again called Citi on XXXX XXXX 2016. The customer service supervisor that I spoke to stated that even though I provided the promotional code it was their opinion that I was not targeted for the promotion and they would not honor the promotion. In addition, they refused to waive the fee for opening the CitiGold checking account. The supervisor stated that after the fee is charged I could call back and then Citi " may '' be able to waive the fee. 

It seems dishonest to allow me to open the account with the promotion code and after I fulfilled the terms of the promotion refuse to honor the terms of the promotion and refuse to guarantee me refunds for the fees associated with the account.

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 explanation