Consumer complaint received 2019-12-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NH
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:
Fraudulent charges were made in the amount of {$830.00} in XX/XX/XXXX on a credit card that we havent used since last year. On XXXX XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, a text alert for potential fraud was sent to my phone. When I awoke to read it, I immediately responded " 2 '' to indicate I had not made these charges ( sent XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX ). At XXXX that same morning, I called Citi to speak with someone in their fraud department ( this was a 16 minute phone call answering their investigations questions ). They told me that if they had any further questions, someone from the investigations department would contact me. My new card shipped on XXXX XXXX. After not hearing from anyone but seeing that the charges were still on my account, I called on XXXX XXXX at XXXX to get a status update. I spoke with them for 21 minutes, answered the same questions I had already answered in XXXX, and was told again that if they had any further questions someone from investigations would contact me. Between this date and the next time I called, I happened to see on my XXXX XXXX app that the charges had been removed, which led me to believe that the issue had been resolved. Later, they reappeared on my XXXX XXXX report with a new remark stating Consumer disputes after resolution. As I had heard nothing from Citi regarding any kind of resolution and the fraudulent charges were still appearing on my account, I called again on XXXX XXXX at XXXX and answered the same questions for a 3rd time for 22 minutes because they again had no records of my previous conversations with  them. Each time Ive spoken with Citi, Ive clearly stated that my husband and I were not in possession of the card when the purchases were made and that we have never been to the store locations in the XXXX, MA area where the purchases were made ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ). When I expressed frustration over how many times I had to follow up and answer the same questions as a result of my call records seemingly disappearing in their investigations department, the representative insisted that I had not spoken to them and that while the card was closed in XXXX, I had not contacted them until XXXX-XXXX, suggesting my own carelessness. XXXX phone records prove this to be categorically false, of course. I realized the full extent of their disorganization when I received a letter in XXXX notifying me that the investigation was closed and that we were responsible for the charges, citing a narrative that was never relayed by me to investigators ( specifically, " you verified that the card of XXXX XXXX was in their possession at the time of the transaction ( s ), so  we dont consider this fraudulent activity ). I immediately called Citi Customer Service who tried to connect me with Investigations but then said they were not open on a Sunday ( XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX for 12 minutes, much of it on hold ). I called again on XX/XX/XXXX. Baffled by their incorrect reasoning for closing the investigation, I asked the representative to read me a transcription from a previous call and sure enough, she said I told them that my husband had the card on his person ( again, I never stated this ). Had they associated another customer 's narrative with my account by mistake? Clear that the investigation had been carried out with gross negligence, I requested copies of all call records, all call transcriptions, names of each person I spoke with over the course of 4 months and the name and contact info for the investigator responsible for my case - all of which I was denied. The representative told me I would need to write a letter to Security Services requesting that my investigation be reopened. As a result of everything outlined above, I am seeking other avenues for resolution.

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