Consumer complaint received 2023-04-24
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services
Sub-issue: Billing dispute for services

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I paid off my Citibank Double Cash credit card balance of {$88.00} and had a balance of {$0.00} owed. 

I had this account open since XXXX and had ; the same address, account used to make payments, phone number, email, all the same throughout the life of the account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from Citibank saying my security word had been updated. After reaching out to Citibank, they 'resolved " the issue by closing my account and mailing me a new card, which was never recevied. 

I followed up once to check on the status of the card. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying that a payment of {$130.00} was returned unpaid from XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. The bank account was not mine, I only used XXXX XXXX. I explained that the balance was not mine as I never received the card. A customer is unable to access any account information until they receive their card. 

Citi confirmed the address on the account was updated from my address located in I haven't used my card at all since XX/XX/XXXX, and my balance was {$0.00}. I also had not received any replacement card. I decided to close my account due to the fraudulent activity, and was told that all charges would be removed from my account. I received the email confirmation of account closure on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. 

That same night, at XXXX, I received a welcome email saying I have a new Double Cash account with a new number. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a statement saying a balance was owed for {$160.00} on a Double Cash account, but different account number. 

I called Citibank and asked why an account was open, and had a balance in the first place. I was told that it was a mistake, and that I am free to ignore it. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying the same account now had a balance of {$210.00}. I called and asked again about the balance and account, and was told I could ignore it. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email for a scheduled auto-payment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called Citi again about the account balance and auto-payment email. They said that my account balance showed {$0.00} despite me telling them that my credit report has been showing late & missed payments on my end. So I asked for Citi to remove the account from my name as it was fraudulent and took down a confirmation number. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email confirmation from Citibank for the unauthorized account was showing a balance of {$0.00} and that the account was closed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying a payment of {$210.00} from XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX was returned for the account previously mentioned on XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying the balance owed on the supposedly closed account was now {$250.00} On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying I received 'e-communication ' regarding the account, which I was unable to view as I never received the card which is needed to create an account to view these documents Additionally, when an account is closed, a customer is no longer able to access the account online or through the app XX/XX/XXXX I finally received an email saying Citibank opened up a dispute for the most recent account ( which was supposedly closed ) On XX/XX/XXXX the auto-payments were finally canceled On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email showing a statement balance on a completely new account number with a balance of {$160.00} On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email asking to make payment immediately and that I am " XXXX payments past due '' on my card On XX/XX/XXXX I was on the phone with Citibank form XXXX XXXX until XXXX XXXX, trying one again to resolve the issue as I had received a letter in the mail that a representative said I needed for verification in order to proceed with fixing my issues. After having my call dropped/hung up/left on hold/transferred to bogus numbers, I decided to pay the balance and pursue whatever actions I can to recover my damages and avoid further harm to my credit report. Even after this payment was made, I received no email confirmation, and was told they could not email me one, despite the countless emails I've received in the past. 

Since XX/XX/XXXX, I have called Citibank consistently, about every XXXX weeks. Each time I spoke to a representative and explained that I paid off my card in XX/XX/XXXX, and that any activity after that point was fraudulent, I was greeted with confusing, conflicting statements. Some representatives would state that no balances were showing on their end. Others said they would open up a dispute for me. Each representative said that it would take about 60-90 days for a resolution, and that they would reach out to me for more information if necessary. No one ever reached out to me. If they try and say they did through the account portal, I didn't have access as I never received the card, and explained that each time. 

Other representatives would transfer me from one department to the other, only to be greeted by them telling me I needed to be transferred again as the issue fell under a different department.

I have been told that due to security reasons I needed to call back after receiving a letter to read a code, verifying my identity. When I called, I was then told that the number was no good, and that a new letter needed to be mailed.

I'd imagine that this issue would be one of the simplest to fix as the timeline is pretty clear, as I paid my card 's balance off in XXXX of XXXX and received no more emails as I wasn't using my card afterward, and that the timeline would clearly show that all activity after that point was fraudulent. I always called immediately upon seeing any fraudulent activity, and almost always paid my card 's balance off entirely to avoid paying any interest. 

My credit score went from XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX, the highest I've ever had, to XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX. Despite continuous calling and reassurances, misinformation, and blatant negligence, I've tried to work with Citibank to resolve this issue, and it still hasn't been taken care of. Despite making the payment to prevent any additional harm to my credit report, I fear I will still encounter future issues with Citibank. 

I have used my vacation time, work lunches, breaks, personal time that I use for my business, all trying to resolve this. I reluctantly paid the balance only because out of myself and Citibank, I'm the only one who has incurred any damages throughout this experience as their business operates without any issues, meanwhile I've had to postpone home projects due to my credit being impacted so much and trying to avoid higher interest rates

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