Consumer complaint received 2016-07-11
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Credit card
Issue: Billing disputes

Complaint:
I paid my Macy 's credit card ( Citibank , N.A . DSNB ) balance in full on XXXX XXXX, 2016 in the amount of {$2700.00}. This was the balance on my statement. After I paid this balance I considered the card to be paid off and there to be no remaining balance or further payments due. I did this with the intent of paying down debt and to improve my credit score so my family can purchase a house in the upcoming months. However, months later I found out that there was an interest charge the following month after I paid my credit card in full. I received no past due notices and no phone calls to alert me of the past due bill. I had no idea that I still had anything remaining to pay. One day I checked my account following an email I received monthly and noticed over {$80.00} was past due!! These were monthly statements sent every month to my email address, which I then had to log into my account to view the statement. Having paid it off, I did n't think there was any need to log into the account to view a statement. The email itself contained no indication that there was a problem with the account or that the account was past due. I receive other email notifications from other credit cards that provide said info right in the contents of the email message, so as to immediately alert the borrower. When on a whim I decided to look at my account, I was so upset that I immediately called and made payment. During the call I expressed my frustration with not being called to be notified. I have NEVER been late on my payments, which can be confirmed by pulling my credit report. During the phone call the woman could not seem to understand me - I had to repeat my account information at least 3 times. She agreed to waive all of the late fees associated with this issue and I made payment of {$24.00} on XXXX XXXX immediately upon becoming aware of the issue. I told her that I did n't even care about the money - my main issue was that this was over 30 days old and would have been reported to the credit bureaus. The woman told me no, they do n't report to the credit agencies. I knew at that moment that she did n't know what she was talking about. For some reason I decided to accept her reassurance that it would not be reported and that the error was resolved by her removing the late fees and me paying the {$24.00} and her assurance that it would not be reported. 

This month I looked at my credit score and it went from XXXX last month to XXXX this month. This is absolutely unacceptable as I was told on the phone it would not be reported. Further I made it clear on the call that in the future if there is ever a problem with the account I wanted to be called and notified. Please have the credit card company pull the phone call that occurred the evening of XXXX XXXX, 2016 and confirm the misinformation I was provided. This information should be honored and this should not have been reported to the credit bureaus. XXXX would expect that when they pay a balance in full there are no further payments due. This accompanied with me receiving no past due alert is not acceptable. I will be extremely angry if I can not purchase a house in the upcoming months for my family because of this error and the impact it 's had on my credit. My credit score has NEVER been this low, ever. Please correct my credit reporting to remove any delinquency and address the representative that gave me the information that it would not be reported. 

I work in the financial services industry myself and this would never be acceptable. In fact, I worked answering CFPB complaints in my previous role and am well versed in how this works. I 'm extremely disappointed and when I am in a position to pay off all of my citi card balances I will be doing so and closing all accounts associated with the bank.

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