Consumer complaint received 2015-10-09
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MD
Product: Credit card
Issue: Billing disputes

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX 2015, my wallet was stolen. I contacted the police and filed a police report at the scene, and then proceeded to contact my credit card companies that the card was stolen. Fraudulent charges were attempted on XXXX credit cards, XXXX of them being a Macys store card. On XXXX XXXX I called Macy 's to report the card stolen and reported {$550.00} of fraudulent charges on the account made that day. Customer service said they would replace the card, but could not do anything about the charges until they posted 2-3 business days later. I called back after the charges had posted, at which point Macys said I should be receiving a disclosure form to fill out from their fraud investigation department to fill out and the dispute would be resolved in XXXX billing cycles. Shortly afterwards, I received a new card from Macys. I received the fraud report form on XXXX XXXX, filled it out, and mailed it back to Macys on XXXX XXXX. I received a written statement dated from Macys dated XXXX XXXX stating that my statement was received and the claim should be resolved within 60 days. On XXXX XXXX I received a call from the Macys fraud investigation department stating that they would need to issue me a new card before they could start their investigation. I consented and a new card was sent. On XXXX XXXX, the amount in dispute as well as interest/late fees/finance charges was sent to collections. I received phone calls from collections at the following times : XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. In all but XXXX cases, a human being was not at the other end of the line. In the XXXX instances where a human being was at the end of the line, I explained that the amount was disputed and there was an ongoing investigation with the fraud department. In all XXXX cases, the collecter said they would put a note on the account, but this did not stop the phone calls. On XXXX I called Macys to resolve the issue and was transferred between collections and the fraud investigation department. The collections side said they could not stop the phone calls until the account was paid. The fraud investigation side said they had not started the investigation yet but they would try to expedite it given the length of time the case had remained opened. I asked what would happen at the conclusion of the investigation and they said they would remove the charges and all associated interest and fees as well as send a written letter to the credit bureaus to remove delinquent account remarks and a written letter to myself concluding the investigation. I asked why they were aggressively attempting to collect the disputed amount. I also asked why non-payment of a disputed amount would be sent to the credit bureaus as delinquent while there was a current, ongoing investigation within their department. I expressed concern that these practices did not comply with the Fair Credit Billing Act. They explained that they were unfamiliar with any federal regulations regarding this matter and were only familiar with Macys store policies.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief