Consumer complaint received 2022-02-19
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Charged too much interest

Complaint:
Citibank XXXX XXXX Back credit card employs misleading and predatory practices. 
On XXXX XXXX, 2021 I transferred a balance of more than {$9000.00} from a XXXX credit card, 0 % APR for 18 months. I have only made a few purchases on the Citibank card, to take advantage of the promised 2 % cash back. 

I was told that " If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance ( including balance transfers ) by the due date each month. '' I assumed it meant that until my entire balance transfer had been paid, I would be charged interest each month from the day I made any purchase until the day I paid Citibank for it. That would be a drawback, because most cards don't charge ANY interest if one pays for a purchase by month 's end, but I accepted it as a necessary evil. However, it turned out to be much, much worse. 

Citibank now tells me that, no, they have been charging me interest on past purchases *forever*, until I pay off my entire transfer balance ( which I have 18 months to do ). I have made NO purchases at all since XXXX but have been charged interest each month on purchases made -- and paid for -- long ago. I even paid hundreds of dollars MORE than I needed to pay, to pay down my transfer balance, to make sure that I didn't have any outstanding purchases. But I'm still being charged interest. 

I called and talked to XXXX and then supervisor XXXX ( employee # XXXX ) ; they simply read back the same line that I quoted above. But it's a very misleading line, since no credit card I've ever seen charges interest on purchase that have already been paid off. It could just as easily be interpreted the way that I interpreted it, meaning that until I pay off the entire transfer balance, purchases that I make each month will accrue interest until I have paid for those specific purchases. Citibank charging hundreds in future interest based on one, contestable line seems predatory. 

Citibank apparently pays fees to many credit card review sites, such as XXXX Underscored ( https : XXXX ), because all of those sites tout the 2 % cash back feature AND the 0 % APR balance transfer feature, but not a single one mentions the tremendous drawback of being charged interest forever on all purchases until the entire balance transfer is paid. ( XXXX Underscored, for example, acknowledges that they receive fees if someone applies for a Citibank card after visiting XXXX 's site. ) This seems even more predatory. Citibank acts as if their policy is transparent and everyone knows about it, but not a single one of these paid review sites that I could find mentions anything about their interest policy. 

Why would anyone use Citibank 's balance transfer feature, pay 3 % of the balance transferred, and then ALSO use the card as a credit card ( as Citibank and its paid reviewers suggest that people do ), if doing so will incur monthly interest charges that will far outstrip the 2 % cashback? Please don't let them continue this practice. They need to state upfront that their card should be used EITHER as a balance transfer card OR as a 2 % cashback credit card, but that using it as both will result in heavy charges. 

I am attaching a section of my the language that Citibank uses on my statements, indicating " how to avoid paying interest. '' I assumed it was relevant to my account because they're the ones who chose to include it each month. If it doesn't apply to me, it would comprise just one more example of Citibank 's obfuscating policies and language. 

Citibank 's practices are predatory and unethical, all based on their interpretation of a single, contestable line. I will never do business with Citibank again.

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