Consumer complaint received 2018-12-14
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
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:
TIMELINE of FRAUDULENT CHARGE OF {$45000.00} BY XXXX FOR XXXX XXXX CITI MASTERCARDS FAILURE TO REPRESENT CLIENT REPORTING FRAUDULENT CHARGES CASES NUMBERS XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/2018 : SAW 6 CONSECUTIVE CHARGES OF {$7500.00} ( one {$8000.00} ) on Citi MasterCard online statement for which no services were received and no receipt was issued. 
Texted business owner at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX re six fraudulent charges from XXXX XXXX XXXX through XXXX  for {$7500.00} ( one claimed a {$500.00} tip totaling {$8000.00} ) on my credit card bill. She said she did not receive those funds and would look into it. 
XX/XX/2018 : Canceled Citi Mastercard and reported six fraudulent charges. New card issued. 
XX/XX/2018 : Met with business owner to look at her deposits and business account. She was never running a higher total than {$2.00} XXXX. She never saw the charge, or the funds. She saw only the charges that I had authorized on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, for {$2500.00} and {$930.00}, respectively. ) She said that on XX/XX/XXXX her XXXX machine started acting up, requiring a password repeatedly, when it had not done this before. She replaced the machine with a new one. 
( I have text images as evidence of these dates : not included in digital documents but I have hard copies ) XX/XX/2018 : Returned SIGNED DOCUMENTS TO CITI BILLING DISPUTES verifying that I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THESE SIX CHARGES AND RECEIVED NO GOODS OR SERVICES FOR THEM. I ALSO DID NOT EVEN SEE THEM UNTIL THEY APPEARED ON MY BILL. 
XX/XX/2018 : I canceled and replaced my Citi Mastercard a second time, as recommended by the  investigators, to avoid the new number being made automatically available to auto-debit clients. 
XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/2018 : I called Citi BILLING  DISPUTES, FRAUD, AND OVERCHARGE DEPARTMENTS bi weekly. During this time, the different departments kept bouncing my cases back and forth, many different stories and much confusion, finally all 6 disputes landed in FRAUD. The different departments claimed to be confused about which department should handle each charge of {$7500.00}, because on two of the six dates, I  had been present and authorized another charge. The fact that the {$7500.00} was additional to the one I authorized, and matched all the other fraudulent charges, did not convince them that they were all the same case. For a while they called two of the charges, overcharge, and FINALLY they figured out the OBVIOUS FACT that these were all fraudulent charges. 
XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/2018 : I worked with XXXX in FRAUD ( direct line XXXX ) providing signed documents, a copy of my license XXXX XX/XX/2018 ), and written verification of research she asked me to do. That research was to go on to XXXX and look at the receipts they claimed. I replied that they were all fraudulent in emails dated XX/XX/2018 and XX/XX/2018 ( attached ). 

XX/XX/2018 : On a follow up call to XXXX in FRAUD, she gave me her final assessment that THE SIX CHARGES WERE FRAUDULENT. She said, because of the high $ amount, it had to be signed off by her Supervisors. She said that she had discussed the charges with her supervisors and they verbally agreed that these were fraudulent charges. She believed that I would be refunded the full amount, {$45000.00}, by XX/XX/2018, but could not guarantee this until her Supervisors put it in writing. She also mentioned that Citi MasterCard had  a XX/XX/XXXX deadline to work with, so I would definitely have this resolved before that date. 

XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/2018 : I called daily, because I saw two conditional credits ( of six ) but these conditional credits had shown on my online statement before, and had been removed. XXXX number rang but was no longer answered. I was told they were still reviewing. On XX/XX/XXXX, I replied that they could not still be reviewing, and after being transferred twice, demanded to speak to the people in charge. 

XXXX XXXX, a Manager in FRAUD, then proclaimed the unbelievable : they had reversed their decision and deemed all the charges were legitimate! I asked what recourse I had, and she said all I could do was write a letter to the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT and request ARBITRATION. 

XX/XX/2018 : I called to get the address for the Office of the President, so I could send the letter requesting ARBITRATION. I was connected to BILLING DISPUTES, and XXXX heard my explanation and reopened the disputes. 

XX/XX/2018 : XXXX in BILLING DISPUTES requested that I present signed forms attesting that I did not authorize these charges. ( I had already sent these forms on XX/XX/XXXX, he did not have a record. ) He said the XX/XX/XXXX charge could not be reopened because it was being handled by FRAUD. Incorrect. 

XXXX Suggested that I contact XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, The Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General.

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