Consumer complaint received 2016-10-07
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Credit card
Issue: Credit card protection / Debt protection

Complaint:
Dear Sir or Madam, Please see the following complaint below. This is regarding Citibank 's unauthorized add-on charges towards my credit card since XXXX XXXX to present. 

On Monday, XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I contacted Citibank to dispute an " add-on charge '' on my credit card. I was told by a Citibank representative that this was not a mandatory charge, that it was in fact an " optional fee '' for insurance by a company called Payment Safeguard. I told the representative I had no knowledge of this nor did I ever approve this service. I asked to see proof of enrollment and was told by Citibank that they would send proof to me within 30 days. I never received any type of proof of enrollment even after 30 days. I then requested Citibank to send my statements from XXXX to XXXX ( present ) to see how much I was being charged since XXXX which totals {$16000.00}. On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I received a letter from Citibank Customer Service stating that I had cancelled this Payment Safeguard service with the following statement : " Based on the length of time that your account was covered by the program benefits, your account protection fee refund amount will be {$530.00}. We 've credited your account for this amount, as well as any related interest charges. The credit will appear on your statement within two billing periods. If you have any questions about Payment Safeguard, please contact XXXX. '' This amount of {$530.00} is unacceptable, I never agreed to it and I am entitled to the full amount of {$16000.00} plus interest since XXXX. Since XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, on several different occasions, I spoke with various Supervisors from both Citibank and Payment Safeguard. On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, I spoke with XXXX, a Supervisor from Citibank, I was again transferred to the Payment Safeguard company in which I spoke with a Payment Safeguard Supervisor named XXXX. This is where I hit a road block. XXXX informed me that all that Payment Safeguard can do is submit my claim to their Account Maintenance Department which has no phone number to speak with an actual person, all they have is an address with a post office box ( see address below ). This was my last contact with Citibank. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, South Dakota XXXX Upon further research, I discovered that on th CFPB website, Citibank had been issued a XXXX page consent order by the CFPB File NO. XXXX which I 've read thoroughly. Also, on CFPB website, please read an article by XXXX XXXX - XXXX/XXXX/XXXX titled " Citibank to Refund {$700.00} XXXX to Credit Card Customers to Unfair and Deceptive Practices '' which has affected XXXX XXXX cardholders including myself. 

On a personal note, being a single homeowner, the amount of these add-on charges could have been put towards my mortgage for the last 13 years. 

I would like to thank you for your attention and time towards this matter and look forward to having it rectified as soon as possible.

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