Consumer complaint received 2017-06-19
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
I was very surprised and disheartened to learn today that I have been paying interest on promotional balances with Best Buy for the past  1-2 years ( over $ 1100+ ). I fe el the interest and fees I have been paying were 'hidden ' from me once I adopted Best Buy 's push for 'paperless billing. ' I believe Best Buy 's campaign for paperless billing made it seamless for them to keep the details of the promotional balances and interest charged under the radar, exploiting the average consumer based on two facts : The small font and placement of the promotional balance information on their main webpage.  <P/> In the past, when I received paper billing statements in the mail, it was easy to see when promotional balances were expiring, as well as all the details of the fees, interest paid, and pertinent billing details.  <P/> Once I succumbed to Best Buy 's paperless billing campaign, much of this information became hidden. Their website 's online summary page only highlights the minimum payment due, current balance and available credit. There is no mention of interest paid, interest charged, or fees in an easy to see and noticeable location. The consumer has to scroll down and look for a smaller font which describes the details of any promotional balances expiration date.  <P/> Also, the consumer has to scroll down even further to see details of the last transaction where they might notice any previous interest or fees charged.  <P/> And in my case, every time I went online to look at the account activity, it was right after an automatic payment was made ; thus, there were no details of any previous interest fees paid- as this information was no longer available or shown on the main screen. The only way to see this is to click through several steps to pull up old statements, which then require the consumer to choose a specific file format, understand the upload process, etc.  <P/> When I called Best Buy to explain and ask for reimbursement of the fees due to above, they only credited me the amount of the last interest c harge ( {$660.00} ). Th ey said they would not credit me interest beyond this date, due to my account agreement.  <P/> This was very misleading and disheartening since I had the money to pay off any promotional balances before expiration, but was not properly informed of both the promotional balances or continued interest accumulation.  <P/> I would also like to point out that I have  XXXX  other credit cards that operate much differently than Best Buy. They specifically flag and point out to the consumer any promotional balance that may be expiring, and highlight interest paid or to be paid.  <P/> Unfortunately, I was not able to remedy this situation with Best Buy, and feel other consumers may also be suffering from the same fate.  <P/> I 'm asking for your help in this matter.

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