Consumer complaint received 2015-03-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Credit card
Issue: Customer service / Customer relations

Complaint:
I have a complaint to file against Citibank 's Citi Card department. 

My family and I have recently traveled to XXXX and we used my Citi Dividend Card to plan the trip and purchase our tickets. However, on the first day of our trip, our bags ( XXXX ) were lost by the XXXX company. We had to purchase clothes, toiletries, and necessities for the group. Our luggages were returned to us a day later. 

On XXXX, I filed a baggage loss protection claim with Citibank 's Benefits Assistance Center. 

On XXXX/XXXX/15, I was instructed to fill out a XXXX XXXX XXXX form and to collect all the related documentation. I submitted the form and attached a copy of our tickets, baggage claim form, airport irregularity report, and other documentation back to Citi 's Benefits Assistance Center the following day. 

On XXXX/XXXX/15, I received an email from the Benefits Assistance Center that my claim is declined because my card does not cover Baggage Delay Protection. 

On XXXX/XXXX/15, the same day, I replied the email with proof that my card in fact does cover Lost Baggage protection. 

On XXXX/XXXX/15, the Claims Admin acknowledged that my card does include Lost Baggage protection, but does not cover Baggage Delay Protection. 

When asked about the difference between XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, the Claims Admins said " The difference between the XXXX is that the delay is for bags that are delayed that you eventually get back, and the lost is where the airline officially declares the bag lost meaning your never getting your bag back. " This is where I am confused. Realistically, how would I know that when the airline lost my bags, whether my bags were just going to be delayed or they were actually lost? How would I be able to make a judgement at the time of loss whether to my expenses toward necessities and clothes for the next day were going to be covered? And he is suggesting us to not purchase any travel necessities because our bags could just be delayed instead of lost, and we would not be covered as long as our bags were returned to me at some point even after my trip or possibly weeks/months later? If I had to figure out exactly whether my bags were going to be returned to me at the time it was lost by the airline company, how was I protected in any way by this CitiCard? 

This response does not make any sense to me. I then asked for documentation or terms of service for this statement as I would like to understand if legally he can make this claim. The response I get was " To get a guide to benefits you will need to contact Citi Card for it, and or look online on Citi.com. '' I then contacted Citi 's customer service team, and they responded with the following : " Unfortunately, the Secured Message Center for CitiCard is unable to assist you with any questions, concerns or issues with the the Lost Luggage benefit as they must be address by a representative of the benefit provider. Please contact the benefit provider directly with any issues you may have. '' This appears to be a case where different Citi Cards divisions are making it a technicality issue by exploiting the terms and languages. They are actively finding ways to not protect its members ' interests when clearly our benefits were affected. 

I am at a loss as I am unable to find any help in this matter. I am filing this complaint to hopefully find a way to communicate to someone who can please help me get this issue addressed. 

Thank you very much.

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