Consumer complaint received 2020-09-04
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CA)

Hello, For the past 3+ months I've been trying to settle an issue I have with Citibank about honoring a cash bonus promotion. And after too many attempts that have included hours on the phone with more than half a dozen different customer service representatives across multiple countries, I haven't found a satisfactory resolution and that's why I'm filing a complaint with the CFPB as a last resort.

This all stems from a promotion Citibank was doing ( it's actually still active today ). Back on XX/XX/2020 I opened a Citi Priority banking account online. As part of the promotion, I needed to deposit {$50000.00} or more ( which I deposited on XX/XX/XXXX ) and maintain that balance for 60 consecutive days ( which I fulfilled on XX/XX/2020 XXXX. Upon completing those terms, Citibank would add {$700.00} to my account within 90 days after meeting the requirement, which means I should have gotten the bonus by at least XX/XX/2020. But as of today, XX/XX/2020, that bonus was never issued. 

I first inquired about the bonus back on in XXXX ( don't know the exact date ) with a Citibank rep through an online chat or call and they told me that by the end of XXXX I would receive the bonus cash. I asked if there was anything I needed to do on my end and they told me that I just needed to wait. 

XXXX came and went and I saw no bonus cash, so I chatted with someone again online on XX/XX/2020. After explaining to them what was going on, they assured me that I had met the requirements and that the money would be added soon ( attached a screen shot of a portion of the chat where the rep said I fulfilled requirements and said I would get the bonus ). 

Fast forward to XX/XX/2020 and I spoke to a rep ( in the XXXX? ) over the phone and they looked into my account and said I had met all the requirements and again assured me that I would get the bonus cash. They said they would open an inquiry to help escalate the issue, and I waited to see if the money would be deposited. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I saw a message ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) on my account stating that they had completed their investigation and determined that I wasn't eligible for the promotion due to my checking account closing on XX/XX/2020. I immediately called someone ( in the XXXX again ) and asked what this meant. They explained that Citibank had decided to close the checking account on their own due to there being no money in the account. I told the rep that I didn't choose to close that account and didn't even know I needed to have money in it to keep it open. I also said, I still had the savings account open with the $ XXXX in there. I told them that nowhere in the terms and conditions for the promotion did it say I had to keep both savings and checking account open to get the bonus. I also mentioned that in all the previous conversations with other associates, no one ever brought up that issue before. I asked the customer service rep if I could speak to someone in the United States to assist me, since I was afraid something was getting lost in translation. I spoke to a nice woman ( XXXX ) from the US and after looking into my matter she believed that the issue would be resolved in my favor and that usually cases similar to mine work out to the customer 's benefit. 

XX/XX/XXXX, another message comes in ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) and I called Citibank again. I immediately asked to speak to someone in the US and I spoke to a man named XXXX. He explained that I wasn't eligible for bonus cash due to the checking account being closed ( same rationale as the other letter ). I explained to him ( just like the previous 2 or 3 reps ) that it wasn't my decision to close the account. XXXX said the account was closed due to there be a lack of funds and I asked him where in the terms and conditions does it say both a savings and checking account needed to be open to be eligible for the promotion. He couldn't give me a clear answer, and that there wasn't anything he could do. But after looking at my account further and the notes from the inquiry and appeal, he said he believed I had met all the requirements for the promotion since I had the money ( $ XXXX ) in there for 60 consecutive days and that the checking account was closed ( XX/XX/XXXX ) after the 60 day threshold was already passed ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and that it shouldn't matter if the checking account was open or closed. He sent in another appeal and was confident it would work out in my favor. 

Finally today, I get another message on my account saying the same thing. I didn't meet the requirements of the promotion due to the checking account being closed. 

So to restate my argument, I believed I met all the requirements based on the terms and conditions stipulated in the promotion and that there is nothing explicitly saying that a customer must have BOTH a savings and checking account with required funds ( $ XXXX ) open for a total of 150 days ( 60 consecutive days of having the funds in place plus the up to 90 days for the bank to deposit the bonus cash ). So I believe ( as well as XXXX, XXXX and all the other associates ) that I met my end of the deal and should receive the {$700.00}. 

I'm sorry this description is so long, I just wanted to make sure I shared all the documentation and correspondence I had so that you have a complete picture of everything I went through and that it wasn't due to a lack of effort that I'm now having to resort to a complaint through the CFPD. Having looked through the database, I now realize that I'm not alone in having this issue with Citibank. 

Thank you and I look forward to a resolution that doesn't require further legal action.