Consumer complaint received 2019-05-20
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (NY)

On XX/XX/XXXX, while visiting my parents for five days on vacation, I went to the University XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and used my credit card to pay the meter in the parking lot. Then I walked into the gym and went for a swim. 

During that period of time, unbeknownst to me, my credit card was stolen from my clothing while I swam. The person who took my card went and spent XXXX at the XXXX on XXXX XXXX ( store XXXX ), a store location Ive never been to. Then went to XXXX XXXX XXXX and wracked up two charges, one of XXXX and then a second charge of XXXX. Thats when Citibank reached out to alert me of suspicious activity while I was eating at XXXX for lunch with my family. 

The woman I spoke with told me there had been some irregular activity and could I confirm or deny a series of recent charges. I confirmed that the two charges at XXXX XXXX had been fraudulent but omitted the XXXX ( XXXX ) charge because I had made a purchase at the XXXX ( XXXX ) by my parents house the day before and mistook the fraudulent charge for my honored purchase. It was only recently while looking at the store numbers and walking through the events that I pieced together that this was the first of the charges on my stolen card. This oversight as well as my misapprehension that I had possession of my card seems to make up the basis for Citibanks investigation. I assumed my card was in my possession because I had used it only hours before. If I had been aware of the difference between a fraud involving stolen card numbers and a fraud involving a stolen card I would have proceeded differently. I was not pushed during my initial conversation with Citibank to confirm that my card was in hand. I was informed by the representative that it was likely my card had been scanned while making a purchase and a counterfeit copy had been made. The first representative I spoke with led me to believe that all was well, the charges had been caught quickly and the case was closed. I was not informed that there would be a fraud case opened by Citibank or that I should in any way prepare myself for questioning as a suspect. 

Over a month later I spoke with an agent XXXX who had been assigned to my case and was grilled about how it was possible that someone else had made fraudulent purchases on my card if it was still in my possession. I was caught off guard when I spoke with XXXX. A month had elapsed since the charges had occurred and I had put the entire episode behind me. XXXX was somewhat caustic and intense which only compounded the situation. I stated this fact to XXXX and he seemed to back off and apologize, finishing our conversation on a more conciliatory note. After our talk I naively assumed that as a customer of Citibank I would be taken for my word having attested to the fact that I did not make these charges. I didnt understand how serious a situation this was until I received a letter today explaining that the case had been closed and I was being billed for the total of the contested sum. 

Exacerbating the situation is the fact that I am working and living on a farm in upstate New York that is essentially off-grid and have to drive into town to get cell phone service and pick up mail from my P.O. Box. This has made me slow to grasp both the severity of the situation and the tone of Citibanks agents, treating me more like a criminal then a customer. Now that I am fully aware, I am prepared to do whatever I must to strike these fraudulent charges from my balance. I will continue to make minimum payments on the total in good faith that these payments will be returned to me at the resolve of this matter. If I can not resolve this with Citibank than I will file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Not only have I never stepped foot in a XXXX XXXX but my purchase history with Citibank reflects my frugality and show these charges to be completely out of character. Citibanks alert system picked up on this and I was notified of the fraud taking place. I can provide witnesses for an alibi and testimonials to my character. Whatever is needed I am willing to provide. 

On a final note, I want to remind Citibank of its pledge to its credit card customers. This is directly from there website and I will attach the link as well. 

{$0.00} Liability On Unauthorized Charges You Won't Pay for ANY Unauthorized Charges Youre protected against unauthorized charges on your consumer credit card account. 
At Citi, you will not be responsible for unauthorized charges ( charges which were not made by you, or anyone allowed to use the account ). 

Why did Citibank not simply check if the signature of the disputed charges matched my own? Why was the merchant not held accountable for failing to ask for Identification? Why am I the customer being held responsible for charges I never made?