Consumer complaint received 2024-08-07
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CA)

On XX/XX/year>, I logged into my web credit card account to ensure that a payment I had set previously was not going to be made. On the website, I saw an error message indicating that whatever payment I did have scheduled would not satisfy the minimum amount due and that I would have to make a payment. 

This was very jarring to me, as my minimum payment was ~ {$XXXX}, I had my auto-pay on to automatically pay the minimum amount, and the amount I had changed it to a week prior was to {XXXX}. I clicked on the account page and searched for any indication that I had a payment that was going to be made in either the minimum amount or the {XXXX amount. I scoured the website, found no signs that the payment I had scheduled would be going through, and I had no way to rescind my payment of XXXX. I changed my auto-payment settings to only pay the minimum, but it didn't seem to work, and I was worried that too much money would be taken from my account. 

I attempted to use the chat system to rectify the situation, but because it was already past XXXX XXXX EST, I was directed to their contact page and given the phone number to call. I called, someone from a call center picked up the phone, and I raised my issues to this person. 

The person on the other end assured me that no payment was going to come out of my account on the due date ( XX/XX/year> ), and that I would need to make a payment in order to not see a penalty. I followed his instruction and authorized an amount totaling just the minimum value, as I did not want to risk having less than what I needed for my remaining bills this month. I specifically asked for some kind of proof that I had called, and he gave me these numbers to write down : XXXX. Little did I know, this would end up being useless to me. 

All seemed well, but when I tried to buy lunch today at work, my bank card was declined. I logged into my bank app to find that I had a negative balance and that both the minimum payment and the {XXXX had been deducted from my account and credited to my Citi Bank Credit card. I was irate, given that if only one of these things had happened, I wouldn't have been in such dire straits. 

I tried to use the chat system again, and they seemed to be of no help. They did finally tell me that they could submit a request for a refund, but it would take several days to see approval and three to five business days from that point in order to return to my account, which is essentially useless to me. I would sooner get paid again than see this amount refunded to my account. After the agent ends the chat, I check my e-mail and again find no indication that I had ever contacted them or a confirmation that I would be receiving this refund. 

After work, I was forced to call again, because it was past their chat hours, and the person who picked up the phone to assist me told me that there was no record of me having contacted them or requesting a refund. I did nothing but demand a refund for the entire length of the call before she finally said she would submit a request on my behalf which I still have no confirmation of. 

The website is misleading customers into thinking they need to submit payments or see a penalty. It's happening to my other account now that has a payment due in three days, except this time, I'm not going to fall for it. I have attached screenshots of how these messages appear, and how when I go to my payments page, no upcoming payments are shown, and I can not cancel them. They then refuse to remedy the situation that wouldn't have been an issue if not for their failure of a website or customer " service '' system, and it feels like a scam.