Consumer complaint received 2023-05-23
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CO)

Summary : Citi refuses to honor terms of the targeted promotion and pay the bonus of {$450.00} related to opening an account and completing agreed activities. 

Details and timeline : ***In XX/XX/XXXX I received multiple targeted offers ( after logging into my online Citi Account ) which promised a {$450.00} bonus for opening a newCiti Accelerate Savings, transferring a certain amount ( {$50000.00} in my case ) and maintaining the balance for 60 days. The offer has been targeted ( most likely to the credit card client of the bank as they mention credit card in the further communication ), it was not available publicly and could be used only after logging in into my account. There was no other way to apply for the bonus and ( for example ) my husband never received the offer even though he is also a client of Citi Bank. I received this offer a few times in my mobile app ( after logging in ) and in my onlineaccount ( accessed via browser ). Eventually I decided to apply by clicking appropriate buttons in the targeted pop up window. 

XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX : I applied for the offer as per the procedure. I opened Citi Accelerate Savings but at the end of the process I had some browser issues ( Citi Bank page timed out during the account opening process ). While I could see that the account had been opened ( it showed online ) I decided to contact customer support to make sure that the bonus offer had been properly applied to the bank account. The full conversation can be read in the attached : " XXXX XXXX ''. My apologies for the horrible format of the saved chat but Citi does not offer any save option so the awkwardcopy-paste is the only way to save the chat. In summary customer representative confirmed in writing that : 1. ) the offer has been correctly applied to the account.- confirmed the terms : " Yes I checked in your account where the account has enrolled with bonus offer with us. so you can deposit the amount within 20 days from the account opening date. then you need to maintain it for 60 days and then you will receive the bonus within 90 calendar days in your account. '' 2. ) confirmed that the account has been attached to the account " package '' I've got to avoid fees : " yes depositing $ XXXX ( ... ). yes all accounts are linked with same package so it will avoid fees in your account. '' 3. ) confirmed that : " Citi Accelerate Savings Account in the Access Account Package Earn | : {$150.00} {$20000.00} - {$49000.00} {$450.00} {$50000.00} or more ''. The name of the confirmed package ( XXXX Account Package ) is relevant ( see below ). 

XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX : The transfer of {$50000.00} from another bank arrived to the account and has been maintained well beyond mandatory 60 days. I awaited the bonus and did not pay attention to the exact dates, trusting in Citi. I hoped that as an honorable and well known company they will simply transfer the bonus when the time comes. The required balance was maintained until XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX. The transaction list of the account is attached : " Citibank Account XXXX ''. These facts haven't been challengedby Citi. 

XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX : I've started to worry about the bonus as based on my rough estimations it should have already arrived. I've reached out to customer support again ( see attached " XXXX '' ). During that conversation the agent : 1. ) confirmed the conditions of the bonus and confirmed I've fulfilledthose 2. ) confirmed that the promotional code is attached to my account ( XXXX ) and apologizedfor the delay in processing the bonus. 
3. ) offered to file a dispute which I agreed to do ( ID of the dispute : XXXX ). 

XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX : I received bank 's response ( see attached " dispute resolution document.pdf '' ) which confirmed the already mentioned terms of the promotion but in addition to those terms it states that : " Unfortunately, your account does not qualify for this promotion because the CitiBank Account package is not eligible under this promotion. '' and it refers to previously undiscussed " condition '' that the new account should be opened in " in the Access Account Package ''. I have no clue what those packages are and to this day I have no clue what kind of " not eligible '' package I have as it's not mentioned anywhere in online banking, during the application or on the bank statements. The letter doesn't give any way to discuss the matter any further and instead provides a phone number to general customer service which confirmed twice already that everything is fine and I should receivethebonus. 
To summarize : I've fulfilled all the conditions but my account hasn't been eligible for the TARGETED promotion due to some " package '' naming which I have no idea what it is. The offer has been targeted and non-public so there is no way for a customer to expect that it's possible to be disqualified ( after 5 months of waiting and confirming with customer support ) based on " package '' naming. In addition to that, the customer service representative confirmed that the bonus applies to my account and that it has been added to the " package ''. Moreover, customer service representative informed me ( see XXXX ) that : " Citi Accelerate Savings Account in the Access Account Package Earn ( ... ) '' so used the name of the eligible package when discussing my account. Eligibility has been confirmed again after a few months. 

I hoped that it's all a misunderstanding but it looks like a deceptive targeted advertisementof a bonus which is automatically made not eligible for me based on " account package '' names which I have no chance of checking or knowing. This is a very dishonest way of acquiring clients. The bonus offer was the only thing which made the account attractive as it offered ( and still offers ) average APR ( at best ) around well below some other ( FDIC-insured ) options. 

I hope that the CFPB complaint will be treated seriously by the Citi Bank and Citi will decide to honor the agreement and credit thebonus amount to my account. I am determined to fight for the {$450.00} I should have received and will escalate the issue further as the evidence in this case is strong and written communication with the bank speaks volumes. 

Thank you