Consumer complaint received 2020-09-24
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CA)

Citibank was offering promotional bonuses for opening checking and savings accounts. On XX/XX/2020, I called customer service because I wanted to speak with someone who could answer my questions and walk me through the process of opening my accounts to ensure that I did everything correctly and met all requirements to receive the cash bonus. 

The process took roughly 45 minutes over the phone. The representative opened a savings and checking account for me, answered my questions about the cash bonus qualification requirements, and informed me that I needed to keep money in both the savings and checking accounts to avoid incurring any fees. She also informed me that the number one cause for people becoming ineligible for the cash bonus was not maintaining a balance in both accounts and having one of the accounts close by default after 3 months of having a {$0.00} balance. 

On XX/XX/2020 I received an email from Citibank welcoming me as a new customer and informing me that they required me to complete a signature card which was attached to the welcome email. The email stated that the signature card and initial deposit needed to be received within 10 days. 

On XX/XX/2020 I completed the signature card form and returned it. 

On XXXX I transferred {$50000.00} required to receive the {$700.00} cash bonus into my savings account ( Deposit Teller XXXX CITIBNK D, XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX ) On XXXX I moved {$10000.00} from the savings account into the checking account to ensure that each account would remain open and fulfill the requirements for the cash bonus. 

I took no further action on the account and received no notification that additional action was needed. 

After the initial 90 days, I called to check on the status of my cash bonus. The representative assured me that all of the eligibility requirements had been met and that they had 90 days to deposit the cash bonus. 

After an additional 60 days, I called again to ask and they informed me that all the eligibility requirements had been met and I needed to continue to wait. 

After more than 6 months of waiting and being told the cash bonus was coming, I called again and was told that the reason the cash bonus has not been deposited was that I did not have a XXXX form on file. I explained that I never received a w-9 and that no one ever told me that I needed a w-9 form. The representative told me not to worry, that she could open a dispute and send me the w-9 form and that once the signed form was received and added to my account the cash bonus would be deposited. 

I received the email containing the w-9 form and immediately faxed the completed w-9 form to the fax number I received over the phone. After a few days, I called to inquire about the status. I was told that the w-9 form had to be mailed. I mailed the form. After several days I called and inquired about my dispute. This time I was told that the w-9 form was received and had been added to my account, but that the back office was still reviewing the dispute and had not made a determination. 

XX/XX/2020 I called back to check the status and was informed that the dispute was resolved and that Citibank concluded that I was not eligible for the cash bonus because I did not have a w-9 form added to my account within the promotional period. 

I believe this to be an unethical bait and switch. I did everything right. I called and had the Citibank representative create the account for me over the phone, I replied promptly to the additional information that was requested of me ( e.g. signature card ). I did 100 % everything required of eligibility and furthermore, I was told by numerous employees who reviewed my account that I had fulfilled all eligibility requirements for the cash bonus. 

After losing so much time and energy and undergoing emotional distress I decided to research who else CitiBank had done this too. I found on the consumer affairs website that there were others who had my exact experience and who were eventually able to receive their cash bonus through the help of CFPB. 

e.g. XXXX XXXX XXXXhtm Original review : XX/XX/XXXX I can only hope that my story has a similar ending and outcome.