Consumer complaint received 2023-03-02
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. (ME)

I have had a Citibank card since XXXX of XXXX. I have always always paid my bills on time and have always used the card responsibly, by which I mean not giving anyone else access to my account, not using it to make purchases from questionable or insecure websites, and maintaining strong security measures on my personal computer. Nevertheless, beginning in XXXX of XXXX, there were four instances of fraudulent use of the card. In the first three cases, Citibank identified transactions as potentially fraudulent, notified me promptly, received confirmation from me, and issued new card numbers. The third time this happened, I had had the new card only a week and used it perhaps once, which I regard as proof that the information breach did not occur as the result of any carelessness on my part. Around the middle of the year I began taking advantage of the fact that Citibank offers customers virtual card numbers that their website claims are virtually impossible to steal. 

The fourth instance occurred on the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, when a series of transactions and attempted transactionsusing a virtual card numberhappened within the space of just a few minutes. Citibank informed me of only one of these, which it had declined. Four unauthorized purchases from online retailers had already gone through, and my account was charged a total of {$1100.00} for items I had not bought. During a lengthy telephone conversation I disputed all of these charges. I was informed during this conversation that my card had been cancelled, as had occurred on the three prior occasions. I monitored my account daily thereafter and grew increasingly agitated when, not only were the fraudulent charges not removed, Citibanks website stated that no charges had been disputed. 

My agitation grew when four packages arrived, addressed to me, from retailers I had never done business with ( and in three cases had never heard of ), containing things I would never have dreamed of buying. I made contact with all four retailers, explaining the peculiar situation, and all four packages were returned. I can not account for the fact that the person who made fraudulent use of my card had their purchases sent to me ; it has made the entire process much more difficult than it would have been otherwise. Over the course of several weeks I spent untold hours on the phone with Citibank and the four retailers, and wrote Citibank six succinct and detailed letters requesting that the fraudulent charges be reversed and, finally, closing the account entirely. On XX/XX/XXXX, a week after the event, I paid Citibank every cent remaining for which I was responsible. ( At that point, Citibank actually owed me money, for cash-back programs and interest on the purchases I had not made, but I could not calculate the precise amount. ) The Citibank website has no mechanism for making contact other than insisting that all issues must be dealt with by phone. After the truly horrendous conversations I had already had, I refused to submit myself to their abuse again. In addition to incompetence and ill treatment by their telephone personnel, their phone lines ( in other countries ) are substandard, such that it was almost impossible to hear the people I was speaking with. Note that I am not hard of hearing and have no such problem talking with any other company on the phone. There has never been a response to any of my six letters. 

It appears that three of the four charges have been reversed, presumably by the retailers involved. One charge remains, which I have no obligation to pay. Citibank has recently reported to XXXX that my account is in arrears, and my credit rating has gone down significantly. When I filed a dispute with XXXX, providing all the details, their response was that the information was correct and that my credit report would not be revised. 

Not only has this event been a colossal waste of my time, the way I have been treated by Citibank has had a negative effect on my physical and emotional health. It has now occupied my mind every day for nearly three months. Even now, as I describe the situation yet again, I literally feel my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  rising to an alarming level. I have been treated despicably by Citibank and urgently request your assistance in clearing my name and my credit.