Consumer complaint received 2017-11-27
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (MA)

Citibank offered a {$300.00} checking bonus ( offer code XXXX ) for a new account if the following terms were met : 1. a {$15000.00} initial deposit, maintained for at least 60 days AND one of the following two options : 1. within 45 days, initiate 1 qualifying Direct Deposit to the new checking account 2. at least one debit purchase of {$250.00} or more The account was originally opened, and funded, online on XX/XX/XXXX. I received an account summary from Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX that confirmed {$15000.00} in total deposits, and I have a letter as evidence. That same day I was sent an email notifying me that additional steps were necessary before I could use the account, which included submitting a Direct Deposit form. I completed those steps. Shortly after this, I was again notified by email that there was an issue with the on-line funding. No reason was given, but I confirmed with XXXX XXXX XXXX that the problem was not on their end, and that there were sufficient funds in my account to do the transfer. I followed up by writing a check on XX/XX/XXXX for {$15000.00}, which was then withdrawn from my XXXX XXXX XXXX account and deposited into my Citibank account on XX/XX/XXXX, well within the 30-day window for the initial deposit. Once these steps had been completed, I received no further communication from Citibank until XX/XX/XXXX, so I had no reason to think that everything was not in order. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Citibank notifying me that they would not be able to pay the {$300.00} bonus for the following reason : " The offer requirements were not completed within the offer period '' I called Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX to determine what the issue was. We determined on the phone that the Direct Deposit form that I had submitted had not been processed. Unfortunately, I had not caught this error earlier, as I had been preoccupied with planning my wedding instead of perusing my bank statements. However, the customer service agent that I spoke to assured me that a {$250.00} debit purchase would fulfill the terms of the offer, and that {$300.00} would be credited to my account within 90 days of that purchase. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I followed up on this conversation by attempting to make a debit card purchase of {$270.00} at the grocery store, but was somehow declined at the register ( despite {$15000.00} in available funds ). I then tried to pay XXXX {$250.00} on-line on XX/XX/XXXX again, declined. I called Citibank ( again! ) on XX/XX/XXXX to determine what the issue was. The customer service representative that I spoke to mentioned that a high security alert had been placed on my account and needed to be removed before I could make a purchase. This was baffling I had just spoken to Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX, announcing my intent to spend at least {$250.00} on the card within the next day or two! The agent was able to confirm that my account had not been compromised ( without explaining why it was flagged in the first place ), and I was then finally able to make the qualifying {$250.00} XXXX purchase on XX/XX/XXXX. 
I received no further communication from Citibank until XX/XX/XXXX, when I received an email identical to the XX/XX/XXXX version, notifying me that they would not be able to pay the {$300.00} bonus for the following reason : " The offer requirements were not completed within the offer period '' I followed up with a letter to Citibank Customer Service on XX/XX/XXXX relaying everything that I have detailed above. One month later I had still not received a response, so I spent 40 minutes on the phone with a representative and then a supervisor on XX/XX/XXXX. The supervisor said that he would submit a claim to underwriting on my behalf and that they would investigate further. The response on XX/XX/XXXX was a boilerplate letter that listed the requirements and stated that I had not fulfilled them within the time frame. Except that I had. 
I then contacted Citibank 's Executive Response Unit on the same day, hoping that someone higher up the chain could a ) acknowledge Citibank 's embarrassing string of errors, and b ) honor the terms of the agreement. Two weeks later, I still have no response, and I think that is by design. My husband applied for Citibank 's {$400.00} offer XX/XX/XXXX, and had a similar experience. He also initially funded the account on-line, and also had to re-fund it with a personal check due to some issue on Citibanks end. At the time, we wrote it off as just a glitch in the website, or possibly a paperwork oversight. But now, having seen identical circumstances play out with my account, I do n't think it is a mistake at all. I think it is a classic bait-and-switch, and reeks of dishonesty. 
I think Citibank 's business plan is to frustrate and confuse the consumer with " errors '' that conveniently pop up to work in their favor. They are betting that the customer will either not pay attention or give up, and that they can then get a {$15000.00} loan for free. They are probably right - I doubt many people would spend as much time as I have trying to fix THEIR mistakes. But that is why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exists in the first place - to keep banks honest. Please help me hold Citibank to its contracted terms, since it does n't seem to have the interest, or the honor, to do so itself.