Consumer complaint received 2023-04-07
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan — Installment loan
Issue: Problem when making payments — 
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (VA)

I opened a personal installment loan with Citibank in XXXX. It was set to autodraft monthly from the same account to which loan proceeds were deposited. 

In late XXXX and early XXXX, my checking account ending in XXXX at XXXX XXXX was compromised and debits totaling around {$20000.00} were made. XXXX XXXX immediately closed the account and removed the remaining funds and transferred them to XXXX of my other accounts at the same credit union. I was told certain recurring charges would still be allowed on a case-by-case basis and the funds would automatically transfer from my account ending in XXXX. 

In early XXXX, I noticed the Citibank autodraft had not come through. I tried to change the account information online but the system dead-ended in an error every time I tried. Changing the account information ( payment account information ) on the exact same website inside the exact same account for my Citi credit card took seconds, yet the personal loan resulted in a frustrating error time and time again. 

I called Citi on the loan servicing phone number XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM ET. The call lasted 13 minutes and 21 seconds. I notified the representative that I could not change my payment account online. She indicated that this was an easy fix. She took the new information for the account ending in XXXX, had me repeat it, ask me pertinent questions about the name and address on the account. While it took a long time, the call was ended thinking Citi would take the payment based on the new information provided. 

The payment was attempted to be deducted from the account ending in XXXX, the account that was closed. I specifically advised the representative that this account was closed, and it should not be used. She still processed the payment anyway without notifying me of what she was actually about to do. The payment amount was to be {$580.00} and a late fee. I did not protest the late fee because this was technically my fault, but I attempted to correct the problem way before the 30 day late period would kick in. At that point, it was 25 days late. More than enough time to satisfy the account and get back to regular payments. 

In early XXXX, I receive a dump of mailings from Citi. XXXX service is slower than usual and has been published by several government and news agencies. It is not a secret. 

One such mailing from Citi is from their " Research Department '' asking me to mail a voided check for the account ending in XXXX. Not only is this ridiculous in the year XXXX, this could have also been sent via email or by a simple phone call. At this point, I did not understand why it was so difficult to pay Citibank. One would have thought that making payments would be an extremely straightforward process because banks universally make making payments extremely easy. 

Another mailing is notifying me that my account is severely past due. 

I start to call Citi on the same phone number as I did in early XXXX, XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called this number five ( 5 ) times : XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET On XX/XX/XXXX, I called this number again : XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET On XX/XX/XXXX, I called this number again : XXXX PM ET XXXX PM ET Also, on XX/XX/XXXX, I called several other numbers to try and resolve this, including XXXX : XXXX PM XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The original number, printed on all correspondence and Citi 's own mailings, XXXX would send me to their mortgage department. The mortgage department had no idea what was happening and would immediately transfer me to Citi 's checking, savings and debit card call center. I would ask to be transferred to a live agent in the personal loan department, but nobody seemed to know what to do. 

I finally called multiple times and got a representative at a banking center in The United States who told me that almost all of the call center employees at XXXX ( Work from Home ) in The XXXX. Also, the phone system is messed up when an account is held by the collections department and the problem has persisted for a long time. The banking center employee got a live representative in collections to help me. The collections department representative took payment information from me. I gave the account information ending in XXXX. This time, the representative told me what was going on. She said the system was saying it was invalid information and the account was not valid. She then explained that there was nothing else she could do and I'd have to wait to get a letter in the mail explaining what to do. Basically, I was going to have to wait two weeks for another mailing from Citi 's XXXX XXXX asking for a voided check. I do not write checks and have never ordered checks on this account. Again, it is XXXX! 

I pushed the representative to not abruptly end the call ( which Citi representatives enjoy doing either by mysteriously losing the call or transferring to the incorrect department ). As friendly as these representatives are based in The XXXX, they run on a script and anything that deviates from that script essentially freezes them and they have no idea what to do. 

I ask the representative to take my XXXX XXXX savings account information as payment for this past due account. It mysteriously works and I'm told the draft will be for {$580.00}. I confirm the amount and she confirms the pertinent information on the savings account. This call took place on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM ET and lasted 27 minutes and 17 seconds. The new XXXX XXXX payment account ends in XXXX. 

After resolving this issue for the second time, I then begin to try and reach a department that handles credit bureau disputes or customer service. Not a single representative knows what I am talking about. Again, as the representatives are based in The XXXX, they are unaware of how the credit bureau and rating system works in this country. To them, a " 30 days late mark '' means nothing to them and they're extremely unhelpful because it seems their main concern is ending the call as quickly as possible either by ( again ) mysteriously losing the call or transferring to an incorrect department. The best one is when they transfer me to an internal line that only asks for an extension number and nothing else. I was transferred to this line numerous times over the past month. Later on, one representative transferred me directly to XXXX, another transferred me directly to XXXX. When I say it is beyond frustrating to deal with Citibank and their current customer service structure, I wholeheartedly mean it. Many other banks have offshore customer service and none of them have a labyrinthian telephone system like Citi.