Consumer complaint received 2017-05-01
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (TX)

I applied for a new Citibank checking account in XX/XX/XXXX under an advertised promotion ( Promotion XXXX ) whereby I was to receive a {$400.00} bonus if I ( 1 ) made a qualifying deposit of {$15000.00} or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account within 30 days after the date the account was opened, and ( 2 ) maintained a minimum balance of {$15000.00} for 30 consecutive calendar days following the date I made the qualifying deposit. <P/>After applying for the account, I received a letter from Citibank, dated XX/XX/XXXX, that Citibank was " in the process of completing [ my ] application, '' but that the application was " incomplete '' and that it needed additional documents to " complete the process. '' The letter arrived when I was overseas on my honeymoon. As a result, I did not see the letter or provide the additional information until on or after XX/XX/XXXX when I returned to the United States. <P/>After providing the additional information, I contacted Citibank by phone to try to find out my account number so that I could access my account and make the qualifying deposit. I was told I had to wait until I received an ATM card to do so. Despite assurances that one was being sent, it never arrived. I was forced to call back several more times. After repeated attempts, an ATM card was finally sent to me on approximately XX/XX/XXXX. <P/>After receiving the ATM, I immediately accessed my account for the first time and initiated an electronic transfer of {$15000.00} ( from an outside bank ) to my Citibank checking account on XX/XX/XXXX. I received an acknowledgement from Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX that {$15000.00} funds were being transferred. ( According to my Citibank account statement, the funds were not actually credited to my account until XX/XX/XXXX, which is still within 30 days of when the account was actually opened and days within Citibank first gave me access to the account. ) My initial {$15000.00} deposit has remained in my Citibank account from XX/XX/XXXX to today 's date. <P/>I contacted Citibank again in late XX/XX/XXXX after the funds had been on deposit for over 90 days to inquire about the promotion bonus. I was not told of any alleged issues with my qualification for the bonus. Instead, I was told I would need to wait for my XX/XX/XXXX statement for it to appear. <P/>After the bonus was not paid in XX/XX/XXXX, I again contacted Citibank to make an inquiry. In response to my inquiries, I received a form letter stating that " your account does not qualify for this promotion because the required deposit was not made within the stated timeframe '' -- i.e., within 30 days after the account was opened. After further communications with Citigroup, I have learned that Citibank considers the account to be opened on XX/XX/XXXX when I first applied for the account online. <P/>This reasoning is demonstrably false. As discussed above, XXXX sent me a letter on XXXX XXXX, stating that my application was still in process and that the account had not yet been opened. Moreover, I made the required {$15000.00} deposit within 30 days of when the account was actually opened sometime later in XXXX. <P/><P/>Further, even assuming the account was actually opened on XXXX XXXX ( and it was not ), I actually submitted a {$15000.00} electronic transfer on XXXX XXXX -- within 30 days of XXXX XXXX -- and received an acknowledgement from Citibank of that XXXX XXXX transfer. <P/>Finally, and perhaps most ironically, Citibank made it impossible for me to deposit any money in the account any sooner because it delayed until early XXXX XXXX to send me an ATM/debit card. Until that time, I was not given an account number, online access to my account, or any other information regarding the account, and thus lacked any ability to deposit any funds.