Consumer complaint received 2017-10-25
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (VA)

After years of accepting only XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX shifted several years ago to accepting only XXXX. In conjunction with the shift, In conjunction with the shift, CitiBank offered a " XXXX XXXX XXXX Card '' account to all XXXX XXXX XXXX Customers. 

I refused the offer to open a CitiBank VISA account because I was satisfied with a XXXX account from another offeror. 

In XXXX XXXX, I was surprised to receive a new CitiBank VISA card in the mail. I shredded the card and did not activate it. 

Several days later, I received a CitiBank VISA statement in the mail showing a {$60.00} charge for renewal of my XXXX membership. When I visited XXXX, I was told that my instructions for automatic membership renewals charged to my ( now cancelled ) XXXX XXXX card had been transferred to the CitiBank VISA account that had been opened in my name. 

I want to be perfectly clear about my relationship with CitiBank. 
( 1 ) I never agreed to open a CitiBank VISA account. The account opened in my name was fraudulently opened without my consent. 

( 2 ) I never consented to renew my XXXX membership by charging the fee to a ( fraudulently opened ) CitiBank VISA account. 

I called CitiBank Customer Service in XXXX and stated that I disputed the fraudulent charge to a fraudulent account. I asked them to cancel the card and reverse the charge to XXXX. When I visited XXXX 5 days later, their Customer Service desk told me that the charge had not been reversed by CitiBank. They told me to monitor my membership online to see when CitiBank reversed the charge. They also told me that my complaint was one that they received frequently. 

I was away from home from XXXX XXXX XXXX. On the morning of XXXX XXXX, as I sorted through mail that had been delivered in my absence, I found a CitiBank statement for a billing period ending XXXX XXXX was delivered to my home earlier this month while I was travelling. It showed an unpaid balance of {$60.00} PLUS a late payment fee of {$25.00} and interest of {$0.00} Before I could deal with the statement, I received a debt collection telephone call. 

When I called CitiBank Customer Service, I learned that the account had been closed as a result of my XXXX call. However, the charge for the XXXX membership renewal had not been reversed as I requested, thus leaving an unpaid balance on the account which let " the computer '' to assess a late fee and interest. When I explained my situation, the Customer Service Rep agreed to waive the late fee and interest charges. 

I made an online payment of {$60.00} to CitiBank today to close out this issue but my payment does not change the following facts. 
( 1 ) CitiBank opened an account in my name without my consent. 
( 2 ) My authorization to to XXXX to charge my membership renewal to an XXXX XXXX account should have lapsed when the XXXX XXXX account was closed. I never authorized automatic membership renewals charged to a CitiBank VISA card. Nevertheless, membership renewal was charged to CitiBank VISA without my consent. 
( 3 ) When I advised CitiBank VISA of this situation in XXXX, they closed the account as I had requested but they did not reverse the XXXX membership renewal charge to the fraudulent VISA account as I had requested. Instead, they sent me a notice of an account past due and assessed both a late fee and interest. 
( 4 ) XXXX Customer Service representatives in XXXX told me that they frequently receive complaints of this situation.