Consumer complaint received 2018-05-21
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — Store credit card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (GA)

Complaint:
I opened an on line account on or about XX/XX/XXXX with Sears Citi Bank. 
My son and I enrolled in the automatic payment plan to have the monthly payments deducted from his bank account. I received a letter form Citi Cards confirming the automatic payment monthly deduction beginning XX/XX/XXXX and continuing on the XXXX of each month until paid in full. Minimum payment due was {$27.00}. The letter was signed XXXX XXXX, Vice President, Citibank, NA.  The letter was dated XX/XX/XXXX. 

On the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, I returned a call from an unidentified number on my cell with no voicemail. I returned the call and learned that it was from Sears about my XX/XX/XXXX payment being delinquent. I told the representative that there must be some mistake because my payments are set up for automatic withdrawal. She said that it was not showing up on the account for re-occurring payments. As she looked further she discovered that the automatic payment plan was cancelled the same day that it was set-up, however she could not give me a reason why it was cancelled. I made the payment of {$27.00} immediately and she waived the late fee. After processing the payment she stated the balance left for the month of XXXX is {$64.00}. When I questioned the balance she said that she waived the late fee ( {$27.00} ) but it will not show up in the billing cycle for a few months and when the adjustment is made they will deduct it from my account balance. I do not agree with that decision ( 1 ) It was confirmed in writing that the payments would be deducted from the banking account monthly, ( 2 ) if the agreement we made for the bank draft was cancelled I should have been notified. There was no correspondence whatsoever from Sears or  Citi Bank regarding cancellation. Despite the negligence on the part of Sears/Citibank they are holding me responsible to make the {$27.00} payment which I actually do not owe. I have even been threatened by an agent of CITI Bank who declared that if I do not make that payment I will be charged {$27.00} late fee each month until I pay it or my credit is ruined, whichever comes first. 

One reason some agents gave for the cancellation was that they were not allowed to withdraw payments from a bank account of which I am not a signer. However, several agents from Citibank offered to restore the automatic payment plan that we had previously. If those were stipulations regarding the automatic withdrawal it should never have been set up in the first place. 

After several calls to Sears and Citibank between XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX XXXX, on Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I made another call to Sears and reached a customer service agent whose name is XXXX in XXXX XXXX. XXXX told me that my account had already been adjusted and my current monthly balance is {$37.00} and that the {$27.00} late fee had been removed from my account. I asked him several times if he was sure and he insisted that those charges were no longer there. Therefore I made the payment of {$37.00} which he said left a XXXX balance. 

I only learned that the {$27.00} late fee was still pending when I made a call on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX, and the recorded statement announced that the payment was still due. 

After many calls I still can not seem to get this issue resolved. Adding {$27.00} late fee ( which I do not owe ) to my account affects my balance and interest tremendously. And all because Sears/ Citibank neglected to inform me of changes that were made in an agreement that we had in good faith.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief