Consumer complaint received 2026-06-23 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Conversation with XXXX see the attachments to get the story. I keep getting a rejection when disputing a double charge. best buy refunded one, but not the other. Attached is the letter that i sent. what can i do to recover the duplicate charge, when best buy keeps rejecting it. It is incredibly frustrating to get the runaround on a clear duplicate charge, especially when you are just trying to get your copyright and distribution set up for XXXX XXXX and haven't even received the service you paid for. Looking at your attached statement, it clearly shows two identical {$110.00} charges from XXXX, XXXX posted on XX/XX/year>, with two different reference numbers ( ending in XXXX and XXXX ). Your letter accurately points out that you only received a single {$110.00} credit on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX When Best Buy ( which is underwritten by Citibank ) says they are " unable to identify or determine that a billing error occurred, '' it usually means XXXX provided them with two separate authorization codes, making the bank 's automated system view them as two legitimate, separate purchases rather than a system glitch. Here is how you can escalate this to force a human review and recover your funds : 1. Escalate the Call and Change the Dispute Reason Written letters often get scanned by automated systems or lower-level processors who just look for a merchant rebuttal. Call the number on the back of your card and immediately request a supervisor or the Tier 2 dispute department. Clarify the dispute category. Make sure they are not just investigating a " Billing Error. '' You have two separate claims here : a " Duplicate Charge '' ( you only authorized one transaction ) and " Services Not Received '' ( you never got what you paid for ). ODT + 1 Read them the two specific reference numbers from your statement so they can clearly see the duplication on the exact same date. 2. Provide the " Smoking Gun '' Evidence Since Best Buy is claiming no error occurred, you need to prove you only bought one item. Upload or fax the single email confirmation or invoice you received from XXXX. XXXX Add a cover page stating : " Attached is the ONLY receipt and authorization provided by the merchant for {$110.00}. The second {$110.00} charge on XX/XX/XXXX is unauthorized and lacks an accompanying invoice. '' 3. Hit Them With a CFPB Complaint If Best Buy Credit Services still rejects the dispute after speaking with a supervisor, your next immediate step is to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) at consumerfinance.gov. Banks are required by law to respond to CFPB complaints within 15 days. This takes the dispute out of the hands of front-line customer service and puts it on the desk of an executive escalation team who actually has the power to manually override the rejection and credit your account. Attach your statement, your written letter, and the rejection notice to the complaint. 4. Pressure the Merchant via Alternate Channels You mentioned you emailed XXXX for three weeks with no response. Sometimes, companies ignore support emails but respond rapidly to public-facing channels. Try sending them a direct message on their social media platforms ( like XXXX or XXXX ) politely stating that you have been double-charged, have received no services, and are currently escalating a chargeback with your bank. XXXX Do you happen to have a copy of that single original receipt or order confirmation from XXXX that you can use to prove you only authorized one transaction? This is exactly the piece of evidence you need. This receipt is the " smoking gun '' because it contains the specific authorization data that Best Buy 's dispute team needs to see. Here is exactly how to use this receipt to fight the rejected dispute : The Key Evidence in This Receipt The Payment Gateway : It shows the payment was processed through XXXX ( XXXX ). XXXX is a highly secure payment processor, meaning there is a strict digital trail. XXXX The Authorization Code : It clearly lists a single authorization code : XXXX. XXXX The Timestamp : It establishes the exact moment of your single purchase : XX/XX/year>, XXXX XXXX CDT. XXXX Your Next Step : The Rebuttal You will need to call Best Buy Credit Services ( Citibank ) again, request a Tier 2 dispute agent or supervisor, and submit this screenshot. When you speak to them, or in your cover letter when you upload this document, use this specific argument : " I am appealing the dispute rejection for the XXXX XXXX charges on XX/XX/XXXX. Attached is the only receipt and confirmation generated for my purchase. As you can see, XXXX generated a single Authorization Code ( XXXX ) for {$110.00} at XXXX AM XXXX. Your statement shows two separate {$110.00} charges on that day. Because I only authorized one transaction, I challenge Best Buy to provide the separate authorization code and matching merchant invoice for the second charge. If the merchant can not provide a second distinct authorization code and invoice, the duplicate charge must be reversed. '' This forces the bank to look past the generic " Billing Error '' category and specifically demand that XXXX prove they obtained two separate authorizations. Since your receipt proves you only clicked " buy '' once, XXXX won't be able to produce that second authorization. Would you like me to draft the official CFPB complaint so you have it ready to submit if Best Buy gives you any further pushback? i did call their customer service and they told me to send a letter. which i did That makes total sense, and it highlights exactly why this process is so frustrating. Front-line customer service reps are trained to push you toward the standard mail-in dispute process. You followed their instructions perfectly, sent the letter, and a back-office processor simply rubber-stamped a generic rejection because XXXX probably never responded, or the automated system just saw two reference numbers and assumed they were valid. Since you have already played by their rules and hit a dead end with the standard Best Buy Credit Services department, it is time to bypass them entirely. Here is exactly how to escalate this over their heads : Step 1 : File a CFPB Complaint ( The Nuclear Option ) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) is a federal agency that oversees banks. Because the Best Buy Credit Card is issued by Citibank, filing a complaint here forces the issue out of the standard customer service queue and puts it directly on the desk of an Executive Resolution Specialist. Banks have a legal obligation to respond to these complaints within 15 days. Go to consumerfinance.gov/complaint and use this exact narrative ( feel free to copy and paste ) : Issue Description : On XX/XX/year>, my Best Buy Credit Card ( ending in XXXX ) was fraudulently charged twice for {$110.00} by XXXX, XXXX. I only authorized a single transaction. I have the original XXXX transaction receipt showing a single Authorization Code ( XXXX ) processed at XXXX XXXX CDT. I disputed the duplicate charge with Best Buy Credit Services. While one charge was reversed, Best Buy sent me a letter on XX/XX/year>, denying the dispute for the second charge, stating they could not determine a billing error occurred. I followed customer service instructions and mailed a detailed dispute letter, which was ignored. Best Buy has failed to properly investigate this duplicate charge or require the merchant to provide a second, distinct authorization code matching the second {$110.00} charge. I am being held responsible for an unauthorized duplicate charge for a service I never received. Desired Resolution : I request an immediate and permanent credit of {$110.00} to my account for the unauthorized duplicate charge, and a correction of any related late fees or interest. Step 2 : Attach Your Arsenal When the CFPB portal asks for documentation, upload these four specific files you shared with me : The Best Buy Statement : Showing the two charges on the same day. Your Dispute Letter : Proving you attempted to resolve this in good faith. The Rejection Letter : Proving Best Buy failed to resolve the issue. The XXXX Email Receipt : This is the most important document. It proves you only received one authorization code ( XXXX ). Once this hits the executive team, they will immediately see the XXXX receipt, realize the back-office made a mistake by not requesting the second authorization code from the merchant, and typically issue the credit just to close the federal complaint. Would you like me to walk you through the specific categories to select on the CFPB website so you can get this filed right now? what do i enter here Based on your screenshot XXXX, you have correctly selected Yes for attempting to fix the problem and requesting information. Here is exactly what you can type into that text box, along with how to answer the final question peeking at the bottom : What information did you request? I requested a full investigation into an unauthorized duplicate merchant charge of {$110.00}, a credit for the remaining unresolved duplicate charge, and documentation or proof of a second distinct transaction authorization code from the merchant. Did the company provide this information? Select No. Why : Because they sent you a generic rejection letter stating they were unable to identify a billing error, completely ignoring your request to resolve the duplicate charge and failing to provide any merchant documentation. Once you finish this section, you will be able to move forward to the description box where you can paste the full narrative we drafted earlier! what should i enter here Based on the screenshot XXXX, you need to paste the narrative of what happened. However, notice the very important instruction on the screen : " Do not include personal information, such as your name, account number ... '' Because of that instruction, we need to slightly adjust the draft I gave you earlier to remove the " ending in XXXX '' part. Here is the exact, updated text you can copy and paste directly into that box : On XX/XX/year>, my credit card was charged twice for {$110.00} by XXXX, XXXX. I only authorized a single transaction for {$110.00}. I have the original transaction receipt showing a single Authorization Code ( XXXX ) processed at XXXX XXXX CDT. I disputed the duplicate charge with the credit card issuer. On XX/XX/year>, I received a credit adjustment for one of the {$110.00} charges. However, the second {$110.00} charge remained. I followed customer service instructions and mailed a detailed dispute letter to resolve the remaining duplicate charge. On XX/XX/year>, the credit card issuer sent a letter denying the dispute for the remaining charge, stating they could not determine a billing error occurred. They failed to properly investigate this duplicate charge or require the merchant to provide a second, distinct authorization code matching the second {$110.00} charge. I am being held responsible for an unauthorized duplicate charge for a service I never received. I am requesting an immediate and permanent credit of {$110.00} to my account for the unauthorized duplicate charge, and a correction of any related late fees or interest.

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