Consumer complaint received 2024-10-15 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit 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: MA

Complaint narrative:
I have a general purpose credit card with Home Depot. This credit card was used by an unknown individual to make a very large purchase ( > {$12000.00} ). The purchase was substantially all of the credit limit available on the card. The charge was made in store during XX/XX/year>. 

The charge was for the following items : XXXX XXXX gallon hot water tanks, XXXX XXXX flood light camera, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXnd shower faucet, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX cordless tool set, XXXX bundles of red oak wood flooring, XXXX bundles of XXXX XXXX solid hard wood. 
These purchases appear to be from some sort of construction contractor and not typically something you'd expect to see on a personal credit card.

For a purchase this large, you would expect to require some sort of proof of identification and require a signature. 

I immediately disputed the charge through the Company 's online credit card platform. It was initially removed, pending investigation, however, months later it was placed back on the card. After calling multiple times to figure out what happened, the investigating team would not provide an adequate explanation as to why or how they determined the legitimacy of the charge.

I began the process of filing a policy report with the police department so that I had something on file. The police department informed me that they do not handle credit card theft/disputes/fraudulent activities and to follow the dispute process available through the Company website. 

I consistently made my claim that the charge was fraudulent and that I wanted to understand what steps were taken by the investigating team. I asked for details pertaining to who they spoke with, if they viewed or have copies of the in-store video footage, etc. I was never provided this detail, yet they concluded that the charge was legitimate. 

I continued to dispute the charge and had them re-open the investigation. Unfortunately, the same scenario played out where I was never contacted by anyone for further information. I only realized that the investigation had been closed when I saw the charge back to my account. Again, I called multiple times to get to the bottom of the investigation and conclusions reached but still got no where. 

Now the charge has been filed as delinquent by Home Depot and it appears on my credit report as a delinquent/missed payments.

It is not fair to a consumer who is not responsible for a significant charge to get no valid explanation for the conclusions reached, to have to constantly deal with the stress of a massive credit card bill that was not theirs, and to also have their credit report negatively affected.

I don't know what else to do about this fraudulent charge, how to get it off of my credit card/credit report, and how to repair my damaged credit report.

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 non-monetary relief