Consumer complaint received 2026-03-05 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: NC

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding the handling of a credit card dispute by Citibank involving charges that were processed without my consent after I explicitly declined the purchase. Despite providing documentation and attempting to cancel the transaction immediately, Citi determined that I am responsible for XXXX of the charges. I have been a Citi cardholder for approximately 20 years and regularly place several XXXX dollars in monthly spend on my card. I have never experienced an issue like this before and have always relied on XXXX advertised {$0.00} liability protection for unauthorized charges. On XX/XX/year>, I booked airline tickets online for {$350.00} through a company called XXXX XXXX XXXX. I intentionally book travel online because I prefer not to deal with travel agents. About an hour after the purchase, I received an unsolicited call from a travel agent who informed me that the tickets I had purchased were essentially standby tickets and that I might not be able to board the flight. This information was never disclosed at the time of purchase. During that call, the agent attempted to sell me new tickets at a significantly higher price and pushed me to purchase tickets with XXXX. I clearly told the agent that I did not want to fly XXXX and that I intended to purchase XXXX tickets on my own. While he insisted XXXX tickets were unavailable, I was actively on XXXX website reviewing flights and later successfully purchased those tickets independently. Despite my clear refusal, the agent proceeded to purchase XXXX tickets using my credit card information while I was still on the phone. When I objected, he told me the tickets had already been issued and were non-refundable. I immediately requested cancellation. He refused to cancel them even though the request was made in real time. Immediately after the call, I sent emails confirming my request to cancel and referencing the XXXX Department of Transportation policy allowing airline tickets booked at least XXXX days before departure to be cancelled within XXXX hours. My request was clearly within that window. XXXX charges appeared on my credit card : XX/XX/year> FLIGHTTCKT XXXX, XXXX FL {$350.00} XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX NY {$370.00} XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX NY {$370.00} When I disputed the charges with Citibank, the initial {$350.00} charge was correctly ruled in my favor. However, Citi held me responsible for the XXXX XXXX charges totaling {$740.00} even though they resulted from the same phone call, the same agent, and the same lack of consent. Citi stated that I did not follow the merchants cancellation policy. This conclusion is inaccurate. I attempted to cancel immediately through the only party I had any relationship with the travel agent who placed the charges. I had no direct relationship with XXXX XXXX, no booking control, and no ability to cancel those tickets myself because I did not authorize or make that booking. The dispute was initially categorized as a cancelled transaction because I immediately attempted to cancel the purchase with the travel agent. However, the core issue remains that the XXXX tickets were purchased after I clearly declined them. Citi also indicated that the merchant had my credit card information, implying that the charges were therefore valid. Providing a credit card number for XXXX purchase does not authorize a merchant to process additional charges after the cardholder has explicitly declined a purchase. I have made multiple attempts to resolve this issue directly with Citibank. I have spoken with several representatives by phone and sent multiple emails providing documentation and explaining the situation in detail. On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with a Citi representative for over XXXX minutes who stated that she would reopen the dispute related to the XXXX charge that I was being held responsible for. Instead, the previously resolved {$350.00} charge was reopened. I later received a letter stating that nothing further could be done. When I called again on XX/XX/XXXX, another representative informed me that the matter should have been escalated to XXXX fraud department. After that call, I sent XXXX additional emails to Citibank requesting that the matter be escalated and reconsidered, but the issue still remained unresolved. Despite my immediate cancellation attempts, supporting documentation, and repeated efforts to resolve the issue directly with Citibank, the bank upheld the merchants response and held me responsible for the XXXX XXXX charges. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers have the right to dispute billing errors and unauthorized charges, and creditors are required to conduct a reasonable investigation before holding the consumer responsible. I do not believe Citibank conducted a reasonable investigation in this case, particularly given that they acknowledged XXXX charge from the same transaction sequence was unauthorized while holding me responsible for the other XXXX. I am requesting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau review this matter and assist in requiring Citibank to reconsider the dispute and remove the remaining charges totaling {$740.00} from my account. I am prepared to provide supporting documentation including emails to the travel agent requesting cancellation, Citi correspondence, and records of my attempts to resolve this issue directly with the bank. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

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 explanation