Consumer complaint received 2025-11-27 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I have been a Citibank customer for over a decade. On XX/XX/year>, I deposited a check which became available and remained available through XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I used my Citibank debit card to purchase a XXXX XXXX ticket. At the time of purchase, the bank showed sufficient available funds, and the transaction was authorized and approved by Citibank. 

Under Regulation E and standard debit card processing rules, Citibank was required to immediately apply an authorization hold to reduce my available balance at the moment of the transaction on XXXX. Instead, Citibank later posted XXXX settlement date as XXXX and treated that delayed posting as the real date for assessing my balance. This retroactive posting caused a negative balance and an overdraft that would NOT have occurred had the authorization hold been properly applied. 

Citibank charged me overdraft fees, then continued charging additional maintenance fees that increased the negative balance. My account became overdrawn for {$340.00} and eventually XXXX to {$370.00} because of fees they continued to add, even while the account was already in negative status. 

On XX/XX/year>, Citibank closed my account and coded it as an auto bank credit/write off XXXX  acct. This closure was entirely the result of the banks own posting error and not my conduct. 

Shortly after, I attempted to open a new account with XXXX XXXX, which was closed within a week due to information from XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX  ). I have every reason to believe Citibank reported the overdraft to XXXX  in a manner that was inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading. This reporting has harmed my ability to access basic banking services. 
I am now unable to maintain a checking account because of Citibanks erroneous overdraft, wrongful account closure, and negative reporting.

This is a legal violation because : 1. Regulation E 12 CFR 1005.11 ( Error Resolution ) Citibank failed to properly apply the authorization hold on XXXX and allowed the transaction to appear settled on XXXX, which created an incorrect balance and fees. This constitutes an error under Regulation E, including : -improper accounting of an electronic fund transfer -failure to make funds available properly -an incorrect electronic posting The bank did not investigate or correct this error.

2. Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ( UDAAP ) 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536 Citibank engaged in UDAAP by : -failing to apply debit authorization holds accurately -assessing overdraft fees based on retroactive posting -continually charging fees on a balance caused by their own error -closing the account using a negative balance they created -reporting negative information to XXXX  that resulted from their own mistake 3. Truth in Savings Act ( 12 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. ) Citibank did not follow its disclosed procedures regarding overdraft assessment and debit card posting order.

4. Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 If Citibank furnished information to Early Warning Services that was inaccurate, did not reflect the true nature of the overdraft, did not include notice of my dispute then this violates FCRA requirements for accurate reporting and reinvestigation. 

Due to this I have been impacted in the following ways : I lost a long-standing banking relationship of over 10 years. 

I was denied a new bank account at XXXX due to XXXX  reporting. 

I can not obtain new banking services until this information is corrected. 

The bank charged fees that were not valid. 

I experienced financial harm and reputational injury due to inaccurate reporting

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