Consumer complaint received 2025-08-13 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: HI

Complaint narrative:
Case # XXXX Attn : XXXX In XX/XX/year>, my wife and I booked a spring break cruise with XXXX XXXX XXXX for ourselves and our XXXX daughter after seeing a 50 % Off Spring Promotion advertisement. We first called XXXX, then XXXX XXXX Lines directly, and were connected to a sales representative. 
The representative explained that to receive the promotion, we would need to pay the full ticket price upfront and would then be reimbursed 50 % ( a total of {$3600.00} ) within XXXX weeks. We confirmed multiple times that this was the only way to get the promotion, and the representative assured us it was correct. We received official booking confirmations with our cabin, deck, and package details. 
We flew to XXXX XXXX and boarded the cruise without issue. However, after returning home, the promised reimbursement never arrived. We were told during purchase that part of the charge would appear as airfare on our credit card, even though our flights were booked separately. 
Since then, I have made over XXXX calls trying to resolve this. Ive been disconnected multiple times, transferred to various departments, and told there were no notes from the XXXX different representatives Ive spoken with. I have repeatedly been given false information and missed reimbursement timelines. 
When I contacted XXXX, I was advised to speak with XXXX, who then informed me that my booking had been outsourced and was not directly handled by them. XXXX advised filing a fraud claim, which I did. The claim was initially resolved in my favor, but the credit was later reversed for reasons I do not understand. I was instructed to send this information by email, but have not received a reply to my first message. 
This unresolved charge has lowered our credit scores, created difficulty purchasing needed home repair materials, and caused significant stress. We have been loyal XXXX XXXX members for years and hope this can be resolved quickly. 

After yet another follow up with XXXX this morning, they told me that the fraud inquiry is now " too late '' to be processed and that I have to take it back up with merchant. This is after XXXX  months of calls for a case that should never have been closed. They were not able to say even IF the merchant had responded, and say that basically because it is now several months since the fraud they will no longer help me. I have called citi, emailed, and spent hours on the phone, just be. be told now I'm on the hook. Keep in mind the initial fraud call went very smooth, they removed the charge, and even though I asked if they needed anything, they said it should be good to go. A month later the charge came back without explanation, and then when I sent in more details, they said they didnt recieeve it when I called yet again. I've been waiting and calling over and over.

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