Consumer complaint received 2025-05-09 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
I closed my Citibank Checking and Savings account in XXXX of 2024, after i was hit with numerous hidden fees and because the return was less than .03 % on my substantial savings account. After being with Citibank for over 20 years, I closed my accounts over the phone. I made sure to double check that ALL accounts were closed, and they confirmed. 

A few months later, I begin receiving letters than I owe money on a Checking Plus Account, something I was not even aware of having, and certainly something that I never used since there were always sufficient funds in both my checking and savings account. 

I called my local branch, and someone there said they didn't see any indication of a checking plus account being open, and that the letters were most likely fake, and to ignore, so i did. I wish I had taken down their name and ID number so that I could circle back, but lesson learned. 

I have continued to receive letters, and the total owed has gone up. I tried calling the local branch again, and they said I was on my own, and there was nothing I could do. 

I tried calling the number on the letter, but every way that I could identify myself ( social security, checking number, debit card number ), were not recognized by the automated registration since my accounts had been closed. After relentlessly asking for an operator, i was finally connected to an outsourced person whom I could barely understand. 

So began a XXXX plus hour long saga of being connected from XXXX person to another, from claims department to loans department to recovery fee department. I began taking names and ID numbers down because it felt so cruel, to be dragged through hours of repeating myself, with no progress whatsoever. 

I finally got ahold of someone who was able to explain to me that even though i closed all of my accounts, a previous automated payment which I hadn't transferred to my new bank came through, which activated their checking plus protection plan. 

Why would a protection plan exist for an account that was closed? Is that even legal? The vendor of the automated payment should have come to be directly, or at the very least, the letters that were flooding my mailbox should have ITEMIZED the amount I owed ( let me know it was XXXX, not just a random amount they were charging me ). 

My {$100.00} overdraught has snowballed into a {$240.00} late fee fiasco, which could have been avoided if Citibank had an iota of transparency or outsourced their customer service department to people who actually KNEW ANYTHING. 

I'm currently on hold to see if they will reverse the late charges, which I have no plan on paying. 

This has been BY FAR the worst customer experience of my life and I pity anyone who uses Citibank and hope my story comes as a warning.

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