Consumer complaint received 2026-04-29 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MI

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/year> : I used my longstanding Citibank XXXX XXXX card on XXXX, as I have for years. XXXX split the purchase into two orders. One order was approved, and the other was unexpectedly declined. XX/XX/year> : I contacted XXXX support. They attempted to reprocess the payment and initially believed it went through, but it was later declined again. XX/XX/year> : I called Citibank to understand why my card was declining. Citi confirmed that all my information was correct and suggested the issue was with XXXX. XXXX insisted the issue was with Citi. After multiple backandforth calls, I asked Citi to issue a new card number to resolve the problem. Citi generated a new card number and told me it would appear in my account and could be added to XXXX XXXX. After the new number was issued, I was able to successfully complete the XXXX purchase. However, despite the successful transaction, Citis systems continued to block me from activating or using the new card in XXXX XXXX. I contacted Citi again and was transferred between multiple departments and chat support, but no one could help me activate or use the new card. At this point, I was concerned I had no working payment method for essential purchases. When I called Citi again, the agent attempted to authenticate me by texting a code to my wife. She was not with me at the time, and the agent said she had to be physically present. The agent then stated that Citi would have to mail me a letter to verify my identity. I explained that I could not wait for a letter because I needed access to my credit card for gas, groceries, and daily expenses. I was told there were no other options. XX/XX/year> : When I opened the Citi app, I saw a notice instructing me to call now. I also saw new options in the app and was finally able to add the card to XXXX XXXX. However, when I called Citi as instructed, the agent told me that nothing could be done until the physical letter arrived. I asked why the app told me to call if there was no information to provide, and the agent had no explanation. Later that day, my wife attempted to make a small purchase at a local store, and her card was declined. Both of our Citi apps showed a message stating new card on its way for XXXX XXXX, even though I ( XXXX XXXX ) was the one who requested a replacement card. This created further confusion and left both of us without reliable access to our accounts. I called Citi again and was told once more that nothing could be done without the mailed form. I escalated to a supervisor, who repeated the same message. At this point, we were unable to reliably make purchases, get gas, or use our cards for essential daily needs. Citi has effectively frozen our ability to use our accounts, and we are being forced to wait for a letter with no alternative verification method offered.

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