Consumer complaint received 2025-03-17 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: MA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I was charged {$220.00} for a one-night stay at a hotel in XXXX. I did not receive the service that I paid for because the hotel had XXXX XXXX, so I couldn't stay there. I left the hotel without checking in and spent the night at a different hotel. The hotel desk manager refused to issue a refund. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I disputed the charge with Citi. On XX/XX/XXXX, the merchant responded to the dispute and falsely claimed that I was seeking a " free night stay. '' The case number on the merchant 's response form didn't even match my dispute case number. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Citi 's disputes team notified me via email that they found me responsible for the charge. The same day, I appealed Citi 's decision and provided detailed information refuting the merchant 's response, including XXXX  receipts, a receipt for the other hotel I stayed at, and photos of XXXX XXXX XXXX on the hotel mattress. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Citi to confirm receipt of these documents and to reiterate that the merchant 's response contained false information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the disputes team notified me via email that they had again found me responsible for the charge because I didn't provide " a credit slip or chargeback approval letter from the merchant to prove they agree you are due credit for this charge. '' If the merchant agreed that I was due credit for the charge, I would not have needed to file a dispute in the first place, so it was not reasonable for Citi to mandate a credit slip to process this chargeback. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Citi, and a representative said she'd ask for the dispute to be reopened. She offered me a partial credit of about {$100.00} ( less than half of the amount disputed ) for being a longtime customer. I thanked her and said I'd still like the dispute reopened. I never received the credit that I was offered. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving no follow-up from Citi, XXXX called again, and a different representative said my dispute was denied because it was miscategorized as Goods/ Services Not as Expected rather than Goods/ Services Not Received. After recategorizing it, he told me the dispute would be reviewed again. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the disputes team notified me a third time via email that they still found me responsible for the charge because they needed " documentation showing the merchant agreed to credit your account. '' Again, this was not reasonable documentation to require, given the circumstances. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Citi and explained that the request for a credit slip was unreasonable. The representative said Citi would " make this right '' for me by issuing a credit for the full amount of my disputed charge, which would post to my account in 3 to 5 days. I never received this credit. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Citi again to ask about the status of my credit. The representative that I spoke with said there was no record in my account that anyone had agreed to give me a credit. She told me the dispute was open again and I should hear back in, once again, 3 to 5 days. 

I did not receive the service that I paid for on XX/XX/XXXX, and I have now been disputing this charge for over two months. I have sent Citi extensive documentation via email and have spoken to representatives five times. Citi keeps finding me responsible for the charge for reasons that don't make sense, and a Citi representative outright lied to me about resolving the situation with a refund.

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