Consumer complaint received 2024-02-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
My problem with Citi Cards ( a division of Citigroup which Citibank is part of ) began in XXXX but I had fled from domestic abuse ( abuser gave me XXXX XXXX ) and was unable to file my complaint against Citi Cards ( Citigroup ) until now, after my brain sufficiently healed. 

My problem with Citi Cards : I received mail from Citi in XXXX, the front of the envelope was marked with the words : Important Information Enclosed and it was sent from the address below : Citi XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, SD XXXX The envelope contained a XXXX page important letter and please note that the name listed on the letter isXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, ( my previous name which was on the old closed Citi Cards account and its my name from my XXXX marriage ). My current name is XXXX XXXX, my name from my XXXX marriage. Also note that the address listed on the letter is my old mailing address which is no longer valid. My abuser stalked me after I fled from home but I couldnt move until after my XXXX sufficiently healed. He continued stalking me so for my safety ( because he nearly took my life in more ways than XXXX ) I finally fled to move out of state and now I have a new mailing address. I really couldve used the money Citi Cards promised to send me because my health insurance provider refused to cover the cost of my expensive brain healing treatments so I was forced to pay for the cost of healing my brain on credit card. I didnt want to live with brain damage the rest of my life and I cant safely return to work as a nurse until my brain damage is healed, to do so could jeopardize the lives and safety of my patients. 

I contacted Citi Cards customer service numerous times and they ran me around in circles. I have XXXX ancestry so Im familiar with XXXX accents and the representatives at the Citi call center sounded as if they had XXXX accents. When Id explain my issue to them, they simply told me to call XXXX XXXX, that it wasnt their problem and theyd hang up on me. Very rude treatment and this happened several times. During XXXX call, I finally got through to a supervisor who said hed try to research the issue. He put me on hold then told me they couldnt find me in the Citi system. He said its likely because its an old closed account so my information would be automatically purged from the system. However, he did say my information must still exist in some database because he confirmed the address that mailed me the letter is a legitimate Citi Cards address. He couldnt help me any further at that point. 

So then I went inside a Citibank branch in XXXX XXXX, California and the staff tried helping me but said all they could do is connect me to Citi Cards customer service over the phone because Citibank has nothing to do with Citi Cards. Theyre all part of Citigroup but completely separate from XXXX another. Citibank staff remained on hold with me for a long time but the customer service representative at the call center also gave us the run around. Finally she put us on hold and never picked back up. The Citibank staff told me that often happens with the call center. She said they put people on hold and never pick back up so the caller will just eventually hang up. Thats really bad customer service and unacceptable! 

So I called XXXX XXXX and they informed me that although the Citi Cards has a travel AAdvantage program partnership with Citi Cards, any mileage reimbursement in the form of cash in a check must come from Citi Cards, it is not XXXX XXXX responsibility to reimburse Citi Cards customers for the mileage credits from old closed accounts. The XXXX XXXX representative told me that in that day alone he already received around XXXX previous calls from upset Citi Cards customers who received the same letter as I had and they were demanding their travel mileage reimbursement check. They told the XXXX XXXX representative that Citi Cards staff said XXXX XXXX was responsible for issuing the check so every time he had to inform the angry customers that no, the travel mileage reimbursement check is supposed to come from Citi Cards. 

Citi Cards is committing fraud, defrauding customers of money owed in the form of travel mileage reimbursement checks from old closed Citi Cards XXXX XXXX XXXX credit cards that still had unspent travel mileage attached to the accounts. I believe, after sending all those letters out to Citi Cards customers, the company later realized they owe a lot of monetary compensation to Citi Cards customers for unused travel mileage which will be a big chunk of money out of their pockets which will hurt their bottom line. So although Citi Cards sent out the letter, they failed to deliver on their promise, they failed to actually mail the reimbursement checks out to their customers. And when customers call the Citi Cards customer service department, customers are given the run around and turfed off to call XXXX XXXX but it isnt XXXX XXXX financial responsibility! Then Citi Cards customer service representatives place customers on hold indefinitely so the customers will just give up and hang up. Its an unfair unjust game Citi Cards is playing with customers in hopes theyll just roll over and give up so Citi Cards wont have to pay the customers the money owed to them from the unused travel mileage. This is straight out fraud, defrauding consumers of money thats rightfully theirs. I never received the financial reimbursement Citi Cards promised theyd send me, in the form of a check for the unused XXXX Citi Cards XXXX XXXX XXXX travel miles left on my closed Citi Cards account. I obtained the XXXX miles when I called XXXX XXXX and spoke to a representative. If needed, my XXXX XXXX XXXX member number is : XXXX. 

The contents of the letter Citi Cards sent me is as follows : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Account ending in : XXXX Important information regarding your account Hi XXXX XXXX After reviewing your Citi / XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX card account, we noticed an error that calculated your XXXX XXXX XXXX miles earnings incorrectly. If your account is open, well credit your XXXX XXXX XXXX miles balance with the amount owed to you within 1-2 billing cycles. 

If your account is closed, well apply a statement credit to your account. This credit will be reflected on your statement within 1-2 billing cycles. If were unable to credit your account, a check will be mailed to you at the address we have on file in the next 10-14 business days. 

If you have any questions, please call the number on the back of your card. We accept XXXX or other XXXX XXXX. 

Your Citi XXXX XXXX XXXX I appreciate your assistance in helping me, and other Citi Cards customers , in achieving justice and the money we are all owed from Citi Cards . What theyve done to us is flat out fraud and is so wrong, unfair and unjust. I would greatly appreciate your help in getting Citi Cards to resolve this issue asap and have them send me the check they owe me for all of my unused travel miles which XXXX XXXX told me is XXXX unused travel miles. Thank you kindly! 

With gratitude, XXXX XXXX ( formerly known to Citi Cards as XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

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