Consumer complaint received 2025-03-08 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: AZ

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XX/XX/year>, I initially notified Citibank that the merchant had sent me the incorrect order and requested that I return it with a refund guarantee, I was advised by XXXX  XXXX XXXX  to send the product back and retain my email correspondence with the merchant. I am aware that all calls with Citibank are recorded, which is why I noted that Citibank specifically instructed me to follow these steps. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I filed a dispute with Citi Bank after the merchant attempted to scam me by only refunding {$27.00} of my purchase. The total amount that I paid was {$8700.00}. I submitted XXXX pages of supporting evidence to XXXX. I called Citi Bank immediately after to request a dispute for only {$8600.00}, as I noticed the merchant was trying to complicate the case by issuing a partial refund. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I called Citibank and confirmed that they received my XXXX pages of documentation. 
XXXX XX/XX/year>, I received a letter from CitiBank requesting additional information and documentation, all of which I had already included in the previous XXXX-page PDF. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I fulfilled XXXX request and wrote a new letter providing all the additional information they requested. This letter was emailed to XXXX. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I called Citibank to verify whether they had received my response to their most recent request. The agent initially responded " yes '' without checking. I requested that the agent confirm and verify on the recorded call that the documentation had indeed been received. The agent located the document and confirmed that it was received on XX/XX/year>. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I called Citibank for an update on my open dispute and asked if any further information was required from me. I confirmed once again during the recorded call with customer service that Citibank received my email response and that every request for additional information had been fulfilled. Please check the calls and documentation ; its all available. 
-On XX/XX/year>, I logged into Citi Banks Dispute Center and saw that the investigation was marked as resolved '' in the merchant 's favor. I immediately called Citi Bank and was informed that the case was closed solely because I did not respond to the request for more information dated XX/XX/year>. This is inaccurate. The customer service agent stated they were confused because they could see my response attached to the case. This conversation is recorded. The agent confirmed that my response was received on XX/XX/year>. 
Citi Banks Dispute Center also confirmed that the documentation was received. I was further informed by customer service that the investigator never contacted the merchant for additional information. I submitted the first PDF, which was XXXX pages, and followed up with a second email containing additional information, for a total of XXXX pages sent between the XXXX emails to XXXX. 
-Upon contacting Citi Bank XXXX again to inquire about what is required of me to move forward with this chargeback, I was advised that Citi Bank wanted to see the merchants " Terms and Conditions. '' This was never mentioned in Citi Banks previous letters, and yet Citi Bank " resolved '' the case without even reaching out to the merchant. 
-In the merchant 's Terms and Conditions, they state : Contact us before returning an item to confirm it is within our return policy or to arrange return shipping if the item is defective. I provided their Terms and Conditions to Citi Bank, which also state their return instructions. Their return instructions were outlined in the email from the merchant that Ive already provided to Citi Bank as well. 
-If you review my first email to XXXX, on page XXXX of XXXX, you will find email conversations between the merchant and me. Citi Bank can confirm that I not only contacted the merchant for a return, but the merchant also provided instructions on how to return the package with a refund guarantee. This goes above and beyond what is required to support a chargeback and potential arbitration. Citi Bank refused to pursue the case and resolved it. No information was requested from the merchant, and I have met every request for information. Citi Bank has the ability to help me, their customer, protect my funds. For some reason, Citi Bank has refused to even forward this information to the merchant. Citi Bank has refused to show any effort in investigating this scam. 
-I have supplied more than enough documentation to support a chargeback and potential arbitration. I have continued to respond to any further letters from Citi Bank. This dispute is not simply a " return '' ; this is a merchant attempting to scam me by sending an item I did not order, requesting the item back with a guarantee of a refund, and then following through on the scam by only sending {$27.00} to complicate the chargeback. Now, not only am I providing the merchant 's " Terms and Conditions '', but the emails from the merchant, which were previously provided to Citi Bank, also include : XXXX. Evidence that all parties agreed on the return based on the Terms and Conditions. 
XXXX. The refund details provided by the merchant. 
XXXX. XXXX evidence of intention, and all parties agreed to the terms of the return. 
This email also constitutes a legally binding contract. Additionally, the merchant 's 'Terms and Conditions ' were provided to Citi Bank XXXX as requested. 

XXXX Bank XXXX refusal to forward the XXXX previous pages of information and documentation to the merchant highlights how Citi Bank favored the merchant despite compelling evidence. Citi Bank appeared more focused on closing the dispute than taking the time to gather information from me for review. If potential customers were aware of Citi Banks process, no one would choose to open an account with Citi Bank over other financial institutions. Everyone should be aware of Citi Banks process and its lack of protection. I am preparing to escalate my case further and have previously mentioned that Ive retained legal counsel, as I am committed to having this case thoroughly investigated and resolved. I will continue to document every detail and transparently release all relevant information to the public. 
-I believe Citi Bank will attempt to brush this over once again, as they have done with many of their customers. Therefore, I am prepared to escalate this matter far beyond this initial step. The merchant is refusing to correct their error. Citi Bank has the power to bring this dispute to arbitration but has shown favor to the merchant by closing the dispute despite overwhelming evidence. Please take the time to review the initial XXXX pages sent to XXXX on XX/XX/year>, as well as the response to Citi Banks request for additional information, which I replied to on XX/XX/year>.

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