Consumer complaint received 2025-08-25 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I paid my balance in full on XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$89.00}. I then paused the card through the CitiBank app because I was not going to use the card for future charges. In addition, I have always received paper statements for all of my bills, especially credit cards, CitiBank included. After the final {$89.00} payment, I did not receive any more statements. 

However, to my dismay, I received an invoice from Citibank for the billing period XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$210.00}, which included a previous balance of {$200.00}. This was the first statement I received since I paid my balance in full. Suddenly, several statements followed on a monthly basis and the balance kept growing. In addition, I received collection notices from XXXX XXXX XXXX requesting payment. The first one is dated XX/XX/XXXX and several followed. 

After receiving the first invoice, I immediately contacted CitiBank on XX/XX/XXXX and I spoke with XXXX. I explained the situation to him and he opened an investigation on my behalf and gave me confirmation # XXXX. Meanwhile, I sent letters dated XX/XX/XXXX to both CitiBank and XXXX XXXX XXXX explaining my dilemma, presumably, with the hope of resolving this matter quickly because I was concerned about my FICO score. Unfortunately, this was not the case. 

I received a response from CitiBank dated XX/XX/XXXX, requesting more information and that I should contact them at the toll free # listed on the letter. I called CitiBank on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with XXXX, ID XXXX. XXXX could not provide me with any information about my account or the history of this balance because she said the account was closed and in collection but she was happy to take my payment over the phone! I explained that I was calling because CitiBank asked me to call as they need more information. I was speechless. She did, however, say that she would send me statements from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. I DID NOT receive anything as a result of this phonecall. 

I sent another letter dated, XX/XX/XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX and a letter dated, XX/XX/XXXX to CitiBank expressing my situation and requested copies of the original statements that resulted in this balance. Finally, I received an acknowledgement from XXXX XXXX XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX informing me that it will take up to sixty days to review this matter. 

I also received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from CitiBank with a less than insufficient response. This letter stated that the debt is valid because I agreed to the terms and conditions by using the card, CitiBank sent monthly statements to email : XXXX, they included the last monthly statement for the period XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX only, the date I became a customer : XX/XX/XXXX, the first date of delinquency for this debt was on XX/XX/XXXX and the last payment date on this account was on XX/XX/XXXX. They DID NOT include copies of the original statements showing the origin or history of this balance at that time. 

I responded with a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX and in which I stated that the email XXXX has been inactive for over three years so I could not have received statements as they claim. Also, why did the paper statements stop after my last payment and then start again in XX/XX/XXXX? This situation was completely baffling and frustrating. 

I was unable to review the history of the balance and respond accordingly because CitiBank was unwilling to send me copies of the original statements. Ultimately, I felt pressured to pay a balance that I did not recognize and regardless of my numerous requests, It took numerous letters and phone calls to receive the statements that I was entitled to. 

I finally received the statements and upon reviewing the XX/XX/XXXX statement, I noticed a charge of {$190.00} for Timeless Today on XX/XX/XXXX. This was a yearly subscription fee that I had forgotten about, as I paid my balance in full in XX/XX/XXXX and did not intend to use the card further. I must reiterate that I did not receive the original paper statement to make a payment and that I only became aware of the outstanding balance when I received the invoice from CitiBank for the billing period of XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX, which amounted to {$210.00}, including a previous balance of {$200.00}. This was the first paper statement I had received since paying my balance in full in XX/XX/XXXX. 

It is perplexing that paper statements stopped arriving after my last payment and did not resume until XX/XX/XXXX. If you check my payment history with CitiBank, as well as my overall credit history, you will see that I have consistently paid my bills on time. Therefore, there is no reason for me not to have settled this bill if I had received the statement in a timely manner. 

I have since paid the original charge amount of {$190.00}, as I did not have the opportunity to pay this invoice promptly, despite no fault of mine. I have requested that Citibank please remove the delinquency from my credit report because I never received the original paper invoices on time. 

At this point, I only received an acknowledgement of my payment but Citibank has not addressed my concerns over my credit score with all three agencies as a result of their errors.

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