Consumer complaint received 2024-07-22 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Charged too much interest
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
Illegally Charged Interest on Credit Card Balances Paid by Payments Above Minimum. 

Citi Reference No : XXXX. 

I have two credit cards with Citibank N.A., Citi Double Cash Credit Card ending XXXX and Citi Rewards Credit Card ending XXXX. On both credit cards, the monthly minimum consists of interest plus 1 % of the balance or {$41.00}. Balances are accrued daily ( the agreements attached ) on both cards. In the period of XXXX to date I have had balances with different APRs ( statements attached ). Every month. I make payments in excess of the minimums. However, Citibank fails to apply all my payments above the minimums to the highest XXXX balances. On card XXXX, the extra payment totaling {$1500.00} on XX/XX/XXXX failed to apply to the balance of XXXX at 27.24 % and reduced lower APR balances instead. I complained multiple times by phone and in writing on XX/XX/XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX. In four written responses of XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, Citibank misrepresented my credit card agreements stating I must pay my balances in full every month before the payments could be applied to the highest APR ( absurdity, attached ). Overall, Citibank charged me over 150 days of illegal compounded interest, instead of three days. The amount of illegally charged interest on the card ending XXXX was {$35.00}. In response to one of my complaints, Citibank made a 'courtesy refund ' of {$27.00} of the illegally charged interest but continued to charge further interest on the same 27.24 % APR balance, failed to correct the balances and statements and correctly apply the balances to comply with the Credit Card XXXX XXXX and the card agreement terms. 

In the same manner, Citibank has been mistreating the payments above minimum on my credit card ending XXXX which is most clearly seen on the statements in XXXX, XXXX and XXXX - none of the payments in excess of the minimums were applied to the highest 5.99 % APR balance resulting in at least {$11.00} illegally charged interest. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I filed a complaint to Citi Executive Response Team, only to receive on XX/XX/XXXX yet another misrepresentation of my card agreement claiming Citibank 'correctly ' applied my extra payments to 'balances above 0.00 % APR '. I attach the Chronology of my interactions with Citibank. 

What initially seemed like a system error or incompetence, is now clearly a deliberate system endorsed by senior Citibank management designed to charge illegal interest. There are reports from the people I know and on Internet describing the same mistreatment of extra payments by Citibank. Other 12 banks where I have balances with different interest rates always apply payments above minimums to the highest APR balances immediately on the day of payment. 

With over {$100.00} XXXX of outstanding credit card balances, Citibank seems to have been making billions in illegal interest for years. The Regulator involvement is necessary to correct this. Thank you.

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 explanation