Consumer complaint received 2025-01-22 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Following is a letter we sent to the Citibank Board Chairman. It explains our complaint in detail. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX To : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Board Chairman XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, NY XXXX Subject : Request for Payment of {$1500.00} Bonus Pertaining to the Following Accounts : Account No. XXXX ( XXXX & XXXX XXXX ) Account XXXX. XXXX ( XXXX & XXXX XXXX ) Account XXXX. XXXX ( XXXX & XXXX XXXX ) Dear XXXX XXXX : I am writing this letter to ask for your help in resolving the following complaint that my wife and I have against the Citibank, XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, California for their deceptive practices. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX of the Citibank, asking for her help in resolving the issue. However, her office declined our request, citing a different reason from the previous decline reason : The first decline reason issued by the Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX states the following : Unfortunately, your account does not qualify for this promotion because the required deposit was not made within XXXX calender [ sic ] days of the account open date. ( See the attached ). When I pointed out in my response letter that I made the required deposit on the same date that I had opened the account, the Citibank issued the second decline letter on XX/XX/XXXX, stating that : our records reflect that you did not meet the terms and conditions of the promotion in questions, XXXX, which stipulated that so long as you have not owned a Citibank checking account in the last 365 days, you can apply to participate in the Welcome Checking Cash Bous Offer. Our records indicate you owned a previous Regular Checking account which was closed on XX/XX/XXXX ; therefore, you would not qualify for the promotion as you had a checking account within the last 365 days of opening the new Regular Checking account on XX/XX/XXXX. We have attached the terms and conditions for reference. ( See the attached ). 
XXXX XXXX : First of all, we did not receive the terms and conditions that have been attached with the second decline letter issued by the Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX when we opened our accounts with the Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX ; Second, the promotion flyer did not specify the terms and conditions that the second decline letter cited ( See the attached ) ; Third, the bank employee ( XXXX XXXX ) checked the banks computer and verified our eligibility when we opened these accounts ; and Fourth, the Branch manager of the XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ), could not find the terms and conditions that the second decline letter cited when we stopped by the branch on XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX : For your reference, I would like to provide the following detailed accounts of the matter : On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife went to the XXXX XXXX XXXX of the Citibank in XXXX. She inquired about opening accounts with the Bank. XXXX XXXX, a personal banker, explained the Banks programs that were available where we may invest our money. 

Page 2 XXXX explained to us the following : There was a promotion program where if we opened a new eligible Citi checking account, then deposited XXXX Funds in the XXXX of {$200000.00} into the new checking account within XXXX calendar days from account opening, and maintain the required minimum balance in the eligible account ( XXXX ) for an additional XXXX calendar days from the XXXX day, we will earn a cash bonus of {$1500.00}. Furthermore, XXXX stated that we could earn guaranteed 5 % interest rate on a Savings account for 90 days, if we deposit and maintain {$25000.00} with the new Savings account. He added that if we open and fund both accounts, our balance can be held in our checking account or between our checking account AND our new Citi Savings account to count toward the minimum requirement to earn the {$1500.00} bonus and the 5 % interest on the fund balance. 
XXXX strongly recommended that : 1 ) we open both a checking and a Savings accounts at the same time ; 2 ) Deposit minimum new money in the amount of {$220000.00} into the checking and Savings accounts ( {$200000.00} to meet the {$1500.00} bonus and {$25000.00} for the 5 % interest ) ; 3 ) Keep {$1.00} in the checking account and transfer the rest of the money into the Savings account so that we can earn 5 % interest on our account balance. He assured us that if we do so, the {$1500.00} bonus payment will be deposited into our checking account after 81 days from the account opening ( i.e., around XXXX XXXX or XXXX, XXXX ) and we will earn guaranteed 5 % interest on the Savings account for 90 days ( until around XX/XX/XXXX ). XXXX encouraged us to bring additional funds into the XXXX account so that we could earn the 5 % interest on the whole balance until the 5 % rate expires. 
We asked XXXX to check whether we were eligible for opening those accounts and receiving the bonus payment and the 5 % interest rate, if we were to follow his advice. XXXX checked our status on his computer and reviewed the terms and conditions of the offer and assured us that we were eligible for the promotion. 
Upon receiving his verification of our eligibility for the promotion, we opened a new checking and a Savings account and transferred {$230000.00} New-to-Citibank Funds into our new accounts with the Citi : {$1.00} into the new checking account and {$230000.00} into the new Savings account ( See the attached flyer for the promotion and evidence of our accounts opening ). 
Following Luiss advice, we made additional deposits into our new Savings account subsequently : On XX/XX/XXXX, when our CD ( # XXXX ) with the Citi matured, we transferred {$56000.00} into the Savings account ; On XX/XX/XXXX, when another CD ( # XXXX ) with the Citi matured, we transferred {$10000.00} into the Savings account. On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife stopped by the Branch to deposit an additional {$10000.00} into the account. XXXX recommended to my wife the following : XXXX ) We open another Savings account with the Citi by XX/XX/XXXX, because the 5 % interest promotion on the existing Savings account ( # XXXX ) would expire on XX/XX/XXXX and the Citi had another promotion going for a Savings account that guarantees 5 % interest until XX/XX/XXXX. To take advantage of the promotion, we must open a new Savings account by XX/XX/XXXX by depositing {$25000.00} into the new account ; XXXX ) Maintain {$.00} with the existing Savings account ( # XXXX ) and keep it open to receive the 5 % interest payment for the period from XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ; XXXX ) Keep {$1.00} with the checking account so that the {$1500.00} bonus payment could be deposited into the checking account ; and XXXX ) Open a new Savings account and transfer the balance of the existing Savings account into a the new Savings account so that we can earn 5 % interest on the balance until XX/XX/XXXX. 
Page XXXX Following his advice, we opened a new Savings account ( # XXXX ) and deposited {$25000.00} into the account on XX/XX/XXXX ( See the attached ). 
On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife visited the Branch to check on the status of the {$1500.00} bonus payment and to transfer our money into the new Savings account, as advised by XXXX. XXXX informed her that the bonus payment had not been deposited into our checking account yet ; however, it could be deposited into the account at any time, because it typically takes some time for the Bank to deposit the money. XXXX stated that he would periodically check the status of the bonus payment and inform her once the bonus deposit has been made. Thus, my wife transferred {$300000.00} from the existing Savings account into the new Savings account ( # XXXX ), while maintaining those existing accounts to receive the bonus payment and accrued interest covering the period of XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. In addition, she deposited a check in the amount of {$120.00} into the new Savings account.

Three weeks later, XXXX had still not contacted my wife regarding the bonus payment. So, on XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I stopped by the Branch to see XXXX. XXXX was busy with clients, so we asked XXXX XXXX, another personal banker, to assist us. We inquired about the status of the bonus payment. XXXX reviewed our accounts on his computer and informed us that the bonus payment had been denied, because we were ineligible for the promotion. When we stated that XXXX had checked our eligibility upfront prior to opening those accounts and he had assured us that we were eligible for the promotion and we had met all the conditions and terms of the promotion, XXXX was quite rude by stating that we should have verified the information by reading the terms and conditions of the offer. When we stated that when a bank employee verified our eligibility and assured us that we were eligible, we trusted the accuracy and veracity of the information, XXXX snarled at us by stating that bank employees are human beings, and like all other human beings, they are not perfect and make mistakes and we should be very happy for receiving the 5 % interest on our Savings account! He stated that he had to serve the next customer, so he couldnt spend too much time with us ; if we wanted to resolve the matter with someone else such as branch manager or the Citi official who handles the bonus payment, we could do so. We asked whether we could meet with the XXXX XXXX. XXXX stated that she was not in the office, and she wouldnt be in the office the following day, either. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, we called the Branch Office to make an appointment with the Branch XXXX, XXXX XXXX. A clerk stated that XXXX had a full schedule for the day and wouldnt be available for us. So, we decided to visit the Branch in-person in the afternoon. We waited for XXXX until she was available to see us. When we met, XXXX stated that she was aware of the issue, because her staff briefed her regarding the matter. She stated that if we had a checking account with a promotion within the last XXXX year prior to opening the current checking account, then we were not eligible for the bonus. We stated that before we opened the checking account, her staff XXXX reviewed our information and verified our eligibility. We presented XXXX with the flyer for the {$1500.00} promotion and stated that the flyer didnt indicate the condition that she described to us. XXXX made a copy of the flyer and tried to find the terms of the promotion on her computer. When she couldnt find the information, she indicated that she would submit a dispute resolution request, although she couldnt guarantee the outcome of the resolution. When we inquired about the time frame of the resolution of the matter, XXXX asked us to contact her on the following Monday to check the status of her submission. 

Page XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX left a voice message, stating that she had submitted the dispute resolution request to a pertinent Citi office on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 
On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, we received a letter ( dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) from the Citi, informing us that our account does not qualify for the promotion because the required deposit was not made within XXXX calendar days of the account open date ( See the attached ). 
What?! As we have explained in the previous sections of this letter and shown on the attached bank statement, we made the required deposit on the very same day that we opened those accounts! And we have continuously maintained the amount that is well above the required minimum amounts. As of XX/XX/XXXX ), we had over {$340000.00} with those accounts with the Citi! 
When we refuted the Banks first decline reason and submitted our complaint letter to the Presidents office, a representative of the Citibank called us on XX/XX/XXXX and informed us that we were ineligible to receive the bonus payment, because we did not qualify for the promotion. Several days later, we received the second decline letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, along with the terms and conditions of the account from the Citibank ( See attached ). 
XXXX XXXX : We have faithfully fulfilled all our obligations to receive the {$1500.00} bonus ; however, the Citibank has declined to fulfill its obligation by refusing to honor the bonus payment. We deposited {$230000.00} into the new checking and Savings accounts on the same date that we opened these accounts and consistently maintained the amount that was well above the required amount to receive the bonus payment. 
We would like to request that the Citibank fulfill its obligation and honor the agreement by depositing the bonus payment of {$1500.00} into our checking account as soon as possible. 
Since we had not been able to resolve the matter with your local branch personnel, my wife and I decided to appeal our case to the President of the Bank for a resolution of the matter. To our disappointment, the Presidents office declined to honor the bonus payment, citing the terms and conditions that were not stipulated in the promotion and never provided to us when we opened the account! 
We would greatly appreciate your prompt assistance in resolving this matter and look forward to receiving the bonus payment as soon as possible. 
If you have any questions, please contact us : XXXX XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX ) XXXX XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX ) Sincerely, XXXX and 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 explanation