Consumer complaint received 2022-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan — Personal line of credit
Issue: Problem when making payments — 
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: LA

Complaint narrative:
Something that has happened to me makes me realize what can go wrong with Buy Now, Pay Later ( BNPL ) credit products : I am getting billed {$1800.00} for a fridge I do not have and there is no central point of responsibility in these BNPL schemes to fix the problem. 

I purchased a fridge from XXXX. XXXX on a BNPL scheme. I even bought the extended warranty. 

The fridge came with a broken cooling mechanism and could not get below 75 degrees. So, I invoked the warranty and found out I was really dealing with Summit Appliance because that is who made the model of the fridge I purchased. So far, so good. 

The fridge could not be repaired and so XXXX said they would process my claim for a full refund. I have that in writing. I never heard anything more from XXXX. XXXX or XXXX although I did call to confirm that my debt was erased. 

But now, I went to purchase a home and, like many Americans, find that BrandSource, which is the BNPL third party payment merchant, says I owe the full amount for the fridge. BrandSource is owned by Citi. Before taking up the matter with the credit reporting bureaus, I went to BrandSource and explained why I do not owe the charge and frankly, am surprised I even still have an account with them at all. 

BrandSource and Citi would not let me forward them the email trail where I have in writing that my debt was forgiven by XXXX  XXXX. Instead of a low-cost email paper trail, they want me to print or fax my emails. Fax? I dont have a printer either. BrandSource also said the dispute could take 6-9 months to resolve by Citi, all the while it is on my credit report and could mean hundreds or thousands of more over the life of a home loan. 

I kept pressing over the course of many frustrating phone calls ( and you can not call Citis resolution department or BrandSources consumer payment department directly, let alone try to communicate with both parts of the company at the same time ). Finally, BrandSource ( Citi ) told me that they can not resolve the dispute at all because they do not have the records from XXXX. XXXX and that they consider my case closed. 

So, me, a consumer, is stuck trying to resolve a business-to-business records problem involving XXXX. XXXX, XXXX XXXX, BrandSource, and Citi. 

I am not empowered to resolve the problems in their business-to-business relationships and the peons they employ at customer service are not really empowered either. 

But Im still getting an {$1800.00} bill for a fridge which I do not have as well as a further unknown but potentially more costly hit on my credit reportId also like to buy a car My experience demonstrates the danger of getting that credit from a BNPL relationship because there is no central point of responsibility to the consumer if the goods are never delivered as promised.

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