Consumer complaint received 2024-04-03 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I believe that CitiBank, which services Macy 's American Express card, violated my rights under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act due to gender and race discrimination. My account has been locked down several times since XX/XX/2024, due to Citi 's discriminatory actions taken on my account. It is my contention that Citi deliberately engaged in discriminatory practices and perpetuated derogatory stereotypes regarding XXXX  individuals and XXXX, attributing them to criminal activity and fraud. Multiple times during the month, the bank imposed more stringent criteria on my account, including the requirement for additional information and the placement of a restriction on the account. I was advised in early XXXX that my account was blocked and to await a letter with a reference code. I called with the reference code from the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, where I went through a complete verification of information, transaction history, payment history, contact information, etc. Several days later, my account was blocked again, and I was told that another letter was being sent out. I received the second letter and called on XX/XX/XXXX with the second reference code. I repeated the same verification process. On XX/XX/2024, my account was blocked for the third time, and I was told to wait for a letter in the mail. I explained that I had previously verified all information on my account from previous reference codes and that I needed to use my account. I couldn't understand why they couldn't use previous verified contact information, but they said that my account would remain blocked until I received a letter. I called repeatedly after XX/XX/XXXX because a letter was not being sent to my home and I was still unable to use the account. I received the letter XXXX weeks later after calling multiple times to inform the department that I hadn't received a letter. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called with the reference code dated from the letter of XX/XX/2024, and verified the information once again. The representative told me that my account was unrestricted and I was able to use it. I charged a transaction for {$29.00}, which was my XXXX monthly subscription, on the same day. The next day, my account was blocked again, and I was told that I would receive a letter with a code in the mail. The previous representative did not add my authorized user to the account or make any changes to my account from the call initiated on XX/XX/XXXX with the reference code. I believed the bank discriminated against XXXX  people and made me feel that my identity was not valid. Despite having all the necessary documentation and reference codes, they continued to question my identity and treat me differently. This experience has left me feeling marginalized and excluded from XXXX XXXX XXXX, as I was not able to use my credit card for almost XXXX  days and am still unable to.

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