Consumer complaint received 2025-12-03 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: KS

Complaint narrative:
am submitting this complaint regarding Citis ongoing use and apparent sale of my consumer credit information, despite my explicit requests to limit access and despite a credit freeze in place. 

I have a Citi credit account that has been open for several years. Recently, I reviewed my credit reports and discovered that Citi has been pulling my credit report on a recurring basis ( monthly or near-monthly ) for account review purposes. 

I then contacted Citi and explicitly requested that they stop pulling my credit report on a recurring basis. Citi representatives informed me that they would continue to pull my credit report as long as the account is open, even though I have a credit freeze in place and have clearly stated that I do not want ongoing credit inquiries beyond what is strictly necessary to service the account. 

During my discussions with Citi, I was also informed or led to believe that the information obtained from these recurring pulls is being used for multiple purposes, including : Decisions to deny credit line increases or otherwise restrict credit, Using the fresh credit-report data to solicit me for other Citi products and services, and Providing or selling this information to third parties. 

Separately, I obtained information from a data broker that my credit information had been sold or supplied as part of their dataset. The data broker identified Citi as a source for information obtained through this recurring account review process. 

This raises the following concerns : Scope and frequency of credit pulls : Citi appears to be using account review as a blanket justification for pulling my credit report on a monthly basis, even after I requested that they stop. I question whether this level of frequency is necessary to service an existing account, especially when I have a credit freeze in place and have not sought new credit from Citi. 

Use of my credit data beyond account servicing : Citi seems to be using my credit data not only for servicing and risk management of the existing account, but also for : Denying new or increased credit, Marketing and solicitation of other Citi products, and Sharing or selling my credit-related information to third-party data brokers. 

If Citi is using my information for marketing or resale purposes under the cover of account review, I believe this may go beyond the permissible purpose of account review and may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and/or related privacy and consumer-protection laws. 

Sale or disclosure of my credit information to data brokers : Through a data broker, I learned that my credit informationapparently derived from these recurring Citi pullswas included and sold as part of the brokers dataset. I did not provide any consent to Citi for my detailed credit information to be sold or redistributed in this way. I am concerned that Citi may be monetizing my consumer report information without proper authorization, transparency, or opt-out options. 

Refusal to honor my request to limit access : Even after I informed Citi that I do not want recurring credit pulls and that I have a credit freeze in place, Citi stated that they would continue to pull my credit report every month as long as the account remains open. I believe this is unreasonable and inconsistent with my right to limit access to my credit information, particularly for any purposes beyond strict account servicing.

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