Consumer complaint received 2024-04-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Problem with fees
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I got a new credit card for airline miles with XXXX and no longer needed the Citi card with a {$99.00} annual fee, I called around the end of XXXX, weeks before the fee would be charged, to cancel the card. They convinced me to convert the card to a card with no annual fee and told me that I would not have to pay the fee. I agreed and was not told about the 51-day waiting period, or I missed that in the long disclosure. I received the new card ending in XXXX and then I got a bill on that account for {$99.00}. I called and was told I did not have to pay that, it is in process, you do not have to pay that. The next bill had a late fee and interest charges. I called on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX. PST and spoke to the most horrible representative named XXXX. He was a bully and obnoxious and made me pay the {$99.00} before he would refund the fee and interest. He told me about the 51-day process. Based on this call with XXXX I decided to cancel the card, but I had to wait. I called again after the 51st day and asked where was my money? I was told again it was in process and the representative said she had an override processed and I would receive it in a few days. I did not receive it and called back on the third day. Then I got the story that it was still in process, and nothing could be done, and I would see it on my XXXX statement, which closes on the XXXX. But on XX/XX/XXXX I check the account and see that the {$99.00} credit is there with a date of XX/XX/XXXX! Every time I called I got a different story and none of them ever became true. 

I feel I was defrauded out of my money. They took it and held it and refused to return it. I was not fully informed about the process of converting the card to a non-fee card. I feel the annual fee on the old card had no basis to be charged to the new card. I cancelled that card weeks before the annual fee was to be charged. I had to make numerous calls and every time I was given false information and further deceived. By charging the fee and holding the refund for 51 days they require you to make a payment. You have to use the card or request a refund and I am sure that refund process is also terrible. So now they took my money, paid me no interest, charged me a late fee and interest, and they collected a fee on the charges I made to burn off the credit. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called to close the account. The web site said my balance was {$220.00} but the difference of debit and credits was only {$92.00}. I feel this is another deceptive practice. I called to get the payoff balance and the representative would not tell me. I closed the account and wanted to pay what I believe is the balance, {$92.00}. When I asked the representative who closed the account what my payoff balance was, she told me {$220.00}. If I paid that I would be overpaying them.

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 monetary relief