Consumer complaint received 2024-06-16 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — Gift card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer — Card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase or transfer
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
Staples "business advantage " rewards account when you sign up for one by email gives you rewards and perks.  A way to look up and keep track of your business purchases seperate from personal rewards.  So they also offered a discount coupon upon signing up it says that i think is XXXX off any purchase of XXXX  or more.  Or something like that.  So i signed up the other week or so ago.  And instantly i got an email after many many many online app glitches that finally emails me successful signup.  It gave my the business advantage account numbers and everything confirming in email and phone numbers listed.  But no coupon as stated.  So i go to the employee at registers they dont know how to look it up or access it. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with extra fancy glasses very slow moving but friendly if you can look beyond the incompetence.  Then her manager another mid XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  with corn rows.  Nice dude also cant access it.  They finally after me being polite and 5 mins or so of aimless clicking give up and manager override to match the offer. I also paid with a gift card so that if i would lose the receipt we could look it up by the gift card purchase history...so the manager overrides the purchase and gives me the item with discount.  However the item is a junk quality floor chair matt that is staples branding and did not work to support the office chair like the XXXX ones of much better quality.   Mind you the place is a ghost town usually with always a new confused group of motley looking outkasts working there who know nothing usually and arent very friendly.  Less one or two.  Moving on.  

I return yesterday to this location to do the return and couldnt fine the receipt.  I was told no big deal we can look it up by the gift card or the business rewards number.  I get there and they still dont know how to look up the business advantages rewards.  So my new purchase they cant discount.  They cant look up my receipt by gift card either or phone numbers or emails.  They dont know how.  Both the portly looking confused white girl that had nose rings and every sort of face staple looking piercings imaginable.  Literally she is the first face you see coming in and its covered in piercings that look like staples.  But she was better than the XXXX XXXX gray haired lady with no teeth that appeared nice at first but slurred speach like a drunk.  She was the manager.  Maybe XXXX XXXX XXXX if i were being nice.  The world hasnt been kind to these people clearly.  But someone they run the store in that ghetto corner i try not to ever go into.  But they tried and had no way of applying the discount to the replacement item.  They could of either given me a store credit for the msrp and it would of balanced out the discount toward the next item.  Or overrode it while clearly seeing i signed up and had a number.  Previously their excuse was it would take a few hours or days to load to their systems.  Now two weeks later that answer that the original cool manager with corn rows said was the reason seems to not be as they still cant find my business advantages account.  There final answer was. We cant access that and dont know how.  And we cant override the return credit to full msrp or apply the coupon to the replacement item.  So if i ever do get the business advantage coupon discount code for XXXX  off emailed to me.  That should remain intact ready to use.  Bc the manager did an override on original purchase.

But the employees and managers dont know how to look up the gift card transaction history.  They dont know how to look up history of that barcode purchase chronicological to purchase date in point of sale database.  They dont know how to access the business advantages reward account numbers.  Even with the confirmation emails with the numbers; my phone number and email name...they dont know how and gave up.  Then got rude.  So i took the lessor credit.  Bc i started with a XXXX  gift card and now have XXXX something.  And on the new item they wont make it right by discounting it.  Bc they dont know how.  This was yesterday XXXX  at around XXXX  est the staples location address:  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, MD XXXX.  Phone:  XXXX
Also if you call the hours they say in the beginning of every call are wrong.  They say you close an hour earlier.  I bring this up everytime i call visit and or have a written complaint.  And for years they shrug it off basically saying they dont care.  Can you help me get the business advantages discount applied and supply the gift card transaction history the reps and managers all dont know how to do?

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