Consumer complaint received 2025-10-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I applied, and was approved for, the Citi XXXX XXXX credit card, on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Citibank advertised a sign on bonus ( in their points currency of " Thank You Points '' after spending {$4000.00} in 3 months ( on my Citi online portal, the " tracker '' is still present, showing that I have to meet the spend requirement by XX/XX/XXXX ). 

However, almost immediately, and before me even receiving the card, Citibank artibrarilt decided that they don't trusty income that I had entered during the application process, and blocked all my credit card accounts. They proceeded to send me an IRS form 4506-C, using which ( totally via " snail mail '', and via several dysfunctional and incompetent intermediaries, including Equifax ) they would apparently send to the IRS, and receive verification from them, regarding my income. 

After receiving their original ( partially filled ) form on XX/XX/XXXX, I immediately proceeded to send them the signed and filled form via USPS Priority Express, which reached them the next day. However, despite me repeatedly asking their representative BEFORE sending the form, which boxes need to be ticked, they told me " no need to fill in anything other than your personal details, check the signature box, sign and send ''. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, they sent me the form to be filled AGAIN, and upon calling them ( again, no proactive information ), they told me that XXXX  XXXX and XXXX  XXXX needed to be checked/filled -- XXXX items I had EXPLICITLY asked the previous representative about, before sending the form the first time! 

Either way, I proceeded to redo the form as per the " new '' instructions, and resent it, again with XXXX XXXX XXXX, which reached them on XX/XX/XXXX, per XXXX XXXX. 

Since then, after repeatedly calling their " line management '' department -- which is the only department that even accepts calls, and they only work a limited number of hours a day -- their answers have been " we have sent your form to the IRS. It will take time ''. 

Upon flagging the KEY ISSUE ( besides all the NEEDLESS hassle ) that they are RUNNING THE CLOCK DOWN on the XX/XX/XXXX deadline to meet my spend requirement for the sign-on bonus, their only answer has been " We don't handle these things. Once we receive the required information, and unblock your card, you will have to deal with " customer service '' to " request them to do something '' regarding this ''. 

Some of the time, these " line management supervisors '' have even abruptly closed the calls, showing contempt and irritation for being asked legitimate questions. 

Also, meanwhile, this being a " premium tier '' credit card, it has a {$590.00} annual fee, which has already posted. The deadline to pay the fee is fast approaching ( but remember, I CAN NOT use this card, since it is blocked by line management, and I can not even talk to " customer service '' to postpone this annual fee -- in addition to postponing the sign up bonus spending requirement starting date -- until * after * this crazily incompetent " line management '' department ( of ever they get around to processing it ) stop dragging their feet inordinately, over something as simple as getting a return transcript from the IRS. 
I even offered to send Citibank the return transcripts ( which I can see with one click, by logging into my IRS account ), but of course, they are assuming people to be fraudsters, and will not accept me sending them my transcripts. Something that should take seconds, is being dragged on for months. 

If you read similar stories from affected people, once this line management department is unblocking the cards, " customer service '' is most times not providing any extension to the dates to meet the spending requirement, and in the BEST CASE, providing a " 14 day extension '' -- which is bonkers, considering that they are WITHOUT ANY FAULT OF US, THE CONSUMER wasting months of time DURING THE SPENDING REQUIREMENT PERIOD, thereby indirectly stiffing us the legitimate opportunity to meet the minimum spend requirement, so that Citibank can deny us the promised sign on bonus, at the time of approving our applications for the credit card. 

In all these years of dealing with all major credit card companies, I have NEVER come across such unethical, unscrupulous and shady business practices, as I have experienced from Citibank during this ordeal. 

This is a coordinated, deliberate and diabolical attempt on their part to SYSTEMICALLY DENY the sign-on bonus that they had promised, by creating insurmountable and unnecessary hurdles in front of the applicants, and putting applicants into a " XXXX XXXX  '', devoid of any useful information, regarding the progress of submitted forms, receipt of transcripts from the IRS, etc.

All this, while charging the annual fees, not allowing us to use our cards, running the clocks down, till ( if at all ) they eventually release the block with almost no time left, and customer service provides a " XXXX  day extension '', which is as good as nothing, since they have taken away more than XXXX months, in most cases, from the 3 month window!

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