Consumer complaint received 2025-09-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this formal complaint against Citibank , N.A . ( " Citi '' ) for engaging in unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices regarding its " XXXX XXXX '' program. Citi actively advertised this feature on my Citi XXXX XXXX card. In direct reliance on its availability, which I confirmed immediately before the purchase, I made a single transaction of approximately {$2700.00}. The moment this transaction posted or shortly after that, Citi selectively and without any notice revoked the XXXX XXXX feature from this specific card, stranding the purchase and exposing me to a 29 % APR. This is a calculated " bait and switch '' scheme, a flagrant violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act ( CFPA ), California 's Unfair Competition Law, and a breach of Citi 's fundamental duty of good faith. I demand the immediate reinstatement of the XXXX XXXX feature for this transaction. 

I hold five Citi credit card accounts, all of which featured the XXXX XXXX  option until this incident. 

Prior to making a large purchase on my Citi XXXX XXXX card, I logged into my account to verify that XXXX XXXX was active for that specific card. It was. 

Relying on the explicit availability of this feature, I made a single large purchase of approximately {$2700.00}. 

Immediately after this transaction posted, I logged in to create a XXXX XXXX plan and discovered the feature had been strategically removed from this account alone. The feature remains active on my XXXX other Citi accounts, none of which have recent large purchases. 

Citi provided zero communication that XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX availability could be revoked after I acted in reliance upon it. 

Citi 's customer service provided evasive and contradictory explanations, calling it a " promotion '' that ended just for me, which is a clear pretext. This suggests a targeted, intentional act to maximize interest revenue. 

III. LEGAL VIOLATIONS Citi 's actions demonstrate a pattern of bad faith and are in flagrant violation of multiple consumer protection laws : Violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act ( CFPA ) - UDAAP : Deceptive : By displaying XXXX XXXX as a reliable feature and then revoking it immediately after I acted upon it, Citi engaged in a deceptive act designed to mislead me into making a large purchase under false pretenses. 

Unfair : Citi 's actions have caused me substantial, unavoidable financial injury by revoking a key product feature precisely when it was needed, a harm that has no countervailing consumer benefit. 

Abusive : Citi took unreasonable advantage of my reasonable reliance on the program 's availability to my direct financial detriment. 

Violation of California 's Unfair Competition Law ( UCL ), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17200 et seq. : Citi 's " bait and switch '' tactics constitute a textbook " unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent '' business practice under the UCL. 

Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing : By revoking the feature at the most financially opportune moment for itself and most damaging moment for me, Citi breached its duty to deal fairly and in good faith. 

Violation of the Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) and Regulation Z : The failure to provide any disclosure about the potential for XXXX XXXX XXXX arbitrary, post-transaction removal constitutes a failure to disclose material terms of the credit plan, violating the spirit and intent of TILA.

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