Citibank
1
I agree with the last review. I would rate Citibank negative stars if I could. First, I opened my account with Citi by "accident" as a young college student. I was far away from home, and there were Citi employees on campus giving away "free" phone cards for filling out information. I reviewed the application and told the gentleman that I had no interest in opening a credit card account. He told me the application was NOT for a credit card, it was for information only. I told him it appeared to be for a credit card. He assured me that if I filled out the application, I would not be applying for an account with Citi. Young and dumb, I fell for it, but wary, I gave them incorrect phone an email information. I did, however, reveal my correct address, and days or weeks later, I received TWO credit cards from Citi. Yes, two. The one application which wasn't an application for a credit card was actually two applications for two credit cards. Naturally, I chose never to use the cards I didn't want in the first place. One eventually closed due to lack of use, and the other I used in a bind many years later. The interest rate on the card was something outrageous, 21%, I think, so whenever I used it, I payed it off within the month so that I never had an outstanding balance. Several months ago, I went to pay my account online, and received the message that my account had been closed for suspected fraudulent activity and I could not review account activity or pay my balance online. I phoned Citi, and they required me to open a new account before they would allow me to see the fraudulent charges. They also told me my account was past due and I must pay immediately. I told them that 1) I would not pay allegedly fraudulent charges, especially without seeing them and 2) I could not access my account or pay my balance online. They told me I could pay over the phone for a $14 fee. I, of course, refused but begrudgingly opened a new account so that I could have access to a record of the fraudulent activity on my account and a means to pay my legitimate balance. After I opened the new account, I still did not have access to a record of the activity on my old account, just a statement saying I owed them x amount of money and that it was past due. I called Citi again, and they told me to wait - sometimes it takes a while for access to the old account to be aligned with the new account. So I waited. Meanwhile, my past due amount grew and I grew more and more worried that my credit record was being negatively affected. I called Citi once again and they said if I wished, they could mail the appropriate statements to me, but it would take a minimum of another two weeks. At this point, I was exceedingly angry and I argued with them that because they closed my account for fradulent activity (and, btw, did not even bother to notify me) and refused to allow me access to the charges or a means of paying those charges which may have been legitimate without a $14 fee, they should suspend finance charges and make every effort to protect my credit, i.e., suspend reporting past due amounts to credit reporting agencies. At some point, someone I talked to agreed to have the charges reversed but told me it would take a while, and I should wait to hear from them. So I waited. In the interim, I received another past due notice. Still, I had no access to my old account and could not review the fraudulent charges. I called Citi again, and they told me they had no record of the charges being reversed or sent to management for reversal consideration. I argued and argued and, finally, fed up, paid the balance over the phone, including the $14 phone fee, and closed my account. Yet the very next month, I received a statement from Citi stating I owed $1.59 and that it was past due. Again, I had no record of any account activity. I called Citi, and they told me the amount due was the result of finance charges on the last balance. I explained everything, including the fact that I had paid the balance and closed the account, and they said, "If you like, you can pay the $1.59 over the phone now for a $14 fee." So I hung up and, again, just wanting the ordeal to be over with, went to pay the $1.59 online. Only I received a message stating that I had a past due amount and must agree to provide my banking information and permit a monthly withdrawal until my balance was paid off. Worse, I had to check these boxes indicating why I was past due - my options were extremely limited, there was no "other" box, so I told them lies like, I lost my job and will be paying the past due amount out of my 401k. I assume I will continue receiving charges from Citi on a monthly basis and will have some sort of legal battle now that I have "agreed" to let them withdraw money from my account on a monthly basis. I'm sure I will owe new charges every month even though I closed my account months ago. It makes me sick to think of the hundreds of dollars I have paid this company that I did not owe them. Never, ever, ever, ever open an account with Citi. At best, they are unethical. At worst, thieves and liars and so much more.