RateItAll: The Opinion Network

It has become common that Citibank and ABN Amro, Karachi, Pakistan call their customers who have only defaulted on 2-3 installments or payments by continually phoning them at all times (sometimes 50 phone calls) and threatening them of dire consequences if the customer does not pay immediately. They even suggest that the customer BEG, BORROW or STEAL, but must pay immediately at all costs. When a customer cannot pay immediately, he or she are threatened and the staff use derogatory language. When any customer suggests they wait a few months and everything would be settled as the customer is currently facing financial crunch, the reply is that how dare you take loan from Citibank if you cannot afford payback. The customer then suggests to take the matter to Court for recovery of their loan if they cannot wait for 3-4 months, the reply is that they would send goons to visit the house or the office of the customer. The bank usually sends its goons to the customer's premises and embarrasses them in front of their friends and family, A few customers have committed suicide due to continuous nagging. Even though the Courts have taken notice and action against all Banks that take just unethical and illegal means of recovery, Citibank has been blatantly breaking the Court's orders. Citibank staff in Pakistan must stop harrassing, embarrassing, threatening and intimidating their customers. Citibank must be stopped.

I suggest avoiding Citibank. I had an account there for just a couple months, and they messed up just about everything you can imagine. Incorrect fees, account connections, and so on. I gave them many chances to correct things, over the last two months. But it's only gotten worse.

Just say NO to Citibank.

High interest rates, Disapointing bussineses practices.I would stay away from it.

I was denied for a student loan that had been guaranteed by my school. Without this loan, it is unlikely I will be able to attend college. Thank you Citibank. Thank you for fucking me for the rest of my life.

Citibank is without a doubt the largest conglomerate of shit heads ever assembled! No offense to Indian people, but GODDAMN they don't have one person in customer service that speaks anything remotely bordering on coherent English. Do not open an account with Citibank EVER!!! Sooner or later they will fuck you.

I got double billed on credit card. They refused to correct it. Ruined my good credit. They now want 14,000 dollars for a 500 dollar over charge from many years ago.

I have had no problem with them, they are fair, to me anyway.

Just canceled my credit card with Citibank after they jacked my rate to from 10% to 30% due to their deceptive website that allows you to add a bank-account for payments but not automatically withdraw! There is absolutely no way to sign up automatic payments online! They refused to reduce the rate until i made six months worth of payments. They offered to send me an "auto-pay" sign up packet via regular mail which i would receive in two weeks. Never received. Ironically i can cancel my account online, just not setup automatic payments! CitiBank, this is the 21st century, get with the program!

Citi bank is the worst bank ever I had dealt with. I lost my internet pin number and I had to get it reset. They asked all sort of question and then told me that it will take 30 days to send me a new pin. Till then I cannot access the account.

What sort of bank is that?

There is no way to escalate it either.

CitiBank or ShittyBank? 3/14/08: Heard about offer for 2 airline tickets for opening $1,000 checking and $25,000 savings accounts for 3 months. Phoned local branch and was told that unless I had an invitation by U.S. mail, they could not help me. Went to citibank.com website, saw same offer and 866-899-3342. Phoned and spoke to Jesse in India. I was told that I could fund accounts online as soon as I received Welcome kit. Jesse opened 4 accounts instead of 2 which is where nightmare began.

3/20/08 received Welcome Kit by U.S. mail. Booklet listed 2 accounts. Tried to set-up online account. Not possible without PIN numbers which arrive separately by U.S. Mail. Drove to local branch and deposited $26,000 in cashiers checks. Teller verified them so I could have immediate access to funds. While at local branch someone from India left me a phone message saying to callback 800-745-1534 but did not say why and he left a reference number that was impossible to comprehend due to his poor English.

3/21/08. PIN numbers arrived. Tried to setup online accounts to no avail. Called Customer Service 800-321-2484 (CITI). Spoke to Lisette who told me that the 2 account numbers I gave her were wrong. Hung up and phoned again. Spoke to Emilio. After a brief debate, he said there were 4 accounts and he would fix the errors so PIN numbers matched up to correct 2 accounts. He helped me log into online account and I saw the $1,000 in checking and $25,000 in savings account.

3/23/08. Logged into citibankonline.com and savings account showed $0 instead of $25,000. Made 2 more phone calls. With each call I was given a different story when I explained all the aforementioned. When I asked to speak with a manager, I was told that callback would take 2 to 3 days. Was given automated phone number 866-606-4983 that would supposedly remove security block on savings account. It would not accept my account numbers. Made another call to 800-745-1534 and asked Kumal in India to connect me to a supervisor in United States. Spoke to Mayra who said she could phone me back and that call would remove the block on account. Mayra said it would still take 2 to 3 days before I would see the $25,000 in my savings account online.

Bottom Line: By the time all the Citibank mistakes have been corrected, 2 weeks will have passed and I wasted nearly 3 hours by phone in the process of simply opening a checking and savings account at CitiBank.

All these post are correct, and I am guessing that the 5 star ones are from management. This place is the most ridiculous bank on the planet. Unless you are ultra rich, do not bank here. They will lie, and steal your money. If you go with them, after reading this review site......"I told you so"

They say the best mobile banking in USA, I say the worst.

I got CitiBank to work with my Blackberry, the branch was 5 stars the online experience was horrible, the phone support was worse, I had never been yelled at by a bank representative for trying to get software loaded on my phone...
After less than 6 weeks I just closed the account, branch was great again but only and phone support is horrible

Fucking bank. Hell they take bullshit 24 hrs to unblock your account. They block your account if you overdraw by mistake and they never automatically unblock your account even when there is a credit to your account.

With the Sub-prime scandal, CitiBank refuses to assist customers on rolling over accounts to conventional loans. Unlike CountryWide, CitiBank is waiting for the government to force them to make corrective action.

Citibank is crap. CitiGOLD is great. But therein lies the problem.

CitiGold, you pay $25 a month for the top level of service. Honestly, it's change for me. You get American reps who understand and empathize with what you're going through. The problem with CitiGold is that they don't handle the processing; that's done with Direct Banking - the India call center. SO if you're trying to open new products they're the ones who do it. THAT is the problem.

If you want to open accounts, GO TO A CITIBANK CENTER. Trust me, you'll be sorry if you try to do anything online that requires a credit check. Do it at a bank and save yourself the hassle.

I think Citibank is OK. However, as a giant, it lacks perspnal touch. But even then, it depends on whom you are talking to. Try not to call them during times when chances are you will be talking t the Indian call center. In US that would be mornings through noons. In evening chances are you will be talking to a lying unqualified rep in India. If you happen to get one, just hang up and call some other time. You have to always be vigilant with any banking account. Sometimes things may go wrong and getting everything straightened out with a large bank is more difficult then with the local small one. However, if you are consistent, you can resolve the isue quickly. It is important to get the person you understand and who understands you, which is still the same condition that would have to be met in a smaller bank, isn't it? It is a bank after all and not a personal consultation. They make money using your money and thus of course you are a dollar sign for them. The rules are simple: if you don't get what you need, you do not deal with them. I had my accounts closed by citibank by accident, or stuid errors done that would cause my account to be overdrawn by thousands and having munerous bounced checks as a result, but in every case I was able to not only get all fees reversed, but I have gotten apologies and representatives I spoke to were caring and understanding enough. Once a rep even went an extra mile to save my vacation by arranging a fee-free cash advance from my citibank credit card to be posted to my checking account so that I could sithdraw it at an ATP abroad when I was stranded without cash and (of course) no PIN to get a cach advance directly from my credit card. So overall, it all depends on you ability to find the right person and to speak to one efficiently enough so that the situation would be resolved quickly. As for reaching the right person, just do #0, or *0 until the phone prompter decides to connect you to the operator. You pin will most probably be the first 4 characters of "your mother's meiden name" (which does not have to be you mother's name at al by the way) -- try that first if you don't remember regostering any telephone access sodes.

very bad customer service, representatives were poorly trained and in the last case, rude. 2 months after I started using my credit card, they signed me up and charged me a fee for a credit report program that I clearly refused to participate in. When I lost my card, I called for an immediate cancellation, when I called a week later to inquire about receiving my new card, I learned the rep I last spoke with didn't even cancel my account yet.

I am in agreement with all of these reviews. I have unfortunatley accumulated a lot of credit card debt but have been enrolled in a consumer credit counseling program for two years during which I have faithfully paid minus one month when I was unemployed. I take full responsibility for my debt and chose consolidation over debt management so that I could ethically take care of my debt. EVERY company has worked with me with the exception of citibank. Unbeknownst to me they initally accepted my case managers proposal, but changed their minds a few months later. One of their service reps told me they could change their mind at anytime and did not have to let my case manager know. So I accumulated unbelivable late and over the limit fees (I started out with $1100 in debt). I spent a year just getting back to where I was when I started. I ended up being unemployed for a few months and missed ONE payment of $35....they now say I owe $500 in over the limit fees. I have had the complete opposite experience with all other companies who recognize that I am trying to make things right and had no problem extending my agreement by one month given that I have religiously paid (not to mention they've all made some darn good money off of me!) My sister had a similar experience with Citibank and has told all of her friends to never do business with Citibank. I wrote the VP Tom Wingfield and didn't even get a form letter in reply. I am not one who ever complains about customer service, but these guys are unbelievable. I wish there were a way those of us who have been screwed over by this company could collectively get the word out. There are lots more victims to come. I'm open to suggestions!

PS-If there was the option to click no stars I would have done it.

Citbank contacted me to open a checking and savings account. Normally I reject these emails, but the idea of linking my credit cards (which are also issued by Citibank) and my banking accounts sounded good to me. I opened the account and within 30 days closed it. Citibank has the worst customer services compared to banks like Chase, and Bank of America. I cannot stress how bad their service was. It was as if they wanted me to shut down my account. They did everything to make my life as inconvenient as possible. I actually am considering shorting their stock. Based on similar feedback I have gotten from other Citibank victims, there might be a systemic problem that will impact their financial performance.

One more nit: The outsource their call center to India, which in and of itself is not a bad thing. However, the Indian reps are poorly trained, and I am never comfortable being lied to when someone named Sudhir or Reshma tells me that their name is Jason or Shelly.

CITIBANK is the worst place to get a home loan! We filed for a refi for our home in Feb/2006 and over the past TWO months they've called and asked for more documention over and over, even though it was submitted the first time and or wasn't required. Too much hassle. The customer service line people that weren't able to speak english would leave messages on our answering machine every couple of days. Then we would received letters in the mail, and the represenative from the local bank of where we applied at failed to call us and update us. We were doing so much leg work. My advice: go to a NON-bank like omega (http://www.omegamortgage.net/default.asp). They offer more flexablity and better programs. They are are a memeber of the BBB with a AAA (perfect score) opposed to CITIBANK whom is not a BBB member and has a D rating...

I've been a memeber of Citibank Driver's Edge card since 99. The card agreement states that there is a cashback option for rebates after 5 years. I called to claim my rebates and the customer representative was extremely rude. She said that the program was discontinued three years ago and a letter was sent to me. I told her than I have never received a letter stating the program is closed. She shouted at me repeatedly: "can you hear me? The program is closed. We have sent letters to all cardholders" and refused to let me speak. I was really upset at her attitude and told her that I'd like to close my account so that I will never do business with them. I also asked her to transfer me to someone that I can talk to. A few minutes later, I was transfered to someone equally rude. I can hear their laugh in the background. I told the second customer representative that I would like to talk to her manager and would like to have her name and id. She said that she is the highest level of representative that I can speak to and they do not give out their names. If I would like to complain, she can give me an address to write to. I insisted to talk to someone instead of writing a letter. She laughed and repeated that there is no one I can talk to. After 5 minutes, I gave up and hang up. What kind of customer service this is. I wish a customer is treated with respect. If the program is indeed discontinued, I have the right to know in advance.

Citibank it the worst student loan lending group in the history of academics. Their customer support people respond generically with poor grammar and sentence structure. I have had to ask a simple questions, such as, "Is my loan now in defferment" at least three times before I get a response that somewhat resembles a coherent email. Dealing with them enrages me and I suggest that no one should ever go through it willingly. They are both terrible and pathetic. A true group of morons.

Watch out for a minimum payment SCAM! I just did a balance transffer from another bank to citi to take advantage of a lower APR, but they showed me a lower minimum payment on the website than what I really owed. When I payed i didn't pay enough and the APR went up. I called them to clarify and they corrected the mistake, but I'm thinking something is fishy with all that. It could very well have been intentional.

Citibank sucks! They offer extended warranty protection on certain credit cards but they don't honor it. I had a product that broke after the manufacturer's warranty ran out and after about a month of debating they still refused to provide me with the extended warranty. Their customer service is awful, their phone system will keep you punching numbers for an eternity before you actually reach a real person, and they constantly solicite you after not helping with the original problem you called about. I wouldn't recommend Citibank to anyone. They're too big and don't care about their customers.

these guys suck. my current bank in NYC and i can't wait to move and get rid of these jerks.

Anywhere else BUT citibank. They locked my SAVINGS accounts due to inactivity, and now that I need to make an urgent payment while travelling abroad, its been three days already and they still can't figure out why my savings account is locked...the supervisor even told me that it should take anywhere between 3-5 days!!!!!!

I have never had so much trouble with a bank. I had an account in Washington DC for three months before closing it. When I tried to withdraw my money and close the account, Citibank put a hold on my savings account because there had been no activity within the last month. It's a *savings* account -- it's for storing money, not for frequent deposits and withdrawals! It took about 2 months to get my money out, and they sent me statements (showing zero balance) for another 5 months after the account was closed. In addition, the Washington DC staff was surly and unhelpful, and the branch office refused to open until there was a line outside the doors, even if that meant waiting until 9:30 AM. Worst, there is no customer service number listed on any statement or business document -- and it's carefully hidden deep within the website -- so you can't do anything over the phone without your secret telephone banking code, which you can only get at the branch office, which is closed ... Citibank is waaay more trouble than it's worth. Try anywhere else, but especially local credit unions -- they're inexpensive and friendly!

Citibank was very helpful to me, i was searching for a bank that would give me free checking (with direct deposit) and would protect my identity and they were able to do all that for me! THANK YOU CITIBANK!

If the Lorax really exists, he needs to go bust down the doors of citibank. They send me pounds and pounds of worthless credit card offers every year. I will never want one of their useless cards and they refuse to stop sending me crap. How many trees have to die for this?

My experience with Citibank is in New York City. I think this institution is purely focused on money and profit statistics and is not attentive to customers as people or the quality of service overall. To Citibank, a customer is a dollar sign. As with many large corporations, this institution goes easier on RICH PEOPLE and harder on not so rich people. I find this a shameful practice and behavior of many many corporations. You can bank practically for free meaning, fees waivers and no monthly service charge if you have over something like $10,000 in your checking account. Otherwise, poorer people are charged fees and are fined for many services. Citibank does not seem to be too unlike other large banks such as Chase or Fleet in the way they charge and treat people. They are all part of a sad system where the poorer people, the ones who really need to hand onto their dollars, pay more. I do not recommend Citibank and suggest that the consumer look into a neighborhood or smaller bank.