1  
  AT&T Universal Card has the worst customer service, the worst Billing Disputes Department of any company in the world!  All of my other credit card companies aggressively take the side of their customer and fight for them.  Not AT&T Universal Card.  I was treated with contempt and as if I were the criminal and not the merchant running the SCAM.  At times when I spoke with AT&T Billing Disputes Department I was treated like I was in the wrong and they were sticking up for and arguing on behalf of the merchant that was screwing me.  Unbelievable but TRUE!

To understand the situation let me explain in part what some of the circumstances are. I am the president of a franchise of retail computers stores. Part of my job duties are to make decisions as to what merchandise we want to sell through our stores. As a result of that, anytime a Distributor of computer product contacts my company, it is my job to determine if their products, pricing, quality and the like are suitable for sale through our stores.

A company, Silicon Mobile Technology, that claims to sell laptops "wholesale" to stores like ours.  They called me to try to get me fill out a "standard industry application" and set up with them to carry and sell their laptops through our stores. To explain the nature of their crime being perpetrated, Silicon Mobile Technology’s scam tactics are: Forgery, deceptive and unfair trade practices, unauthorized usage of credit cards, amongst other crimes. What they do is call you and attempt to make it "look like" they want you to become a Wholesale/Reseller vender of their laptops by sending you an industry standard credit application so that if you are approved, you can then purchase wholesale from them, in order to resell their laptops to the public at retail. As part of the sales scam, they bait you or entice you to fill out their industry standard credit application by offering you a free of charge DEMO laptop for 45 days, to display in your retail storefront. So, while you think that all you are doing is getting set up as a potential distributor, in fact their real aim is to fraudulently sell you a "so called" DEMO laptop. The offer for 45 days is verbal over the phone so you can’t prove what they said. However, I did ask them to put this in writing and they did send me an Email to that effect. After they send you the DEMO laptop, behind your back and without your knowledge, they then write up an invoice that looks like a sale and gives you only 30 days to pay and states that "all sales are final".

They then try to make it appear to your credit card company that you intended to buy the DEMO and not merely accept the test DEMO unit from them for a trial period of 45 days as part of their sales pitch and that they say you can return without being charged. This is even on their website (www.superlaptop.com) that they will send you a no charge DEMO if your application is approved, but nothing about 30 or 45 days trial period. Now, once you have the laptop, they run a charge through on the credit card number you put down on their credit application and charge you for the laptop without your authorization. Of course they "time it" so that by the time you send the laptop back per the verbal agreement, you get your credit card statement a week or so later, only then to find out that they charged you for the supposedly returnable DEMO unit. Now they have both your money and the laptop. I think you will agree this is a particularly creative scam. Makes you wonder how many other retail venders have they scammed this way? Get a sales department working the phones to call all of the computer retail stores in America with the same offer and even if they only get away with it 50% of the time, that adds up to a lot of fraudulent laptop sales and a lot of money.  In any event, when I received my credit card statement, I’m shock and upset when I find out that Silicon Mobile has charged me for the so-called DEMO laptop I sent back.

So, of course, I called Silicon Mobile and spoke with the salesman that originally called me, Mr. David Jan, and demand they credit me my money back per our verbal and written agreement. He agrees to do so and then sends me an Email that states, "that they will credit me my money back for the laptop I have returned" and includes an Email attachment of " their industry standard RMA form for me to fill out and send back to him. RMA stands for "RETURN MERCHANDISE AUTHORIZATION". This alone proves that Silicon Mobile lied about this being a "sales final", at least in my particular case. If they send someone a RMA form, that, means their policy is in fact to allow merchandise to be "returned for credit".  It even states that on their RMA form.  Under other circumstances, when Silicon Mobile sells a laptop directly to a consumer wanting to buy a laptop from them, "all sales are final" may apply. My situation is different, there was no attempt by my company to "buy" this laptop, it was a store test DEMO only that could be returned without being charged. Ultimately, they never give me my credit back. From that time forward, November 4, 2002, they have thwarted all my efforts resolve this when ever I call them, by always asking who I am first, then once they know who I am, they say no one is there to take my calls. They claim the company manager and David Jan are always gone somewhere and they don’t know when they will be back. They claim to take my messages and have someone call me back, but of course no one ever does.

I then call my credit card company, AT&T Universal Card and tell them the date I returned the laptop, sent them proof of UPS delivery, and the reason for the return was that, simply stated "It was a store DEMO – not for purchase". Please keep in mind that this started in October of 2002 and there have been numerous attempts on my part via phone calls and letters to AT&T to get my money back. At the time, when this first began, I did not know what kind of scam they were running.   AT&T Universal Card takes the side of the SCAM ARTIST MERCHANT and gives me only repeated ambiguous excuses as to why they will not credit back my credit card and they are aiding and abetting the criminal merchant by taking their side. There is some, as yet unknown, mysterious reason why AT&T is taking the side of this criminal merchant, rather than their customer. Which by the way reminds me, that I called 2 other "disputes department" managers from two of my other credit cards to try to find out how these situations are normally handled. Both department managers were astounded by what AT&T Universal Card is doing. They couldn’t believe how AT&T is handling this. They told me that they always go out of their way to attempt to try to protect their customers from scams like this and said there is something "unusual" about the way AT&T is handling this. In any event, after I sent AT&T the evidence I had of the scam, the documentation that’s proves this was not an attempt by me to "purchase" a laptop from Silicon Mobile, and a copy of the Email David Jan sent me stating "they would give me my money back", someone at AT&T in an attempt to help Silicon Mobile, calls and alerts Silicon Mobile that, they received all this proof from me and suggests to Silicon Mobile that they need to come up with some sort of fake receipt with my signature on it, stating that all sales are final, or they will be forced to give me my money back. Silicon Mobile and AT&T did not bank on me saving the Emails, the Credit Application, the RMA Form and all of the other evidence I happened to save.  So, Silicon Mobile follows the suggestions from AT&T and creates some sort of bogus receipt dated 9/6/02, that says all sales are final and they forge my signature on it and then fax it to AT&T. The date on this bogus receipt and the time of day is very important because it is the exact same date Silicon Mobile faxed me their "New Client Application", the same date I filled it out and faxed it back to them with my credit card number on it, the same date they supposedly check out my company’s vender information and bank information in order to approve my application, the same date they claim they "approved" my application, the same date they sent me an Email to the effect that they would then send me a DEMO laptop without charging me for it, the same date they shipped out the so-called DEMO laptop and the same exact date they charged my account for the laptop according the date, 9/6/02, on their receipt.  Now THAT is an unauthorized and fraudulent charge, as they didn’t give me 45 days or even 30 days.  I have a letter from Silicon Mobile in response to the BBB of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterrey & San Benito, California, that states in part and is enclosed: "What we had agreed with him was we could send him a laptop computer for display and let him pay 30 days later".  Which proves in their own words that, first, this was NOT an attempt on our part to out right "BUY" or "PURCHASE" a DEMO laptop, second, that our purpose was NOT an intentional "sale", thereby making the charge to my credit card an "unauthorized charge", and third, that the laptop was in fact "returnable without charge".  Had I know it was 30 instead of the 45 days they told me, I would have returned it within that time frame. That’s part of the scam.

Also part of the scam is that they claim they will only send you this DEMO if your application is approved, not for the purchase of it, but to get set up with them as a reseller of their laptops through our stores. Again, that’s part of their deception. It was impossible for them to check my company’s history in order to approve my application in that short a period of time. Silicon Mobile is located in California and faxed me the application at 10:08am. I am located in Texas, Central Standard Time, which made it 12:08pm here. It was hours later, about 5:30 – 6:00pm when I faxed back the application to them. My bank was closed as well as the Trade references. In fact they never did check my company’s bank and trade references information. I contacted the "trade reference I listed on the application and they told me Silicon Mobile NEVER called them to inquire on my company’s credit history. To make their scam work, they had no intentions of checking my references, as all they needed was my credit card number that was required to be on their "New Client Application".

I can tell you honestly, that I never signed any kind of receipt at any time for anything. The only thing I ever signed was the "New Client Application", on 9/6/2002, that Silicon Mobile faxed me to get set up as a distributor of their laptops. I wrote and told this to AT&T.  AT&T Universal Card didn't care. AT&T should have sent me an affidavit so to sign stating that this was an unauthorized, fraudulent charge. If this was an order I placed over the Internet, the other disputes department managers told me it might be a different story. This is just another scam, albeit a creative scam. I would like to know why, mysteriously, AT&T Universal Card is taking the side of a criminal offense perpetrated by Silicon Mobil and helping to protect them, but that doesn’t matter, a fair solution to matter is simply for AT&T to credit my account back for the unauthorized and fraudulent charge.

In closure, I would like to state that as of this date, AT&T Universal Card has not credited back my money to my account and refuses to do so.  AT&T Universal is still helping the Scam Artist Merchant get away with screwing me.

2  
  Complaint:
I am I am shocked and appalled at AT&T Universal Card's lack of protection to me. I find it incredible that apparently I can be charged for services and facilities I never used.

After checking into the The Hotel Amistad in Amsterdam, I found the conditions there deplorable, and nothing like what was pictured or promised. The Hotel was under construction.

I checked out having used no services or facilities. I was forced to pay for five nights that I DID not stay at this hotel.

I consider this a most serious breach of AT&T Universal cards supposed customer protection. I am dismayed at what I consider the total failure of AT&T's customer service apparatus to deal with the issue.

As a charter AT&T Universal card holder I am sadly disappointed in what to me was my #1 card and the thoughts of it now sends shudders down my spine.
 
3  
  RE: AT&T Universal Card / MasterCard


I wrote a letter to the Texas Attorney General about AT&T Universal Card Services increasing my rate from 8.99% to 19.99%, then to 24.99%.

Two weeks after filing the complaint, I received a letter of apology from Citibank (the current owner of AT&T Universal Card Services). The interest rate has been lowered to 8.65%.
 
4  
  RE: AT&T Universal Card / MasterCard - interest rate increase from 8.99% to 24.99%

I opened a Platinum MasterCard with AT&T two years ago at an introductory rate of 3%. After nine months the rate increased to 10% and has fluctuated between 8% and 12% since then.

A couple of months ago I noticed that my interest rate had increased from 8.99% to 19.99%. When I phoned AT&T about this ridiculous increase, I was informed that my credit score had decreased, which warranted the higher rate being charged. I immediately closed the account and followed up with a letter of complaint to AT&T. This month, my interest rate increased to 24.99%.

The reason for the change in my credit score is because I recently purchased a house, thus increasing my debt to income ratio. Regardless, I have never been late with, nor missed any credit payments.

I probably would understand if AT&T increased the interest rate for future charges to discourage further use of the card. After all, only a fool would keep a balance on a credit card if (s)he knew the interest accrued at
24.99%.

What is difficult to believe is that AT&T can increase the rate to an almost usurious level, after I have charged $5,000 and am in no position to pay off the debt in full to avoid paying this absurd interest rate. My
guess is AT&T has figured this out.

 
5  
  RE: AT&T Universal Citibank credit card - interest rate increased to 24.77 %

I have had my ATT Universal credit card for a number of years with no problems. They offered a 7.99% interest rate on transferring balances and I did just that. Several months later they offered 3.99% on transferred balances. I transferred a balance from another card as well.

The percentages they offered were good until the amount was paid off, providing the cardholder did not default, paid late, etc. I was having no problems and abiding by the terms until 10/02, when I noticed that the interest rate was 24.7%!!!!! I immediately called ATT who told me that they couldn't do anything about it-it was really a Citibank card.

I also explained that they had not notified me of the increase and I was told that they don't have to. Fortunately I was able to transfer the balance to a card offering 3.99%.

I immediately cancelled my ATT Universal Card with a letter expressing my displeasure with the whole thing- and I cancelled my husband's Citibank card because I will no longer have dealings with ATT Universal and Citibank.

 
6  
  RE: AT&T Universal Credit Card - credit card interest rate raised from 8.9% to 24.9%

After my divorce in 1999, I immediately began building my own credit. I first got a car loan, then I opened 2 credit card accounts at fairly high interest rates of 14.9%. I had to do this, because I was just starting out. After 1 year of on time payments to every debtor I had, I received an offer from AT&T card services for a credit card with 8.9%, with an offer to transfer balances at that rate till they were paid.

Of course I took advantage of that, transferred every debt I had to other cards over to AT&T, and closed the others. I have still continued to make payments on time since 1999, and was even offered a credit line increase by AT&T one year ago.

This month, I received my AT&T statement, and my interest rates had been chanced to 24.9%! I called, and was told that they routinely do credit reviews of their customers, and based on credit delinquencies in my past, I was now considered a credit risk, and this action was done in order to warn off any potential delinquent payments. With the AT&T agent on the phone I went on line and ordered my credit report from equifax. There are no late payments on it since 1997. NONE since 1997, and NONE since I opened my account with AT&T. SO basically , in a nutshell, AT&T is running a scam ....a legal scam.

They are offering people with less than perfect credit in the past an opportunity to transfer debts to them, promising a low interest rate. Once you have established a substantial debt to them ($6,000 was what I transferred, and they still offered me more credit, which I didn't take), they then use the delinquencies in your past as reason to up the rates. MINE ALMOST TRIPLED. I have closed the other accounts I had in order to keep my debt ration down, and now in order to get away from AT&T I must open another account somewhere else.

I have worked hard for the past 3 1/2 years to rebuild my credit after my divorce. I did everything as I should have. Worked my way down to lower interest and the reward of seeing my debt shrink. I did everything I was supposed to do. What AT&T did was legal, I am sure somewhere in the fine print there is something that gives them the right. But it was ethically and morally wrong.

I will never do business with this company again. Apparently Citibank has bought this company. This must be where it all began to go down hill, because I have never had a problem until now.

 
7  
  RE: AT&T Universal credit card - experienced terrible customer service

I encountered terrible customer service when I called AT&T universal card services to informed them that my October payment was going to be postponed until my November scheduled payment. I am in a debt management program and just had a hard time this month.

She was very rude, and was not giving me a chance to speak without cutting me off. Then ask me "Is that all I can do for you?" I don't want sympathy, but she had no right to speak to me in that manner.

I called back and spoke to a supervisor and she would not give me her name because she failed to mentioned it when she answered the phone. The customer service reps at AT & T were not friendly at all!
 
8  
  RE: AT&T Universal Card and Citi Bank - interest rate raised from 12% to 16% and then 19%

I recently came across your great site, and a complaint against the two above-mentioned credit card companies. I, too, have the very same complaint and have vowed to never use these cards against once they are paid off, which will be very soon.

My interest rates with them were 12%, but they raised them to 16% and 19%. I wasn't even aware of this until I noticed the rate change on my monthly bill. Seems to be very unethical.
 
9  
  I recently signed up for the AT&T Universal Card, with the understanding that I would receive $100 calling card FREE.

At the time I signed up, I asked, "How will I know when I have used up the $100?" I was told," You will know when you get your bill."

After about a month, I made the decision to consolidate all my credit cards, and cancelled the AT&T Universal Card. I asked the customer service rep at that time, "How will I know how much I have used on the calling card?"

I was told, "You'll know when you get your bill." I finally received the bill, totally $390. Until that moment, I was unaware the cost to initiate a call was $2.14, and that each minute was .89.

A month later, I received a second bill with an additional number of calls, totally over $500.

I have communicated several times with the customer service dept.; I have paid to date $61 to AT&T, which would have been the equivalent of $1/minute for the first bill's # of minutes.

I have most recently been connected to their "collections" dept. and was told I could pay $150/mo. I feel as if I have no other recourse, because this company is so well protected legally.

I even had one customer service rep. tell me that they do not post these rates in writing ANYWHERE. I was told I would have to ask SPECIFICALLY for the cost per minute in order to be quoted it.

No one in their right mind would ever agree to such a "deal" as this --

I feel like a complete fool for having fallen for such an obvious scam.
 
 
  RE: AT&T Universal Card - Interest rate raised from 12.9% to 19.9%

When I received my bill I was outraged, when I had called them to ask why they had raised the interest the customer service rep said my credit report indicates that I have several high balance accounts and they raised it so I would pay faster these where her exact words.

I then closed my account and called them back after receiving my credit report which by the way in fact has few accounts with high balances but never a late payment to any of them, I then spoke to a supervisor who said that the person I spoke to gave me the wrong information about why the interest rate went up but she herself could not give me a reason other then based on my credit report.

I had then told her I have my credit report right here in front of me the same credit report they used to base their decision by the way. I then asked her to please indicate to me what in this report is their decision based and she could not give me an answer other then to write a letter to their credit department. I was just amazed at this supervisor that she could not give me an answer.

If you are thinking of opening an account with these people don't do it. They are unscrupulous loan sharks, and they obviously make no excuses.
 
 
#11  
  RE: Damark catalog - charged for items that were not ordered - how did co. get credit card number ?

I have never done any business what-so-ever with Damark. Though they have sent catalogs to me for years, I have never ordered from them in any way nor has any member of my household. I also do not recall receiving any phone solicitation from them on any matter and even if I did, I would not have ordered anything over the phone when I did not initiate the call.

Moreover, I absolutely did not give anyone my credit card number (AT&T Universal Card...Master Card) over the phone for any transaction that I did not personally initiate the call to the merchant.

However, in spite of that fact, my credit card statement arrived today with three separate charges from DMK. They were as follows:

DMK Member Proc. Fee..........................4.99
DMK Smart Perks...................................29.99
DMK Homeplay.......................................99.99

I do not know how they received my credit card number or identified me, but the charges occurred none-the-less.

I notified AT&T immediately. They have cancelled my card and will issue another.

From a bit of reading on the web, I learned that DMK may have acquired credit card numbers from J.C. Whitney, Co. If that is a possible link to this fraudulent practice, it is possible in my case as I have ordered auto parts from J.C. Whitney. The last order was many months ago, but J.C. Whitney would have my card number on file.

 
#12  
  Have you heard of a company named RFL (Reading For Less) Worldwide out of Atlanta Georgia??

I currently have a magazine offer being billed thru my credit card. (I was a promotional thing thru AT & T Universal Master card, so they said.)

I have not seen a single magazine and they keep telling me "you should be getting them, and the publisher does not know why you are not getting them either"

There was a problem with them having the correct address at first, but that was quite a while ago. People have told me about companies like this pulling the "we had the wrong address and we do not know why you are not getting them bit"

But they keep billing me, and I do not know what to do, what advice do you have for me, I feel like this is a scam!!!
 
#13  
  RE: Re: AT&T did not even try to dispute issue

I was told by the customer service representative (Casandra) that they did not rule in my favor because I questioned the quality of the furniture and did not actually say that I canceled the order when, in fact, I wrote the dispute department in a letter stating that we canceled the order the very next day.

On April 11, 2003, one customer service representative stated that Master Card has a policy stating that the merchant does not have to cancel, and finally they stated in a letter that they did not rule in my favor because the merchandise was purchased more than 100 miles from my home and not in my home State. I was also told by Casandra that I should get in touch with the merchant and pick up my furniture and there was nothing more they could do.

Casandra also asked me if I wanted her to close my account and they would get the money from my husband after I told her that I did not sign for this purchase. I was under the impression that an account could not be canceled if there is a balance. I asked the customer service representative on April 11, 2003 if they were not going to permit me to reopen the dispute and I was again told "there is nothing we can do," and I would have to settle this dispute with the merchant.

I told her that I would not pay for furniture that I did not receive. She told me they would send it to collection. I told the customer service representative to send it to collection. She said she was surprised that I did not care for my credit (may be not exact words). I told her that my credit history speaks for itself. I have no problem forwarding the letters from AT&T Universal Card and my replies to the BADCREDITCARDS.ORG
 
#14  
   Tia
EmailAddress: tia954@hotmail.com

Complaint:

 AT&T Universal Card Platinum Master Card/CitiBank (AT&T MC) is reneging on their BILLING RIGHTS SUMMARY - SPECIAL RULE FOR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES "If you have a problem with the quality of goods or services that you purchased with a credit card, and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you may not have to pay the remaining amount due on the goods or services."  12/29/2003 I contacted AT&T MC re: the purchase I made at the Miami International Airport [I am a permanent resident of the State of Florida and I have been at Temporary Duty Station _ _ _, CA] on 12/18/2003. Florida is my permanent home state and Broward County is my permanent county of residence - as per the State of Florida Department of Motor Vehicle Driver's License and Motor Vehicle Registration. Miami-Dade County where Miami International Airport dwells, is within 100-miles of Broward County. The representative issued me a conditional credit and instructed me to compl!
ete the notification of Disputed Item sign and return once I received my Billing Statement.  On 1/26/2004 I received and signed the Notification and mailed it back to AT&T MC. On 2/6/2004 I received a letter from S. Larson stating that I needed to sign and date the typed statement "My account was charged $84.00. Neither I nor anyone authorized by me made this charge." I signed it and sent it back on 2/6/2004. On 2/11/2004 I received another letter from S. Larson stating that the $84.00 charge was "made outside of your home state and more than 100-miles from your billing address" and my account will be re-billed $84.00.  I contacted the Billing Dispute department on 2/11/2004 and Nancy, ID number 031 was very abusive and threatened me stating she would send my $84.00-bill to collections if I did not pay it. I tried to calmly explain all of the above and she hung up the phone on me. I called back and requested to speak to her supervisor Mr. Terry Dosher and was told to go hire!
 an attorney because I must pay them $84 because they had already paid the merchant Miami International Airport. I have been a cardmember of AT&T Universal Card for more than ten years and could not believe they would resort to this type of fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace.  Can you help me please.

 
#16  
  Sheila
Mississippi

Complaint: I canceled my ATT card after they raised our interest rate without any warning from nearly 9% to 24%. I am grateful for the wakeup call. As for me and my house now, we use 'Credit' very cautiously
 
 
#17  
  Michael Twomey
1380 John Robert Drive
Morrow, GA
Phone: 678 592 7614
EmailAddress: Sakowitz50@hotmail.com

Complaint: Beware of Citi Bank and ATT Universal Credit Cards.  I fell for the transfer of balance offer (3%) for the life of the loan.  Now they have increased the interest rate to 24% after my payment was returned to me via US Postal service.  I called and had the most awful and literally unprofessional "person" I have ever dealt with.  I fortunatly was in the postition to close these two accounts.  Now I am having a sign printed for my car as well as my business warning others about these practices.  Citi and ATT..I assure you I plan to tell this story in its entirely to everyone that I can.  Thank goodness I will be speaking at a convention in May where there will be in excess of 4,000 people in the audience..I plan to use this example as part of my program. 
 
#18  
  AVS
Decatur, GA
EmailAddress: primoprime@yahoo.com

Complaint:
AT&T Universal Master Card, as already posted on your website, has some of the WORST representatives. Their account supervisors are also ridiculously BAD. COLD and RUDE!!

Once, I had authorized a 'speedpay' through my Bank Account. They had an abbreviated account number and my bank, naturally, refused, and charged me $30. I called AT&T's collections department and told them to stop depositing those checks. They did NOT! They kept presenting these checks. And I kept getting these bank charges for returned checks. And the WORST part... AT&T denied that I had ever called. This was SHOCKING!! They said that they HAD NO RECORDS of my calls!!! Can you believe that?! Which, theoretically,  meant that they escaped mindlessly depositing those checks. IN SPITE of my asking them to STOP the checks. The biggest joke is that I had NO balance on my AT&T account at that time!!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Jot down their names, day and time of the call, and their ID / Operator number!! And more easily, DON'T apply for this card!!
 
#19  
  Anonymous
Florida

Complaint:
In 1996 after my divorce I had substantial amounts on several cards. One being an AT&T card. My ex-husband refused to help me pay and it got to a point where it was tough making ends meet. I called AT&T and asked about working out some kind of payment plan. I was told to pay $150 a month unitl the $7000 balance was paid off. I informed them that my ex-husband made the purchases and I had asked several times to quit sending new cards requested by him. I was informed they could do nothing about that and I was responsible for the debt. To make a long story short, they refused to work with me and after the phone call they raised the interest rate from 5.99% to 24.99% because I was now a credit risk.

Needless to say I dumped AT&T in my bankruptcy. I recently went back to them but once my 0% interest is up I am getting rid of them. CitiBank is part of the problem.

Also, don't take advantage of the $100 promotion offer because they charge you interest on that $100 until the transferred balance is paid. They don't tell you that either.
 
#20  
  Rashmi Venugopal
18577 St. Andrews Ct West
Prarieville LA, 70769
Phone: 225 773-5373
EmailAddress: rvenugo@hotmail.com

Complaint:
DO NOT USE AT&T UNIVERSAL CARDS!

All the credit cards are now offering email notification. In November, I decided to request email notification since I am constantly moving around due to my job. Today I received my June statement. I haven't received a notification from AT&T for five months but I didn't think this was odd since I don't ever use this card and I assumed it was at a zero balance. When I called today to find out why I hadn't received these notifications they admitted that they have this trouble often with hotmail since they send out mass emails. Hotmail views this email as spam and blocks it. If that's the case they shouldn't allow you to receive email notification at a hotmail address.
 
#21  
  Anonymous

Complaint: A restuarant in Paris charged my AT&T Univeral card 1,200 Euro came back to the table and told me my card did not go through.  I gave him a separate card and he put through the correct 300 Euro charge.  Later I discover the 1,200 Euro charge immediately indentify the charge to AT&T as innapropriate.   I explain what happend and they end up crediting the 300 from the 1,200 balance.  I explain that this makes no sense.  They finally send me a copy of a sales slip with a signature that bears no resemblance to mine.  By now they have several signature samples from me from all of the letters I have written them and the affidavit is signed in front of a notary when I originally notified them of the charge, but they simply closed the file and I have not heard anything from them again.  No one will listen to reason and they continually tell me my credit will go bad.  This is the worst credit card service I have ever received, and they can keep the balance out there forever!
r as far as I am concerned.  DUMP AT&T Universal.

Except from page one of this website and the reason why this website was started: AT&T UNIVERSAL MASTERCARD, ...PREFERRED 10 to 1 by better Scam Artists and Crooks world wide!!    "AT&T's customer service is astonishingly and profoundly horrible, the absolute worst, they made "me" feel like the "crook" and I was the one that got "scammed!!!"  My case was never resolved and the crooked scam artist merchant got the "money and the merchandise".  I ended up with nothing but the $1,600.00+ bill from AT&T Universal Card and a headache!  OUCH!  AT&T claims I still owe the money!"  In disbelief, you ask: "HOW can that happen and could this happen to you"??  YES this could happen to you!  And NOW we see it did happen AGAIN to the complainant above.
 
#22  
  C Wilson
Colorado

Complaint:
In July of 2000 my mother passed away.  The end of that month I sent in a payment for her final AT&T Universal Card order (she never carried a balance past a month) and along with enclosing a death certificate I requested that the account be closed.

Fast forward almost four years and I get a bill from AT&T Universal Card addressed to my mother for charges to a company called Overslade.com.  A quick search on the web reveals this is a scam organization.  I immediately call them and inform them of the situation.  The customer service person suggests that I need to send them another death certificate to their estate department and that will close the matter.  Another month and another bill, now with late charges.  Another call and another customer service rep and this time they say I need to send in a letter to another address and includ another copy of the death certificate, which I do. 

Another month and another bill with even more late fees on it.  This time I get really nasty and demand to speak to the supervisor of the customer service department.  This person informs me that they show no record of my mother being deceased and they connect me to the estate department.  The estate group says why am I calling them, they've marked the account holder as deceased, so she says I need to call customer service back and tell them to check their records again.  I do and now when I as to speak to a manager I get a different person from the one I spoke to just twenty minutes before!

They tell me my mother needs to call the company that made the charges, at a certain 1-800 number and have them issue a refund.  I try calling that number and I get a recording saying essentially, "We've gone out of business, run off with your money and if you have a problem contact your credit card company."

I call AT&T back and get the first supervisor again and tell him what is happening.  He puts me in touch with the fraud investigation division.  They take some information and a few weeks later I get a letter in the mail, addressed to my dead mother telling her she needs to sign a form indicating that she didn't make or authorize the charges.

I send the form back with another letter to the S. Larson who "signed" the letter and ask how a dead woman could authorize a charge or sign a form saying she didn't authorize such charges.  Another month later and another letter again requesting my mother's signature.  Return again to the signatory S. Larson and ask how on earth my mother could have authorized these charges when she had been dead for almost four years.

Well today I get a letter addressed to my mother signed by this S. Larson saying that since my mother hadn't signed her form they are considering the investigation closed and returning the bill to active status.  ARGHHH.  So again today I wrote another letter, and again included copies of several previous letters, only this time I'm going to send it certified, restricted delivery to S. Larson....

How dumb can they be?  She's DEAD!!!!!  ARGH!
 
#23  
  kim
chattanooga, Tn
Complaint:

  To begin with, I have in all my years of dealing with credit cards, never dealt with a payment date that changes every month like AT&T Universal card.  I had just recently started paying my bills online instead of writing checks. I told my son I would add his AT&T account to my list of bills to pay to assure his payment was made on time.  I put his payment date down as the 9th according to the statement and proceeded to make his first payment. The following month I could not get into AT&T's payment sight. I had had some trouble with my computer so I thought I could be at fault so when I was finally able to get into the sight I made the payment and accepted the late charge of $15.50.  The following month I was not able to get in again to make my payment so I called AT&T customer service and told them the problem I was having and it was making me late paying my bill on time. I had paid the bill in full but I knew they were going to put another late charge on my son.
The man I was speaking with explained that I was trying to get into the sight after the due date and I told him It was before the 9th each time and he then told me that the due date changes every month. After a lengthy conversation he said that he would remove both late charges of $15.50 and give me a zero balance and a confirmation number. I could not have been more appreciative considering it was my fault for not noticing the due date changed each month.  However, the following month my son gets a new bill now with another $15.50 added making the bill now $63.00, all of which were late charges and interest. I call customer service once again and explained the situation, told them the confirmation number of the prior conversation and they told me there was no record of a prior phone call, told me I needed to pay the bill immediately and overall was treated like a criminal. I immediately called my son in to the phone and told him to cancel the card. I will pay the bill for !
my son and plan a  follow up phone call concerning his credit but my main purpose in posting this is so that if any parent reads this they will tell their kids not to deal with this sorry excuse for a professional business with its extremely high interest and ever changing due date. On their statement in large print it reads "We appreciate your card membership" BULL!

 

 
#24  
  Anonymous

Complaint:
DO NOT OPEN AN AT&T CREDIT CARD, THEY HAVE LOUSY SERVICE AND DECEIVE PEOPLE BY FALSE ADVERTISING.

I was dumb enough to be taken by them twice already.  The first time is to take advantage of their balance transfer for a low APR.  All I had to do was call an  800 number and activate the promotion.  After I transfer a balance of another credit card and received my statement, I saw that I don't have the low APR that they had promised me.  I fought and fought with their customer service team and even with the management but all they could tell me is that they had no record of me calling to activate the promotion.  I promised myself that I will pay off this credit card and never use it ever again.  It's been two years that I had forgotten about this until my recent incident with them just a couple of days ago.  I received another special promotion from them of 0% APR for new purchses until the end of December.  I called the 800 number to activate the promotion and used my card while I was away on vacation.  I got my statement yesterday and saw that I was getting charged 14% !
and not the 0% that they promised.  I again called their customer service to dispute this and again, they said they have no record that I ever called to activate the special promotion. 

WARNING:  IF YOU EVE DO ANY BUSINESS CONTRACT WITH AT&T, ENSURE YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN WRITING.  AVOID DOING BUSINESS OVER THE PHONE.  IF YOU HAVE TO, THEN JOT DOWN THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU'VE TALKED TO.  I WOULD ALSO DOUBLE CHECK THAT THEY HAD PROCESSED THE SPECIAL PROMOTION CORRECTLY BY CALLING BACK A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER TO LOOK AT YOUR ACCOUNT.  DO NOT PROCESS USE YOUR CARD FOR ANY KIND OF SPECIAL PROMOTION UNLESS YOU HAD CONFIRMED AND VERIFIED THAT THE PROMOTION HAS BEEN REFLECTED ON YOUR ACCOUNT.

Learn from my mistake.  If you don't, you will end up carrying the burden of proving that you had called to activate the promotion and ATT will make sure you have a difficult time to do this.  They wouldn't even give me the 800 to call for the special promotion for me to check my cell phone statement as proof that I made the call. 

As of current, I'm still stuck with the high APR.  I'm very disgusted with the dishonest way they are doing business!!!I've sent a complaint to Better Business against them.
 
#25  
  Steve
Kansas
EmailAddress: toddfan@hotmail.com

Complaint:
AT&T sent and inducement to my household to take out a 7.99% card.  They didn't realize that I have had their card, for years.  That SAME MONTH, without warning, they raised the interest on my existing account from 9.9% to 14.99%.  I called to discuss.  The customer service rep told me that my Equifax credit report showed "excessive debt" and "specific information" giving a "bad score".  I told her that was "odd" because they had just sent me an offer for a 7.99% card.  She checked with her supervisor, and then agreed to lower my account rate to 7.99%.  They even sent me a letter, confirming the change.  This was two statements ago.

I went ahead and ordered a copy of my credit report from Equifax (you can get one free, if you have experienced negative action linked to the report).  My report showed EVERYTHING as "pays as agreed".  No late payments.  As far as I could see...NOTHING negative.

Well, this months statement included a "notice of change in terms".  They have raised my rate AGAIN.  This time to 19.99%.  I called them again, this time the customer service representative was TOTALY unhelpful.  She told me the same "reasons" mentioned above...and would NOT budge.  My ONLY option to not nearly TRIPLE my interest rate was to DECLINE the change in terms.  Now, they will close my account on the expiration date listed on the face of my card.

HERE IS THE KICKER....AFTER going through all of this, the customer service representative told me of an "offer" that could considerable reduce my interest rate by TAKING OUT A HOME EQUITY LOAN from one of their AFFILIATES!!!!!!...at a "much lower interest rate".

IF THIS ISN'T AN OBVIOUS CASE OF THEM TRYING TO MERELY INCREASE THEIR PROFITS, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WOULD BE.
 
#26  
  George
Ft. LAUDERDALE,FLORIDA

Complaint: DO NOT RESPOND TO AT&T UNIVERSAL CARD PROMOTIONAL INTEREST RATE OFFERS.If you do, read the fine print.If you are late one day,the low rate they give you, in my case which was 9.9% goes up to 28.8%.Not only that, if you have a second card which you were not late with, that card also goes to 28.8%.You can imagine what that is every month. I calculated it would would take 20 years to pay it off.In my case, they only took $5 a month and $210 in interest.How the federal and state laws governing credit card companies ever allowed it was definitely not in the consumer's interest
 
#27  
  Anonoymous

Complaint:
I took a cash advance from AT&T and CitiBank for $7100, checking with them beforehand that I wouldn't incur finance charges beyond normal interest rate if I paid money back within 30-day credit cycle. I paid back in full in 15 days. I then received statement totaling $280 in various interest, transaction and "activity" charges. This amounts to roughly 75% APR. The $90 "transaction fee" is entirely arbitrary as far as I can tell -- it has no relationship to any marketplace reality that I know of. I've written several letters and so far been ignored.  

Sincerely, Outraged
 
 
#28  
  Sandy
Brooklyn

Complaint:
AT&T Universal Card advertises that it will back up the cardholder in merchant disputes.

They gave me conditional credit for disputed charges and then after months of my sending them "missing" information including pictures of bad or missing merchandise, they reveresed the conditional and told me that I must pay even for missing merchandise.
 
By the way, do not sign up for their e-mail notification of statements because they just stopped notifying me when they added finance charges for the non-delivered and damaged merchandise.

The merchandise involved is thousands of dollars so I am going to try and find an attorney.

The only reason I use a credit card is for the protection supposedly offered in such disputes. Now I not only have to fight the merchant but I also have to fight my credit card company.  AT&T Universal Card has got to be the worse I have ever experienced.
 
#29  
  Jane B
Porter Square Post Office
Cambridge, MA 02140

Complaint:
I am submitting here a copy of a letter I wrote to ATT Universal Card.  This company documents the date in which they send bills  BEFORE the bill is actually sent to the consumer by a separate carrier.  This company documents the date they received payment far later than the reasonable time the US post office would take to mail payment directly to company.  The result is a late fee.  This company does NOT have the bills they send POST MARKED.  I have received one bill charging me a late fee for a bill that was not paid on the prior month.  Yet the bill for the prior month for which I was charged a late fee arrived on the SAME DAY as the bill for the current month! In other words this company documents the date they send bills to a separate carrier who mails out their bills as the date they send them to the consumer.  However, the consumer is sent thier bill LATE because the separate carrier hired by ATT sends them late.  Likewise with how they document time a payment receiv!
ed.  They document the time they received it from their carrier whom they have HIRED to deliver payment LATE. Enclosed is a copy of my letter to them.  All interested may COPY the part of the letter I propose to send to the Attorney General as to cut down on practices to this sort of thing so they can charge consumers "late fees"

"To whom it may concern at AT&T Universal Card,

I am writing to alert you to a situation regarding how your company documents the TIME you receive consumer payment and the TIME you claim to mail out bills or receive them which I feel borders on a deceptive practice.  I am keeping documentation of all incidences where I am charged a "late fee" due to mail being sent to me, getting here far
in excess of the time you claim to have mailed a bill and the time it would have taken for the post office to deliver it to me.  It is my contention that your documentation of the time you mailed out a bill to me should reflect the TIME that bill was POST MARKED as going DIRECTLY to me from your company and NOT indirectly to me through an other
company you hire to mail out bills for.  This reflects a circumstance in which the company you hire to mail bills to consumers mails them BEYOND THE DATE your company documents the bill as being sent to the consumer. When  late fees to the consumer occur as a result of this practice, it can be construed that the practice is for the purpose of charging late fees, hence I feel it is one bordering on deception.

Here, I shall relay some incidences in which I was charged a late fee.
On Aug. 21, 2,004 I received a bill from ATT (due 2 Sept) charging me a LATE FEE for a bill I 'failed' to pay that was due on Aug 3. I assumed I 'forgot' to pay it and asked for it to be forgiven which it was. Later in the afternoon (same day) I received another bill that
was due on Aug. 3.  That was the bill I was charged a late fee for on the bill due Sept 21 BUT the bill due on Aug 3 came to me on Aug 21!  This bill was NOT post marked.

On October 25 when I got my bill in the mail, not only did I receive another late fee but "Anthony", operator #KYPHC40 told me this bill was mailed out to me on 14 Oct. The late fee reflected payment of a bill as  being received on October 7 in which payment was due on October 2.  Yet around the time of 22 August, I paid one bill and also another
in ADVANCE and received no bills from you during the month of  Sept.

It appears that even payment sent in ADVANCE for a bill that I know will incur during the next billing cycle is documented by your company as having come in 'late'.

On October 25, Anthony operator # KYPHC0 told me bills are mailed to consumers the SAME day the billing cycle ends. Yet another operator told me bills are mailed to the consumers the day after the billing cycle ends.  Discrepancy of information.

On October 25, my late fees were 'forgiven' (which are not my fault--they are your companies fault because your company hires carriers to mail out bills LATER then the time you document
them as being mailed and your company documents receipt of bills LATER then the time they are actually received by the company you hire to receive them for you.)

On October 25, I mailed payment for 2 billing cycles and paid $.90 for a certificate of mailing (copy enclosed) in the event you charge me another late fee for receiving it beyond 2 Nov in which it is due and also in the event that I do not receive a bill to be
mailed out by you on Nov 3 in a timely manner.

I have spoken to the post office official about this matter who informed me that it is a situation where sometimes a credit card company will employ another company to mail out bills, in which the bills are PURPOSELY mailed out LATE and in which the day they are actually mailed out is much later than the date the credit card company tells the
consumer it was mailed out and this is done for the purposed of charging the consumer a late fee and the company mailing out the bills is given "perks" for mailing out bills in an UNTIMELY fashion. This was the case with Capital 1.  This is coupled with a "wait time" in which the carrier the credit card company hires to forward mail to them, WAITS
an excess period of time to forward consumer payment to the credit card company and because of THAT a late fee is incurred.

The US POSTAL system mails things in a TIMELY manner and has encouraged me to alert the Attorney General to the corporate practices that would imply that the US POSTAL system is somehow at 'fault'. 

In my letter to the Attorney General, I shall
contend:

1: Documentation of when the consumer is told a bill is mailed should reflect WHEN that bill arrived at the US Post office to be mailed and NOT the date a company gave the mail to an independent mailing company to mail it for the company.

2: Documentation of when the company claims it received payment from the consumer should reflect a reasonable period of time reflecting  how long the US POSTAL system
would have taken to deliver mail from the consumer to the company. IF date documented as "received" from the company is far in excess of the time it usually takes the US Post to
deliver mail from the consumer DIRECTLY to the company AND the company hires a separate entity to pass along consumer payment to them AND the date the consumer is told the company "received" their bill is a date reflecting a time period in the interim of when the consumer sent it and when it was sent later to the company via an independent carrier AND the independent mailing carrier does NOT keep documentation of when the
original consumer bill was POST MARKED, No late fees to the consumer should incur.

3: Consumers getting late fees as a result of not being able to pay their bills on time BECAUSE a company CHOOSES to employ an other mailing company which mails out bills LATER than the date the company claims they "sent out the bills" should be alerted to these practices and have every late fee incurred as a result of those practices forgiven.

4: Companies PROFITING from "late fees" as a result of this practice should be investigated for FRAUD whether they profit from the late fees themselves or they profit from the occurrence of the consumer having to call them to forgive the late fees in which during this process, the consumer is engaged in buying another good or service from the
company.

I request that you forward my letter to a high ranking CORPORATE OFFICER for
review.
 
#30  
  Terry J
EmailAddress: tbjack@teleport.com

Complaint:
I received a balance transfer offer from my AT&T Universal Card at 4.99% duration.  I could use either the blue checks to transfer balances, or use the green check to deposit directly into my checking account.  In several places the offer notes: "get cash back up to your available credit limit".  On the check stub it notes "up to your available credit limit".  I looked online, noted my "available credit limit", and used the blue check.  The check was returned unpaid as I exceeded my "cash available limit", which is not my "credit limit" as noted available in the offer.

This is cleary a case of misrepresentation and has cost me two hundred dollars now in over draft fees.  AT&T offered me no help or relief.  They admitted this is a mistake commonly made, however will not be changing their wording of this offer.

BEWARE!!  Don't believe what you read and certainly join the crowd and cut up your "service unfriendly, rip off AT&T Universal Card".
 
#31  
  B. Mac
Orlando Florida

Complaint: This is another in a long list of complaints against AT&T/Citibank credit-cards.  Although my complaint is not monetary it is non-the-less irritating and time-consuming.  In using people's time they are, in effect costing us money.  I was sent a fraudulent letter from AT&T Universal Card requesting me to contact them.  They stated that they wanted input on how they could make their credit-card services better.  They also stated if you called to help them in their quest to create a better credit-card for us, they would make it "worth your while".  As I had some very distinctive ideas as to how they could improve their services, I contacted the number in the letter.  The first number called 1-800-249-4457, kept me on hold for a considerable amount of time.  When I finally got a person to answer, they asked information and said that they were sorry but I needed to call another number but that they could help me.  I asked at that time if in fact it was a legitimate pole and not just some ploy to sell something.  The next number 1-800-423-4343 was the same.  I was on hold for quite some time and when I did get to speak to someone the only wanted me to "Upgrade" to another version of their card.  That was how they were going to make it "worth my while".  Only thing was they never even asked about my suggestions.  It was simply a ploy to waste about 30 min. of my time.  Since I was angry at this point, I asked to speak to a supervisor.  I spoke to Beth #1979, who basically did absolutely nothing.  She simply continued to offer me upgrades.  When I told her what they were doing constituted fraud by leading people to believe they could help when all they wanted to do was to get you to submit to a sales call.  The "Do-not call " list was created for a reason and although this has considerably cut down on the avenues to force sales calls down our throats, writing a fraudulent letter to get people to call you, so you can attempt to disguise a sales call as a plea for help through the form of a poll can only irritate your existing customers and force them to become EX-customers!  I have too many other cards, and offers every day for more to put up with this scam.  The only avenue offered was to write a letter of complaint to Mr. Larson at P.O. Box 6500 Sioux, South Dakota 57117.  As just about every other letter of compliant I have found pertaining to this company has stated that they spoke to MR or MS or MRS Larson, I suspect that any letter addresses to any Larson is simply a code for a complaint and file "13" (The Trash).  Good to know that they think we are that stupid.  Well this is one stupid customer who will no longer be a customer.  I will speak with the loudest voice I know-My wallet!
 
#32  
  Mary J Arenas
Los Angeles, CA

Complaint:
1. I just spoke with a supervisor with ATT Universal Card within the past hour...and the overall outcome is "I'M SCREWED and I am not getting the high interest rate fees I have been paying back."

2. True to the fact that I am the one at fault for not paying notice to the high APR; I blame myself for that...!

3. Initial Situation: Period of Sept and Oct 2004 - First noticed my horrifying APR increase on my Sept 04 invoice statement which was at 28.240% with a note that it will decrease; of course that was weeks after my made my payment on that invoice.  A couple of days after my shock I noticed that it didn't decrease but rather increased to 28.490%.  Just imagine with my balance of over $13,000 and that high interest rate what my finance fees were!  Ouch!

4. That day when I received my e-mail notification that my statement was available and I had gone online and noticed that the APR had increased to 28.490% instead and that's when I contacted ATT via phone and e-mails and I was notified the reason why.  Their explanation was that the company had done a routine credit check and apparently (Transunion) noted that I was in default with another creditor, and of course, ATT would not tell me which creditor that was but did tell me which credit bureau reported that information.  I ordered my credit reports from all three agencies...not one showed any negativity and I knew that would be the case with exception to one account with Victoria's Secret in which I was 30-days late in June 1998 which is prior to when I ever had this credit card.  I called Transunion and the customer rep also agreed with me that there is no negative remarks on my credit report.

5. I've been in contact with ATT again and they had lowered my interest rate.  I have basically paid this account off in full within less than a one month time frame.

6. ATT did refund me back for the difference in finance charges for that current month that I took action which was $70 but that was with a balance of $1500 +/- (again imagine having the balance of $13,000 +/- and the interest rate fee I was paying (in which I should have paid if I looked more closely at my monthly statement) times give or take six months).

7. My main concern is getting a refund back for those six months of interest rate fees that I have paid.

8. A Rep by the name of Tee whom I spoke with on the 19th of Oct 2004 suggested I mail in my letter with an explanation.  I also included copies of my statements which I had to reorder from ATT since I did not keep copies on file and since I made the assumption that I can obtain it online when ever I needed to, which of course was not the case.  I had also included a copy of my credit report, specifically from TransUnion.

9. I waited to mail my letter of explanation on the 5th of November until I had everything I needed to send.  Two weeks or so after the initial transmission letter my mail, I called to follow-up to make sure they received the letter...and ATT noted "YES!" and that I should receive an explanation of the final outcome after their review.

10. I made several attempts by phone as well as by e-mail to follow-up on this situation.  Same answer of course, "They are still review my file."

11. About two weeks prior to the end of 2004, I called and a rep answered noting that my files is still being reviewed and in Arbitration...which of course I wasn't quite sure what he really meant and that I should call back in two to three weeks and they should have an answer for me.

12. During my lunch break I called ATT again to get an update.  The rep, Mark, basically said that I will not be refunded and that I have been refunded $62.00 +/- already (it was about $70 odd dollars).  I was not satisfied and he transferred me to a supervisor, who's name escapes me.  She noted (1) was have already been refunded an amount for the interest rate fees ($70 +/-); (2) there is no record that we ever received a letter from you (even though the reps I've previously spoken with noted that they have received my letter of Nov. 5, 2004); (3) she apologized that the rep I had spoken with in December made an incorrect suggestion that it was in arbitration; and (4) there is noting they can do and they cannot refund those amount for the time period that I am concerned about and that I should have taken care of that back then and I did tell her that I would have should I noticed it back then.  In reality, and I must note that she did not say it in these exact words..."You're basically screwed and you will not get a refund of your money back!"

This whole credit card situation I am experiencing right now has made me so aware of how awful these credit card companies are.  I made it a vow to myself that I am going out of debt this year.  I am an unmarried mother of two toddler girls...and I'm sure some of you can understand how hard financially hard it is to raise two kids whether it is with one income or two incomes.  I am sure you can understand why this is bothering me so much because we could really use that money back!  I do intend to pursue this...I know I am screwed and I will not get my money back but as I have said I do intend to make the Better Business Bureau, the California State Attorney General, as well as other officials and websites such as this aware of what I am going through even though I know that I will not be reimbursed for my interest fees.  The feeling that I am getting this information out will make me feel at ease.  Right now I am still a bit of a wreck because of this situation but I know that it will eventually subside in the next few months will I will finally be out of debt.

My best advice...GET OUT OF DEBT...SEARCH FOR A BETTER CREDIT CARD COMPANY IF YOU NEED TO HAVE A CREDIT CARD...IF YOU DO YOUR BANKING ONLINE MAKE SURE YOU CHECK EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION AND STAY INFORMED ABOUT YOUR ACCOUNT ESPECIALLY YOUR INTEREST RATE, PRINT OUT EVERY SINGLE STATEMENT AND SAVE A COPY ON YOUR COMPUTER AND AVOID THE MISTAKES I MADE...AND THE NUMBER 1 ADVISE I CAN OFFER IS TO AVOID ATT UNIVERSAL CARD LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!

I just cancelled my credit card just this minute.  Maybe I should have cancelled it when I made my last and final payment but I kept it open with the idea in mind that I probably needed to and that it was the best thing to do should I have been refunded those interest fees.  When I spoke with the rep. Diane she asked why I am closing the account, I simply and politely told her..."your company are crooks!"  She of course, responded, "Your company or mine?" and that she was going to transfer me to another dept. that would handle my situation.  Do they really hire the most incompetent people?  Why couldn't she handle it herself...which in the end when the other dept. was busy with other calls she did close the account.  I have respect for people having to work in the lowest of the low jobs such as for these credit cards companies...people have to do what they have to do in order to survive but I do pity them for working for these awful companies.  Like I politely mentioned to the rep.  Diane, I hope she enjoys working for those crooks!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!
 
 
#33  
  Anonymous:

Complaint:
I haven't used my AT&T Universal Card for purchases for some time.  I was surprised to see a $119.00 charge and called the toll-free number that was listed on my bill.  I was told that I ordered this special travel service through AT&T Universal Card in 1999.  I had no knowledge of ever ordering anything of the like and never received any materials on it.  I asked how much they have billed since 1999, and they told me over $600!  They said I apparently accepted the offer on a trial basis, and never cancelled within the 30 day grace period.  I demanded a full credit for the amount they billed me since 1999, and they credited me.

A few weeks later I received my next invoice and noticed that they lowered my credit limit significantly.

What a way to treat a loyal customer, don't you think?
 
#34  
  Jennifer W.
San Antonio, TX
EmailAddress: emailjenniffer@yahoo.com

Complaint:
I HAVE HAD IT WITH AT&T UNIVERSAL CARD. I AM CONSIDERING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT BUT NEED HELP FROM OTHERS THAT HAVE THE SAME SITUATION AS ME. THIS IS MY STORY:

I have had the card for 5 years. I got into financial trouble after losing my job in March 2003. I was out of work for close to 3 months. I called Universal Card to ask if I could defer ONE MONTH of payments so I can get back on my feet after starting a part-time job, while still seeking full-time. I was told of a payment program by a rep there. It was explained to me as this:

The program is for 12 months. No interest, no fees during that time will be accrued on your account. The minimum payment, $135, will be automatically debited from your account each month. If you bounce one payment the program expires.

I signed up. Who wouldn't? My balance at that time was approx $11,000. All 12 payments were made on time, never a problem. The program expired, and I recieved a bill. The minimum due was over $500. MINIMUM. I called, very confused and distraught, to ask why and if something could be done. That's when it was explained that the interest was "defered" no waived during that program. Had I known that it would be tacked on in the end, I would not have agreed to that program. I was also informed that my rate was now 29.99%. I about had a heart attack . I asked if they could lower that to something more manageable. I was told "NO", belittled, told "you made your debt problem, now deal with it." I made the minimum payment so not to hurt my credit. After making the payment, I called and spoke to another rep. I asked the same question, lower the rate please. No. I asked to talk with a supervisor, I got more attitude from them than the first rep.

My most recent payment minimum due was $740. I am now over the limit because of interest. My minimum due is all interest, with the exception of $5. I keep struggling so not to damage my credit. My rate is still 29.99%. The refuse to send me back statements from when I started the program. They refuse to lower my rate. I am hung up on by "supervisors" when the call escalates to them, or transfered to the collections department even though I am not late. I can not get anywhere with them. Tonight alone I called 4 times, was hung up on twice, and transfered I don't know how many times to people who were misinformed of my want. The reps don't listen,lie to you, misinform you,  don't help, and do just about everything possible to make you upset.

I could go on and on with this story. Please contact me if you like. I am consulting an attorney next week (feb 2005) to see what, if anything, can be done and how costly it will be for me. I regret the say I took this card. My email is above, please lable the subject line as AT&T card. Thank you for taking the time to listen.
 
#35  
  EmailAddress: hardy.t@sbcglobal.net

Complaint:
March 9, 2005

ADVISE:  DO NOT USE AT&T UNIVERSAL CARD

-I have excellent credit.
-I transferred higher rates to Universal Card @ 2.9% in 11/04.
-In January 2005, AT&T increased rate to 24.99% on a $10,000 balance.
-The entire $200 payment all went to interest.
-AT&T returned the rate this month to 2.9%, but would not refund the interest charged. (I am afraid of what it will do this month).
-Their new TRICK, which is in fine print, in the disclosure is they are able to revert your rate to the default rate if there is something they feel has changed in your credit history.
-Basically, I just bought a new home, but I still pay on time.

ADVISE-GET OUT OF DEBT!!!!!!!  DEFINITELY DON'T KEEP USING AT&T UNIVERSAL CARD!!!  I HAVE CANCELED THIS CARD AND WILL BE PAYING IT OFF IMMEDIATELY!!!!
 
#36  
  J Wright
San Antonio TX
EmailAddress: emailjenniffer@yahoo.com

Complaint:
I previously posted my complaint on this site and would like to give all of those out there who are being taken advantage of by AT&T/Citi cards to contact the Comptroller of the Currency and make them aware of your situation. Below is the Consumer Complaint email address to the Comptroller. Tell them your story, and they will do their best to help you if the case is valid. They helped me get my rate back to Prine+ 4.99% for the life of the balance. The response was fast, I would say within a week of filing my complaint online I had a case open with the Comptroller and a week after that a call from AT&T Universal Card.

Please tell the Comptroller of your situation, lets all work as consumers to try to keep these jokers from acting as "God" when it comes to our finances!

Here is the Comptrollers email address...and also, don't hesitate to email me with your results. I would love to hear them if your want to share.

       Customer.Assistance@occ.treas.gov
 
#37  
  Tom
Mississippi

Complaint:
My complaint against AT&T Universal Card began with a disputed medical bill from a recent surgery.  The medical facility reported me to the credit bureau, which I was unaware of until AT&T suddenly increased the interest rate on my credit card to 29.49% AND lowered my credit limit to below the existing balance of my account.  In addition to dramatically increasing my monthly payment, it caused AT&T Universal to call me on a monthly basis to notify me that I was over my limit.  Note that I have never missed or made a late payment to AT&T Universal Card.

Upon calling AT&T Universal they informed me that this was done because of a negative credit report (I.E. the medical bill).  They refused to tell me what the report said or what company had reported it.  I requested that they reduce the interest rate and they refused.

I called AT&T Universal Card to get a pay-off amount, which they also refused to give me.  I asked to speak to management or a number to call for management and they again refused to supply me with a number or transfer the call.  Only one of the six or seven persons that I spoke to was courteous, the rest were curt and sarcastic.  I finally called CitiCard and spoke to a supervisor, and was given a pay-off amount.  I was told that they do not have to abide by the same rules as "normal" loans required of other national lenders because they "are based in South Dakota." 

My AT&T card, as well as all of my credit cards are now paid off.  I will never do business with AT&T Credit, long distance or purchase anything else that they offer to sell.  I was a charter cardholder, and Internet user. Additionally, I have done business with their long distance end for more than 30 years now.  They have lost one of their loyal customers permanently. I suggest that anyone reading this complaint NOT do business with AT&T or CitiBank and pay off and discontinue use of their credit cards as I have.

Tom
Mississippi
 
 
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: sbshell@peoplepc.com

Complaint:
BEWARE AT&T & CITI CREDIT CARDS
Two months ago,I got my AT&T card statement in which my  interest rate had been raised, when I inquired as to why, I was told I had been late on my last payment. I had mailed my payment 7 days before the due date.thinking it would be on time as I had done previously. I asked them if they had started holding payments to cause them to be late. the customer service rep. said oh no, they could not legally do that. After,some conversation, AT&T agreed to take off the late fee and adjust my interest rate.  The very next month. I got my CITI credit card statement with a big  increase in my interest rate. I had always paid on time and I called to inquire why,They said that because  I had been late on my AT&T card of which they also owned, The interest was also raised on that card also. I tried to explain to the person at CITI ,the situation with my AT&T card and that they had agreed to take off the late
fee and lower the interest rate back to where it was. The person told
me that she would have to get an approval from a supervisor to lower my rate back to normal on the CITI card,and it would reflect on my next statement if approved. Well ,I got my April,2005 statement from CITI,the payment  was due on April 25,I mailed a check on April 4 to be sure it got there in plenty of time. Today,April l9, I got the payment back,stating no such address (PLEASE NOTE THIS WAS THE PAYMENT FORM WITH THEIR ADDRESS ALREADY PRINTED ON IT IN THEIR OWN ENVELOPE.)I called imediately to CITI, and told them I had never had a check returned in an envelope with their address already printed on it! At first, the representive Acted as if she could not understand what happened. She later told me she had a new address that she had been told about. She did give me a new address to mail the payment to, but that would have made my payment late! I had to do the quick pay on the phone with her takin g the payment directly out of my account. She than said she would waiver, th!
e $l6. fee for the direct pay.  I am so afraid now of being late and getting the interst rates raised on both of my cards, AT&T & CITI. I have always tried to pay my bills on time.  These two companies
are trying to get me as well as many others.  Please we have to stop this fraud!!! Let me know what we can do!!  Hope this information can help someone else.
 
 
  Citi-Killa
Vermont
Complaint_against: ATT Universal+Citicard

Complaint:
Yep... I've had the same "slow processing" problem for a payment as I've seen mentioned here.  You know... when it suddenly takes a week or more for a payment to clear from when you mailed it, whereas previously it always went through the mail quickly and was processed in like 2 days.  Then, you get the late charge.  Then, your rate goes to 29.9%, and if you have a Citi card, THAT one goes up to 29.9% TOO.  This is not an "accident".  This is a coherent, willfull policy being implemented by the CEOs/management of these companies, to put the squeeze on consumers who are maxed on debt.  This is in fact, criminal conspiracy on a nationwide scale.

29.9% on a combined balance of over $30000 is UNPAYABLE on a standard job these days, factoring living expenses.  Besides complaining to appropriate authorities to try and put these criminals in their place, I'm filing for Chapetr 7 bankruptcy.  Let them eat cake.  That ought to catch their attention!  Don't send in the payments for a month or two, and use the money for a lawyer to file the bankruptcy (or file it yourself).  Research it... see how it would apply to your situation.  "They" could be reasonable, and the money'd keep flowing in, but they're greeedy thieves who want it all and then some more.  I've never had any qualm about paying my bills before, but I won't ever send them another dime now that they are financially raping me.

You know, they can't sue EVERYBODY.  And, the courts can only handle SO MANY cases... clog away!
 
 
  Clyde D Beaty
507 Bailey Ave
San Antonio, TX 78210-4101
Phone: 210 000 0000
EmailAddress: cbeaty@sbcglobal.net

Complaint_against: Citibank South Dakota as AT&T Universal Credit Card

Complaint: I have recd suing papers for appx $6000 of charges and costs I have on AT&T Universal Credit Card- they lie! I have not and still don't receive any bills, statements, letters etc re dues etc- Coincidentally another Credit Card I had(Sears Master) was turned over to Citibank and I can not and have not recd any bills statements nor demands for payments. I followed Mundis' recommendations way back in probly 2002 or 2003 tore up and burnt all my credit cards and decided, and want to get all of the debts I incurred paid off- My life and sobriety and sanity depend on my being fully responsible and making amends for errors and mistakes I have made, and I sometimes wonder if some of the brain damage and loss of brains I have from gunshot wounds in Korean war aren't cause for my stupidity and not looking through before I ran up 48,000 debt on cards even though I have accounting and business degrees, Masters' work and a couple other degrees( what do illiterates do in this s!
hit?? Never once did I calculate what these charges could and did come to from the low attractive rates and give aways and minimum payments I could have kept and treied to, but got only deeper in debt- I tried consolidating- that was expensive and again on some of my debts after 9 months and over 6000 paid consolidators- I was even deeper in debt! So I have tried to pay enough to forestall any court doings, and concentrate all can on one account- which I have done and paid off at least one of my accounts- and in March while in hospital for knee replacement surgery and therapy I wrote all of companies(and lawyers that now have my debts(five of em but cant get a response or address or bill fromtwo of them and I was not getting any from Citibank re AT&T- so I came to conclusion maybe just written off as bad debt and non collectable- partic when it is c0nsidered re my only income and hand to mouth existence on Veterans Disability Comp for 100% SC diability, and a small Social Se!
curity Old age pension( both "Judgement proof"! House I have mortgage on is under Texas laws homesteaded- granting that a lien could be put on my deed if ever sold the house or it goes in to estate or my daughter--I'd like to avoid the court and judgement by default and have so written Citibank and offered to send them ( and I'll even set up autodeduct in my bank account) 400.00 per month while if can find where to send ( I know two: attornies in Mass collecting on a Fleet Acct and Peoples Bank I know where they are and send them 60.00 ea, each monthe, and would send pmnts for my Sears and Providian debts if knew where!! I am in trouble for me because I havce not followed Mundis' advice re "Get Out Of Debt and Stay Out of Debt and live prosperously" keeping and maintaining spending plans, correspondence logs and notes re attempts to contact and using certified mail- to fight or at least get a court to permit and accept my paying the debt off as best I can--but sh---- it seem!
s I can't get through to Citibank to make any offers- I can't use phones as go crazy and frustrated and throw phones through walls etc- If you have credit card debts, I say we must recognize they are ruthless, in the right as they write the laws and rules- and blood sucking attornies get rich- that's a complaint I have re the suit: I get hit for attorney fees and they are staed to be at 1500.00! The greed and gouging goes on!!!!Get a copy of Mundis' book and follow his recommendations re records etc.. I didnt! and though allwas going well as was not receiving any mails at all re AT&T Universal Card!!! even if papers served say I have have!!!!
 
 
  Iliena Serrano

Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
I had been a loyal client for 10yrs for THIS card co.
So when I got sick this past year and was able to pay until May and asked two customer
reps as well as the collection supervior if the date could change from the 7th of June to the 15th. I was not only told that was utterly impossible,  but was talked to in such a NASTY manner. I was irate and asked to speak to a Supervisor in which I was told that "they don't take calls on the floor" (by a rep called Brenda).
The other Customer Rep (if they can call themselves that!) I talked to had also informed me, which I was not aware of until I called again (for the 4th time) that my account had already closed. Not only that, but that I would continue to acrew late fees AND interest!! Even though I'm not using the card!!
So, my husband and I are contemplating on filing bankruptcy, so that I can focus solely on my student loans.. I don't have a lot of bills and all my fees (notwithstanding the student loan). Add up to 6,000 dollars, but with hospital bills gaining up as well, who knows where this could go.
I just hope that this company as well as others that have done ill by the customer will suffer a similar fate of being treated with malicious contempt and disdain by its current and former customers.
 
 
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: CrazyColl77@aol.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card/Citibank

Complaint:
They told me I am responsible for fraudulent charges.  I never had a cell phone and I have proof that I never did.  AT&T/Citibank refuse to give me money back.  They had 2 collection agencies after me Surpas and Debt One.  They are telling me I am responsible for Progressive Car Insurance, AT&T Wireless for a Cell Phone, and Northfolk Collections.  I have been fighting this for a long time and when I called Citibank to Complain about the nasty collection agencies they did not want to hear it.  The Assets Sales Dept is nasty and rude.  They also told me that they do not have a corporate office and I woiuld be a laughting stock accourding to JL, KW, BR, TA, SS, and LP. 

The legal dept said I authorized these charges and never did.  She also told me if I have a complaint about her to tell the BBB or Attorney General and if I call Citibank at all she was going to arrest me.  LP has a nasty attitude and they also have people signing affidavit saying that they are notaries and they are not.  There is no commision # on the paper or their named typed up.  Please help me in this matter to tell me what to do.  Please email me about this to help me out resolve this nasty company.

My email is CrazyColl77@aol.com

Colleen
 
 
 

David Seely
459 Old Charlotte Pike
Pegram, TN 37143
rainmountainmist@netscape.net

AT&T Universal Card from Citibank

My complaint is about: improper handling of billing disputes; giving false information; and not responding to specific questions. Both my wife and I have had several legitimate billing disputes where AT&T/Citibank always took the merchant’s side, in spite of all the evidence we provided to support our claims. The following describes one such dispute.
In September 2004 my AT&T credit card was lost, and I also had a billing dispute on a charge that occurred just before the card was lost ($319.78 from Tom Bannen Chevrolet). Customer service did not tell me that these were two separate issues to be handled by two separate departments. They only sent me the paperwork for the security department, and they handled the billing dispute as a fraud investigation. (I was not aware of the difference at the time).  Later I called to inquire if I needed to do anything further regarding the disputed charge, and was told that everything was fine.
In January 2005 Citibank put the charge back on my card (technically not a fraudulent charge in the first place). They did nothing about my dispute on the same charge. When I called I was told that the time limit to do a billing dispute was past. (Despite the fact that I notified Citibank when the charge first occurred, and Citibank sent me the wrong paperwork then). After calling a few more times they agreed to dispute the charge, and I sent in the necessary paperwork.
The basis of this dispute was that I did not agree to this charge, as it was much higher than the previously agreed amount. I had ample evidence to support my claim. I gave my credit card to the merchant on the phone, but when I realized they had overcharged I refused to sign the card authorization. Citibank first told me that since I did not sign for it they can dispute it as an unauthorized charge.
In my previous experience with billing disputes, a charge authorization is not complete until the cardholder signs it. Even though Citibank has stated the same thing both verbally and in writing, now they are refusing to credit the charge because I released my card number to the merchant. According to that logic, a merchant can charge any amount they please and the cardholder has no protection.
Incidentally, this is the last reason they gave for not crediting the charge. Earlier they gave other excuses such as the time limit was past or that the merchant said this was a legitimate charge. I sent rebuttals to each denial, with evidence. They started just refusing my claim without giving a reason, and finally not responding at all.
When I sent several rebuttal letters arguing specific points, I either got no reply or only received form letters with no explanation. When I called they would not give me the name of the person handling the dispute, and the people who answer the phone don’t know any detail about the specific dispute. In my last letter I pointed out where they had violated several rules in the fair credit billing act, but got no response.  I finally wrote to the president of Citibank, who didn’t help either.

I would be very happy to join a class action suit against AT&T/Citibank.

 
 
  Tom
Los Angeles, CA
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal

Complaint:
Wow. So just had a bad experience with AT&T Universal.

I had my card with them for awhile, basically just bc I had a big line of credit and I used them as a clearing house for when I'd do balance tranfers. For the longest time I only had like a $400 balance and just had their websites autopay running to debit my bank account the minimum payment, usually $10 or something like that.

Anyway, I just had a large balance transferred over, then paid it off fully with a low interest balance tranfer check from another company. After that I decided I was just going to cancel it, which I did on 6/28 when I had a balance of $0.00.

So today I'm checking my BofA balance online, only to see that I had a $352 autopay withdrawal, which I found very confusing. Took me awhile until I realized that it was from AT&T Universal. How they managed to conduct an autopay from a closed account, let alone one that's autopay was set to pay only the minimum (which with a balance of $0.00 you'd think the min. would be $0.00, and not $352.00) don't ask me.

Now mind you, I work for a bank so I know what sorts of crazy regulations bank's are held too and what horrific violation they were in of them. I talk to first customer service rep, she clearly realizes they f'd up big time, and basically won't let me complain, yells at me and asks if I want my money back, they'll mail it to me in 14 business days. Now I'm not destitute, but when you take $352 from my bank account in a 0.05 second wire tranfser, I'd like in back in more than 14 days. Of course, before I could say anything she literally hung up on me.

I called back and got another rep, who was actually somewhat better. But after explaining to him the situation, he put me on hold, comes back and says its more like 7-14 business days, as if this was going to make me happy. I told him it was still totally unacceptable and they would have to wire the money back to my account or expedite the check. He of course was of no help from then on, saying it was *my* fault that I didn't cancel the autopay. Umm, yeah, but I cancelled THE FRIGGIN CARD and I had NO BALANCE, so how could you take $352 from me? He had no answer.

I told him I was going to file a complaint tomorrow with the OTS (which is the government body that regulates FSBs -- that is the type of bank that the Citibank running AT&T Universal Cards is) and see if that wouldn't somehow expedite me getting my money back. He said go ahead & have a nice day.

I strongly urge anyone who has had issues with them to complain directed to the OTS.
 
 
  Sean
EmailAddress: Mysticlad@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Mastercards

Complaint:
AT&T Mastercard jacked my rate to 30% after I moved homes and missed
a payment of $21.00 due to the USPS!  When called they said they could do nothing about it. I had to make six payments on time before the rate would come down.  Real friendly, Citibank and AT&T just shells of companies from the past! I have had the card for 5 years and never missed a payment, when and if I used it.  They were unresponsive and quite glib.  I closed the account today.  Too many better cards out there!  Bright move AT&T!  How many customers can you afford to lose?
 
 
  Barbara Doe Customer
Mobile, Al
Complaint_against: AT&T Univeral Card

Complaint:
Today I called AT&T Univeral Card's Customer Service No. at 1-800-423-XXXX.   Both the Customer Rep. and her Manager were both like robots, neither without a brain, and kept repeating the same statement that they could not reveal my wife's account information for security reasons.

I explained that I had all that account information directing in front of me so there was there was nothing they needed to reveal.  They said they could not talk to me that my wife would have to call.

I said fine, but then let me then just ask you a generic question about how you compute finance charges on an unpaid balance.  The next thing I heard was a click - THE EXTREMELY RUDE manager HUNG UP on me.

The problem started back last January 2005, when my wife tried to order a purse over the internet.  The merchant not only never sent the purse but also made 2 additional fraudulent charges to the credit card.

It has taken over 8 months to resolve this issue and they continued to charge finance charges on the upaid balance for the fradulent charges.

Because of the EXTREMELY POOR AND RUDE CUSTOMER SERVICE - I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND AT&T Univeral Card to anyone.
 
 
  Denise
Patchogue, New York
Phone: ddarling@nickersoncorp.com

Complaint_against: AT & T Universal Card

Complaint: Very rude and "huh, where I'm I?" mentality. AT & T messed up on not sending the last 2 statements to my address because they had my old address from a year ago. Though the the 10 months before this incident the statements were coming on time. I call and talked to some one extremly rude and she said "statements in the mail." 2 weeks after that I call "statements in the mail." I wanted to pay by phone........$14.95 would have been charged to my card plus a 29.00 late fee. Wait a minute, not my fault. My card is a frozen account and haven't used it in years which is the sad part. Something has to be done but where do you start. If anyone has any suggestions, I left my email. 
 
 
  enraged consumer
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
I am SO angry with this company, so I shot off this letter to them, and as stated, I am telling everyone I can.

AT&T Universal Card
P.O. Box 44167
Jacksonville, FL 32231-4167

Dear ATT Universal Card,

Your greedy exploitative policies disgust me. 

After carrying a $6000. balance for 4 years, during which time you gladly accepted the thousands I've paid in late fees, over limit fees and your exorbitant penalty interest rate of 29.99%, I was finally able to pay a large portion of my balance down. I was looking forward to the improvement in my credit score.

However, you quickly responded by immediately lowering my credit limit to $3120, ostensibly to punish me for having been 30 days late once in the last six month period.  Who do you think you are fooling?  Your trick has worked perfectly. Now that I managed to get the balance down, you implement a lower credit limit that virtually insured that I would be over the limit within the next billing cycle, after having just paid down my account by $3000.  Another $29. for you,and I'm quite sure you are hoping that it will stay that way for as many months as possible.  Not to mention that my credit score will remain as low as possible in order to provide your company with the justification for charging outrageous interest rates.What a scam.

How thrilled you must be to keep people in debt as you suck every last penny you can from each consumer.

Please be assured that as soon as I pay off this debt, I am closing my account and will NEVER do business with your company again. 

I know all about my responsibilities to pay off debts, but I also know how you victimize your account holders with these kinds of tactics.  I am telling everyone I know about your predatory and unconscionable methods of 'risk management'.  I am going to report this unfair treatment to every consumer watchdog organization around, as well.

I consider you  just another nameless faceless corporate entity, yet an actual human being must be involved in making these policies.  Hook the consumer on credit, then screw them over and over and over.
Sincerely,
 
 
  Dissatisfied Customer
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
I am definitely discontinuing my AT&T Universal as well as my Citibank credit cards.  They tend to make a lot of promises but don't actually deliver.  Their customer service is extremely poor, for lack of a better word.  And the billing dispute department is absolutely horrible.  I found them to be especially unprofessional when it comes to applying the special rule for credit card purchases, which states that "If you have a problem with the quality of goods or services that you purchased with a credit card, and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you may not have to pay the remaining amount due on the goods and services."  (The only reason I use a credit card is because of this special protection.  If I can't put a stop payment on bad service or on something that was promised but not delivered, I might as well pay cash.)  But AT&T Universal Card billing dispute department pretends this special rule does not exist.  They are telling me: yo!
u signed the credit slip, which we interpret as you accepting the goods or services, therefore, you must pay the charges, or try to resolve your dispute with the merchant, our hands are tied.  However, ascertaining whether you got from the merchant what you agreed upon (the quality, quantity, timeliness, etc.) becomes possible later on, when you actually attempt to use the goods or services, not when you are signing the credit slip.
Of course, I tried to resolve this issue with the merchant.  I have contacted the merchant in writing but received no response, not even an acknowledgement, whatsoever.   The next logical step is to have a credit card put a stop payment on this charge.  But AT&T Universal wouldn't do it.  Talking to their billing dispute people is like talking to a brick wall. 
 
 
  eula patterson
andrews n.c.
EmailAddress: eulapatterson@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: at+t and citi bank

Complaint: i think i have the complaints. i had a 2,000 limit on at+t credit card i had it paid down to 1,000 or 1200 when i had a broken leg i got behind and they told me i could send 30.00 at a time.this was a collection agency. while i was getting back on my feet. i didnt get any credit for this so i sent 200.00. i started looking at my bills they started charging 150.00 over the limit and fines so i quit paying. i could get nothing resolved. as it stands now they are saying i owe 4,7oo is that robbery or what? i make a little over minimum wage i was harrassed threatend and finally i got a letter from a lawyer.what is wrong with the system? nobody should have to pay over 10 % they can give 0 %to a lot of people but they cannot let onlyme what  what i borrowed they have ruined my credit...i cannot even get a loan
 
 
  tomubee
Complaint_against: at&t universalcard

Complaint: Recently at&t universalcard raised the interest to 30.94 percent on pucrchases and cash advances made prior to 2004.  I have been paying them an average of 300.00 per month for three years but have never been able to lower my balance below 3000.00. This includes periodic scheduled withdrawals from card that don't exceed 1000.00 annually.  I have never been late on paying bill and always pay at least double what is required.  I have never received an adequate explaination for the high interest rate.
 
 
  Richard Parker
Denver, Colorado
EmailAddress: Richard@dancedancedance.net
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card
01/18/06

AT&T Universal Card does NOT take your side and if you are dealing with a dishonest merchant, your problems have increased significantly. But now you will have two battles, one with AT&T Universal Card and one with the dishonest merchant. Fill out their dispute form that you can get online and enter everything precisely as requested on the form provided. Even if AT&T Universal Card starts off being nice and are cooperative with you, follow up with them by calling customer service to see that they have received your dispute and that they have all the information that they need. They dropped my dispute once and I had to jump through hoops to reinstate it. If they ask for more information, call again for clarification and make notes and copies of everything. I had only five days to provide the extra information or they would have dropped my dispute again. I have talked with about five individuals in their dispute department, I asked for the supervisor one time, she was the wor!
st one I had talked to and treated me as if I was some kind of criminal. Dispute resolution will be a very high priority for me in the future and I can see that AT&T Universal Card gets a very low rating in that area.
 
 
  Alice Walters
KENTUCKY
EmailAddress: alicenwalters@bellsouth.net
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

My father kindly allowed me to put $19,000 worth of my debt on his AT&T account in order to finance a move.  Having refinanced my house, I got a check from DiTech for $18500, and sent that, along with a personal check for the balance, to AT&T for my Dec. payment.  Unfortunately, although AT&T cashed the personal check on the date that the payment was due, they claimed that there was not sufficient information on the DiTech check to credit my father's account.  (Our last names are the same, and that was on the DiTech check -- along with the first 12 digits of the account number).   When I discovered that the DiTech check had not cleared, I called AT&T to find out why, and was told that they did not know, but that once I sent it again, they would "talk to me" about revoking the late payment fees and interest payments (by now the rate was up to 31%).  So, I cancelled the DiTech check and got a new one sent to my home, and as soon as I got back there after Xmas, I sent it off t!
o AT&T. 

I just phoned to talk to them about revoking the late fees and interest, but was told (essentially) to f*** off.  They got it, but now claim that I owe them $1100+, because they did not receive all of the December payment.  As I told them, I acted in good faith in trying to pay on time -- and I have the check (along with their "we can't cash this" note) to prove it. The fact that they couldn't figure out how to cash the check is not my fault -- it was in the envelope with a payment coupon and my personal check, so it wasn't that hard to figure out. But, the moron on the phone didn't care -- and insisted that I owe them this money.  I kept saying "any other credit card company would work with me to resolve this issue" and "I tried to pay you -- you just couldn't figure that out -- that's not my fault" -- but, he didn't care, and maintained that he was the ONLY person I could talk to about this.

I'm going to try again on Monday, to see if I can get a different phone rep, but if it doesn't work, I'll pay the money.  Then, I'll write to the KY Attorney General, the SD AG, the FL AG, the Comptroller of Currency, and the OTS (mentioned above -- who the heck is that??), and any other agency/individual I (or any one else) can think of.  Not that it will do any good in this Republican "no business is a bad business" country...
 
 
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: sharonr1963@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: Citi Bank / AT&T Universal

Complaint:
First thing to all is I wish I would have found this forum back 3 years ago.  That was when I started received information from Citi Bank & AT&T credit cards with there 0% interest rate for 12 months on balance transfers.  Sounded great took the bait and transfered some high interest credit cards to both. Hoping that I would be able to get aleast 1/2 of the debt paid off before the interest rate went up to 9.99%. That happened to a point.  Remind you I never used the cards matter of fact I never authorized them. I was never late on anyone of them and always had my payment from AT&T taken straight from my checking acct.  Well in 2005 things got really bad for me.  I wasn't working but just one day a week at the part time job I have and my other part time job was just not paying me enough to keep my bills paid. Anyway to make a long story short I had to have surgery in June of 2005 then this is when all the problems started. But just before my surgery in april I was late on t!
he citi Bank card by 2 hrs.  I called them over the phone to make my payment which they have to recieve by 1:00P.M. est. look at your statement. Well guess what I'm on cst. But when I received my statement that was another thing they made me so mad that at that time I started looking for a way to get out from under them. They raised my interest rate lowered my credit limit and AT&T did the very samething for no reason at all. Only because they are grouped together. So what if they are grouped together I was not late with AT&T only 1 hr late with Citi Bank. I was not told this over the phone when I asked questions about me being late.  She just said I would have to pay a late fee of $35.00 which I was not happy with but I sucked it up and said ok my fault.  Which it was right, I should have been on time with my payment.  Well things got worst for me like I said I had to have surgery in June. I was not able to pay my bills on time or able to work. I started receiving phone cal!
ls from my creditors and I told them my situation and some of them understood and wanted to work with me till I got back on my feet. My credit was great up till now. Oh and before I forget I was making my payments the best way I could untill November of 2005. Not Citi Bank or AT&T no sir they wanted there money now. I had called all of my creditors and closed out all of my accts with them in July and during that time I spoke with them about some type of payment plan.  And like I said some would work with me others would not. Not Citi Bank or AT&T they could only offer me 90 days with a 9.99% interest rate and then I would have to be reveiwed again to see if I qualified.  Excuse me I'm not working and trying to pay my bills the best way I can and you are telling me I may not qualify for your program for hardship. Well thats when I had to enroll in a debt settlement program in order to get myself out of debt and hopefully out from under these two grueling creditors. I had no c!
hose at this point, non I was BROKE. I finnally went back to work and there was noway I was ever going to get caught up with all the late fees and everything they had tact on. Interest rates, late payments, over the limit, things just got out of hand with Citi & AT&T even before I signed up with this debt settlement program and I felt this was the only way out for me.  However I'm not sure if this was a smart thing to do.  Because you see my bills were late but not months behind. However this program put me behind on everything I owe. Now that I have read this forum and have read everything about Citi Bank and AT&T, and what they are capabily of I am scared of what they are going to do to me next.  They have already called and threaten me with my home, my work, and my taxes which I have not filed yet. I was told by them that they don't work with debt settlement companys and they would get there money. These people need to be taken out of business and taken out now.  I just h!
ope that one day this happens to them and they are walking in my shoes. Becuase I sure would like to be there and see the expression on there faces when I would ask how does it feel not to have a job,or not be able to pay your bills, or wonder are you going to be able to put food on the table for your family.  Do you have kids? Can you take care of them?  When I think about the hardship that they have put me in I just want to hurt them somehow, but that is not me.  That's why when the call talking nasty and say hurtful things I just keep thinking one day this will be you. ONE DAY!!!!!

My advice to all DO NOT GET MIXED UP WITH THESE TWO CREDIT CARD COMPANY'S CITI BANK & AT&T UNIVERSAL. 

They will take you to the cleaners and beyond.  Not sure at this point how my situation will turn out may have to file bankrupts before it is all over.  Anyway my credit is gone and Citi Bank and AT&T started the whole thing by not wanting to work with me on a payment plan when I was down and out. They could have been receiving payments now instead they are receiving nothing.  Any info would be appreciated if anyone else has been here with debt settlement company and Citi Bank / AT&T credit cards knocking on there doors.  I could use some words of wisdom.

I hope my story will help someone out there.  Take advice from someone here that has final realized credit cards are NO-GOOD just pay CASH.

Good Luck to all who is fighting Citi / AT&T.
 
 
  Gee
747-16 veterans highway
slandia, NY 11749
hone: 917-553-8245
EmailAddress: queenjean7@aol.com
Complaint_against: AT &  T Univeral Card

Complaint: I know that it's getting tough in society today but credit card company's like AT & T Univeral Card (if you have one) is the worst card to have in your wallet regardless of how easy it is to get.  I was a customer for two years, and alway's paid on time.  One of my invoices were lost in the mail.  A T & T Universal Card raised my interest rate from 14% to 31%. Please read the terms and conditions on all your cards because some of them are total rip-offs just like A T & T univeral card.
 
 
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card/Citibank

Complaint: They raised my APR from 4.25% to 30%.  These people are very nasty and told me that my fraudulent charges are fake and invalid.  Sherry Stoker is a nasty person and should be terminated.  Everytime I called the Assets Sales Dept in Jay Lewis, Tara and Bobby Rice are nasty towards people and when I asked for an email, fax, write a letter they gave me false information and told me that its none of my business.  When I wanted to speak to a supervisor they said that they are always in meetings.  Jaye Lewis also uses the name Jaye Schmidt and is a phony notary and she should be fired.  The legal Dept is a phoney also and Lorraine Page is very nasty and so is her supervisor David.  This company does not take people seriously instead they like to ruin your life and make your life miserable.  Kristen Wells said she is a supervisor and she is not.  She sould be fired too.
 
 
  Kevin
Vero Beach FL
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal

Complaint: In 1993 I got an AT&T Universal Card.  In 1997, my family experienced medical situations.  I called AT&T at that time to see what we could do so that I could keep making on-time payments.  I had never been late.  They told me that based on the information I gave them, they could tell that we were in financial difficulty so they were raising the interest rate on the card to the highest allowed by law, thereby making it impossible for us to make the payments.  We borrowed money from my in-laws and made a settlement with AT&T in 8/97.  We received a zero balance letter and spent the next years paying off medical debt and the money we had borrowed.  In 2002, when we bought a house, AT&T was reporting to the credit bureaus that the debt was settled for less than the full amount, the status of the account was R-5 (medium rating). In 2004, they changed the rating to R-1 (best possible rating).  Now in 3/2006 they have changed the rating to R-9 (worst possible rating), th!
ey have changed the date of the payoff to 10/99 and they are reporting the debt as a collection/P&L loss.  On a debt that has had a zero balance for nine years. My credit scores have dropped over 100 points and my other credit cards have increased the rates on every card I have. 
 
 
  Mad in Pennsylvania
Valencia, PA  16059
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal/Citibank card

Complaint:
    In April, 2006 I received a proper billing for a purchase made on my AT&T Universal card.  I made the payment by check and sent it off in the mail.  At the AT&T processing center, they converted my check into an electronic debit from my bank and then destroyed the paper check.  This debit was reflected in my bank's statement. 
    In May, 2006 I received a new statement from AT&T for payment of the April bill, with  added finance/late fees --- as if they did not receive the payment that Citibank had electronically debited from my bank.  As if this wasn't frustrating enough, my telephone call to track down Citibank's error went to a male in India whose English was very poor-to the point of him not being able to understand the problem, so we ended the call.  The next representative at first refused to even answer my question as to what country my telephone call had been forwarded, but upon my insistance, she finally stated her call center was also in India.  This representative also could not comprehend that Citibank had already debited my bank account for the payment and that my May balance should be zero; instead, she insisted that I owed the full amount and the finance charges of 13.9%.  She stated that she needed to review the account and placed me on hold for 10 minutes until I hung up (which !
I am sure is what she wanted to have happen).  My third call was again recieved in India, but I immediately asked to speak with a supervisor; this representative very politely agreed and I finally got to speak with someone from the USA.
     "Linda" aka Unit#44 was robotically polite (although not convincing), saying all the 'coached' apologetic customer service words.  To her credit, she was able to understand the problem and made an initial effort to trace the payment without success.  However, what ticked me off with her was when she condescendingly stated that Citibank's  investigators would attempt to assist me to correct 'my problem,' but that the burden would be upon me to prove my payment. I informed her that "I" did not have a problem, that "I" had properly paid my bill on time, that "my" bank had properly debited my account, but that "Citibank" was the one who screwed up, that "Citiobank" already had "my" money, and "Citibank" was improperly attempting to bill me TWICE.  "I" also informed her that my only mistake was in using Citibank's AT&T card (which I had rarely used over the past fifteen years, but that I would be correcting "my" problem by canceling the card once this was straightened up --!
 this Citibank screw up had cost me 1 1/2 hours of my time this far, which can't be replaced, but I will gladly spend double that amount of time telling everyone about my Citibank experience. 
  My point---- BUY AMERICAN, REFUSE TO DEAL WITH THE INADEQUATE FORIEGN CALL CENTERS, AND DUMP CITIBANK'S AT&T UNIVERSAL CREDIT CARD!!!
 
 
  Big Dumb White Guy
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
OK.  I have the OPPOSITE problem of the rest of you.  I am a charter member of AT&T Universal Card.  I have never been late on a payment or missed a payment.  In fact, I pay it off every month.  
About a year ago they "upgraded" my card to pay cash back on key purchases.  I made about $400 on my purchases last year (cash back with a request). 
I just received a letter than Chase has decided to close the account on June 30. 
I'm thinking they just decided it was a good deal for the consumer and not for them. 
Go figure... Someone finally gets a decent card and they do away with it.
Big Dumb White Guy
 
 
  Marianne Naber Hinds
Catawba, OH 43010
EmailAddress: annieroonie1@aol.com
Complaint_against: AT&T UNIVERSAL/CITIBANK

Complaint:
I could just ditto Jennifer's story
However I closed account & enrolled in Debt program to resolve debt, as I was worn out arguing with them after 2 yrs, over what started out as $4000 owed & is now $5042.
CITIBANK refuses to work with the agency & "will not accept any agreement except $260/month for 2 years=$6240
Threatened & they filed a lawsuit now!
At my wits end with this group!
They are ruthless & someone should do something to stop them!
Who do they think they are?
 
 
  W A Morgan
EmailAddress: wamorgan1@aol.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: I have never had a bad experience or a complaint. During the anthrax-post office scare my payment was lost.  Every thing was resolved to my satisfacion; not late fees, no interest charges.  Everyone I spoke to on the phone were knowledgable, polite and effectivew.  I am a charter member, since 1990 and have had no problems.
 
 
  Elaine Leon
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: I recieved two bills in the same month requesting payments. One was due and paid on 5/1/06. Then I got another bill due on May 30th 2006. When I called to ask about this they said something to the effect of due to April being only 30 days and May having 31 days it was not an error???
 
 
  Arun
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal card (Citibank)

Complaint:
As most of you know, AT&T Universal Cash rewards is being discontinued and the suggestions from the customer rep is to transfer to Citibank Dividend card. They also tell you the cash rewards would be trasnfered to your new card.
Unfortunately when you get the new card from Citibank Dividend, the cash rewards would not be transfered, and at that point they claim the rewards are void and would not carry over to the new card!
If you call AT&T, they claim that it is not possible to transfer! I don't know why a billion dollar company has problems with transfering the rightful rewards earned by a customer?
 
 
  Anita
North Carolina
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
In June, 2006 my husband and I realized that we were paying 33% interest on our AT&T Universal Card as a result of us being late 1 day on a payment.  So we went to the bank and juggled some of our finances around so that we could pay off the card entirely.  We called AT&T Universal to confirm the exact payoff and they gave us the amount.  We paid it over the phone via debt card and asked that the account be cancelled.  We printed off a statement indicating our payment had been received with a -0- balance.  I had been paying the statements on line and as a employee of the school system was off work for the summer months and did not have access to a computer since we don't have a computer at home.  Upon return to school I received and email notification that my statement was ready for review.  This shocked me because I thought the account had been closed.  When I checked into it, the account had been closed but because we had made our payment after the 15th of the month there!
 were "hidden" finance charges that were still out there that we did not know about.  The customer service representative didn't tell us that we had any additional finance charges pending.  So as of today, we owed $78.65 which was 2 lates payment fees for July and August and interest.  When I called the company today and tried to negotiate settlement by offering to pay that balance, she told me that because the statements print on the 15th she can not calculate an exact payoff so there was no way I could pay it off in full today.  I told her that what she was telling me was that I did not have the right to close my account and pay the balance in full today that I had to wait until the 15th of the month when the new statement prints.  When I told her that I wanted to try and negotiate a payment in full if that even meant that she would have to estimate finance charges so that it could be resolved today and she told me that she could not according to the "terms of the agreemen!t".
I have never felt so frustrated in my life.
I told the Customer Service rep. I felt like I was dealing with the moffia and I didn't see how she could work at a place that had very little or no integrity.
Furthermore, I told her that I would be contacting my local congressman, the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's office to make them aware of the situation that I could not seem to get out of.
 
 
  Shocked & Dismayed
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Credit Protection / Citi Credit Protection

Complaint:
I transferred a higher rate card to an AT&T Universal card and in doing so was asked by the representative if I wanted to enroll in Credit Protection.  My understanding was that the charge for this plan (which would pay my bills if I became unable to generate a sufficient income) was 85-cents a month, with an initial one-time fee of approximately $50.00.  I was also told it was free for either 30 or 90 days and I could cancel at any time. Figuring that 85-cents a month was not a very high price to pay (even with the one-time payment) and that I could cancel the program after the trial period, I agreed to enroll. The representative told me he would have to record my agreement and that was done. Three months later I noticed a charge of approximately $154.00 a month.  My sole intent on re-opening my AT&T Universal account (held through Citibank) was to REDUCE debt, I never intended to use the card for purchases, nor have I done so.  I immediately called AT&T and was told by th!
e representative that obviously they had made a mistake as $154.00 seemed an incredibly high amount of money to pay. I was assured charges would be recredited to the account.  However, not only was that NOT DONE but I was billed the same amount the following month.  This time when I called (and immediately cancelled the program!), I was transferred from AT&T to the actual Credit Protector Program (the owner/operator of which is not affiliated with Citi Bank or any of its subsidiaries).  After a rather lengthy and frustrating conversation during which time "Danielle" expressed her feelings of being "tired of being on the receiving end of irate customers who were misled by salespeople," I was told the Credit Protector company itself could not do a thing -- I had to submit a dispute in writing to "S. Larson" (incidentally, no one knows who this person is, nor whether they are male or female, which I find rather peculiar) which I did, only to receive a letter stating that becaus!
e they were in possession of a tape-recorded conversation wherein I agreed to the terms, I would not be refunded any monies.  Of course, they were "happy" to terminate my enrollment but were keeping the $300.00+.

I have been in good-standing with Citicorp for more than 22 years and am appalled at their handling of this situation.  I know others have run into this same problem and would appreciate hearing from those of you who have also been mislead.  I am in the process of gathering data for a possible class action lawsuit and would be happy to keep you  posted.
 
 
  Gene Polyakov
Crofton
Grove
EmailAddress: beniy@juno.com
Complaint_against: AT & T Universal MasterCard

Complaint: I absolutely agree with complains that AT & T Universal MasterCard not protecting there customers from unauthorized charges. Nor they are interested to protect you they also create more obstacles then help to put a dispute for unauthorized charge. If anyone have any idea how to put this company on a display and aware future AT & T Universal MasterCard client of this unpleasant moment they going to face with AT & T Universal MasterCard I will really appreciate. From my own experience I'm fighting with AT & T Universal MasterCard for 4 billing cycles to stop unauthorized charges from web merchant to my credit card.
 
 
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: AT & T Universal Card

Complaint:
AT & T falsely advertises that it will protect "you" the consumer and that the consumer has 0% liability for fraudulent transactions.  THIS IS A HUGE JOKE !!   Good luck even speaking with someone whose only response is "no you can't speak to anyone above me", "how else can I help you", "I'll make a note of your complaint", etc.
This company owes me over $2200.00 for fraudulent charges made on my card by a thief who stole the number.  Like a fool, I went ahead and paid the charges to protect my credit rating.  I now get a statement every month with a credit balance showing, but cannot get a credit refund check or a new card to even use the credit balance with.  This is a bunch of morons who have no concept of helping the customer.  I suggest a class-action lawsuit against them = find the lawyer to do it and we'll all join in.
 
 
  Lawrence Wojton
EmailAddress: wojtonl@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
AT&T Universal Card users be warned....
For those of you out there that have this card in your possession or if you have recently applied or just received your new card I highly recommend that to immediately destroy that card and close your account with AT&T. And if you already have the card and used it well please continue reading and good luck.
The people or should I say animals that run the card company are nothing more than legalized loan sharks and they will keep their hooks in you as long as you have a balance.
There are many of us out there and I admit that I ran up my card when I was laid off and granted it kept me afloat, but had I known what was going to happen I would have sought other options.
Over two years ago I destroyed my card and decided to just pay the damn thing off and move on. Well let me tell you something AT&T will not let that happen. The payments were overwhelming and I went into a one year agreement with them that a fix amount at a lower interest rate would be electronically withdrawn from my bank account for twelve months and during that time I could also make additional payments toward the principal and I did.
All seemed to be going very well and the end of the period arrived and I received a normal bill with a payment due of $124.00 dollars, I paid $175.00. This is great finally I'm going to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Well the next month bill was received noting payment received and thank you, and they even had the gall to congratulate me on successfully completing the agreement and that they looked forward to re-establishing my account. Now remember I am not using the card it was destroyed over two years ago, well their activity charges for the billing period actually exceed my previous payment by $4 dollars and now the minimum payment is $184 dollars. I figure that at the rate these greedy Hyenas' are gouging me it will take about thirty years to pay off this card. I'm sixty one and I'll bet they have the means to still bill me after I'm gone and harass my surviving family. And we thought the days of gangsters and henchmen were gone. Not really, they just relocated to Wall Street, dress in Armani Suits and drive BMW's. I'll bet the hypocrites even attend church.
The executives at AT&T cannot be human and I can bet that all this money they collect from honest hard working slobs is keeping them comfortable in the Hampton's. Their avarice is unconscionable.
 
 
  Susie
AZ 85242
Complaint_against: Customer Service VERY RUDE when I went to cancel my card just a short while ago....

Complaint:
Hi There :=-)
First off thanks dso much for allowing a place to vent frustrations and comments regarding AT&T and the 'kind' manner in which their employees treat consumers (yeah right...totally just kidding fold!!).
I guess I just need to vent before taking future action against the  Customer Service Department; Customer Service Rep. "Megan.' (oh with no last - but a 'bogus' ID number!!!, before I contact "higher personal on the ladder of Chain of Command;" to let them know that after over 10 years of being an OUTSTANDING Customer, whom's monthly bill was always paid on time and most every month PAID IN FULL!!!....
That my 'reward' was to have a Very Rude Customer Service Representative not only turn her tone to one of 'evil,' once I informed her I would be 'closing my account with their company, because I do not want, or need their card anymore...and have not For years. 
Also, if someone was to of stolen my card they would be lavishing themselves in over $30,000.00 grand in credit! While from what I gather now AT&T does not want to be responsible for stolen cards!! Shame ON THEM!!
I do not need, nor want a credit card with SUCH a high limit, and not have this compnay "have my back" if ever necessary.
Well 'Megan's' soft kind voice did a total 69'er and went from sweet to MEAN!
Asking me all kind of personal questions, which of course I did not answer and did not have to answer as to WHY WHy WHY I no longer want to deal with their company.
To write the least I am very upset/surpised/floored that such a compnay as AT&T would employee 'people' with such 'NASTY ATTITUDES." 
I ask continously asked  for the remaining balance of %28.12 be bill to me ASAP so I can move on with my life, and one would of thought the world had ended!
OMG, I feel that if I can not afford to pay cash for something then I will use my bank card from wher eI bank, rather than mess around with a company where their employees are only kind to you it seemed from my experience when you are spending a great deal of "mola," or asking for something else from them.
But beware,....to close you acct with this compnay was so say the least brutal for me, and I am so glad that I did now!!
I am not sure whom I am writing to, yet want to write a BIG THANK YOU for allowing me to 'get off my chest' any and all negative from this company, and the person 'Megan' who did not want to help me close my account.
Hey it's my right as a consumer to decide to close my acct with this company right?? So, as a comsumer why should I be aubjected to a Customer Service Rep of all people who was so mean and rude that I will be reporting her ...or maybe I should just be thankful and feel blessed that I am no longer doing with such a company.
hey Thanks...and Peace To All!!!
Susie
 
70  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal

Complaint: I paid my balance in full, the dumbasses credited the payment to another account. I've given proof that the check has cleared my bank, and they still are not crediting me for the payment. I finally called the Better Busines Bureau today. It will be a cold day in hell before Universal Card gets another penny from me.
 
71  
  D
Virginia
Complaint_against: AT&T

Complaint: I was a charter member of an AT&T card and I too, after many years of cardmembership and a credit rating that is near 800, I got my rate jacked up to 25 percent because I hadn't used the card in months and was carrying a zero balance.  When I called to find out what the heck was up, I was told they could lower it to 19%, then they tried to sell me credit insurance, blah, blah, blah.  I immediately wrote a letter to Citibank in Jacksonville and asked to have the account cancelled. That was November. It's now 6 months later and I get a "notice of change in terms" on the account in the mail, suggesting the account was still open.  I called and when I tried explaining to the first person who answered that the account needed to be closed, he hung up on me.  Kid you not.  So I called back, and this time, I got someone who at least spoke in complete sentences.  He claims the account is now closed, but I'll be waiting for the confirmation letter. Watch 'em like a hawk, pe!ople.
 
72  
  Jason Phelps
Enterprise, Alabama, 36330
EmailAddress: joe_0723@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
My ex-wife applied for an AT&T Universal Card under my name. I don't know what AT&T's requirements are for applying for a credit card but they are definitely not showing proof of your identity. I was an irregular route truck driver from 1997-2001. I did this after separating from the ARMY. I had never applied for credit before, in fact when I bought my first "new" car I paid for it in cash.
My ex-wife was able to rack up a balance of about $2,100.00 without me knowing about it. When we separated I informed the AT&T that my wife had applied for the cards without my permission. They informed me that it didn't matter and that they were under my name. I then tried to make payments on the card. I set up the payments, over the phone, so that the payments would come out of my account on the same day every month. The service representative failed to tell me that the amount was due evry 28 days instead of every month. Consequently, the account wound up increasing by about 50%. I then transferred it to Discover Card. I am now dealing with Discover who is almost as bad.
 
73  
  Joe Contreras
Enterprise, Alabama 36330
EmailAddress: joe_0723@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint:
Greetings Everyone,
  I would like to explain my situation. In my lifetime, I have had applied for two credit cards. One was American Express and the other was a Lowe credit card. I was driving a truck over the road in 1997 after completing my military tour in the U.S. Army. My second wife began to fill out applications under my name while I was gone and handled the payments. I was unaware of the card. When I stopped driving a truck and was hired on locally she gave me the card and told me that I needed to pay the cards. I began paying on nine credit cards that she had taken out. When I would ask AT&T the date of the payment they would give me the date of the next payment. Then it would change the following month. AT&T would not let me know that the date was changing. I finally reached my limit and the card and was soon being charged over the limit fees. I was unable to get anywhere with the customer service representatives at the company.
 
74  
  m. martin
sarasota, fl. 34242
Complaint_against: at&t universal credit

Complaint: While on the phone, attempting to get an answer from at&t's "customer service department", the representative nearly begged  that we accept their "credit protection plan"...the person soliciting the plan explained that he received a bonus based on our acceptance and that we could cancel within 30 days with no charges...which we did in two weeks...when the bill arrived, we were charged $80 for the "service", which is not of any benefit to those who fall for it, only a way for at&t to steal money from customers...we called and complained, only to receive a letter from someone named S. Larson , who wrote us that she had a recording of our phone conversation as evidence of our "acceptance of their plan", but there was no recording of any cancellation...how could anyone possibly refute such impeccable logic?...i seriously doubt that we are the only persons caught in this scam...of course they have the ability to report any failure to pay such S. Larceny to the various !
credit registries and we have no recourse other than to make rather futile complaints like this one and to spread the truth about at&t and, of course, never to do business again with such thieves in the future.
 
75  
  Robert
albuquerque  NM 87113
EmailAddress: rj87113@msn.com
Complaint_against: att universal card

Complaint: My complaint is reguarding there internet bill paying service.  On May 25,2007 I had to make on online payment to insure proper crediting to my account before the due date.  My roommate entered the amount to be paid clicked submit and we thought everything was fine and my bill would be paid.  After not receiving a confirmation number via my e-mail account,i decided to call and verify the payment was received.  I was then given a confirmation number told we appreciate your business and the woman hung up.  Here is where my problem begins; I went to the bank and deposited my check from work.  Noticed that i had more money than I should have in my account.  This was a full 5 business days after making the online payment.  I still had the payment for this card in my bank account.  So I called to see what was wrong, i was told that the payment had been sent back do to the wrong bank account information.  So I asked the representative what to do.  The woman told me send !
436.04 to make up for the overage on my account and the subsequent late fee for the month of may.  I immediately wrote a check mailed it. i had called today the 11th of june to see if that payment had been received and was told beyond that i also owed a 283.54 payment that i needed to pay by today.  my roommate transfered, that balance to her Bank of america card for me.  So I called back to let them know that that also had been done and did that catch me up.  I was told that was 720 dollars of the 1,036 I owe and they would not make any waivers or adjustments to my account because it was paid on line and they don't do that.  so here I sit my minimum growing by the day to double what i pay in rent plus my utilities.  I am furious with this and not mention very broke.  Is there anything I can do? I am considering bankruptcy
 
76  
  Elaine writes:

If you have a CITI credit card, I advise you to cut it up and not use it
Our invoice did not come in February and by the time I realized that it had not come in the mail our payment was late, and they raised our interest rate to 28.40 %.  We have cancelled these crooked people and will never trade with them again!!!!!!Also reported them to the FTC.
   
77
  IWedRich Writes:

Complaint: CitiBank who owns Associated Bank plays dirty. I have been an Ass. Bank credit card holder for several years, have kept my card in good standing and kept a low interest rate.  In July 2003 I paid a large sum of money bringing my balance down, and therefore my monthly payments. I continued to use the card and then 8/28/03 I received a letter they were lowering my credit limit to $74.47 BELOW what I OWED!!!  This immediately places my account in overdraft status, and they are welcome to charge bogus fees to my account. I immediately did a balance transfer and closed the account, was advised by another banking institution that this is illegal and usurious. Card holders don't often complain because they don't know what to do. She said they have heard of problems w/ Citibank in the past. I reported to the Federal Reserve and the Better Business Bureau, and now to you. If you have one of these cards I would suggest to get out of it as soon as possible, and others beware!
-don't get involved w/ this company. What they are doing is unethical and dirty, and I am sure I am not the only one this is happening to.

 
78
  Paul Writes:

Complaint:
CITIBANK PLACED MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IN BANKRUPTCY.  I HAVE NEVER NOR DO I EVER PLAN ON GOING BANKRUPT.  I OWED CITIFINANCIAL FOR SOME FURNITURE I PURCHASED IN JUNE OF 2003.  THE BILL WAS DUE DECEMBER 2003. CITIBANK CCS GRAY OPS CENTER IS THE COMPANY THAT PLACE ME IN BANKRUPTCY. IO DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY ARE THE SAME COMPANY. OF COURSE, YOU CAN NOT GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON HOW THIS HAPPENED. THEY DID SAY IT WAS AN ERROR ON THEIR PART AND IT WILL TAKE TIME TO RESLOVE. IN THE MEANTIME, I AM LEFT WITH  POOR CREDIT, MORE STRESS THAN I CAN STAND, HOURS ON THE PHONE TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN THIS OUT AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. 
IF YOU NEED MONEY...DO NOT USE ANY LENDING INSITUTION THAT IS PART OF CITIBANK/CITIFINANCIAL.
79
  Antonio writes:
916 East 86th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11236
EmailAddress: hapigy2day@aol.com

Complaint:
I want to file a complaint against "Citicard". This is a credit card company affiliated with my bank "Citibank". I completely paid off my remaining credit card balance and ordered my account to be cancelled, but they have not fulfilled my request. They keep sending me unknown charges that do not belong to me with ridiculous late charge fee's. I have already called customer service to dispute the charges and have it corrected. However, they keep sending me statements with the same charges and new ones each month, when i dont even use the credit card any longer. These customer representatives are careless and do not seem to be doing their jobs, just extremly poor service the worst you could possibly get. They mislead you on the phone as if they are going to take care of the problem, but they never do a damn thing about it. Trying to get this matter resolved with them is a complete waste of time. I am tired of being harassed like this. This company is run by theives and they need to be stopped. I've been a good long time customer, and this is how poorly they treat me. I've had enough and i want "Citicard" to get off my back once and for all. I'd appreciate any help i could get.
Thank you,
Antonio
80
  Complaint about citi upromise mastercard

I applied a Citi Upromise credit card a year ago just for the 1% rebate that I can invest in a upromise account for my kids' education. I just found that there are over $40 charges on my last month statement as Credit Protection Fee. I was in shock and even more surprised to find that this "Credit Protection Fee" was actually on my account since the first month I had the credit card, and the monthly amount varies according to my balance. I called Citi card and asked to withdraw from the program immediately. What made me so mad and angry is that, first of all, I didn't know how I got into this program. I usually refuse any credit protection offers since I am very confident about my ability to pay my bills. Secondly, the credit card "sneak" this charge into my statement, and that's why I don't find they charge me the fee for such a long time. How is how they did it: I subscribed to the all e-service and almost check my account activites everyday to make sure the charges poste!
d to my account is correct. Yes, they always are, and in the timely sequences. However, this "Credit Protection Fee" never show up in the daily activities. It comes in on every statement date. But instead show up as the lastest charge following the timely sequence, it goes to the top hidden in the oldest charges. They are just cheating and sneaky. I just feel ripped out them, and my kids' education ripped out by them, since the fee they sneaked in are equal to the rebate I got which I thought I saved for my kids' education.
 
81
  john
EmailAddress: fordedscapenow@aol.com

Complaint:
                       This complaint is about a "collection" service called City Card  ( or Citi Card ?).
I was always under the impression that companies like this were
contracted to get money out of people that wouldn't pay. Not people who
are FIVE days late. They call early on weekend mornings. And are relentless when you tell them "do not call here on Sunday!"
They call for various business like Sears and Home Depot.
I am not going to pick up the phone just to tell these morons that the check is in the mail !!!
 
82
  A Sears Card holder
Massachusetts

Complaint:
I have a complaint about "Citi Cards", who apparently own the Sears credit cards.  I was past due one month on my payment to my sears card.  They sent me a notice saying I had 15 days to resolve that. 
First of all, the letter was dated 9 days before I actually received it, leaving me 4 days to get a payment to them.  The postmark was 5 days earlier, from Ohio.  Now what I want to know is why it takes them 9 days to get the notice to me, from 2 states away?!?  It took them 4 days just to get it to the post office.
Secondly, they claimed that I had "not cooperated" with them.  Not cooperated?  This was my first notice!  I didn't have a chance to cooperate with them before! 
On top of all this, though I was past due, they continue to send me junk mail offering me Citi credit cards.  I guess they like people who are a high credit risk.  I am going to get rid of this card as soon as possible and I don't recommend getting involved with them.  As another person pointed out, Sears does call at every hour of the day, for days on end when you are one day late paying them.
83
  Laurie
EmailAddress: ladav@hotmail.com

Complaint: I got a settlement offer in the mail from my citi card that if I paid 3 monthly payments my account would be considered settled in full.  I called and made the payment arrangements with them and paid those three payments.  I contuned to get bills in the mail, so I continued to call them and they told me it took 60 to 90 days to go through.  after 90 days I didn't hear anything so I called, and they said my accout was settled.  Now a year and a half later I got a collection notice for that crdit card.  This whole time i thought it was settled and It was hurting my credit more and more.
84
  Edward Fogarty
#195 160 Holsapple Rd.
Dover Plains, NY 12522
Phone: 845-877-6213
EmailAddress: Kiss5794@msn.com

Complaint:
*/7/04:  Approximately two months ago I went to a neighborhood lumber company and purchased approximately $157.00 on my Mobil/Citibank Card.  When I received my statement which usually has a monthly bill of $138.00, attached and added on was the $157.00 and a statement charging me $35.00 for going over my limit and a late charge of $35.00.  I immediatley called Citi Card and was informed that they had sent me a letter lowering my line of credit.  I have contacted them repeatedly and told them that I never received such an item and asked why, if I was over the limit, was the charge processed as it was not an emergency such as an airline ticket, or hospital.  I have even sent them a copy of my current credit report in order for them to bring the credit line up so that I can continue to pay $138.00.  I was denied as they said my payments were late.  The credit report shows no such thing.  However, now, I am at risk of having my credit ruined because they say that I lied.  All !
my past ontime payments mean nothing.  I am frustrated as no matter who I call at the Customer Service, no one helps and akcts as if I am lying.  At this point I am about ready to get an attorney and to send them a minimum payment of $10.00 as they are already ruining my credit.
85
  ray benton
4408 wood croft ct
wilmington  nc 28411
EmailAddress: psalms118@hotmail.com

Complaint: my ex-wife got 2 cards in my name using my ss# and charged them up.got divorced and wouldn't pay them.now citi bank don't keep records on applications for signatures. they won't help you file frauud charges to help resole the accounts.the bills went to princedale dr in dale city va to martha benton at locator services.then she quit paying ,now i am stuck paying and my credit is ruin.but i have found out under the frca that you can sue the credit card companys in small claims court.so i suggest,if you have citi bank cards cut them up and never use them.they are bad buisness people to work with
86
  Anonymous

Complaint: Got my Citibank Dividend Platinum card in the mail.  When I tried to activate the card, Customer service rep begged me to get a 1 year interest free (0%) advance.  After asking a lot of questions, it seems to be a great deal ... NOT.  The credit limit is very very low on this card.  They let me over ran the limit by $20 over some gas purchase.   I called immediately to try to raise my limit.  What I found was ... not their fault that they let me over charged by $20, I am in default, I have been charged 28.24% for a few days on the entire balance.  These are crooks or the worst kind.  Cut it up and send it back!
87
  c witnz
jacksonville, fl

Complaint:
i attempted a no fee low interest transfer w/ citi.  to make a long story short, they made the transfer, but not to my acct!  they paid it to some account i don't even know or have.  it has been over a month and i owe the same $5000 to 2 different banks.  I have made 4 phone calls, each time saying it would be fixed but it hasn't.  meanwhile i am earning interest on both. 

spoke to a supervisor yesterday who was the rudest one of the bunch.  said i was explained in the beginning that changes cannot be made once a transfer is processed.  (as if i requested it to be paid to the wrong acct!)  he even had the nerve to tell me to be more professional!

he said in order to have fees and interest from either acct credited, i would have to wait and send proof of any charges to some address that they wouldn't do it over the phone.  this is the opposite of what i was told all along.  they refused to remove the $5000 on my acct until the correct transfer was made.  said i would just have to wait.

well, i have written to the president of citi and cc'd the letter to "mr friendly's" supervisor.  i guess we will see what happens.
88
  Eunise Martinez
1784 Carthage Ct.
Brownsville  TX   78520
Phone: 956-266-3003
EmailAddress: eumartinez@bisd.us

Complaint: I do not know where to go anymore?  Citibank bought out an outstanding account I had with Citgo during which the time I had barely graduated and beginning to work.  When I received a phone call from a collection agency, they told me it would be best to just go ahead and go through a settlement of the amount $127.49.  I sent a money order in the amount and sent it off.  This money order was made and sent on July 26, 2003. I kept on receiving bills from collection agencies for the same account and for a while I ignored them thinking some agency or idiot for say would catch on to my effort to pay them off.  It is now October 30, 2004.  No IDIOT caught on or the IDIOT that I paid off paid the CITIBANK or whatever they were supposed to do? Were they supposed to report to CITIBANK?  Citibank will not talk to me and I am stuck here in the middle, while my credit sits being damaged everyday I do not do something. I managed to trace who or what company cashed or deposited !
my money order and it was to ACB AMERICAN INC.  THE BANK IT WAS DEPOSITED OR CASHED AT SEEMS TO READ "FIFTH THIRD" in Cincinnati Ohio. I have honestly had it.  Nobody knows where, how accounts get tossed around and no one takes responsibility to account to their failure to close or clear debts.  I am taking action to do something formal now!!!!
89
  Patte
California
EmailAddress: hunterzmom28@yahoo.com

Complaint: Citibank is harassing me by sending me solicitations for credit.  I tried to apply, and was turned down.  I was told that my previous bankruptcy, which is discharged in full from my credit record, will forever remain in Citibanks files, a previous creditor on the bankruptcy, thereby making me ineligiable.  Since they say I am not eligiable for credit through their establishment, I have written letters to various management in the corporation in an effort to get these solicitations to cease.  They continue to ignore my requests, going beyond just being harassing.  I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is suffering the same problem.  I see the Fair Credit Act does not cover this problem, and would be interested in pursuing legal action to change to law. 
90
  michael peachey
478 rosemary lane
arroyo grande, calif 93420
Phone: 805-481-0309
EmailAddress: mikep@mwa.bz

Complaint: I'm fanatical about my credit and credit card account.  I use my credit card like a checking account and have been paperless for several years.  I average $1500-$2500 in purchases monthly and always pay the balance off to avoid the interest charge.  I've been impressed when on vacation or there is a large purchase they do not hesitate to call.   This summer I canceled my email account to upgrade to broadband.  I did this without knowing all the accounts that were linked.   The same Citibank who is quick to contact me to make offers and notify me of unusual activity did not notify me until three statements passed.    After the third payment was not paid I received a phone call.  I was the first to admit I made a mistake and paid the full amount due ($7500) immediately.  Now, after years of paying my account in full every month they are charging purchases and balances within the statement period an interest rate of 28.99%. This interest charge is close to loan shark!
 status.  How can this be legal?  I've  paid the late fees, but they continue to charge more penalties? They just call it 28.99% interest?   They told me if I make my next three months payments they would take me off the high risk plan.  I told them this was bullshit and would cancel today.  They reinstated my account to the original status upon that threat.   I can't believe they can legally get away with this type of business practice.  Thanks to this website I did post a complaint to the ftc. 
91
  Burned by Citi Bank

Complaint: I am so disgusted by this company's practice!  I am bound to them via my Goodyear Credit Card but not for long!  I, to had my credit limit lowered below my balance! I called for an explanation, as I never received a letter.  The customer service rep and manager were curt and very matter a fact about their right to not only raise my interest rate but lower my credit limit.  They even said that they felt they didn't need to infor me.  Now I have been watching them...paying my bills way in advance of the due date....they don't seem to like that either...and have been giving me grief about that by not counting my payment for the month!  Today I checked online and saw ANOTHER billing error...the CSR and Manager deliberately LIED to me.  I eventually got it remedied...but it was a slimy, dirty experience.  This is my third, shockingly unsalable experience with them.  I thought PROVIDIAN FINANCIAL was scum.  CITIBANK is now the forerunner....I am not done with them....FT!
C and BBB here I come!
92
  Citigroup awareness campaign
Anywhere
Planet Earth
Everyone to warn them

Complaint:
If you have a Citi credit card, please cut it up.  This could be some of the best financial advice you will ever get.  If you want to give your customers credit through this company I strongly advise you to do some research on this company and then decide NOT TO.

Dear Professional,

I understand your company is associated with the lending company Citi.  When a company says they offer credit through Citi (Bank, Financial or one of their other associated institutions) it sends shivers down my spine.  This company is no better than a loan shark operation.  Sure it may look great up front but that old saying "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" certainly is true with this company.

Established in 1812 the CITI group is the largest financial services company in the world today.  They have gotten this way by taking advantage of every person they give credit to.  I had a VERY BAD PERSONAL EXPERINCE with this company.  It caused unnecessary damage to my credit rating for almost two years and cost me over $21,000.00.  This was very hard on myself being self-employed, a small business relies on good credit.  People I told about what happened thought I was full of it until they took advantage of the credit offered by Citi through one of the many companies using Citigroup (the list gets bigger everyday).  Unethical practices, harassing phone calls, losing payments, destroying perfect credit ratings, admitting your account is paid in full but continue to sent account statements that show otherwise.  (This continues to affect you credit of course) Yes, this is how this company operates.

This are some examples of some of the problems associated with The Citi-Group of Financial branches.
http://www.badcreditcards.org/CITIcomplaints.htm

Search the internet.  Citigroup is the leader when it comes to predatory lending.
http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2003/01/ma_453_01.html
They are responsible for clear cutting the rainforests in South America.
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/citi/citi_ad_11_02.html
http://www.afsc.org/pwork/0404/040416.htm

My girlfriend just completed college in Hamilton.  The local branch of Citi was there canvassing the school.  This is known a predator lending.  They tell you they can lower you student loan bills and help pay down your debt.  It just isn't so.  They turn your life into a financial HELL!

I don't want to go on and on about this company. I personally think they should be put out of business but we all know money rules the world.  Citi is not a registered lending institution and therefore are not regulated by the government.  I bet you didn't know that!!

I certainly hope your company or business will give some thought as to whether they want to be involved with a lending company like this.  Remember, the result of using this company will also make your business look bad.  This WILL affect YOUR reputation and sales.  Citi doesn't care.

Sincerely trying to make the world a little better for everyone in 2005.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
I encourage you to send this letter on to friends and businesses to make them aware of the Citigroup.  We need to save our planet and our sanity from these unscrupulous companies exploiting us everyday.
93  
  Porfirio Lopez
412 East 8th St.
Lordsburg, New Mexico 88045
Phone: 505-542-9763
EmailAddress: Yogilopez85@hotmail.com

Complaint:
My Complaint is that CitiCard is Charging me $239.80 for Finance Charges, Also somebody was using my Credit Card (citicard)to Recharge their Calling Card, Charges over $300.00, I filed a Complaint to Solve this Problem with no Response,Referance # is N9040001. The Reason I`m Compaining about the $239.80 is Because, None Of the Other Credit Cards Charge me this Charges,Since I paid Citibank $9622.00. I check on my Computer to Check the Balance and it Was 333.00 and all Of a Sudden it was $597.89. I know I had two Late Charges which they charge me $25.00 Each, Which I`m not Complaning about this Charges.                               
                                           Porfiro L. Lopez
 
94  
  dawn
EmailAddress: doesterr@centurytel.net

Complaint:
if these people offer you credit, respectfully DECLINE....i have kept up payments on my citi card. often paying more than minimum due and ahead of time. i rarely ever use the card. i just wanted to have it in case needed. i ran into problems with them after they decided to pull my credit report (with absolutely no reason to due so i might add). they raised my interest rate from just under 10% to just under 30% immediately. keep in mind i gave them "citi card" no reason to do this. now i constantly struggle to make payments because i can't afford it. about two months ago the payment was late and then tey really stuck it to me with late payment fees and double payments and high interest charges. i have tried to talk to them and ask for help by lowering the interest so i can afford the payment, but they don't care....
last month i was in tears...my brother said to pay atleast something so it shows i'm not avoiding it so i sent $30.00 and they cashed it.  it wasn't due until january 13, 2005. i sent it on 1/4/05 and my bank shows it cashed on 1/10/05. i just got another bill with extremely high interest fees AND a late payment fee on it. on the bill they show it being posted on the 19th. what's up here? they cashed it on the 10th. still, they're charging me for a late payment when it wasn't even late.
guess what else? now this puts me over the limit...go figure!!! i guess my next bill will have those additional fees on it...somebody needs to put a stop to this...what can we do? if anyone has a suggestion, please email, it will be greatly apprecaited. dawn
 
95  
  Frankie
Burlington, WI

Complaint:
Obviously I am not alone in feeling totally butt-screwed by Associated/Citibank.
Back in September of 2004, Associated CLAIMED I was late with my payment by one freaking day. Associated immediately (1) lowered my credit limit to just under what my balance was, and (2) set me in default (29.88 percent) by doing so. Fine, I immediately began to set aside more and more funds to go to Associated each month, well above and beyond what their minimum payment due was.
Today I was making checks to send to my various creditors, and Associated was due this time around. My wife (who has an excellent handle on the family checkbook and is financially savvy) noticed that minumum payment, despite the fact that we were sending in MORE than the minimum, actually went UP. Upon further investigation, I noticed that (1) I was over the credit limit (amazing considering that I have not charged a bloody thing on this card since before May of 2004), and (2) they reduced my credit line by several hundred dollars. Obviously this was an attempt (and more or less admitted to by the Associated representative I had less than friendly words with) of keeping me in default, even though I have made payments in a timely matter and sufficiently above and beyond their requested minimum.
Are the stories about Associated and Citibank true in regards to predatorary banking? HELL YES they are. This latest credit line decrease was NEVER communicated to me in writing, even though the phone representative claimed that the letter was sent before the statement was generated. (She is going to send me a copy of this letter, and I am very interested to see the actual date of the letter to see if her story jives).
Aside from submitting complaints with the FTC and BBB (which I fully intend to do), I might also consider enlisting the services of Contact 6, a local tv station's consumer affairs service. Obviously the readers of this website know the ills of Associated; by getting this broadcast, it will let more people know why they should not do business with any Associated or Citibank-related entity.
What really bites about this is the fact that my wife and I financed a furniture purchase last year, and the store contracted with--you got it--Citi Financial. Fortunately the terms of this deal allow a payment until September without any interest being charged if the purchase is paid in full. Believe me, it WILL be paid, even if I have to collect aluminum cans along interstate highways for the summer.
 
96  
  Jason
EmailAddress: jayson39648@yahoo.com

Complaint:
Well, i have read the complaints and mine is the same.. I had a low intrest rate on my citi card and also a chase card..  i kept everything up to date. However, i was late on my truck payment which is finance from someone else.. had nothing to do with my credit cards.. well you guess it, they pulled my credit report and decided to hit me with a 29% intrest rate.. it was around 6%.. soon after chase decided to do the same.. My question is does anyone have a clue what to do about this.. i am not paying this..I am not worried about my credit rating..the only thing i'm worried about is them trying to take my property... i have 7,000 balance on citi and 5,000 on chase.. Can anyone help me and tell me what to do.. i can not transfer the balances... the main question is besides screwing up my credit.. can they do anything.. Take me to court? that would be fine with me as long as i get to tell my side of the story, i don't think any rational person would even try to pay a loan at 2!
9% back.. i'll just be throwing my money away..
thanks,
Jason
 
97  
  Andy Murphy
colorado
EmailAddress: jakaluce@yahoo.com

Complaint:
I just had two of my credit card companies steal money out of my checking account. My wife (a flight attendent) was furlowed after 9-11 and I was in self employed in advertising. My business collapsed overnight and half the ad agencies in denver went out of business in the next year so I had to find a new career. It took some time and I landed in real estate. I lived on my credit until I had enough income to pay my bills which resulted in several cards having high balances. I have always had a good credti score (high 700's) and wanted to protect it as it was an asset in my new business. I could see that I wanst going to make it with all my high card payments so I called them and asked if there was anything they could do to help.

They said since I was current, there were no programs for me. I called credit counseling places and they said the only way they could help is if I stopped paying my bills and fall way behind. Big help. Inevitably I fell behind, which resulted in late fees and my interest going up to as much as 29.3% on some cards.

I still dont have steady income so their "hardship" programs wouldnt work for me. i have been trying to settle since I get lump sums in my new business. At least 30% of my current balances are the result of them kicking me while I was down but they will not settle for a reasonable amount.

I just received a lump sum payment, most of which has to be paid to my financial partner, so the money wasnt even mine, and Discover and Citicard both took money out of my checking account paying the accounts off in full leaving me totally broke.

I have paid payments over the phone before but never signed an agreement saying they could take money out. they have taken all my money and I cant pay for anything now.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is there a way to start a class action suit against multiple card companies since they all seem to be crooks.

Thanks

Andy
 
98  
  J Wright
San Antonio TX
EmailAddress: emailjenniffer@yahoo.com

Complaint:
I previously posted my complaint on this site and would like to give all of those out there who are being taken advantage of by AT&T/Citi cards to contact the Comptroller of the Currency and make them aware of your situation. Below is the Consumer Complaint email address to the Comptroller. Tell them your story, and they will do their best to help you if the case is valid. They helped me get my rate back to Prine+ 4.99% for the life of the balance. The response was fast, I would say within a week of filing my complaint online I had a case open with the Comptroller and a week after that a call from AT&T Universal Card.

Please tell the Comptroller of your situation, lets all work as consumers to try to keep these jokers from acting as "God" when it comes to our finances!

Here is the Comptrollers email address...and also, don't hesitate to email me with your results. I would love to hear them if your want to share.

       Customer.Assistance@occ.treas.gov
 
99  
  J Caffarella
Quincy, MA
EmailAddress: jcaffarella@aol.com

Complaint:
As a holder of Citicard for over 10 years, I recently took advantage of a balance transfer offer at a fixed APR of 3.99% until the transfer balance is paid in full.  Shortly after the transaction completed, I received a notice from Citicard amending the terms of my credit agreement, resulting in an increase of APR for purchases from 9.99% to a whopping 17.99%.  I called Citicard to inquire as to the reason for the sudden and exhorbitant inrease in APR and was told by a representative that the amendment was due to a "change in my credit standing".  I immediately ordered a credit report from Experian and found nothing adverse.  My credit is pristine. 

I believe Citicard increased my APR for purchases, after I committed to the balance transfer transaction, to make up for a loss of revenue they otherwise would have enjoyed, had I not taken advantage of the fixed balance transfer offer.  Until this incident, I hadn't experienced any problem with Citicard, but I felt I was wronged, and customer service was unresponsive, so I wrote a detailed letter to Citicard's corporate headquarters to make them aware of the situation and let them know I didn't agree to the amended terms of my credit agreement.  I thought my letter might invoke some form of response, whereas Citicard would agree not to increase my APR, in an effort to resolve the matter and maintain me as a customer, given our 10+ year history, however, I received a standard response letter notifying me that, as I didn't agree to the amendment, my Citicard was cancelled.

I now hold a Capital One card.  So far, so good. 

I'll keep you posted.
 
100  
  LDH

Complaint:
How naive I was to think that a Citibank Card was from a good strong bank. These people are like dealing with street level con men. They manipulated my account without notifying me - up'ed all the rates, fees and charges for over four months and then suddenly notified me that they were going to send my account to a collection agency. All this after I was absolutely sure to pay my balances always on time for over a year.
I actually think that they really want to burn people who pay their complete balances. And after I paid their fees to keep my record clear - they billed me again - just for the heck of it. I intend to report them to every possible agency and I'll never use their card again. I get the felling that dealing with these people is like dealing with the devil himself - it's always another game.
 
101  
  Julie

Complaint: Here is a complaint against Citicard for all of you. I owed Sears money for late fees on a card from 1993 (used once for a tv). I paid on the card but the fees kept coming until I finally couldn't pay anymore. After being harrassed from 8 in the morning until 9 at night daily, I finally decided to setlle with them on the three month pay off deal. The first month they cashed the check and then I really didn't care until three months later the calls started again. They never cashed the rest and told me it was my fault. I was harrassed and talked to like a piece of garbage. I was told to take the money for copays to have surgery and give it to them. I was told to have my husbands boss pay it plus that I was hurting my children and it was abuse that I was ruining my credit and ruining their's too. They are unbelievable and I feel very sorry for all that have to deal with them. My account has been given to another company who is just as bad but all in all I down right !
refuse to pay on something that was out of their own stupidity!
 
102  
  Barbara
Email Address: barbtoots@yahoo.com

Complaint: Citi Card was sent a payment by me 3 business days ago and still has not processed my check thus causing penalties and finance charges to accumulate.
 
103  
  Tracie
California
EmailAddress: greeneyedlady916@aol

Complaint:
I am currently in the process of trying to fix a some HUGE messes on my credit report. (notice mess is plural)I have been investigate numerous problems and the numerous companies that have caused them. I would like to disclose ALL that is going on only for others' knowledge. Things people dont even think about, until it happens. And some of it has nothing to do with credit cards, but insurance companies, and superior court getting my identity mixed with another person. It could be identity theft, but i think it is just some STUPID MORON who cant do their job and which they should be FIRED!

My BIGGEST problem has been ongoing for 6 years now, in which CitiCard & Sears Roebuck have been reporting my dad's bankruptcy debt for that card on my report just because i am an authorized user. Although i am not responsible for the debt, there are no LAWS making it illegal to go after an authorized user in hopes they will pay to keep their credit clean. Very few law suits have been filed for this circumstance, but if more people did, it would definitely help.
I have called many lawyers and they either didnt know anything or because of their lack of knowledge said i couldnt do anything about it and which i have failed at finding help. I am at my last resort and have spent the past 3 months researching information about federal & state laws, consumer rights, bankruptcy, credit cards, credit reports, insurance, business policy when verifying one's identity. Fair Credit Reporting/Billing/Collections Acts. Getting ALL the knowledge i can to make my complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau's, Attorney General, Consumer Action, Department of Justice and Victim Compensation & Government Claim. I only HOPE i know what i am doing and am looking for anyone who might have knowledge about the circumstances described, have advice or find a lawyer who will represent me individually. But at last resort, a class action suit.

I was put on the account in 1995 when i was 14. I NEVER signed anything, NEVER had any knowledge of it, NEVER used it.
In 1998 i was 17 and my dad filed chapter 7, which he listed that account as debt.
In 1999 i turned 18. As soon as i became of age they began reporting the BK on my credit without my knowledge a year after my dad filed. Sometime in October, i tried to get an apartment with a friend. I was denied and the woman told me it wasnt good. My mom worked in mortgage and pulled my credit for me. It showed the Citibank/Sears account in bankruptcy. Divorcing my dad when i was 3 because of his financial problems, my mom suggested I ask my dad. She knew he had something to do with it.
When i told him, he admitted it was a credit card he had got for my OLDER sister and I. (Would have been nice if i actually used it) He told me to order my credit reports from all 3 companies and he would fix it. Why he needs my credit reports to call CitiCard & Sears to report that they are making a mistake reporting his debt on my credit, i dont know. Not wanting my reports to go to my dad's house, I tried ordering my reports from the 3 bureau's but never succeeded, because i didnt meet their identity requirements and to send all sorts of identity/address crap in the mail. I was a drifter since 15 and used my dad's address for mailing. So I didnt have utility bills, leases or W-2 form with an address i COULD have my reports sent to. Can you beleive it took 5 years before i ever saw a report!?! Having NO luck with the credit bureau's i called the sears on the report i had, and i was told i could not be given the information. How is it that they can report bankruptcy on my !
credit, but i cant even know about the account they are reporting? So, i wrote them, and of course NEVER heard back. (Didnt know i was to send it certified) Not knowing if my dad did something illegal, i didnt want to get him in trouble and figured he was going to do something about it or someone would see the mistake and correct it. I didnt know what i was doing then, and didnt have the resources that have helped me today. What was I supposed to do, i couldnt even get my credit reports! I figured there was nothing i could do, thinking that in some way it WASNT a mistake.

The past 6 years have been HELL. Every now and then i would try to get credit for a car, apartment, credit card, laptop, jewelry and have ALWAYS been turned down. The only thing i COULD get were cell phones. Because it was my only contact and having to pay for using too many minutes, I let them go to collections. Hell, my credit was already ruined and they were nothing compared to being an 18 year old and having filed bankruptcy. I didnt care.

Through out the years, my dad has given me all sorts of reasons why he hasnt done anything to help. Saying it isnt his fault but NEVER doing anything about it. And giving me many more reasons to think he has done something illegal. Or just doesnt care. Either way, he isnt taking responsibilty and i am finally fed up! I even tried to change my address, which he threw a hissy fit and had it changed back to his house. Why is it such a big deal my mail go to his house?

In January 2004, i got some mail from Superior Court of San Bernardino County issuing a warrant for my arrest. I called on it and got some info. It was for a DUI in February 1997. Well, i was 15 and was about to turn 16 in March. So, it wasnt me. I was given some information and came to find out that SOMEHOW my identity has been mixed with another person who has the same name. The thing is that she was an Arizona resident. AZ license, address. She was born in 1956, i in 1981. Appologizing, the woman said that someone must have just clicked on the wrong name. I didnt understand how someone could not see the difference bewtween us. After appologizing, it was corrected. No problem, right?
   HA! THINK AGAIN!
In July 2004, i stopped by my dad's to get my mail. He had something, told me i was part of a lawsuit and i needed to sign it. He gave it to me, and it was a consumer report from TransUnion. I was to sign it and send it back for investigation. I signed it & gave it back to him. But wondered how & why it was sent to me. I didnt question, cuase i was happy that something was finally being done. But I never heard anything.
I was at his house again 5 months later while he was out of town. Looking through the pile of mail for my sister and I, I came across the consumer report i signed. HE NEVER SENT IT BACK. WHY? Making me furious it was the final conclusion that for some reason, my dad does not want to help me. He doesnt want me to know anything about it. And he obviously doesnt want anyone else to find out about it. I decided i didnt owe him anything and made a copy of it and began doing my own investigating. The investigation was supposed to be for some promotional inquiries made by 20th Century Insurance (now 21st Century) made 8 times from April 2002 - February 2003. I noticed the address where they were located. Southern California...near San Bernardino County. I called them and found that the woman who got the DUI had a policy with them. Probably for her court date. Although they do not affect my credit, it is still a HUGE problem. The inquiries began a year before and ended 1 month befo!
re her warrant was sent to me. They are on my credit, but i never got 1 20th Century offer in the mail. I asked both the insurance company and transunion how they are pulling MY credit with all of HER information with does not match mine.
NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW!   Not sure if my identity has possibly been stollen, no one has her SSN and cant tell me if it is the same as mine.

I called TransUnion and ordered a NEW report. Now instead of reporting the bankruptcy under Sears like the consumer report had, it is now under CitiCard. Calling Sears on numerous occasions, they insist that it is in bankruptcy. Then why do i have a denial letter from a company telling me they denied me because of my bankruptcy? And was recently sent bankruptcy court search documents which indicates i have not filed bankruptcy with the courts. Always thinking of new questions, i also called Sears to ask if there were any other authorized user's besides me, like my older sister. If so, why hasnt it effected her credit? Was she removed and if so when and why wasnt i? If not, why didnt my dad list her? Of course, i need dad's authorization to get answer's. When asking them to remove me from the account as an authorized user, they told me my dad has to call and do that. What do ya know?

I had also put a fraud alert on my report with TransUnion. Which they then contacted Experian & Equifax to report to them. Experian sent confirmation letter. Equifax sent a " you dont match our identity requirements" letter. I am basically just stuck and fed up! I am searching for ANY help i can get. Whether it be a lawyer, or someone who can tell me how all this is going on. I am about to write EVERY company complaint letters and requesting account information or how the identity mix-up is happening. I am aware that many laws and my rights have been violated. After receiving my letters, they think that they will just remove the bankruptcy from my credit after 6 years and it is A OK!?! I have spent years trying to get information i need to fix things and even have proof of my attempts in the past. I have always had problems even when trying to get my own credit reports and being given information they SAY i cant be told, even though it is MY RIGHT to know, has lead to a VER!
Y TIMELY DELAY in my being able to fix things. For which they are not just gonna erase and forget all about and not caring what it has done to a person. FOR 6 YEARS!

There are no words to describe how i feel. There is no time to tell all the crap i have been through. The stress, anger and problems it has caused. There is NO PRICE anyone can put on my LIFE & MENTAL instability caused by the hassles and struggles i have managed to survive. Not being able to do anything for myself no matter how hard i tried. For years i thought that bankruptcy was reported for 7 years. And thought i only had 1 year left. Until i found out that is not so. 10 YEARS bankruptcy is reported. And im not struggling for another 4 years. I will be 28 years old and never have had my own apartment, car, jewelry, credit card...or LIFE without struggle. I have lived in more places than anyone can imagine. I have worked my ass off and NO MATTER WHAT...still cant get ahead in life. I am UNHAPPY, suffer from SEVERE depression. Instead of suicide i sometimes resort to self mutulation.
However, i am strong and wise from my experiences and struggles.
I am happy to share them and my knowledge to help others in the same situation as well. I also have issues which i might present to board of education. And hope to be a part of new laws passed through legislation making it illegal to report debts on authorized user's credit as well as a way to protect children from irresponsible financially unstable parents that could result in devastating a childs life as it has mine.

I cant beleive that these companies could hold a child responsible for their parents debt. And as soon as the child became of age they think they have a right to go throw a bankruptcy on an unresponsible minor's credit just because they are an authorized user in which they had NO knowledge of. I CANT BELEIVE IT! I also cant beleive that i am having so many problems with my credit report which no one can tell me how it is happening as well as the MANY problems confronted while trying to fix it. And to be told that i cant know information about the activities being reported on my credit by these companies PISSES ME OFF!
THEY ARE NOT PROTECTING ME, THEY ARE VIOLATING MY RIGHTS, AND HELPING THE FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES MADE BY UNFIT BUSINESSES AND POSSIBLE CRIMINALS STEALING MY IDENTITY.

All i know is that the day all these people carelessly making these mistakes want to trade me their house and go live in a tent by the river because my MINOR human error caused them YEARS of UNNECESSARY SELF & LIFE DAMAGING INCONVIENIENCES....can tell me that it is no BIG deal and i dont deserve some compensation so i can manage to put MYSELF & MY LIFE back together but they deserve to keep their life, house and job.
 
104  
  Suzanne
Long Beach, CA

Complaint:
I was a homeowner with a fairly modest amount of credit card debt, when, in early 1994, I was laid off. A week after that, the Northridge earthquake struck 2 miles from my home. As you might imagine, that created quite an upheaval in my personal finances. Eventually I had to face reality and declare bankruptcy and lost my home. Silly me kept one credit card out of the bankruptcy judgment - Citibank Visa. I had a $2,200 balance and a $5,000 limit. Immediately after the bankruptcy was filed, my interest rate shot up to nearly 30% and my credit limit was dropped to $2,000. You guessed it; each month an over-the-limit fee, and as the balance grew, late fees. These people were like piranhas. At one point while I was unemployed, I had a medical emergency that drove me to the County ER (a horror if ever there was one). When I got home, still in pain, Citibank called about my payment. I was emotional, and they couldn't have cared an iota less about my situation. Just pay !
up. After a while, my employment and financial situation stabilized, and I was able to negotiate with the cretins. Funny, when you're most in need, they won't even listen to you. When you have means, they're all sweetness and light. It took me 10 years, but the bastards are finally paid off and off my back forever. I strongly recommend paying off all credit card debt and never patronizing the bloodsuckers known as credit card companies ever again. After they paid to push their BK legislation through Congress, consumers become financial slaves to them forever if they find themselves in dire straits.
 
105  
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: sbshell@peoplepc.com

Complaint:
BEWARE AT&T & CITI CREDIT CARDS
Two months ago,I got my AT&T card statement in which my  interest rate had been raised, when I inquired as to why, I was told I had been late on my last payment. I had mailed my payment 7 days before the due date.thinking it would be on time as I had done previously. I asked them if they had started holding payments to cause them to be late. the customer service rep. said oh no, they could not legally do that. After,some conversation, AT&T agreed to take off the late fee and adjust my interest rate.  The very next month. I got my CITI credit card statement with a big  increase in my interest rate. I had always paid on time and I called to inquire why,They said that because  I had been late on my AT&T card of which they also owned, The interest was also raised on that card also. I tried to explain to the person at CITI ,the situation with my AT&T card and that they had agreed to take off the late
fee and lower the interest rate back to where it was. The person told
me that she would have to get an approval from a supervisor to lower my rate back to normal on the CITI card,and it would reflect on my next statement if approved. Well ,I got my April,2005 statement from CITI,the payment  was due on April 25,I mailed a check on April 4 to be sure it got there in plenty of time. Today,April l9, I got the payment back,stating no such address (PLEASE NOTE THIS WAS THE PAYMENT FORM WITH THEIR ADDRESS ALREADY PRINTED ON IT IN THEIR OWN ENVELOPE.)I called imediately to CITI, and told them I had never had a check returned in an envelope with their address already printed on it! At first, the representive Acted as if she could not understand what happened. She later told me she had a new address that she had been told about. She did give me a new address to mail the payment to, but that would have made my payment late! I had to do the quick pay on the phone with her takin g the payment directly out of my account. She than said she would waiver, th!
e $l6. fee for the direct pay.  I am so afraid now of being late and getting the interst rates raised on both of my cards, AT&T & CITI. I have always tried to pay my bills on time.  These two companies
are trying to get me as well as many others.  Please we have to stop this fraud!!! Let me know what we can do!!  Hope this information can help someone else.
 
106  
  JANE DOE

Complaint: JUST RECEIVED A NOTICE OF CHANGE IN TERMS, FROM SEARS WHO IS OWNED BY CITI BANK.  BOTH CARDS ARE BEING CUT UP AS I SPEAK.  THEY ARE CROOKS AND THEIVES.  IF YOU ARE A DAY LATE THEY ARE NOW CHARGING YOU $50. INSTEAD OF $35.  THEN THEY WONDER WHY THEY ARE LOOSING CUSTOMERS.  TO ANY ONE THAT HAS A CREDIT CARD, PLEASE ONLY USE IT FOR INDENTIFYCATION OR IF YOU MAKE A PURCHASE PAY IT OFF IMMEDIATELY.  YOU ARE DEALING WITH FINANCIAL CROOKS WHO PREY ON POOR PEOPLE.
 
107  
  Anonymous

Complaint:
I had been in a temporary financial difficulties due to cut back in working hours and family related issues since january.I made payments a little later than due dates. as usual,i got charge with late fees.I informed CITICARDS that i may not be able to pay on a certain period of time probably in less than 2 months.After rebounding from financial hardship I paid off my entire balance to ammend my previous late payments

The representative did not inform me that my credit cards is to be cancelled right after my full payment cleared from the bank.I called
CITICARDS to find out if my check was received just to find out that that my credit card was cancelled by the bank without my knowledge,thereby losing my earned mileage and a very negative credit rating from CITICARDS.

All people goes through difficult financial stage.I was there....It could be you but ..CITICARDS violated my rights....I am going to fight it at the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau, and at the Department of Banking and Insurance.
 
108  
  John Koutsouftikis
EmailAddress: jkooch73@yahoo.com

Complaint: I signed up with Citicard for a promotion they ran that gave me 0% financing until January 2006 on all balance transfers and purchases.  I looked at my bill more closely and they are now charging me 10.99% on everything.  They said I have to prove to them by sending in the solicitation that I answered.  I asked the person at least 10 times when I signed up if I would have to pay finance charges for anything as long as I paid the minimum and he said no.  I am not an idiot and these people are questioning my intelligence.  Anyway, my complaint is that these companies advertise something and then ask YOU to prove it when they make the mistake and claim that their computers do not show what plan you signed up under.  Citicard is a bunch of cheating liars and be careful when you use them.  Keep every single little document because you may have to fax it to them to prove your complaint. 
 
109  
  Tom
Wisconsin

Complaint_against: CitiCards

Complaint: Due to an unexpected financial setback I became 2 payments behind on my Citi Mastercard. Even though I paid the past due balance online I continued to receive recorded phone calls. If I didn't answer the call or if I just hung up, I received another call within 15 to 30 minutes. When I did answer the call and go through their menu I was able to talk to a person. Even though I stated that I had paid the bill online and had confirmation of that, they stated that I would still continue to receive the computer generated phone calls many times a day until they confirmed that payment had been posted. Prior to paying online I informed them over the phone that payment would be forthcoming (online) within 2 days. I asked the citi representative why I would continue to receive phone calls even if I explained my situation and that the payment was forthcoming. I received no rational answer. Once they have talked to you and they continue to make phone calls that same day ( and!
 tell you that the calls will continue until payment is not only received but has been posted) it can be nothing but harassment.
 
110  
  Citi-Killa
Vermont
Complaint_against: Citibank/Citcards/ATT Universal Card

Complaint:
I can't believe the criminal activities of Citibank have been going on now for several YEARS now, judging by what I am finding online.  I had never had any problem with them until recently, when I misplaced a bill for my ATT Universal card (which was gobbled up by Citi a couple of years ago, though after I had originally had the card).  They called shortly after the due date, and I paid them up-to-date right there on the spot.  However, upon getting my next statement, as well as my Citicard statement, they had both been jacked up to the punitive "default" rate of 29.9%.  Needless to say, I just sent in a fraction of the minimum on ONE of them.  Anybody having this sort of problem, should seriously consider jumping on filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, BEFORE the law changes in October 2005.  The same as the other "horror stories" I am finding about Sh-iti bank, I had an excellent payment history prior to the single late payment.  The scum rep who called about the late payment w!
as "nice enough" to credit back the $35 late charge, but neglected to mention anything about the rate going up to 29.9% (on THAT card), and much less that my other Citi card also went up to 29.9%.

If enough people basically just stop paying altogether, and enough of those file for full Chapter 7, I bet that will catch their attention.  Especially if you just rent (and not own a home), and don't own much of any tangible property.  Also be aware that when filing for bankruptcy, you should be able to "reaffirm" those debt obligations which are meaningful (like say perhaps, if your car is financed, you would just keep paying that bill, and then during the bankruptcy, you "reaffirm" your obligation and ability to pay THAT bill, so it will not be effected by the bankruptcy).  Nothing else is going to make these criminals stop.  Apparently the bankers and credit industry have bought off the government, and basically have a carte blanche exemption from Usery/loan interest limits that apply to everyone else.  People should also be writing, complaining to relevant State and Federal regulatory agencies (though apparently this is a Federal jurisdiction problem), as well as conta!
cting both their Congressmen and Senators to demand something be done about this.  Apparently, "national" banks don't have to comply with state laws...

Don't pay, file Chapter 7 if you can, while you still can! Clog the courts.  Once your filing is accepted, they are legally barred from contacting you AT ALL, and it automatically halts lawsuits, wage garnishments, etc that they have in process or active against you.  And fine, they can call me to "chat" all they want.  Think, the money from minimum payments on 2 high balance cards at high interest, is probably all you need to have a lawyer getting things moving for you.  You can file it yourself for less, if you're willing to do the research.  Clog the courts!  Make those CRIMINALS at Citi PAY.  Send them NOTHING.  They're screwing your credit ANYWAY.  Think about it!
 
111  
  Citi-Killa
Vermont
Complaint_against: ATT Universal+Citicard

Complaint:
Yep... I've had the same "slow processing" problem for a payment as I've seen mentioned here.  You know... when it suddenly takes a week or more for a payment to clear from when you mailed it, whereas previously it always went through the mail quickly and was processed in like 2 days.  Then, you get the late charge.  Then, your rate goes to 29.9%, and if you have a Citi card, THAT one goes up to 29.9% TOO.  This is not an "accident".  This is a coherent, willfull policy being implemented by the CEOs/management of these companies, to put the squeeze on consumers who are maxed on debt.  This is in fact, criminal conspiracy on a nationwide scale.

29.9% on a combined balance of over $30000 is UNPAYABLE on a standard job these days, factoring living expenses.  Besides complaining to appropriate authorities to try and put these criminals in their place, I'm filing for Chapetr 7 bankruptcy.  Let them eat cake.  That ought to catch their attention!  Don't send in the payments for a month or two, and use the money for a lawyer to file the bankruptcy (or file it yourself).  Research it... see how it would apply to your situation.  "They" could be reasonable, and the money'd keep flowing in, but they're greeedy thieves who want it all and then some more.  I've never had any qualm about paying my bills before, but I won't ever send them another dime now that they are financially raping me.

You know, they can't sue EVERYBODY.  And, the courts can only handle SO MANY cases... clog away!
 
112  
  Anonymous
Pittsburgh , Pa.

Complaint_against: Citigroup

Complaint:
To anyone that has any dealings with any Citigroup company please read this.A few years ago I went through a divorce.During the process I was forced to refinance my home.Since the divorce was not final the legitamate banks would not touch it but American Equity Mortgage gave me a what seemed to be a decent deal under the circumstances.Unfortunatly
they sold my mortgage to Citifinancial Mortgage.At the time this seemed okay as I already had a Citi Card and an A.T.&T.Universal card.Things went along okay untill I was forced to make a couple mortgage payments within the grace period.I was never late with any payment on any account.Late in September of 2004 I realized I had not recieved my mortgage statement for October.I called customer service and finally got the statement.This kept repeating itself.After numerous phone calls to polite but ineffective customer reps and a bunch of research I came to the realization that Citi did not want the $19 late fee,they wanted
the house in foreclosure.In December I refinanced the house through a local bank at a much better interest rate.When the credit card statements came in January Citi had jumped the rates by 10%.When I called I was told the prime rate had gone up and the mortgage had nothing to do with it.In March I paid off both cards in full.In April I recieved statements on both cards saying I owed them small amounts.The customer service reps said this was residual interest and they would waive it.  Wisely as it turned out I paid them both.After I verfied they recieved payment I closed both accounts.Now they bombard me with calls and junk
mail trying to get me back as a customer. A few lessons I learned were:
#1 The complaint of not sending statements is common with this outfit and is a tactic they use regularly to charge late fees knowing when other banks see this on a credit report they are more likely to deny you a loan.
#2 Citifinancial Mortgage is a known preditory lender that routinely forecloses on homes on questionable circumstances.
#3 The residual interest on credit cards is another scam to extort more money by hopeing you won't open that next statement knowing you just paid them the entire balance.
#4 Customer service is another scam.While most reps are pleasant they are there to serve Citi group not the customer. Citi group overall is just bad news to do buisness with.They are greedy and utterly ruthless.I would much rather deal with a loan shark as the shark has the guts to face you rather than hide behind a lawyer.
 
113  
  TJS
Pensacola, FL  32501
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint:
My complaint is simple.  I'm trying to pay the balance in full, and they won't let me!  They refuse to give me a payoff amount, accept electronic payments or even a payment over the phone (both services they advertise blatantly, by the way).

They have routinely posted payments three weeks after they were received (as verified by signed post office receipts)and refuse to even consider hearing my side.  My letter with copies of the signed receipts was returned unopened!

Please, please pay attention - don't let these crooks get their hooks in you!  All I'm trying to do is give them money; they're doing everything in their power not to take it, just to keep the interest going, and I'm sure there'll be another 'late fee' in my future!
 
114  
  M.K.Mahoney
5707 45th St.,E,#174
Phone: 941-756-8675
EmailAddress: cakeze@earthlink.net
Complaint_against: Med/Cash,Slender Life,Citibank

Complaint:
Has anyone had any dealings with MedCash-Slender Life.I understand that
Citibank has taken over the collection forMed/Cash/Hurley National Bank.
I understand there are some additional people who have had problems with
Slender Life and their so called contracts,etc.Assett Mgt. keeps calling
me and threatening me,plus I just received my credit report and have three cards from Citibank,which I never had-on and on it goes. Thanks,
Mari-K
 
115  
  DR MA Zahir
India
EmailAddress: ishfaq_01@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: Citi bank master credit card India

Complaint:
i am based in india . i have citi bank master card since last 4 years i have never delayed any payments . i have never asked for any loan . recently i have made purchase worth INR 16000 and INR 36000 . citi bank india on their own have converted it in to loan on 4 june 2005 i have found this error on 15 june 2005 and immedialtely called the bank that i do not need any loan and ready to pay the money even before due date but they are not lsitening and saying that you have to accept it as loan some body can help and guide how i can lodge complaints with US authorities as it is palin fleecing
 
116  
  Tara
EmailAddress: tarahui@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
Has anyone signed up for eStatement with Citibank and never receive the statements?

I was stupid enough to do it twice :(

Both times happened shortly after I transferred some balance onto my citicard after being offered low interest rates. 2.99%!! How could I resist! Soon after the balance transfer, I got offers to switch to eStatement. As an environmentally conscious person, I of course took the offer... but the statements never came! I always pay my bills on time but I wouldn't know to pay them unless I'm billed! I called in and was told that they emailed me the bills, according to their computer record on such and such date. How could that be? I was puzzled; I got emails from everyone including a citibank savings account which I sign up for eStatement around the same time with the same email address!

Long story short, I reverted to paper statements and paid off the whole thing. I closed my savings account with Citibank, kept the credit card but didn't use it anymore.

For over almost a year, kept getting low interest transfer offers from them and 3 month ago, I was offered 1.99%. As soon as I transferred the balance, I was asked to switch to eStatement. I thought whatever problem that happened over a year ago must have been fixed already and I should not punish the environment forever for that. Bad mistake.

No statements came and I check my emails at least twice a day!

When I complained that I never got the statements, they told the same thing again - "statements were emailed to you on... and they were not returned..." Of course they were not returned if they were never sent! There is nothing wrong with my email, it has never been an email problem. I gave them the benefit of the doubt the first time but now I figured it out - the eStatements were bogus, they use it to trick people who were never late into paying late because of the elusive statements. That is why, if you ask them to send you both electronic and paper statements, they will tell you no. I asked them over a year ago, it was the policy then, and it's still their policy now! If they were aware of problems with emailing statements, why would they not want to send you paper statements as well until the electronic statement are received? These policies are just tricks to trap customers.

This time when I called, I actually got someone who's honest, she told me she could not remove/reverse any charges such as the latefee or the excess interest (it's not 1.99% anymore, if you haven't guessed already) because I was paying too little charges before, i.e. the bank was not making enough money from me.

My husband and I are closing all of our citi banking and credit accounts. We've been doing business with Citibank for 10 years and have always been good customers. However, ever since it got merged with Smith Barney, the Wall Street thugs had taken over. Now we've decided that we are not doing business with them ever again.

As a last word, I think consumers really have the power; we just have to stick together and use it. My financial loss in these scuffles with Citibank is hardly worth mentioning but it is the principles that matters. After reading horror after horror stories about this institution, I think all of us should boycott Citibank and its affiliates.

Please spread the word, tell your stories as widely as possible.

Thank you to all those of you that posted complaints! =)
 
117  
  C J
Cumming GA
Complaint_against: CitiCard

Complaint:
I hardly used my Citibank Mastercard then last fall a $1.00 service fee showed up on my invoice. I ignored it and next month the $25 late fee showed up. It was fixed politely over the phone and credits issued but the following month it happened again. Another phone call fixed it but I decided to cancel the card as they were obviously idiots.

My mistake was not sending a registered letter. I just notified them in my next payment with a check for the ~$500 balance, the cut-up card and a nasty note. This was followed by more finance charges for late payment and the "past due" phone calls. After a couple months I realized Citicard "never received" the final payment. This was my problem not theirs and they certainly weren't giving me a grace period - that apparently got used up straightening out the phony fee problem that started all this.

I sent them another $500 check via registered letter along with a copy of the previous cancellation note. In response to my registered letter I get an email acknowledging receipt of the cancellation and notifying me that finance charges will continue to accumulate every month. Is email considered a legal notification now? Anyway I called and told them they created this whole mess and I wasn't paying anything, to which I got threats about my credit rating.

For the next couple months I got email solicitations to use more of Citibank's services because I have such a good credit rating. These eventually stopped - I guess even idiots catch on.

Invoices continued to arrive and the accumulated fees got up over $150. Then this month suddenly everything was credited back without an eplanation and certainly no apology. I hadn't contacted them in any way for 5 months so what happened? Did the original cancellation letter and check turn up? Did someone give my account and unbiased review? I'd surelike to think the Enron settlement (here's $2B but we don't admit any wrong-doing) maybe woke them up to their disgusting internal culture.
 
118  
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: tgp4545@aol.com
Complaint_against: CitiCards

Complaint:
I have been a Citi AAdvantage card holder since 1987. For the past two years, I've been running business charges through my credit card with Citicards. I've been doing this in order to get the miles for my AAdvantage account in order to lower travel expenses to this small company. The charges run approximately $20,000 per week and I have sent Citi a check every week for these past two years. I have been earning about 1,000,000 miles per year. No check has ever bounced because of insufficent funds to Citicards.

This past April, I sent them a check and forgot to sign it. The account payment was not overdue. I realized it would be returned because my bank called me. I immediately called Citicards and told them what had happened. I overnighted a new check (again well before the payment was due), which they received and credited to my account before any payment deadline.

Citi then proceeded to cancel my credit card account completely, (in spite of an 820 FICO score)because of this non-signed check.At first, I thought, this is crazy as I give them so much business. However, in thinking further, I realized that they have to pay American Airlines for each mile and perhaps those fees exceed whatever percentage the card retailer has to pay Citibank or Mastercard each time the card is used.Anything else, makes no sense to me.

The long and short of this is, CitiCards wants your credit card business, but only if you run balances that they can charge outregeous interest on. If you put large amounts on your card and pay in full, then they have no interest in doing business with you.

There oughtta be a law.
 
119  
  Chris
EmailAddress: ckitamura@mountainbrook.net
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint: I had a Washington Mutual credit card until they sold them to Citicards within the last year.  Citi's service has not been satisfactory by any means.  I do not receive my statement (by mail) in the time they say should be allotted to make payments.  Their customer representatives are not too helpful.  There was also a time that I made a payment online, only to have it not go through.  I was not notified until my next statement after they made two late fee charges.  According to my bank statement, which is where the funds were drawn from, I had enough funds.  I have now received 2 telephone calls letting me know that I had not paid and that there have been 2 statements mailed to me.  I do not recommend getting a Citi card at all.  My card is also a Platinum, which should mean better service, but it does not.
 
120  
  Celeste
Canoga Park, CA

Complaint: My husband and I bought a house recently.  Although my credit score was very good, I wanted to find out why it wasn't better.  One of the things that brought it down was "too many account inquiries."  I received my credit report from one of the agencies and learned that Citibank had instigated credit inquiries 14 times in 18 months!  I wrote and asked why.  The first letter I received said I had requested a credit increase.  I wrote back and said I have NEVER requested a credit increase, so still needed explanation.  Their second letter said I had requested new cards to transfer balances from other accounts.  I think I have done that twice in my adult life and neither time was in the past 18 months.  I wrote them and asked them to send me proof that I had made any such requests.  Their most recent letter asked me to send a credit report from the last 30 days that shows their inquiries.  Of course, this has been going on much longer than 30 days.  I guess they're h!
oping I'll tire and let it go.  We have the house, so why should we bother?  Well, I'm not letting it go.  It fries my bacon that they can bring down my credit score "just because."  As soon as this is done, I'm canceling my AT&T Universal card and any other cards from Citibank and won't be doing business with them again.
 
121  
  Ticked Off
Complaint_against: Cita Cards - Sears

Complaint:
I am totally ticked off with Sears/Citi Cards.  First a little background.

Trying to be a responsible consumer and get my debts in order and paid off, I joined a Debt Management Company "Take Charge America" (TCA), however,  my beef is not with them.  TCA took care of notifying my creditors that I was participating in their program and sent my creditors a payment agreement proposal, which also includes interest rate deductions. On April 28, 2005, Citi Cards (Sears) sent me a letter acknowledging that they accepted the proposal.

On May 28, 2005, I received another letter from Citi Cards (Sears) stating "Our records indicate your participation in a debt management program regarding he refferenced account was terminated."  The strange thing is, my according to "my" records and those of "TCA", I was still an active participant in the debt management program.

My first attempt to resolve this issue was to call the phone number listed on the letters that said "Any representative can help you".  The only thing is:
1) You are never given the opportunity to talk with a "live" person.
2) The "recording" tells you to enter your 5-digit extension of your counselor (none of which information has ever been provided and is "NOT" included in the letter).  Then it hangs up on you if you don't enter anything.
3) The days\hours listed in the correspondence where "any available representative can help you" are also incorrect.

As if that wasn't fustrating enough, I then try to contact Sears through the "Customer Service" number listed on their monthly invoices.  After 2 hours on the phone being transferred to 6 different numbers and still not getting any answers, I decided to contact my debt management company to verify that my account with them was still active.  They verified that it was so I decided to wait it out and see what happens.

On my June and July statements for Sears, I noticed that the interest rates went from the 9.99%, that was agreed upon by them with TCA, had gone up to 23.15%, in addition to being charged a $35 dollar late fee (adding insult to injury). Therefore, once again, I tried contacting Citi Cards, then went back to Sears, transferred back to Citi Cards and through 5 different numbers and 2 more useless hours spent on the phone.  The last number suggested that TCA fax them a new agreement and see what happens from there.

I then spoke to my TCA counselor and they will proceed with the request.  Once that has been accomplished, I will be writting a very nasty letter to Sears/Citi Cards, Consumer Affairs, Better Business Bureau and anyone else I can think to add to the list regarding these issues, also requesting that my account be credited the $35 late fee, in addition to increased interest for the months of June and July be being amended back to the 9.99 and my account credited accordingly.

Now I can understand why people might choose to file for bankruptcy... it is a hell of a lot easier (except it screws up your credit for the next 7 years). 

It really erks me that due to an error I made during a very stressful time in my life (lost 6 family members - one of which was my 65 year old dad die from cancer and 2 close friends within the same year), that I am still paying for it.  I had automatic payments coming out of my checking account and 2 months in a row, forgot to deduct the $200 payment, which as you can imagine, snowballed into a mess.  I first took tried working with my creditors by explaining what happened, why, and that I in good faith as a concerned customer was contacting them to see what arrangement could be made to get my accounts back in line and up to date.  Most of them were willing to work with me.  Howevers, Citi Cards\Sears was not one of them, nor was my visa account with JUNIPER BANK (another creditor I would recommended never doing business with).

My problems with Citi Cards/Sears is still unresolved, but I am taking it once step at a time.  First get them to reinstate the agreement, then send the letters.  If that doesn't resolve anything, I guess I will have to talk with a lawyer!
 
122  
  Dora
Playa Vista, CA 90094
EmailAddress: ddkingoc@icqmail.com
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint: I applied for their rewards card that promised 5000 bonus points but never received it.  I called to inquire and they claimed that I was not solicited to receive a bonus with my enrollment.  2 weeks later, a letter came stating that I have to send them a copy of front and back of the solicitation that I replied to so they can investigate.  Is it some kind of hoax?  They get people to sign up their cards and now it's up to us to proof, who would keep a copy of the form?  People that have been suckered before?  I called again and their CUSTOMER SERVICE told me that they have million and million of applicants, they don't keep a copy of everybody's original applications, and there's nothing she can do.  WHAT KIND OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THAT? Not until I asked to speak to her supervisor, who then agreed that they can request a copy of my applicatoin and go from there.  It's still not good enough, it's still as if I am trying to scam them that 5000 points?  I never fell!
 so cheap!!!  For sure they are going to lose me as a customer!!!! 
 
123  
  pete
Complaint_against: citi card

Complaint: how's this one. daughter in college no job but citi card gives her credit card. Off course now she can,t pay so I'm stuck with bill don't ask why. Made payment two months ago also daughter made payment I think. Hers was returned to bank I have her bank statement Don't know why. citi card charge her a bounced check charge.$30 dollars A no account charge $29 .An when I tried to make last months payment online I couldn't because of bounced check Called custmer service said they couldn't take my payment online even tho it wasn't my check that bounced. So she got a late payment fee $30. This is the best part today they called trying to get money & they let me pay online . $90 dollars charges And this goverment feels sorry for credit card companys making it harder to fill bankrupcies.
 
124  
  Stacey
Complaint_against: ABA Plantinum Select - Citi Cards
Complaint:
On March 21, 2005, I cancelled my credit card.  However, on July 7, 2005 a charge was posted to my account.  When I called Citi Card to confront them about this, many things happened.  First off, they don't care at all and they have a policy that if you have a standing charge that even though you cancel/close your credit card account, they still allow that charge to be processed and go through.  In other words, they are more than happy to allow fraud to be committed against your closed account. I tried on numerous occassions to speak with their fraud department and no one would allow me to do that or give me the number for that department - they won't allow me past customer service.

So, this is a warning to everyone out there - know if you have a standing charge that you have set up against a credit card account, that cancelling that account is not enough.  You must call the company you have the standing charge with and cancel.

All in all, I just find it frightening to know that you can never really cancel your credit card account.  How is that possible?  Does anyone know what you can do about this?
 
125  
  Jean
Complaint_against: CitiCards

Complaint: CLose all accounts with Citicards immediatley.  They will charge you through the nose if you are late it does not matter what the reason is.  I had a Citicard credit card and did not receive my statement one month and therefore was late on that month.  My interest rate went from 12% to 24% and continued to grow every month even though I was not late.  When I called to ask why it kept going up I was told because it increased with the federal interest rate.  What a crock of bull even the federal government knows it can not get away with raising rates every month. When I finally paid off my balance the interest rate was 30.24%.  I paid off my balance on Ausgust 1st (it was do on 8/3/05) and the balance was only $39.42 and I thought was through dealing with this disreputable company, but NO on August 9th I receive a statement with a balance of $62.97.  Needless to say I was furious and called to find out how they could charge me a finance charge on a $0.00 balance and!
 was informed "their finace charges are charged to balances from the previous month...What...how... and why are they allowed to do this the consumers???  I hope that they are made to answer to their what I beleive are criminal ways. 
 
126  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citibank formerly AT&T Universal

Complaint:
We went through a very difficult time when my husband was disabled.  Citibank ended up owning 3 of my accounts after their attempt to totally monopolize the credit business, though I only ever had 1 Citibank card.  They would continually ask for huge payments that I could not make, then settle for a lesser payment.  When the statement arrived, they had piled on punitive late and overlimit fees + their 30% interest.  I never charged anything over the credit limit, but they made sure I got there.  I paid them thousands, yet the cards only grew.  Finally, one of their people told me to let the cards go 5 months without paying and they would put them on a hardship program.  So I did, with the phone ringing every 15 minutes from 8:00 am to 9:00 am, then every 30 minutes throughout the day, then every 15 minutes again from 8:00 to 9:00 pm, with no one on the other end.  This they did knowing my husband was very ill.  Finally I got on their "hardship" program on 2 of the cards, bu!
t would not do so on the AT&T Universal card, saying AT&T wouldn't let them???  I was advised to let it charge off, then the overlimit & late fees would stop.  So I did, yet they continued to charge $70 a month +30% interest.  They sent it to the most horrible collection agency they could find.  These people called one after the other pretending to be my neighbors (on the day after they received my file and before they ever tried to call me).  They said "They're calling all the neighbors up and down the street!!!!"  In fact, they had, but these calls were collection agency employees pretending to be the neighbors.  When I talked to their supervisor, she said they were conducting a "skip trace" on me.  We've lived here for 15 years, and Citibank has had both my home and home office numbers for that entire time, and they called (pretending to be the neighbors) on UNLISTED telephone numbers that they had.  I have all this on tape and told them so, as well as a copy of the lette!
r to Citibank saying if they approve of this kind of illegal behavior, they should be held responsible.  Next place it went was to a law firm in my state to sue me.  The law firm says the file strangely came with instructions to never settle with me or take payments.  It is a hostile, vengeful action designed to further ruin my life.  I live in Texas and it's pretty stupid to sue me here, since they can't garnish wages and can't get a lien against our house.  They know they'll never get a dime, and they know we qualify for bankruptcy. 

These people are SAVAGE!  Get rid of your credit cards with them.  You never know what might happen to you and fall behind - they will not help but instead try to grow your balance as they have mine to 3x its original amount.  If your family member is terminally ill, and they know about it, they will do everything in their power to turn your home into hell to disturb the person who is ill.  My husband had to start taking tranquilizers for panic attacks, on top of his illness.  I wrote this to them, and they responded with their hostile lawsuit because I told them and their sorry collection agency to stop calling our phone and third parties.  I have told my children to get away from this company, and they have.  I hope everyone reading this understands that these are vicious loan sharks, not a credit card company.
 
128  
  Anonymous
Complaint:
Citibank/Citicard phone representatives lie.

I have used credit cards for 20+ years, and I always pay in full on time.  I did so in June, withholding an amount that was confirmed to be already refunded by a merchant.  Still, they charged me a finance fee.  When I called immediately to object, the representative claimed that they *could* charge finance fees even if you paid in full, but they generally don't.  I said this was hogwash.  He promised to refund the finance charge on my next statement.

Next statement comes: no refund, and an additional finance charge.  When I called again, the rep (a lady this time) said that the past records show no such actions.  What a rip.

My advice: tell them you are taping the calls, and do so.  Keep after them.  It's funny how all their "mistakes" inure to the benefit of the company.  I wonder if it has to do with getting monies before the company is sold.
 
129  
  GDF
Nashua, NH
EmailAddress: gammatiger@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiBank & Capital One

Complaint:
  In November 2000, I refinanced my house to make some improvements and pay off my credit cards. Let me tell you biggest mistake in my life.
The Mortgage Company I was refinancing through called both Citi Bank and Capital One to get the pay off figures. The Mortgage Company actually printed out the checks, I signed them and they mailed them for me.

Now how long does it take a letter to reach it final destination in The Continental United States these days, three days at the most.

I figured, cool. They are paid off and I am debt free. Well, In December of 2000, I get a statement from Citi Bank and it says I owe something like $90.00 Dollars. I called customer service and was told, "Oh Sir, it takes like 60 to 90 days for all the transactions to catch up on a payoff. Don't worry about it; it should clear its self up in the next billing cycle." Therefore, I took them at their word. Well in January of 2001. I got another statement stating that I now owe Citi Bank like $140.00 Dollars. I called them and was told again, "Oh sir, I am sorry, but we are upgrading our computers and our network. It will take another six weeks for everything to catch up. Do not worry about it. You should be all set."  Six weeks go by and no statement, awesome it is all straightened out.

So, as an idiot I took their word for it. Well, I did not receive a new billing statement or any information from them until the spring of 2004 that is right spring of 2004. When they contacted me saying I owe them over $800.00 Dollars. I did not understand I had not used my Citi Bank Credit Card since I had paid it off in 2000. I could not figure out how they can claim I owe them money. 

I call Citi Bank and they tell me that I owe them that money because of late fees and service charges, as my payoff did not arrive until after the due date back in November of 2000. I could not believe it. I mean this entire headache over a pay off. I could not believe it, what happened to things like grace periods. I had after all been paying off the credit cards, so if it is a late by a day or two what was the big deal.

Well long story short, I had a similar situation with Capital One. Both Citi Bank and Capital One turned my accounts over to ARROW Finical for collections. I am still battling with these jerks to straighten this mess out.

However, I did learn some very valuable lessons, when dealing with Citi Bank or any company like this:

1. Keep your cool, if you cuss at them and are hot headed it turns them off and they are less willing to help you out.

2. Keep good records of what was said when you call them. Always include things like Names, Dates, Time you called, who you spoke with, etc. etc, so when you do have to write them or if you have to go to court you have substance to your version of events.

3. Photo copy all billing statements, letters, notes or anything else that you may need to refer back to at a future time.

The most important thing you can do is to go to www.XXXX.org and order a copy of the following DVD or VHS Tape from the show Frontline: Frontline: Secret History of the Credit Card. It will blow you away. The Banks and Credit Card companies in my opinion are the new Robber Barons.

Good luck everyone and if anyone can provide me with any information on how they have dealt with situations like this, or what course of action they took to resolve their issues with Citi Bank. Please, let me know.

Thank you
GDF
 
130  
  Evan Burroughs
Complaint_against: Citibank (Citicard, Citigroup)

Complaint: Citibank credit card accounts will continue to accrue finance charges based upon any balancej starting from the billing date until the date the next payment is due.  This means that though you may have sent in payment-in-full on your credit card's balance (zeroing-it-out) and have not made any other new charges on that card, you will still receive a bill the following month for the money due on this finance charge. Don't know if this unscrupulous practice is done by any other banks.  I know Wells Fargo does not do this.  How can these crooks get away with this?
 
131  
  Bonnie
Complaint_against: citi bank credit cards

Complaint:  I had a credit card from citibank,which I used to for lodging&ect.when my sister passed away in another state.So this company kept sending out state ments,passed due over the limit & ect. even though I explained the problem to them they kept up  with the phone call till it was making me ill.till this timeI had a very high credit rating.Finally I got a loan to get rid of these jerks. They still call and ect. How do you get rid of these people? Also I bought a washer 7 dryer on a Sears charge paid a head (total price was about $700.) the next thing I knew I getting threating calls from Citibank again. By the time they are finished with you the washer and dryer cost me about $2000 ! They have so many Depts. that you never know who you are talking to and the worst part is half of these people don`t even speak very good english so you have to figure out what they are even talking about!  Never ever get mixed up with this crooked company there should be laws against th!
is to protect the average American people.CITIBANK SUCKS!! putting it mildley .
 
132  
  Ramondo
Complaint_against: Citi Dividend Platinum Select

Complaint:
Don't fall for this misleading 5% back reward card.

"Earn cash back on everything, a full 5% cash back on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations, plus 1% on all other purchases".

In the fine print is says:

"You will earn 5% on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and 1% on all other purchases. Supermarkets are defined as stand-alone merchants that primarily sell a complete line of food merchandise for home consumption. Drugstores are stand-alone merchants that primarily sell prescription and proprietary drugs and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines. Gas stations are merchants that primarily sell vehicle fuel for consumer use".

Notice it says "stand-alone" and "primarily". How many stores have you see in recent times that sell only one product like groceries, or gasoline, or drugs? Supermarkets sell more than just food, as do gas stations and drug stores. Supermarkets now also sell gasoline and gas stations sell soda pop, cigarettes, candy, food, etc. Drug stores sell a variety of items as well.

As a test of our new Citi Dividend Rewards card, we made purchases at a gas station, a drug store, and three different food stores. At 5%, the reward should have been $6.60. However, going on their web site and looking at our account, all these purchases were rewarded at the 1% rate for a total of just $1.31.

We immediately stopped using the card and we've paid the balance in full. As soon as the account shows a zero balance, we are going to cut up the cards and cancel them.

More fine print:

"Purchases not eligible to receive the 5% rebate include, but are not limited to, purchases made at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and convenience stores. In addition, online, catalog, mail order and telephone purchases are not eligible to receive a 5% rebate unless the merchants identify the transactions as being made at a supermarket, drugstore or gas station. We do not determine whether merchants correctly identify and bill transactions as being made at a supermarket, drug store or gas station. However, we do reserve the right to determine which purchases qualify for the 5% rebate".

What they do is label everything you purchase as either discount store or convenience store to avoid rewarding the 5%. It then defaults to just 1%.

More fine print:

"As soon as you've earned 50 Dividend Dollars or more, call us at 1-866-676-or visit http://www. so that we may send you a check for the total accumulated Dividend Dollar amount shown on your monthly billing statement. We cannot issue you a check unless you contact us. Checks cannot be issued for amounts less than $50 unless you've already received checks totaling more than $250. Cardmembers must be registered for Account Online in order to request a check at http://www.  Rewards" are not posted to your account on the next billing cycle. You have to call or e-mail a reqest for a reward check and it takes 4 to 6 weeks to receive anything --maybe longer. Also, the reward must be at least $50 before it can be requested.

More fine print:

"You may accumulate a maximum of 300 Dividend Dollars in any calendar year (eligible transactions appearing on your January - December billing statements). Dividend Dollars earned on purchases through the Citi Dividend Merchant Network are not subject to the $300 calendar year maximum accumulation". 

In other words, after you have spent $6,000 (if you get their promised 5% reward), you reward limit of $300. has been reached for the year and you receive no additional rewards.

--Ramondo
 
133  
  Carmenza Moreno
EmailAddress: carmenza13@optonline.net
Complaint_against: CITY CARD

Complaint:
DEAR SIR OR MADAM, I HAD THIS CARD OPEN UNTIL 10/28/05 I DECIDED TO REQUEST TO CLOSE THIS ACCOUNT.

IN MY STATEMENTS I HAVE TO PAY THIS CARD THE 17 EACH MONTH.  IN SEPTEMBER 10 11//05  THE CLOSING DATE IS THE 22ND AS PER THE INFORMATION IN MY BILL.
 
I SENT MY PAYMENT AS I USE TO DO EVERY MONTH, ON TIME TO AVOID LATE CHARGES.  LAST SATURDAY WHEN I OPEN MY BILL FOR NOVEMBER I FOUND OUT THAT THE COMPANY APPLY A LATE CHARGE OF $39.00 DOLLARS MY BILL IS ONLY FOR $25 DOLLARS, AND SUDDENLY THEY ARE CHARGING $71.58, THEY ARGUED THAT I SENT MY PAYMENT LATE THAT THEY POSTED THE 22, BUT I FOUND OUT THAT THE POSTED THE 19 "ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION" IF THE CLOSING DATE WAS THE 22ND HOW COME THEY APPLIED LATE CHARGES TO MY ACCOUNT AND THEY RECEIVED THE CHECK ON TIME AND DID ELECTRONIC POSTED IN OCTOBER 19, 05, THIS IS A FRAUDE AND I NEED YOU HELP ME TO REMOVE THE LATE CHARGES THAT WERE APPLIED WITHOUT ANY REASON.

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW COMPANIES LIKE THAT HAS ACCES TO THE MARKET.

MY ACCOUNT WITH THEM IS AND THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVERY MONTH THEY CHANGE THE DUE DATE, WHY ONLY THEY KNOW WHAT ADVANTAGES CAN GET FROM THEIR CUSTOMERS.

PLEASE HELP.

VERY TRULY YOURS,

CARMEZA MORENO
 
1324  
  Diane Reed
EmailAddress: dirtydreed@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CITI Credit Card

Complaint:
I sent a payment to my CITI card account on 9/29 and it did not post until 10/20, causing me to accrue extra finance charges.  Ironically, I sent my Sears payment in on the same day to the same exact zip code, and it posted on 10/02.  This tells me there was not a problem with the mail.  When I complained to CITI and asked why it took three weeks to post, I was told that payments are posted the day they are received and by the way, to make sure to send the payment 7 to 10 days in advance.  This smart-alec and thougtless response is just about more than I can tolerate.  I have been a loyal and excellent customer for almost 15 years--it was my very first credit card that I ever got, when I was still in college. So much for customer loyalty.  Obviously, they do not want to address or even acknowledge a serious issue but now I know that I am not the only one. 

I would like to take some action (aside from cancelling my card) but don't know what to do.

Thanks.
 
135  
  jaime
lakewood  ohio
Complaint_against: citibank credit cards

Complaint: We have been customers with citibank for a very long time. We currently hold a diamond preferred card worth nothing. We were advised our interest rate would go up 3% in the begining of 2005. When we called to complain and find out why we were given 3 different answers. W e advised we would not take the interest rate change and received a letter from citibank stating they would no longer be able to provide us services after 12-31-05(experation date on card) since we did not, "OPT" for the change. We saw this as a blessing in disguise. However, we have suffered almost a 50% decrease in income and yet have continued to make payments( most minimums) to citibank. This month we paid late. Our payment was due on 11-17....we had to wait till today 11-30 to pay. We did so on line as to make sure it would arrive asap. I would like to further point out we have never missed a payment except 1 time years ago it was 4 days late.........When we saw our statement we realized citi!
bank had taken our interest rate to 30% for being 13 days late.Our current balance is about $16,000. I was told they can cap 23.99% to prime, but i thought tey were bound to the laws they lend in.....which in Ohio max is 25%. I could even understand tat at maybe 30+ days delinquent. I am nearing refusal to pay.  ANY THOUGHTS?
 
136  
  derk talcon
inglewood  california
EmailAddress: p2rinc@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: citibank mastercard drivers edge card

Complaint:
12.3.05  I have been a long time citibank driveredge card holder since the 80s, and have always paid my monthly statements on time! however as of 3months ago I was late in paying by 2days after the due date (due to snail mail ) on my next statement I was charged a large late fee and a few outher fees citibank also raised my interest fees to near 30%! thus the monthly bill was almost 2times the amount due!! I called citibank
on this and played phone tag with outsorced operators! for 15mins then was hooked to customer service person, who refused to help me! and was totaly rude to no end!! she set me up! as she mentioned the foul word of I could go bankrupt if I wanted !! I said well I guess I could but im not ! and laughed  within 3 secounds I was reconected to another person who worked in bankruptcy dept! who then told me my account was suspended for 90 days! because I used the B"word!! she said that my account would go back to normal after the 90days and would be fine I didnt file bankruptcy!  well fact is its not ! they closed my account
and just last month charged me late fees based on what I owe them!!
as they again sent me a late statement! I have all along paid my bills on time and in full. this time I disagreed on the late fee and subtracted the late fees from the bill. and paid the balance due..
I feel totaly abused and set up by citibank and its employees who suck!
this bank is totaly wrong! and a rip off to anyone! the bottom line is Money!! and Evil lerks within its doors!!  Im going to my attorney tomarrow a.m  and see what can be done! I will also contact the bbb and
outhers!  Anyone who is sueing citibank  let me know.. I will join you
for the same or close reasons!!  this bank should be forced to close it doors forever!! and booted out of the country!  as they are ripping good people off!!  thanks
 
137  
  Tom  Paxton
prescott valley   arizona
EmailAddress: p2rinc@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: citibank  m/card  and dealings w citibank

Complaint:
I am very fed up with citibank aka shittybank! over the past few months
being they have sent my late payment statements! as well have posted payments wired to them before any due dates! Late!!citibank uses fools and idiots for employees!Customer Service dept Stinks!you get play a game called phone tag! and they hold on the phone for over 15 mins at a time! then you get some jerk, who cant speak english! and is outsorced in another country!!its a waste of time! from all this happening to me shittybank then suspended my account for being late on 1 payment! first time get you!! by 2days- C/S told me once I paid the overdue payment everything would be fine! Untrue ! so untrue! I paid it and was late!! they didnt understand that, they are idiots! with in 30 days from that my account went into the bankruptcy dept! and collections! thus again it was supended for 90days! I was told again it would go back to normal status after the 90 days. keep paying your statement they said. I did and guess what!the account was totaly closed by shittybank. and sent t!
o collections and is still in bankruptcy ( I never went bankrupt or said a thing about it) nor did I ever send a letter to them or did contact me by phone or letter about this! they just did what they wanted and screwed my account up totaly over a total of 2 late payments that were both paid. one was 2days late! another thing they did is raised my interest rates near 30% on the card,and put fees that pushed the payment up over 300.00 per month! as well they dont have a set late fee
like most banks have, so they say! they charge you by how much you owe them  so you can have a fee anywhere from 39.00 to 89.00 or more!! this is or should be illegal ! they are sharks! im contacting my attorney asap on this and have to fight them! I wish there was a class action suite going on agisnt them where I join in and fight! I hate this card company! they are from Hell, with a capitol H"  this company should be
stopped! and forced to pay back what its charged people in fees and late fees! as well interst rates that go beyond what a normal person can pay! I think we all would like to see this bank and card company fail and close down forever !  due to the way it treats its customers and charges everyone!  there should be laws set aginst these shark banks
and that bankruptcy law that Bush made should be repealed as it only helps the credit card companys! and harms normal people. 
Word Up  Move to another country asap! 
 
138  
  RITA
OKLAHOMA
Complaint_against: CITI FINANCIAL

Complaint:  I refinanced my house and in checking credit they came up with a charge off from Citi Financial. I called and I owed no such debt. I went ahead with the refi on the house to pay off all the bills and even the one to Citi financial thinking they would send me the check back. I had even called them and they told me there was no such debt in my name and I told them what I was gonna do with the check, no one told me they would keep my money and pay off who ever's debt it really was. When I called them they said that that is what they do to get back some of the money they lost. Now, I may not know a lot about business but that is a big rip off. I just don't see how that is legal. I got my letter telling that that debt was removed from my credit record along with a letter wanting me to borrow 6500.00 dollars from them. When hell freezes over is what I told them. My advice to anyone wanting a loan from them is to run backwards from them as fast as you can!
 
139  
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: RENAGIBBS@BELLSOUTH.NET
Complaint_against: CITI BANK/ CHASE

Complaint: I HAD A CITI BANK VISA CARD FOR YEARS WITH A FAIR INTEREST RATE.  I HAD ACCUMULATED SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF DEBT TO THEM AND RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT MY INTEREST RATE WAS GOING UP TO 21.9%.  MY CREDIT SCORES ARE IN THE MID 700'S.  I HAVE ALWAYS PAID MY BILLS ON TIME AND HAVE EXCELLENT CREDIT.  I CALLED THEM AND THEY SAID I HAD TOO HIGH OF A DEBT TO INCOME RATIO BUT THAT I COULD CANCELL MY CARD AND NOT USE IT AGAIN AND PAY OFF THE CURRENT DEBT AND KEEP THE CURRENT INTEREST RATE.  WHICH I DID.  RECENTLY I REFINANCED MY HOME AND WENT TO PAY OFF THAT BILL.  I PAID THE "BALANCE DUE" BEFORE THE DUE DATE AND JUST RECEIVED A BILL FOR ADDITIONAL INTEREST.  I CALLED AND COMPLAINED AND TOLD THEM TO REMOVE ME FROM THEIR MAILING LIST AND THEY SAID IT WOULD TAKE UP TO 90 DAYS TO REMOVE ME FROM THIER SYSTEM.  HOG WASH.  THEY SAID THE INTEREST WAS "RESIDUAL INTEREST".  STAY AWAY FROM THEM - THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CROOKS.  THE SAD PART (FROM READING THE OTHER COMPLAINTS) IS T!
HEY SEEM TO GET AWAY WITH IT.
 
140  
  anonymous
California
Complaint_against: Citi Cards/  Sears MasterCard

Complaint:
Sears MasterCard, and their mother company, Citi Cards, are fraudulent and illegally causing excessive harrasment.  There was a small charge on my account a year ago that did not belong to me.  I asked them to take it off.  They wait for 3 months to do so, and start charging me finance charges every month.  I have written 5 letters,and made numerous phone calls to get rid of thee finance charges.  So now they decide to add $15 a month late payment fees too, plus finance charge on top of finance charges.  There are no purchases here.  All (very few) purchases last June were paid in full leaving old finance charges and late payment fees.

About 4-5 weeks ago they decide to call me 3 times a day.  Today they called at 8:30 a.m., then at 1:20 p.m. and again at 2:56 p.m.  My letters to the home office have explained why I owe nothing, and explained that their people are harassing me continuously on the phone and asked them to stop, which obviously they haven't (my letters were certified with return receipt).

I have also written to the Better Business Burea and the Federal Trade Commission. No responses yet. Can someone help me with this.  I refuse to pay for something I should not have to.  I think they purposely drive you nuts in an effort to get you to pay them and shut them up.
 
141  
  Andrew Torrance
27 7120 Gilbert Rd.
Richmond B.C. , Canada
Phone: 604-231-9672
EmailAddress: Drew474747@aol.com
Complaint_against: Citi Mastercard

Complaint: Citi Mastercard sent me a bill for 5 cents. I had paid my last bill in full- two weeks in advance even! When I called the rep said it was residual interest that still calculated from the previous months bill (that was paid on-time also)???.  With no mention to that practice in the Cardholders Agreement, I immediately insisted they adjust this peculiar charge which the lady agreed to. I think she was trying to 'cover up' Citi's reputation - but I still feel very suspicious... and after finding this web site it's no wonder there are so many complaints with Citi!  A nickle isn't much but it is the principle! If they can get away fraudulently charging a nickle here and there they will probably try anything sneaky and untrustworthy.   I am cancelling my card as I write this.
 
142  
  SD
Illinois
Complaint_against: Citibank

I first joined Citibank in 1990. I carried only a moderate balance and paid it off within two years of graduation from college. In 2000, I wound up with medical bills (insurance company went insolvent). I arranged payment plans with most of the medical creditors but some went right to collection.

Even though I NEVER made even a single late payment to Citibank, they surged my interest rate to 24.99%. I have been faithfully paying these people each and every month without fail. I have not used my card since September of 02. However, I have paid them more than the principle and my outstanding medical bills combined.

Does Citibank do anything for a longstanding customer who has faithfully paid them? Not yet. My rate is still 24.99% and now, my monthly payment amount has just gone up. I am facing bankruptcy.

Thank Citibank for taking advantage of me at the worst time of my life. You %$$@! loan shark bastards.
 
143  
  Ticked in Dayton
Complaint_against: Citibank/Mastercard

I asked my loan officer for mortgage pre-approval and since my credit is A-1 I didn't think there would be a glitch. One detrimental item from Citibank/Mastercard for a "seriously delinquent $2 (two dollars!) had been responsible for lowering my credit score more than 100 POINTS by all 3 major credit agencies. This $2 phantom delinquency would definitely affect the interest rate on a loan, should i apply for one now. I called the credit card company which transferred me to collection, and said I had a $00.00 (zero) balance. How come i was referred to collection? How come I didn't even KNOW i had accrued $2 (which was simply interest accrued from the time the balance was paid off 2 months ago ($160, which was never delinquent, but was a little late. the reason it was late was because i had not received a bill. I called THEM, asking why i hadn't received a bill.) I canceled the card. Paid off. NEVER received any notice that $2 was owed (which supposedly had been wiped off my !
account - AND WHICH IS WHAT THE COLLECTION OPERATOR SAID WAS MY BALANCE!!! HELLO???) It will take 3 to 7 days to receive a letter from the company stating I have (and have had) a zero balance. It will take 30 to 90 days for the credit agencies to receive the update. THIS IS EVIL AND WRONG!! Especially when I was the one being proactive, and made sure my account was up to date. I have to wonder how much MONEY this company is making in late and phantom delinquent balances. I intend to make a complaint with my state attorney general's office and the feds. This is further evidence to me of this administration's total disregard of the little guy in favor of unfettered profits and greed by huge corporations, such as CITI.
 
144  
  Brian
Wilmington, NC
Complaint against CitiCards

Complaint:
I have been a Citicard Mastercard customer for over ten years. I have always paid my bills on time and never carried a debt.

Recently, I moved and made several attempts to change my address with Citi Cards in writing and via telephone.

I was assured several times that my address had been changed and bills would be sent to my new residence.

They were not. By the time I noticed Citi's error or intentional fraud, my $150 in charges had grown to $300, because of $150 in late fees and financing (30-percent) charges assessed by Citi Cards without my knowledge, over the course of only two months.

While trying to make a good faith effort to resolve this matter between Nov. 2005, and Jan. 2006, Citi continued adding fees bringing the total bill to $450. During this time, I spoke to numerous Citi Card reps.

Its always the same the cavalier story: "Ha ha, we'll keep tacking on fees and will destroy your credit."

They know they can use intimidation and the ability to destroy an individual's credit to extort fradulent fees, and unless that individual is an attorney-at-law, Citi will never have to defend its actions in a court of law. They can just keep making 30-percent or more on the debt each month until the cardholder cracks and gives in to their fraud.

The taunting attitude of their representatives and total disrespect for long time customers makes total sense in this light. They don't make money off people who make good faith efforts to pay their bills.

But if they can use trickery and deception to prevent people from paying and start a 30-percent interest spiral, they can make a killing.

It took ten years and only $150 for me to realize that only an idiot (like me) would do business with Citi Cards.
 
145  
  John Chan
los angeles, ca
EmailAddress: goaes@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiCard CreditCard

Complaint:
I have a CitiCard credit card, the Professional Card.  The reason I got it because the advertisement of a Free Ipod shuttle. For the last few months, I did not get the bill, the all of a sudden I got the bill this year.  After I got the bill, the payment was already late, so I call them, I told me to talk someone at the post office why I did not get my bill.  They blame it on my.   So, now end up with 5 (five) late fee, which they could only take off 1 of them.

This is not the only problem I have, I also have their CitiCard Dividend, and checking.  Ya, lesson learn, "nothing is fee in Life", I'm paying Dividend now.

John
 
146  
  Kelli
EmailAddress: kgoodnight@kcnet.com

Complaint_against: CitiCards

Complaint: I have a citi upromise card.  I had a bal of 4800.00 I was short my December payment by 3.79. My rate has now gone from 12.99% to 31.27% Yes I said 31.27% Loan Shark!!! I was charged a late fee over limit fee and interest of over 130.00!  My min due went from 83.79 to 230.00 I wrote them asking why they charged such a high rate for missing my payment by 3.79.  Before I got a call from them I got another bill since i could only pay 100.0 of this min due I now owe over 650.00!!!! I still have not got any answers from Citi!  I called Cust Serv and was told to bad!!! Now all my other credit cards can go into universal defalt!!!! DON'T BANK WITH THEM!!!
 
147  
  flynn
CA
EmailAddress: flynn999@excite.com
Complaint_against: Visa Citicard

Complaint:
Because of an error from medical bills which should have been paid in 2004 by insurance, and went to collection, citicard raised my interest rate to 19%, I've been fighting with them for almost a year to get it reversed. (as I was told, once the insurance fixed this, it would be reversed)

Now, an oversight on my part, I short paid my bill in December by 18 cents, didn't even realize it until they sent me a statement yesterday, that has late charges and my new 31% interest rate on it.

My payment has now more than doubled. I have been with them close to 10 years and never been late on a payment once.

When I called, they reversed the late charges, but said because of 2004 they probably won't reverse the interest rate.

I can't seem to get to a supervisor, I've called twice now..

Has anyone else had this type of problem and if so, how did you get it fixed, or who else did you contact to help you.
 
148  
  David MacMullen
12 Benham Street
Groveland, Ma. 01834
Phone: 978-265-1625
EmailAddress: david.macmullen@us.army.mil
Complaint_against: CitiBank

Complaint:
To All, Please be advised
I have a citi card that was paid in full with a zero balance. While deployed to Iraq with the US Army, My wife got a call from Citi's fraud early warning dept. stating that there had been fraudulent activity on my account. A charge of $46.00 was made in New York. My wife advised in May of 05 in writing along with a copy of a power of attorney that the charge was indeed bad and that I was in Iraq. To make a long story short Citi has since placed late fees and charges on the account, sent the account to two different collection agencies and proceeded to ruin my credit. I have been in contact with the company at least 15 times since October of 05 when I arrived home. I have spoken with at least 20 different reps and they state that they will start an invest and never do. They have also stated that they will order the statements for the time period when the bad charge was made and send them to me so I can properly dispute the charge, but I have yet to see the statement. In clos!
ing, Citi has ruined my credit over a $46.00 bad charge and has done nothing to help me resolve the issue. I even had one rep tell me that there is nothing I can do about it, and another stated that I should just pay it. I will not pay on this bad account and my advise to all Citi customers is get out now while you can. Anyone with advise or case law on how I can sue or get this resolved please email me ASAP.  Thank you for listening, MSG David K MacMullen  
 
149  
  tom
waterford michigan
Complaint_against: citi bank

Complaint: I closed out my Citi Bank account last summer . I sent them my final check for $21.00 . Somehow they have misplaced my check . I sent them another check  several months ago . Guess what they have misplaced that check too . They continue to add interest charges to my account even though it was closed last summer. What a scam .
 
150  
  H. Davis
EmailAddress: projectt333@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CITI Bank

Complaint:
I recently placed 200.00 into my debit card account-which they charge me-a senior citizen- 10.00 per month.I was surprised to learn that CITI Bank took 120.00 from my account and this left 3.55!
LATER,they sent the late or overdraft fees!This caused quite a problem nad this is the first time this happened to me.
They wanted me to pay fees to protect me from them!!!
I went to Washington Mutual-the fastest growing bank in the US- and there will be no fees on my account.There will be a 10.00 overdraft fee,but this is 'regulated' and unlike CITI they treat you great!!!
Mt friends have always told me about all their problems with the CITI credit card,so stay away from these crooks!!!
 
151  
  bhavnakumari
26432 110th place
kent, wa 98030
Phone: 2538546342
EmailAddress: bhavana_mittal@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
BEING HARRASSED!!!!!!BY CITIBANK!!

We used a sear card issued by citibank once.  The bill close to $300 was paid in June 1995.  We received another bill in july with late charges and finance charges claiming we were late.  We disputed that right away and we were told the late charges have been taken off.  We continued to get more late charges every month and now they are asking for close to $200.  Meanwhile this lady called and said account will be sett;ed if we paid just the first late charge.  So I did.  But it was a big lie.  calls started coming again and they have got very rude demanding payment.  I am writing letters to all federal and local authorities about this harrassment. 
 
152  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint:
Somehow, it takes 10+ days from the closing date of my bill for me to receive it - often with less than a week to go before it is due. I always pay it on time, but I believe this is an attempt to trigger a late payment and then up my interest rate. I called Citicards and they said the statement is mailed the day after is closes -- so somehow a statement "mailed" on the 26th of January takes until February 6th to arrive? I smell bullshit. I routinely receive mail from across the country in less than 3 days. There is no postmark date on my bill envelope to verify when it is actually sent.

Is there a law regarding the amount of time between when you receive your statement and when it can be due?
 
153  
  chris
Complaint_against: citi card

Complaint: Just another poor schmuck who's been harassed and cheated by the scum bags at citi card.I opens a sears charge 25 yrs ago. was perfect for 10-15 years then fell on hard times,  had a balance of 650.00 dollars for ever, then they sold me to citi card, which then raised my rate to 29% over night!! now my bill is 1695.00 and i have been paying on it for over 2-3 years!! i called them this week to ask for a pay off amount to settle the account and was told by two csr and two asshole "mgrs" that they do not offer any pay offs!!as i see on this blog, they don't do much of nothing but rip people off and screw you every chance they can..i just negotiated a deal with discover and saved almost 500.00 bucks and a got a statement saying my account was clear!! ( i'm gonna call right now to make sure!!~)Here's a good thing to do, take all the postage paid evelopes from citi card and stuff them with all the junk mail and mail it back to them every month, week and day you can!! i!
f we all do this then they'll pay a shit load in postage bills, if the return doesn't get used then they don't pay!! so send away!! use those prepaid envelopes any time you can!!! i hate this scum bag company and sears as well..will never buy a single thing from sears as long as i live!! i'm in sales and will tell everyone i see about their lousy tactics!! gonna go to tv station then at.generals office then bbb and complain as lod and as often as possible...how about an online petition to send to the feds and gov of each state i'll sign!!!       
 
154  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citicard

Complaint:
A few weeks ago , my husband canceled our AT&T Card ( a Citicard). Shortly after we received the last statement, stating a $ 9,99 charge originating out of Connecticut, (we life in Washington State). I called Citicard to ask what this charge was about, just to learn it is a Travel Club. Neither my husband nor I ever sight up for a service like this and it maddens us that without our authorization our account can be charged. The Citibank representative was unable or unwilling to help. I had to call the mysterious Travel Club myself. After listening to automated voices for too long I finally was able to talk to a real person, who claimed that my husband joined the Travel Club, which is a lie. finally he promised to refund the $ 9,99.  Citicard, with whom I spoke again, promised to send me a refund check, because I still had to pay the wrong full charge with the last bill. It will be very interesting to see if when we or if we ever get the $ 9,99 back.
I remember that years ago the same thing happened to us thru the CITIBANK Platinum card we had at the time. At that time it was some kind of a shopping club which was $ 70,- and $ 90,- per year ( we noticed it the second year , they charged us. Again the account has been charged for something we did not authorized. Then it was very difficult to get the money back, because we were unable to get thru the ominous company via our home phone the second time we called them to remind them to refund us.
Ten Dollars is not a lot of money and i can see, that a lot of people would not go thru all this trouble, even $ 70,- or  $ 90,- is not enough to justify hiring a lawyer, but what this companies do ( I believe that CitiCard and all those clubs are affiliated) is highly illegal and very profitable.
 
155  
  Anonymous
EmailAddress: trucksntrotts@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: citibank/homedepot

Complaint:
My husband applied for a home depot credit card in Sept or Oct of 2004.
He thinks he used this account on that same day. He also wrote several checks to home depot during those months. this was a 0% interest for 1 year. He received no paperwork from home depot on that day. We never received credit cards or any kind of statement from that time on. I asked twice at 2 different home depot stores about our credit account. Keep in mind we never evern received an account # They could find no record of us in their credit system. Now 5 months after the 0% interest is up a collection agency contacts us by phone. Harrasses us for several weeks. I have been telling them I refuse to deal with the collection agency. I did finally drag out of CitiBank that our credit cards and statements were sent to a town we never had an address in.  Home depot / Citi Bank refuses to talk to me.  Still nothing thru the mail. Who do I contact to file a complaint against Citibank and who do I contact to receive a statement and an account # with an address to pay the original!
 amount of charge and proof of this charge. I believe this is a fraudulant effort from Citibank to collect more than there 0% would pay them. We will refuse to pay anything over the original charge with proof from them of the original charge. Anyone want to file a class action suit against this monster of a corporation.? Please email if you have similar circumstances.
Jennie
 
156  
  Teresa
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint: My name is Teresa and I have sent certified letters asking them not to contact me at work but they keep harassing me on my job. They even talk to my supervisor and she asked them to stop calling and they began to herass her. They get a different person to call everytime they try to make contact. They are causing problems with my employer. If I get fired how are you going to get paid. Again stop harassing me at my job.
 
157  
  SUNIL S. NAIK
D-202, SHEETAL PARADISE, SHEETAL NAGAR,
THANE
Complaint_against: CITI BANK

Complaint: THE DUES INCLUDE ONLY THE LATE PAYMENT FEES, OCL CHARGE. AND INTEREST, WHICH IS LEVIED ON THE SAME CHARGES AND NOT ACTUAL CONSUMPTION. I WISH TO KNOW WHERE I CAN LODGE COMPLAINT AGAINST INSUTICE AND HARASSMENT.
 
158  
  Marvin Hoefer
842 Westbourne Dr 5
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: 310-657-6884
EmailAddress: mhoefer530@netzero.net
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
A NEW THANK YOU POINT FROM CITIBANK!!

Citibank is now pocketing monies that you may think are yours, such as credit balance on credit cards if you do not use the credit balance for three months. Below is the actual transaction from my credit card statement.

02/18 02/18 99999999 BALANCE REMOVED DUE TO 3 MOS INACTIVITY    0.86

What do you think of this "THANK YOU POINT"!!!!
 
159  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: CITI CARDS

Complaint: So here is my horror story. I will be gradting from college in a few weeks with a double major and about 7,000 owed to CITICARDS, half of which i didn't even spend! It all began when my mother and i decided that we should establish my credit. We looked online and found good reviews for citicards student cash back. i wish that day had never happened. they started me with a limit of 4,000, which i did not ask for or need. I tried to lower it but they would not. I only used my card for gas and small incidentals, always making the payments and paying it off every chance i had. I had perfect payment history for 1.5 years. the following december i had to make a large purchase for school and expected to just keep making my payments until it was gone. Well that january they hiked up my interest rate to 35%! for no good reason. it sent my min payment thru the roof almost 2000! i got charged late fees and over credit limit fees because somehow the late fees get attached as !
part of your balance? at least thats what it looked like on my statement. They threw me into collections and the calls began. 7am, 5am, 3am, 11pm, 12am all times ten times a day. I began to freak out, not knowign what to do. I started looking at non profit credit counseling org's to help me figure it out. In the meantime I began to get more personal and nasty phone calls. One representative got my parents house number and began ahrassing my mother, threatening her to give them my cell number. they refused to tell her who they were or what the call was about, scaring the shit out of her. When i got the message from her i called back right away. the guy on the other end, i cannot express to you, the reader, what a fucking asshole he was to me. He refused to tell me who he was calling from. when he finally did he was a pompous asshole. I told him i was working thru a non profit org to get this problem resolved and he laughed at me and yelled at me, asking why am i doing that? H!
e demanded that i pay in full within the week or citicards was going to SUE me. I told him the best i could give him was 200 bucks right now and try to get the rest when i started working full time in a few months. his solution, and this was his only negotioation, was to have my parents cosign a loan THROUGH him to pay it off. I asked him if i could think about it. He then began to pry, asking me what i was majoring in and what i wanted to do. I told him i was hpoing to go to law school. this is what really got me; He laughed in my ear blatantly at my response. He said to me " you are alredy in debt and you want to go to school and acquire tons more debt? how many years is that, 6? I corrected him that it was only 3. I couldnt believe he was insulting my academic ability based on my inability to pay a fucking credit card bill that was trumped up with unnecessary charges. that sent me over the edge. I politely excused myself from the cal and signed on right away with the non !
profit organization. Citi cards are complete assholes that they could be so fucking rude to harass someone's personal life, which has nothing to do with the money owed to them. also to sue a poor 22 year old college student is just an unnecessary exercise of their political and financial might over the populous. what good would that do to them? they wouldnt get their fees paid back to them any faster because i have no valuable assets. Hell they couldve taken my car but then id just become unemployed and file for bankruptcy, dissolving all of my debts. they wouldnt ahve gotten a dime then. I just don't get it, why they would do taht to their customers, especially ones who have good payment history and want to establish credit. these are the people who NEED credit, people who cannot afford to pay cash for everything, like homes, and automobiles. Now my credit score sucks and i cant even apply for an apartment rental with my boyfriend because my credit is so bad that no one wil!
l rent to me. My life has just begun and now it is over thanks to citicards ability to charge wahtever they want at any given time for no vaild reason. thank you citicards, for the rest of my life i am fucking PAYING CASH!
 
160  
  Susan
Complaint_against: Citibank Platinum Select card

Complaint: I signed up for a Platinum Select card with 0% APR for 12 months. Similar to another post on this page, I did not receive my bill at all and by the time I called to inquire about it, my payment was late. After much negotiation, Citi "graciously" agreed to remove the finance charges and restore the 0% APR (which had shot up to 32% because I missed the deadline); however, they failed to do so and I received more finance charges with the next bill. I spoke with several customer service reps and a supervisor and they were "very sorry" but could not possibly refund the charges, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THEIR FAULT!! I have had a Citi AAdvantage card for years with no problems and was extremely disappointed by my experience with Platinum Select. I am cancelling the card and seriously considering cancelling my Aadvantage card too. I agree with the other poster on this site, it sounds like a scam to me.
 
161  
  Linda Sue
Complaint_against: CITI CARD

Complaint:
   I just finished talking to INDIA...yes a rep in INDIA about a transfer offer which last week a CIti Bank rep told me I could use until Dec 2007 at 6.99%.....well today I tried........Presto magic...offer isn't there!!...seems there pulled a "soft copy" of my credit report and took it off the table...Now what really burned me is...I can not get them to send my a written copy of the information to see if is is accurate....and then onto a "specialist" who was a lovely voice lady prepare to do NOTHNIG but hear me talk...at one point I hear so much background echo I asked if other people were listening..she got very nervous and danced around the answer...if people were not listening in...she would have just flatly answered "No"
    I think less and less of Citi Bank
    I think less and less of Citi Bank
    I think less and less of Citi Bank
all consumers should be out there contacting their reps to get protection laws pass..such sneaky practices they are using between raising default rates,late fees...................consumers should have the biggest clout to change this run-a-way G R E E D of the companies like CITE BANK...LETS USE OUR POWER TO CHANGE IT...starting writing!!!get some consumer laws going
 
162  
  Chuck
EmailAddress: cgarner64@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiBank

Complaint: If you have a CitiBank credit card that pays rewards for airline flight miles like their PremierPass Elite Level credit card beware that they are systematically decreasing your rewards by crediting only the first four legs of your trip.  You receive no credit for miles flown on any additional legs of that trip.  I have made numerous email attempts and two snail mail attempts to get this corrected.  My attempts have been ignored.  You can call their Rewards phone line and they will tell you to send proof of travel including boarding passes and ticket receipts.  This is however in sharp contrast to their agreement to credit you with miles with no mention of the hassle that they put you through to get these miles.  In addition they claim that they will credit miles flown with ANY airlines.  Not true.  They have never credited me with miles flown with Winward Airlines (a small Caribbean based airline).  They refuse to credit me with miles from them even when I supply !
them with boarding passes and purchase receipts.  JUST HOW MANY CARD HOLDERS ARE BEING SYSTEMATICALLY CHEATED OUT OF FLIGHT MILES BY CITIBANK?????
 
163  
  Anonymous
LaGrange Highlands IL 60525
EmailAddress: gwene1954@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiBank/Fingerhut DirectMRKT

Complaint: Citi Bank /Fingerhut has listed a charge-off on my Equifax credit file on 03/2006 and I am having problems trying to remove it. I did not sign for anything and ask them to send all sign contract or agreements and they have not to this date 06/2006 .
 
164  
  Seething from Citibank
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
Question?  Have you ever worked with Citibank?  If not...DON'T START!!!
I am not normally one to send out things such as this but after too many trials with this company, I decided to send out the following to strongly encourage you to never bank with this company.  Please feel free to send this to as many people as you care.
My mortgage was sold to Citibank about 2 1/2 years ago and I have had nothing but headaches, costs, costs, and more hidden costs from them.  In addition, customer service is somewhere in India that doesn't understand the mortgage process or customer service.  In fact, I had one "customer service representative" (I use this term loosely) actually yell at me on the phone! (Sad to say, I've since learned to ask to speak with someone in the U.S. before even going into anything.  And this is from a person whose passion is working with international and multicultural individuals.) 
The newest financial gouge from Citibank is that I had to pay $250 of MY money to close my escrow account with them, all the while that I have not been earning interest on it (they say they haven't been earning any either - yeah, right...HA!).  Ergg...
...suffice it to say...Citibank is not paying for all the marketing and TV ads out of the goodness of their own hearts rather with customers' (again, I use that term loosely) money. 
Anytime you need banking needs, RUN from Citibank, CitiMortgage or any other "Citi"-product. 
 
165  
  upacreek
Complaint_against: Associated Bank/Citi

Complaint: I am truly baffled. I just recieved a copy of my credit report and it shows a balance of over $10k owed to this company. I do not currently and have not ever had an account or credit card with them. I can not locate a correct phone number for them to find out what it is and have tried numerous numbers to Citibank directly, but they are as baffled as I. The account number is only 11 numbers and all of citi's are 16, so they say it isn't even connected to them. Does anyone have a phone number or address for them so I can get to the bottom of this?
 
166  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citibank AT&T cash back cards

Complaint:
I just found out that my at&t citibank cash back rewards card has been cancelled as of 10 July 2006.  My late husband and I have had this account since 1991.  We have never been late and have always paid the balance in full.  I received no prior notification that this account would be closed.  The supervisor at citibank said it was not his problem if I never received a letter in the mail in regards to the closing.  I received my latest statement on 12 July and low and behold, on the first sheet of the billing, next to the account summary is the following statement:
"Don't forget to use your AT&T Universal Cash Rewards Card which gives you a full 5% cash back on certain AT&T consumer products and/or services as well as a full 5% cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations".
I googled AT&T Universal card and one of the first entries was a site that people complaining that they also were not notified by Citibank that the account was being closed.  It is one thing to stop a "cash back" program, but to close people's accounts is not called for.   They are also not issue a check for any "rewards" if the amount is under $50.00.  The least they could do is credit the person's account with the amount sitting in limbo.  How much money are they keeping?
I have spent the day contacting businesses and accounts that are automatically charge to this account.  Luckily, not were due this week, except for my toll pass transponder.  That is what trigger me finding out that the account was closed.
Please try to at least give us our money that is in our cash rewards program.
 
167  
 

Anonymous

These people are not only rude and arrogant, but do not hesitate to call you a liar.  I called to discuss an unauthorized charge for fraud protection on my account and was talked to like a pit bull victim.They insisted that I repeat my social security number to them over the phone.  I told them I would be glad to give the last four digits, but frankly I do not cough up that information over the phone.  The response was no social security number, no account information.  I advised them that I was not asking them for information on my account..I am calling to give you information about an unauthorized use of my account.  I was then passed to the “RUDIST OF THE RUDE” supervisors in this day and age.  She starting telling me that when I opened the account I was given a choice of using my mother’s maiden name or my social security number.  I told her this was not true.  I further told her I never agree to giving my social security number as a means of accessing anything.  Her response and attitude was too bad.I then asked who her boss was.  She gingerly spewed out a name.  I asked for her phone number and was advised that she takes NO calls.  Then I asked for the next higher up.  She again spewed out another name and said joyfully that she takes NO calls either.  She advised no calls go higher that her.  So, in other words, she has NO Boss.  I then said I would close the account.  She gleefully said you will need your social security number to do that.  I said I do not need that.  You cannot keep me from paying this account off.  She said that I could pay it off, but it would not close until I cough up my social security number.  Wow!  What all America needs to know.  You are forever tied to your credit cards unless you are willing to give that good old social number out over the phone.  I thought that the government had made it illegal for businesses to even ask for the number.  WARNING,WARNING,WARNING!  Your business is in the sorry hands of a smart mouth supervisor if you choose to Marry a credit card company.  That is exactly what it is like, for better or WORSE.  I am 62..I have always had good credit.  This simply proves you are never too old to learn!

 
168  
  G. W.
Dallas Texas
Complaint_against: Citi Cards
Complaint:
The following is a letter sent out today to Citi Cards Customer Service. My personal information has been deleted in this copy.
From: G.W.
Date: July 18th, 2006
To: Customer Service
       Citi Cards
       8725 W. Sahara Ave.
       The Lakes NV 89163

Attention: Payment Department and/or Fraud Department

Re: Contested Charge on Account # XXXXXXXX
Transaction # XXXXXXXX on 02/01/06 for $883.32
Nature of contested charge: I never made the above charges and suspect mail fraud as another account with another credit card have also been used fraudulently.

Dear Sir,

I have contested the above listed charge. I reported this charge on 3/21/06 with Cristina (emp #KYPHQ26) over the phone. Cristina said to me that she would have my account credited for the charge. I asked her twice if anything else was needed from me. She twice said no. I asserted that other credit card companies wanted affidavits signed and returned. Again, she said it was all handled. I assumed this matter was closed.

I continued to see this charge on my statements for several more months. I called 06/13/06 to ask the status of my credit. I was told that the matter was closed and I was not credited the amount of the charge because you never received my affidavit stating that the charges were not mine. I informed "Anita" (emp # not taken) who was helping me on the phone, that I never received a copy of the check or an affidavit form, and that I was told on 3/21/06 by Cristina that no further action on my part was needed. Anita said that these copies were mailed out to me on 03/29/06. Again I said that I have not received them. Anita then said she would have another copy of the check and affidavit mailed out to me "today".

On 06/27/06 I called again to check on the paperwork as it had not been received in the mail. I was told that the paperwork was mailed out on 06/20/06.

On 07/06/06 I again called because the paperwork had not yet been received. Customer service rep Alok (emp # ALP0254) told me that the papers had not yet been mailed out to me. I was told that it takes 1 month to receive the papers from the day I requested them (that was on 06/13/06) and that I would receive them by 07/13/06. They also said that the fraud department only 'started' my paperwork on 06/20/06. I inquired as to the nature of the delays and was told that it was "so that they could process my refund credit for the amount and the interest I have been charged". WHAT?

On 07/18/06 (today) I've once again called to say that the papers have not been received. I spoke with emp # AIS2500 and was told that they will mail out another copy of the papers and I will receive them within 5-7 business days. I insisted that the papers be mailed to my work address. They refused to do so. I insisted that the papers be faxed to my personal fax number. Again, they refused to do so, saying that they don't have the resources to do that. I demanded to speak with someone who could do these things. I was asked who I would like to speak to. I told them "who ever can get this done. You choose." I was then told that they don't have the resources to let anyone else do what I've asked for.

Here is the bottom line. I've been lied to, mislead and misinformed throughout this entire situation. I will not tolerate this anymore. The mail theft that started this whole thing back in December of 2005 also involved my GM Master Card account and they were able to provide me the necessary documents in less than 1 week and credit my account within 1 month. I fail to understand why I keep getting the run a round from Citi Cards.

I am now demanding that this matter be resolved with 10 days of the receipt of this letter and demanding a personal phone call from someone who can resolve this matter once and for all. This letter has been sent to you via certified mail, return receipt.
G. W.
 
169  
  Jorden
La Quinta, CA
EmailAddress: js@wood-joy.com
Complaint_against:
Complaint:
Please stay away from these seedy guys at Citi Advantage Business Card.

We are a multi-million dollar company and have used several of these cards within the upper level of the company for general transactions, mostly T&E stuff.  Ur limit is $45,000.00 and we always pay off the purchases monthly in full.  For over a 1.5 years we have been writting letters to them to reverse charges on just two seperate issues, totalling only $87.53.  One issue was an invalid charge to our account and the other issue was that one of our employees used the company Citi card for personal use and then paid Citi with his own check to cover the costs.  He wrote our company acct. no. on the check and Citi cashed it.  We had mailed a copy of the cancelled check along with other back up documentation to try and clear up the issue.  We followed up with letters on(4)seperate occasions over the last 1.5 years and have not received any written response to date.  The amount of penalties and late charges that have accrued from this small $87.53 incident is now $1,212.17.  I c!
alled myself today to go up the chain of command until hopefully extinguishing the matter. All they would say is that the accruing late payments and interest charges were due regardless of our letters.  This person named Angela Williams (Bus. Card Acct. Mgr.)was just obsurd and basically incompetent.  Her rational for not reversing the charges is that we should have been more aggresive in trying to communicate with them.  I suppose our (4)letters were not enough. 

Clearly their mission in the AP department is to turn their heads and resist resolve as much as possible in hopes that we would just surrender and pay, pay, pay thus improving their bottom line, another words, try to wear us down.  My guess there are strong incentives to the rank and file people as well.  We are not a blue chip company but we certainly have the werewithall to confront these guys.

Our immediate plan is to cancell the account and fight out the diffrerence in Small Claims.  I would hope a judge would certainly be able to distinguish the facts and throw it out.  But how would that make up for all of the lost time and energy in jsut dealing with these guys, including taking the time to type this blog.  Writing this blog is probably the only recourse one could have against a giant such as Citi.
 
170  
  Emory Leonard
3745 Devonshire Drive
Salisbury Md 21804
Phone: 410.219
EmailAddress: Emoryl@comcast.net
Complaint_against: CitiCards MasterCard

Complaint: I have been trying to solve a credit card problem for almost a month.  I have talked with 3 different supervisors, got their names and ID numbers but when I try to refer the information that they gave me to a different supervisor, they will only say that the information that I had received from the previous 3 was incorrect and that their names and ID numbers were of no value to them or to me. I would like to know what federal agency to contact to register a complaint.
 
171  
  Sharon
London
TW4
Complaint_against: Citi Finacial

Complaint: Its funny to see that all the complaints listed are so similar. I too had a Citi card, and got slightly behind with my payments. However I managed to get a loan and pay the card off in July 2005, by December i was receiving debt letters and court action. When I queried this I was told to send confirmation of payment which I did. This is affecting by credit score hugely. They have call centres in various locations with no communication to other depts.
 
172  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Key Bank- Citibank credit card

Complaint:
I had about $120.00 available credit left on my card. The interest charged each month has been about $100.00 so I thought I was safe. All of a sudden the interest went up enough that "I" went over the limit by $8.00. Of course the credit card company notified the credit people that "I" had gone over the limit. I'm waiting for Citibank to raise my interest more because I have a bad report against me.
I think it's time to do something about this kind of activity.I think the credit report BS is part of a scam to allow the banks to have an excuse to raise interest rates.
 
173  
  Dave
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
I called Citibank to make a balance transfer, and they said "no".  My credit is good, and my limit with the card is high at ~21000.00.  My credit score is around 720.
It just seems really strange to be told "no".  I could charge the card up to the max, but I can't transfer any balance.
 
174  
  anonymous
Complaint_against: Citi Consumers

Complaint:
I have read these complaints and some of them seem feasible. I work for Citicards in collections and after reading these complaints, I see that some people are not telling the whole story.  The truth is that consumers have different wants and needs when it comes to service. One complaint was that the Citi called five days after pymt was due. Another complaint expressed that Citi did not call for three months after and issue. Fact is if you want to avoid a call then give us one and let us know your payment is late instead of getting upset when we call you.
If you pay attention to your monthly statement then three months would not pass by and you dont know your interest rate has changed or another issue occurred. A corporation cannot read minds, and if your are past due on a bill no matter the circumstance, you are just that,Past Due! I do not contact people about their account to upset, anger, belittle,or rip off, because I am a consumer also. Our associates have the ability to help a large majority of consumers. For example, we can offer 0% interest and no overlimit fees nor late fees for a year on an acct which gives the consumer a chance to pay on the principal balance.  If you are a person who claims to pay your acct off frequently to avoid interest, this is a good plan. Some people still decline and then claim that we do not help them. Instead they request a %50 settlement which is for damn sure not feasible.  If someone can request a settlement then I feel they are able to make pymts and/or bring account current. But th!
ey are trying to dodge the interest, which I already offered to drop.
Finally, we dont have a pay-ahead feature so if you read your statements you would see that message. So if you make more than your monthly pymt and expect not to have a pymt do the next month, you will get a late fee(which we have no problem waiving if you are willing to make your statment pymt to bring account current.
Remember when you talk to an associate, tell the truth. We know more than you think.
 

175

 
  Unanimous
Complaint_against: CitiCard Customer Service

Complaint:
My case is different.  We received a call from collector for CitiCard (National Enterprise Collection Agency) claiming that we owed a large amount and demanded for payment.  They did not bother to verify if the party on the other end in fact is the correct people on the account.  My husband tries to explain to her that she got the wrong people but she refused to listen, to give out any information for verification or demonstrate a willingness to do so.  She asked my husband for his Social Security Number.  Duh...for someone in this business, don't they know this is the first rule NOT TO DO???? The lady on the phone were rude, aggressive with one-track mind.  With our best intention and efforts, we contacted CitiCard trying to straighten out THEIR MESS.  When the rep came on line, I started to explain our situation but she responded with condescending tone that she would first take all information from me before answering any of my questions.  I complied by giving my name, my current address, my home phone, my work phone, my Social Security Number, my husband's work phone.  She then proceed that she cannot discuss this with me because the account is in my husband's name.  I tried to tell her that they have been chasing after the wrong people on this account but she refused to listen.  She kept telling me that I'm not authorized to talk about this account and yet she UPDATED THE ACCOUNT WITH INFORMATION I GAVE HER - UNAUTHORIZED AND UNVERIFIABLE SOURCE according to her.  How smart is it???  My husband had to call them again and then find out that the person on the account happened to have same first name, last name and his mother's last name.  With no apologies, they simply said that it can happen easily because many people has the same last name as we do.  We are absolutely amazed at how casual they handle our personal and private information.  What happened to cross-check information on the person profile.  They have a complete file including id, address, birth date and yet they don't bother to use it.  Also I learned about the private and personal information of the other party from the lady who claimed that I don't have authority to discuss about this account during the process.  If some of you remember from few years back, they were on the news about lost tapes containing data of their customers.  Their incompetency is highly profiled and spreading through the company.  We luckily don't have any account with CitiCard and will never use them or recommend our families and friends to use them.  As for everyone else, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THEM.  There are many good credit cards companies out there.  Do some research.
 
176  
  Lydia
Cicero, ny 13039
EmailAddress: luvmicat1@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CITICARDS

Complaint: I too had the same problem!!! They made up an account that I never had! Fraud was illegal in America the last time I checked.THey couldnt even verify my SS# and now that they found an underhanded enough company Eltman Eltman and cooper to do their dirty work, I also am being threatened with "leagal processes" and have had to work very hard to get anything involving my credit report. Im a decent citizen who does work for the community, and companies like this are the ones that are taking over America. It's a shame. Dont believe their identity theft commercials - theyre just a cover up and will probably only get you further into problems because theydbe able to claim that theyve protected you. I find it convenient that both the company and it's collections agencies can't give you any clear answers and/or wont even talk to you thus exetending the time period that they have to collect interest. Lawyers fees are just as expensive and for persons that never even had the!
 card -its just absurd. spending money they never saw coming. And the collections agencies are just as bad - talking about never recieving the dispute letters and having already sent summons when they havent. Just nauseating.
 
177  
  Robert Williams
508 Parvin Dr
Clarita CA 91350
EmailAddress: y1k@comcast.net
Complaint_against: CitiBank

Complaint:
I enrolled in Citibanks Electronic Statement Delivery Program and was to receive a $20 credit as an incentive for doing so. As of this date and after several frustrating telephone inquiries I have not received the credit. 
My conversation with Citibank resulted in one excuse after another.  At first I was told the credit would appear after two monthly statements have been delivered.  Upon further inquiry, I was told the credit would appear after the forth monthly statement.  I finally paid off my account with the exception of the $20 owed.
I have been a Quicken card holder for approximately seven years with never a late charge.  I honor my obligations and expect Citibank to do the same.  Please let me know if a similar situation has been experienced. 
 
178  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citi Card

Complaint:
Applied for Citi Card that offered 5% cashback on purchases at gasoline stations and grocery stores.  Received card and used it for purchasing gasoline, groceries, meals, etc.  Problem #1: Went online to make full payment three days before due date.  Was allowed to make a payment of $1,000 only. Mailed in the rest the same day.  Problem #2: Called about the 5% cashback to inquire why the cashback amount was low given the amount of purchases at gasoline stations and grocery stores.  Found out that not all gas stations qualified, even for gas stations that had obvious names like "Gas One."  Problem #3: Had requested a refund for late service charges for a full payment made one day late.  Reason: Confusing account statement listing multiple dates of payments made and due dates.  Was promised the refund.  One month later, still nothing.  RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT GET CITI CARDS. Deception and trickeries are main reasons.
 
179  
  HMD
California
Complaint_against: Citibank (AAdvantage Business Card)

Complaint: I have used AAdvatage Business Cards from Citibank for over seven years.  Over the last couple of years I have shifted more business to AMEX card due to their superior service.  I still charge about $125,000 a year on the Citi card.  Two months ago a merchant failed to issue us a full credit on a transaction and we had just moved so the bill was delayed (an in fact never arrived).  Not having used the card in three months I forgot to call them about the bill not having arrived and really did not think much of it since I was under the impression that the balance would be zero since the credit would have been issued by the merchant.  We charged two adiitional charges on the card (usually over $10,000) and the next statement arrived.  Well, as you can guess we were charged with a late fee and a $650 interest charge.  I called them immediately and send in the full balance of about $60 K and contacted the merchant who promptly corrected their error and issued an immedi!
ate credit to the account.  I received my next bill and saw another $400 in finance charges due to the time for my check to clear (they basically hold on to the check and allow the interest to build).  I was very angry and promptly requested cancellation of all of our accounts.  I now had an almost $6,000 credit on my account that I requested to get back.  It has now been over 5 weeks and nothing. I have faxed them, written to them, talked to them on the phone and they still had not sent me the $6,000.  I finally called yesterday and talked to another phone rep (hopeless) and all documented and she claimed that they did not receive my fax from two weeks ago and that the one from two weeks earlier (1 month) was vague!  This is despite me having documntation and confirmation of the fax transmissions.  It took them over 8 days from my faxing the original request for it to show up on her screen!  Regarding the "vague issue", I simply said that I want all of my accounts (listing !
the account numbers) closed immediately and any remaining credit to be mailed in form of a check to the address on file (following the instructions given to my by the phone rep).  After two weeks and no check from them I called and this time I was told that they received the first fax but it was vague since I did not tell them the exact amount to be sent back! (Now please don't scream with me, I AM CLOSING THE ACCOUNT, WHATEVER IS LEFT IS TO BE SENT BACK, WHY WOULD IT BE MORE OR LESS?).  They failed to say this when I asked to close my account and failed to contact me regarding this amount not being mentioned in my first request.  The second fax sent was typed word for word on what they need to know to close the accounts and send the check.  Well as I mentioned they claimed that they never received the second fax which was sent to the same number, silimar fax cover sheet and letter head.  As you can guess I was really pissed by now.  In seven years we had an excellent record!
 of paying all of our bills on time with the average yearly charges of $200,000.  We were only late one time in all these years and that was due to a move and the bill being mailed five days before the due date and being processed a week later.  I asked the phone rep on how I can get my money back and she put me on hold and came back after about a minute saying If I reaaly wanted to close my account!  I said yes and she said that the check will be processed and I should have it in about 10 to 14 days.  That would make it 6 weeks after I requested my account to be closed and Citi has kept the money all this time without any interest being paid to me!  They are unprofessional and there are better choices out there.  There is no perfect card, however having had a number of cards for personnal and business, I can say that by far AMEX people are the most professional and look out for the card holder's interest in a dispute.  I hope this was helpful. Thank you
 
180  
  anonymous
Complaint_against: citi financial

Complaint: I PURCHASED A HOT TUB FROM A COMPANY WHICH USES CITI FINANCIAL OFFER OF NO INTEREST FOR 6 MONTHS.MY WIFE NOTICED THAT WE HAD NOT RECEIVED A BILL FOR AWHILE SO WE FOUND AN OLD ONE AND MAILED OUR PAYMENT IN FULL TO AVOID GETTING DINGED WITH INTEREST.LATER THAT SAME DAY WE RECEIVED THE BILL WHICH WAS OCT.11 WITH A PAYMENT DUE DATE FOR OCT.17.FUNNY THAT THE BILL COMES IN SO LATE AND CLOSE TO THE DEADLINE.WE WERE STILL CONFIDENT THAT THE PAYMENT WOULD ARRIVE IN TIME AND WE HAD THE ENVELOPE POSTMARKED ON OCT.11 FOR ADDED PRECAUTION.THE DAY OF NOV.14 I RECEIVED A BILL STATING THAT THE FUNDS HAD BEEN TAKEN OUT 2 DAYS LATE AND THAT I OWED THEM $939.88 FOR INTEREST.I IMMEDIATELY PHNED THEM AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD NOT RECEIVED THE PAYMENT UNTIL NOV.19 WHICH IS HIGHLY DOUBTFUL.SO THEN I ASKED THEM IF THEY HAD KEPT THE ENVELOPE WITH THE POSTMARK AND THET SAID NO AND THAT IT WAS THROWN OUT.HOW VERY CONVENIENT FOR THEM.INCIDENTALLY BOTH MYSELF AND MY WIFE WORK FOR THE POST OF!
FICE AND KNOW THAT WHEN A LETTER ARRIVES AT THE CITY OR TOWN THAT THE STAMP GETS CANCELLED WITH A DATE SHOWING WHEN IT ARRIVED IN SAID CITY OR TOWN.THE CANADIAN POST OFFICE IS VERY FAST THESE DAYS WITH THE ADVENT OF HIGH TECH. MACHINERY SO THAT LETTER WOULD OF BEEN THERE WELL BEFORE THAT DATE.THE FACT THAT THEY DICARDED MY ENVELOPE WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR PROOF TELLS ME THAT THIS SO CALLED COMPANY ARE A BUNCH OF SCAM ARTISTS.HOWEVER THE COMPANY WHERE I PURCHASED MY HOT TUB REVIEWED WHEN I HAD RECEIVED MY HOT TUB AND REALISED THAT I RECEIVED IY IN JULY AND THAT THE SCUMBAGS AT CITI COULD NOT COLLECT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT EVEN 6 MONTHS SO THEIR CLAIM THAT I OWED THEM $ 939.88 WAS WAIVED.I ADVISE ANYONE NOT TO DO BUSINESS WITH CITI OR ANY COMPANIES THAT USES CITI WITH THEIR NIFTY LITTLE PROMOTIONS.BEWARE,BEWARE,BEWARE THESE PEOPLE ARE RUDE AND RUTHLESS.ANYONE ELSE HAVING SIMILAR STORIES IN CANADA PLEASE POST YOUR STATEMENTS OF DISGUST WITH THIS SO CALLED COMPANY AND SPREAD THE!
 WORD THAT CITI IS CROOKED.
 
181  
  kristin
Complaint_against: citibank

Complaint: You know it is really annoying hearing every one want to sue someone for their ingorance.  Maybe if you spent more time reading and less time feeling sorry for yourself you would get places in the world.  Everyone wants to point fingers because they can not take blame.  Citibank is very customer friendly.  This kind of reminds me of the coffee in the lap lady.  She needs to sue someone so that she could get some attention.
 
182  
  Lynda Hollingsworth
Denise Street
Park Tx77536
EmailAddress: peacemaker24@msn.com
Complaint_against: Citibank credit cards

Complaint:
If you have a Citibank card please cut it in half  I have had a Citibank card for 10 years.  I have always paid my account online at least 3 days before the due date to avoid that dreaded 39.00 late fee.  I paid 24.95 credit protector fee for years.  This past January I was laid off from my job.  I drew unemployment for 6 months.  At the time my Citibank card was frozen...I couldnt use it and I didnt owe any payments as long as I was unemployed because of the credit protector.  I went back to work in November for the same company but at only 2 days a week.  On my last statement they had raised my interest rate from 12.9 to a whopping 28.9%  I called them and told them that my salary had been cut drastically and was there anything that they could do.  They said no.  I could understand it if I had been late on my payments...but I have not.  It is just unmittigated GREED on their part and unfortunately there are no laws to protect the consumer.  Citibank was one of the major contributors to the lobbyist when Congress passed the bankrupcy law.  In other words the consumers are just screwed.
 
183  
  Melissa
Princeton, MA 01541
Complaint_against: Citi Cards

Complaint:
I've been having so much trouble with Citi Cards!!!  I just found this website and after reading it, why isn't anyone doing anything about this?!?!?!?!
I used my card to cover medical bills & groceries.  I fell behind paying after my daughter was born. About two months later I decided to join a credit counseling company.  My other six creidtors jumped on board, but Citi cards gave a hard time!  They kept wanting more and more money & I kep agreeing to it.  I soon found out they needed another proposal for more money within one day or I was being turned over to a collections agency.  I called my counseling company & they were willing to fax a proposal.  Citi cards does not except faxed proposal's only by mail.  I told the man "that the u.s. postal system does not works that fast." and he replied "I guess your basically screwed".  Another time before that while trying to give them more money a lady from Citi cards told me "nothing you do will ever make things better and we'll never stop calling you".  So now I've been sent to a collection's agency and I'm probably going to court. 
P.S. If anyone wants to do anything to change this credit card company with me I'm willing to take it to the next step:
email- dance@princetonacademyofdance.com
 
184  
  Tish Owens
EmailAddress: tishowens2003@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiCard MasterCard

Complaint: This is a complaint against CitiCard MasterCard. I have been financially unable to make payments on my account and therefore agreed to a repayment plan. The plan was to make monthly scheduled payments of a set amount. The agent that I worked with (Jeremiah Stanley) informed me that if I ever had a problem making payments to just give him a call and he could work something out. Recently I was unable to make my set monthly payment and called to see what my options were. My agent was unavailable and I spoke with another who rudely told me that either I made up the scheduled payment by the due date of the scheduled next payment or I would not be able to continue in the plan. I assumed that this must have been a mistake so I called my agent (Jeremiah Stanley ext: 34020) at the number and personal extension that he gave me. After 8 calls I finally reached him personally, and he informed me that my only options were to make both payments or I could allow my plan to "brea!
k" and he could set me up on "another plan", of which the interest rate would of course be astronomical. He then informed me that the purpose of the plan was to have the balance paid within 5 years. This length of time shocked me and I inquired as to if this timetable was correct? It couldn't possibly be correct, if so, I would have paid my balance more than twice within that time. He failed to mention this length of time when he initially signed me up. When I pointed this fact out to him he told me that the purpose of the plan was to pay off the account as soon as possible and that his manager would "have a problem" if all of the people who agreed to a repayment plan were locked in at paying the minimum monthly amount due. I then asked to speak to his manager and he told me that he was the highest authority that I could speak to if I wanted any issue resolved. He continued in saying that his manager didn't speak directly to customers and that he could transfer me to general!
 customer service. After a back and forth 20 minute conversation with a customer service agent it was determined that Mr. Stanley was not accurate in his 5 year timeline and that it did not apply to my account. I have no idea of what information is accurate and in my attempt to receive literature about all possible avenues to determine what was best for me I was told that "I should have received a letter a few months back". Is this indicative of customer service at CitiCard?
 
185  
  James mingle
EmailAddress: javajim@bellsouth.net
Complaint_against: citi platinumselect mastercard

Complaint:  I recieved a bill from Citi saying I had purchased propl for 59.95.I called citi and they asked me if I had called the co. " whoever" they are for I certainly have never heard of them. I ask how it is possible for a charge to be made on my card without a password. well "duh" they don't know . They then say they will remove it I ask them who it is they will not give me an answer. mr.Scott "rt103" . I tell them I won't to prosecute whoever did it . I believe they "mastercard" put this on my bill it is some sort of protection or thing they could ck it out and determine who placed the order it would not be that difficult . they are a bunch of crooks. whoever put this on my bill should be prosecuted and jailed it is blatlant fraud.  I am going send letters to state ATTY GENERAL's office and federal trade commission . evidently Citi has way to many lobbyists in Washington bleeding John q public out of our money and must think they can steal  and get away with it.PEOPLE!
 CHECK YOUR CARDS YOU COULD BE BEING CHARGED FOR STUFF YOU ARE NOT ORDERING AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT OUTRAGEOUS CHARGES FOR IT>-------Mastercard is a joke name should be UBEENHAD CARD
 
186  
  Teressa James
Salem, OR 97302
EmailAddress: teressajames1215@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: citibank

Complaint:
If I requested a copy of terms of my credit card, are they required to send this to me? I was told by Citibank that they pay the lowest rate balance first. I had sent a check to payoff a "purchase" balance, which was at a rate considerably higher than my other promotional rate balance and I indicated on the check to pay the "purchase" balance (and also wrote a note on the payment coupon) but they applied it to the promotional rate balance. They explained their policy and I asked for it in writing, but when they sent me a letter in the mail, it said "Thank you for taking the time and giving us the opportunity to discuss your Citi PremierPass cardmembership" but did not include the terms of my credit card that I requested. Is this just bad customer service or do they need to provide this information to a consumer?
Thanks.
 
187  
  Linda Simmons
Signal Hill, CA  90755
EmailAddress: linda@onecardonline.com
Complaint_against: Citi Cards

Complaint: Received bill just a couple of days before it was due; therefore, I had to pay the bill by phone and they charged $14.95 in order to do this.
 
188  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: Citibank/Goodyear
Complaint:
Avoid Citibank/Goodyear ...

I made a charge at Goodyear for $300 last July and, apparently, never thought about it again. I never received a bill, never received a phone call. So, I totally forgot about it. Fast forward to March ... I get a call inquiring about the $550 they were owed, including more than $200 in late fees and interest. They admitted they did not have my correct address and that I had never received statements. I moved more than two years ago. They did, obviously, have my correct phone number. They never called once over nine months, obviously to allow the late charges to pile up big on a small purchase, and then go, hey, where's our money? I was told they had called several times and left messages ... that is a total lie. A supervisor agreed to remove three months' late fees, but that was all they would budge. Have they no responsibility to contact me before nine months to inquire about payment? Or to track down my correct address and send statements? Avoid the predator Citibank like!
 the plague, folks...
 
189  
  Mike
Lenexa, KS
EmailAddress: mpirner@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
I had a ~$44 monthly payment due on April 19.  I submitted my payment at about 4:30 p.m. CT on the 19th.
However, Citibank has a system which requires you to post your payments before 5 p.m ET in order for it to count as being received on that day.  So, what did they do?  Charged me a $39 late fee.
I submitted a customer service request and they indicated they would review my account for an adjustment once the late fee posted.  Once it did I submitted a request, which was denied because they said it was "received" on the 20th despite my payment being sent in the middle of the afternoon the day it was due.
These kind of practices give CC companies a bad name -- folks made good faith efforts to pay on time, and they charge you a late fee.  With modern technology, why can't a payment received anytime on the due date be counted?  Why does it have to shut off at 4 p.m. like we're living in 1975?
 
190  
  K  Brinkley
Las Vegas NV  89103
EmailAddress: lobobrinkley@excite.com
Complaint_against: Citi Card

Complaint: What a rip off company. What I want to know is how anyone human can work for these people. Long story short I was in a bad realtionship and at the end I got stuck with the debt which was overwhelming but I worked as best I could to pay it off never trying to dodge the phone calls. I have two cards  that fall under Citi Corp a Visa and my Sears. They have buried me in interest rates. At one point I had an agreement with the Sears card low interest and payments taken out of my checking account, Well thats all gone  it doesn't matter how hard an effort you make they want to bleed you dry. No matter how much I talk with them explain I get told I dont qualify for  any program to help me get rid of the debt and the balance keeps growing the the payments keep going up. 
 
191  
  Bob
Elyria,Ohio 44035
EmailAddress: raj201@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
This is the message I sent to Citibank, I forwarded it to Good Year as well as Conrad's,  I do believe your business will suffer with continued association.  Unless people take the time to follow up Good Year is the name that is smeared by this kind of service.  Citibank doesn't suffer.   I know I will be hesitant to do business again because of this.  I will seek out another Center that does not do business with Citibank where I can get a 90 days same as cash card to use.
After approx. 5 years I returned to Good Year for car service.  I last used my Good Year credit card in 2002.  Tuesday 6/5 at Conrad's of Elyria  Ohio Broad St. store, I had tires put on my car as well as maintenance done, I re-applied for a card only to be told I already had an account, it was re-activated and I was given an acct. number over the phone to give to Conrad's to pay for my purchases.  Wed. 6/6 the number I was given was refused, again we call only to be told I need to re-apply, which I did only to be told I already had an account.  We then call and speak to Brandon who apologizes.  He states I can now run my card number to pay but he isn't willing to discuss the time I have devoted to Good Year now, he passes me to Whittaker, who states I will be compensated, but doesn't say how, and takes my credit card app. data a third time, states he will fix things and call us back.  We waited until 1900 for a call that never came , Good Year at this point owes me for 2 h!
rs time ($60) and if I have to spend any more time on the phone or at Conrad's taking care of this that figure will increase.  While I am happy with Conrad's service I will have to think about using them in the future because of their affiliation with Good Year and the unacceptable treatment I have gotten from Good Year.  I will not spend the kind of money you are asking for service and then spend hours of my time trying to pay you.  We are now on day 3, I have found out that it is not Good Year that owes me, it is Citibank.  I just spoke with Lisa, who stated she was also in contact with Whittaker, stating that he tried to call back and could not get through, we were in the store until 1845 or 1850, no call.  Will not discuss compensation of my time spent trying to clear up this comedy of errors. 
 
192  
  Joanne
westerly,ri 02891
Complaint_against: citibank

Complaint:
don't use them. they do not care about their customers. I incurred a 75$ fee I did not deserve because of them.
They were unwilling to help me at all. The so-called "manager" was rude and unhelpful.
I will never do business with them again.
 
193  
  Joanne
westerly,ri 02891
Complaint_against: citibank

Complaint:
don't use them. they do not care about their customers. I incurred a 75$ fee I did not deserve because of them.
They were unwilling to help me at all. The so-called "manager" was rude and unhelpful.
I will never do business with them again.
 
194  
  J.
Minnesota
Complaint_against: CitiBank/Universal Card

Complaint:
I've been a customer of CitiBank's Universal Card for thirteen years. In that time I've been a faithful customery, always paying on time, and have carried a balance often enough that they have made a LOT of money off of me.
But somehow I missed a payment this month. It was my fault, I'm sure--I've been pretty overwhelmed and distracted lately because my dad has a malignant brain tumor. By the time I realized that I'd overlooked one and made an immediate payment online, it was 10 days overdue.
10 days late ONCE in THIRTEEN YEARS, and what does CitiBank do? They hike up my interest rate to 32%. My god, is a rate that high even LEGAL? Are there no limits on what they can charge? Even an illegal loan shark wouldn't charge a rate that high!
I called them and asked to have my original rate restored, but they won't do it. They said that if I have a good payment record for the next six months, I can call them again. "What about my good payment record for the past thirteen years?" I asked. Same answer. In six months maybe they can reconsider.
Wrong answer, CitiBank. I have a great credit rating and I'd gotten a 0% balance transfer offer in the mail that very day. So I arranged to transfer everything away from CitiBank as soon as possible. The minute that transfer goes through, it will be my very great pleasure to call them and cancel my account.
I stuck with them all this time out of customer loyalty, but it's obvious now that they don't care about loyal customers or customer service. Only about gouging every dime and dollar out of a person, regardless of a long history as a good and reliable customer.  I will never do business with these usurious rip-off artists again.
 
195  
  DSV
Complaint_against: Chase and Citi

Complaint:
Never ever get a card from either of these banks, trust me you will regret it!  I had a 3 different balances on my credit card with Chase.  1- balance transfer 2-purchases & 3-cash advance  I made all my payments before the due date plus extra, all payments were made on their website and the payments always went through in 1-2 days. I got my statement and my cash advance amount had gone up even though I had not taken a cash advance. When I called I was told that because my husband had made a purchase, my payment had been applied to that and not leaving enough funds to cover the interest due. They took the amount that was due in iterest and applied it to the cash advance balance, which of course has the highest interest rate. When I called I was told too bad there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I again made my payment plus extra on their website only this time the payment didn't go through for 5 days, 1 day after my due date so I got hit with a late charge which I didn't know about until I got my next statement and saw that my cash advance balance had gone up again. Yup, they had applied the late charge to that. Again I called and was told that I was mismanaging my account because I kept taking cash advances against it!  Meanwhile.........I received an offer from Citi which I called and applied for with a balance transfer to be sent to Chase to close the account with them. The next day I called Citi back and told them I wanted to cancel the application. They said there was nothing in their system on me, to call back in a week. 2 days later I get an email from them complete with the last 4 digits of my new account number. I replied to it and told them to cancel the account. The reply was nothing could be done via email, so I called again. This time I was told that their system was down, could I call back in 4-5 hours. 2 hours later I called and now I'm told that there is nothing I can do because the transfer had already been sent even though I had originally been told it would not go out for at least 2 weeks.
Further more.........I am well aware of how credit works and know how to read. As far as I'm concerned both Chase and Citi are nothing but liars and thieves.
 
196  
  Amy
Minnesota
Complaint_against: Bank of America

Complaint:
Last month I had a ZERO balance on my Bank of America card. Knowing this, I thought it was odd that I received an E-bill. I decided to look to make sure nothing was wrong, and I had a credit balance of $50. BANK OF AMERICA CONTINUED MY AUTOPAY SERVICE AND DEDUCTED $50 EVEN THOUGH MY BALANCE WAS ZERO. I had to call and request the money back in check form, of course with no interest being paid to me on the use of my money. Just think of the interest they make if they do this to everyone who uses auto-pay, even if they are only able to use your money for a short time.
Any other company, when I have used auto-pay, does NOT deduct payments when my balance is ZERO.
 
197  
  TM
IL
Complaint_against: DON'T EVER GET A CITIBANK CREDIT CARD!

Complaint: I received a great balance transfer offer in the mail from Citibank so I decided to go through with it. Boy am I sorry now. They said that they needed 5-7 business days for the first payment check to clear my bank. With this in mind, I mailed my first payment 10 business days before it was due. I didn't see that my payment was posted 2 days before it was due so I contacted their customer service department. They were very unhelpful and they said to check with my bank to see if the check cleared. My bank said that they have not received the check. In my opinion it is a pretty good scam on Citibank's end. They can say that they didn't receive payment on these special balance transfers so after it's late they can make your interest rate sky rocket. Total joke! I can't wait to see my next statement and who knows when they will actually post the payment to my account! I supposed one day the check will magically re-surface. This was such a bad decision on my part. My si!
ster told me not to go with them but I liked their offer. I'm so sorry now. I plan on transferring my balance back to my old credit card. At least that company doesn't play games like Citibank does. 
 
198  
  Patty
Omaha, NE  68135
Complaint_against: Citi Bank

Complaint:
BEWARE HOME DEPOT 12 MONTHS SAME AS CASH (AND OTHER BOX STORE CARDS UNDERWRITTEN BY CITI BANK)
PER HOME DEPOT MANAGER, CITIBANK HAS RECENTLY CHANGED THEIR POLICY AND NOW APPLIS ANY PAYMENTS TO NON-PROMOTIONAL BALANCES FIRST.  IF YOU HAVE AN OTHER BALANCES ON A CARD, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PAY OFF THE PROMOTIONAL BALANCE ON TIME AND AVOID ACCRUED CHARGES.  MY STORY BELOW: Citi Bank underwrites the Home Depot credit card (and many other stores.  My husband and I have a Home Depot credit card and used it for a 12 Months Same as Cash purchase.  As we approached the 1 year pay-off date, I went into the store to pay the $182.11 remainingon the bill.  My husband had recently charged anther item, so we had 2 balances - 1 promotional and 1 at regular interest.  I could not find a way on their web site to direct my payment to the promotional balance and could not get thru to a human on their Phone IVR.  I went into the store, and a store employee explained it's a Citibank card, and he called Citi bank and explained how the payment was to be processed.  I paid the balance, took his name, and my receipt.  The next month, I received my bill, and the payment was applied to the NON-PROMOTIONAL balance!!  I went into the store and talked to the person who had tried to take care of it the month before.  He called Citibank, and they said that my husband would need to call them (even though we couldn't find a way to get thru to a human) or come into the store, because he was the "primary" on the account.  Even though it was their mistake, they would not correct it.  I complained to the Home Depot manager - - and he could've cared less.  All he would say was it's a Citibank card we don't have anything to do with it  Not even an apology.  He did say that Citibank has recently changed their practice and now automatically applies any payments to a non-promotional balance first.  In effect, it's almost impossible to pay off the promotion on time if you have any other balance.  I paid in full and closed the account - will never shop with Home Depot again. 
 
199  
  Jaffer Jamil
Claremont, CA 91711
EmailAddress: jjamil@earthlink.net
Complaint_against: Citicard & Sears Card

Complaint:
This card is in my wife's name. She had applied for and received a Sears card, which we did not know, until very recently, was actually a Citicard. She was behind in payments, sought out the help of a debt management agency, until we decided to offer settlements. Notably, all the other cards settled for less that the balance. Of all the cards, Citicard/Sears has been the most hard-nosed about setllements. I called their collections center and was refused a settlement. I asked for a manager, and was given a supervisor, who predictably refused a settlement. What is shocking, however, was that he refused to escalate my request to the next higher level of management. Evidently Citicard does not have any escalation process that can be caleld compliant with any standards body for customer service. I asked this supervisor to pass my message  to his manager & he refused, saying that for credit card collections, the decision is made by the him and people higher are only hired to mak!
e sure he arrives on time!!  he even challenged me to approach his corporate offices and stated with complete confidence that anything I do will end up with his center. 
Reading about all the complaints on the web and internet sites about Citicard, it is old news about their deceptives practices, excessive late fee charges, delayed billing to rack up charges & their overall all-gouging, no-compromise approach. What needs to be added to that list of vices is "Customer Experience". Harvard Business Review devotes 1 - 3 articles on the subject in every issue. Citicard pointedly does not adhere to any of the guidelines in any of those articles. Evidently, Citicard is not qualified, by virtue of their attitude, to do business in a customer-oriented society (USA) and perhaps should be encouraged to continue their operations outside the USA.
This is a dinosaur that has passed it's prime and is completely out of tune with customer service trends in free economies. They use all kinds of methodologies to overstate their revenue generating assets, which in reality are non-existent in many cases, so that they can finance the acquisition of small banks across the world. Given this approach, they have to keep doing "acquisitions", a term for increasing market share by acquiring store cards. FTC may need to set up a special unit to protect the American consumer from these virulently exploitive dinosaurs.
 
200  
  Yoko
CA
Complaint_against: CITI CARD

Complaint:
I apply for citicard.
When I signed up for this card, it clearly stated that I would get an introductive 0% APR for the first full year. But I just found out that I was being charged financial fee since May. I feel like I'm being tricked and this service isn't what it stated to be.  and they said it has expired which has not.  CITICARD are doing fraud advertising!!!!  DO NOT TRUST THEM EVER!  Please spread around this message around so people do not fall for this CITICARD JOKE!!!!  Extermely dissapointed.
 
201  
  Anonymous
California
Complaint_against: Citi Card / Citicorp

Complaint:
I originally had a Sears Credit Card that I received 1995 and allowed my wife to use the card even though I was the only one on the account.  I figured out that in about 2002-2003 Citi Card took over the Sears credit line and automatically raised the credit limit (Citi card representatives were unable to tell me when they took over).   In July 2007 I did a credit check and found out that I had a negative mark on my credit report from Citi card and the credit balance was up to $15,000 with numerous late fees.  I called Citi card on 07-19-07.  I spoke with customer service, a customer service supervisor, and the fraud department.  I received different stories on how the balance got so high and the interest itself was already at 32.24%.  In one instance I was told that on January 1, 2000 there was a charge of $13,241.93 and I requested a copy of that statement and never received it. There was no possible way that a charge of that size could have been made on the credit card.  My limit was not that high and the charge was supposedly made outside of Sears (which was impossible because it was still just a Sears card).  I again called Citi card on 07-23-07 and was given a variety of stories and when I asked how my wife got a card I was told that a spouse can get a credit card under her husband's name, which is ridiculous.  Nobody could tell me when my wife was put on the card not even the supervisor.   I called again on 07-24-07 looking for some answers and was advised that my account was in my name only and that the default rate of 32.24% came into effect 11-29-06.  This couldn't be true when I have a copy of a bill showing that default rate already in effect on 08-08-06.  I called again on 07-25-07 and was advised  that my wife had been put on my card on 06-24-06.  This was a bunch of bull also because there had not been any purchases on the account since September 7, 2004. I also contacted them on 07-25-07 to get a number to the Citi card corporate office and she did not know of any, just like all the other employees I spoke with.  No billing statements were received in November or December of 2006 but my wife started receiving statements again in January and February of 2007.  She continued to make payments at the Sears store even though we did not receive any statements.  We no longer received any statements from March-July of 2007.  While I was trying to gather all this miss information from the supervisors and service representatives to make sense of what was really going on, I was still tacking on 32.24% interest everyday on the balance.  I made an over $1,500 payment over the phone to Sandra 0n 07-24-07 and on 08-14-07 I paid off the account just to get rid of it.  Even having made the payment on 07-24-07 I received 3 phone calls on 07-30-07 requesting the payment I had already made.  Each of the callers checked the notes and saw that the payment had been made and they still called.  The practices of Citi card and or Citicorp are questionable and it appears that there representatives are not very knowledgeable or just do not know how to read the information in the systems.  I don't know if all the incorrect information I received is just to prolong me from getting rid of this account or if it is on purpose to prolong the interest charges adding up.  The interest and late charges just kept adding up as the account balance continuously rose despite making payments.  My suggestion to anyone is to never get a involved with anything that that deals with Citi Card and/or Citicorp.
 
202  
  John R. Kovach
Detroit, Michigan 48224
EmailAddress: idesignit@myway.com
Complaint_against: CITIBANK

Complaint: THE CITIBANK "DRIVERS EDGE" CREDIT CARD IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM. SERVICE FROM THEM IS RUDE AND TERRIBLE. THEY CHARGE A LOANSHARKS RATE OF 28% INTEREST. WHEN YOU SEND IN A PAYMENT IT GETS REROUTED TO SEVERAL OF THEIR SITES AROUND THE COUNTRY SO THAT YOU GET A LATE CHARGE. I CAN NOT THINK OF A MORE EVIL ORGANIZATION.
 
203  
  Julia
Fremont, CA 94555
EmailAddress: y2k_margarita@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CITI CARDS

Complaint:
I've applied Citi Card's Driver's Edge Options and provided most of the required info to them.  one of the benefit is I can get money back after paying for the car service at cost minimum $25.00.  Once I had my car's oil change done and it's over $25.00.  I sent the form to them along with the invoice and receipt.  I filled out the form without leaving any blanks, but they replied my request saying I'm not qualified because:  1. I didn't provide the VIN of my car;  2. My expense was less than $25.00!;  3. The VIN of my car provided to them was not accurate I wonder if they have sight problem.  My expense was exactly over $25.00 and that was BEFORE TAX!!!  Luckily I kept a copy of everything I mailed to them.  I even sent them a copy of the VIN that was taped on the car (you know, specs of a new car usually posted on each car with VIN).  Guess what, I've totally mailed the same stuff to them for at least 3 times.  Everytime they sent me the letter with S.LARSEN has different reasons/excuses (the above 3 are part of them).  That was happened in May 2007 and now is Aug 2007.  They still haven't gave me the money back till now 8/17/2007 and even charged me late fee with finance charge because I missed one payment.  See???  They only take our money and never give us what they promoted.  Since they take our money like this, they should pay back the credit to us with interest applied!  Today I called them during my lunch hour and they asked me to call again after 15 minutes because their systems are updating!  They wasted all my tim!
e with the auto attendance punching in all my info and end up asking me to call again while I finally reached a real person!
 
204  
  Anonymous
Complaint_against: citi bank

Complaint: I dont seem to be the only one having problems with this company....I just recieved a notice from them that my account is delinquent but I had not even recieved my first bill from them yet. When I called to discuss tha issue they informed me that I was a month past due and that they had put the wrong mailing address on my bill(but yet I recieved the delnquent notice)! I still had to pay for last month and this month PLUS a late charge from last month to bring my account current. To add to all of this I was informed that being late one month incresed my interest rate!!! MY question to the lady was-"How am I suppose to pay my bill on time if you dont send me a bill?" Her response was that I should have called them....WITH WHAT NUMBER???...I HAD NO BILL TO GET THE PHONE NUMBER OR ACCOUNT NUMBER! So even though they admitted to having the wrong address on my bill, I had to pay for their mistake.
 
205  
  Heather
Greeley, CO 80634
Complaint_against: CitiBank

Complaint: After CitiBank cancelled their Verizon Wireless Credit Card, I called to pay the balance in full and confirm that the card was cancelled.  I destroyed the card and thought nothing else about it.  Upon returning from my summer job, I found a statement claiming that I still owed $40.99.  The charges were from a credit protector fee (which I assumed was also cancelled) and a Pay by Phone Fee (that I was unaware of) which had rolled over and gone past due.  There was then a late payment fee tagged onto all of that.  Now, I understand that these things can happen when it's just a computer keeping track of all of this.  That is one thing, but when I call and receive RUDE customer service I am just plain disgusted!  My advice... keep calling them back until you reach a CitiBank Customer Service Representative who has a heart!!  I was able to have a few of the fees removed, but still paid $15 for the pay by phone fee.  As I began the converstation they wanted to add anoth!
er $15 fee to have it paid in full... SO ridiculous... and such a waste of my time!  However, as I explained my story, they somehow magically gained the rights to waive the fee, this time. For lack of better words... Grrrr!  It's not about the money, it's about the customer service.  I will not be using CitiBank again!
 
206  
  David J Srebalus
Morgantown, WV 26501
EmailAddress: davidsrebalus@mac.com
Complaint_against: CITI Cards

Complaint: For 2 months in a row I was sent a statement for my CITI Dividend Card too late to make a payment with my Quicken software and not incure a late penalty. I tried the first month and was assessed a $39 late fee. The next month my interest rate was raised from 10.79% to over 23%. This second statement was also sent only days before my payment was due. I called CITI Cards and was given the option to pay with direct deduction from my checking account. The CITI agent was going to be "nice" to me and not charge the $14 fee for such payments. Needless to say I paid off the balance of the CITI Card and cancelled it. When I called to cancel, the CITI agent pleaded with me to let him do something to keep me as a customer. "Too late", I said. Several years earlier, managing my mother's accounts, I ran into a similar situation with Bank of America. This whole credit card industry is dirty.
 
207  
  JG
EmailAddress: JGrooms@shambaugh.com
Complaint_against: AT & T Universal Card

Complaint: My rate for the AT & T Universal card is an incredible 32.52%. I have moved and made a few late payments and the rate has skyrocketed. The card has been unknowingly closed, and they will not re-open it, therfore the rate can not be changed. Any advice on who I can contact to help my situation?
 
208  
  Melinda Holladay
Everman, Tx
EmailAddress: melindaholladay@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: All credit card financeers

Complaint: I am complaining about the very idea of having credit cards to begin with. I don't think that it is necessary to have a credit card to buy the things you want if you have the money for it. The APR's on them are way too high. What about the hidden transaction fees that are put on the bill? Those are totally unnecessary and it is thier way of squeezing more money out of the consumer. The banks need to take a good look at what credit cards do to people who cannot handle the responsibility of owning one. Please do not send me anymore credit applications in the mail. I will not respond to them anymore.
 
209  
  Robert Blunt
American Canyon, Ca 94583
EmailAddress: bobis4@comcast.net
Complaint_against: CitiFinancial Retail Services

Complaint: I purchased a bed from Sleep Train in Vellajo in August of 2006 . I was talked into signing up with your credit card company and I took advantage of your deferred interest for a year. I made the final payment and sent it out in July of 2007 before the August due date. I was charged the finance charge because you representatives told me the check was not posted until August 9th 2007. I am very upset with your comapny and canceled my card on September 18th 2007 because of the lack of help from your representatives. I don't know if this is a scam or standard business practices that your company participates in. I will no longer be doing business with your Credit Card Company or Sleep Train.
 
210  
  annonymous
cincinnati oh
Complaint_against: not a complaint.

Complaint: to the lady that wanted fees removed "just because", get over yourself. these days there is always a balance transfer fee, and no they can not be waived, so quit complaining. i work  for citi cards and its idiots like you that keep  the phones ringing all day long with your stupid questions and complaining. dont get a credit card if you dont like the rules. and dont be so lazy, read the terms and conditions. duh
 
211  
  Bev
Mesa, AZ 85204
EmailAddress: bevtbaker@aol.com
Complaint_against: Universalcard

Complaint: I paid off and closed this account in July.  Their customer service department assured me that the matter was resolved when I received a bill for service plus late fees in August. I went ahead and paid it to avoid a bad credit report. In September, I received another bill for service plus late fees so I called them again; they agreed that the matter was settled, but again I paid the charges.  I just went into my account and I'm being billed again.  Is there any recourse?  How do I stop this?
 
212  
  Chris S
Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33334
EmailAddress: Chrisnyc@aol.com
Complaint_against: Citi Cards- Citi Bank

Complaint:
Citi Cards approved a charge over my limit by $1,700, then demanded the Full payment
the following month over the credit limit.  When I only made more then min payments they
Raised my Promotional interest rate to 32%   And proceeded to call my home every day twice
a day.  I have excellent credit. and never paid them late,,customer 4 years.  I can only imagine
what they do to the Non paying customers.  This seems very unfair and the made about $1000
dollars of me until I paid off the  entire balance,,,They also charge me a late fee of $39.00 a
month even thow I made a payment.
CITI Cards!  Should be put under Investigation!  Very Bad Business Practice!!
 
213  
  Sheila
New Castle, DE 19720
EmailAddress: shelady462003@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: CitiCard-Sears Card

Complaint:
I have had my Sears card for quite some time now, never had a problem.
Now since CitiCard has taken over the card I am having a problem.
In the past my payments were $15 to $20 a month, most of the time I paid more then my required payment.  I never missed a payment, was not late or did I make partial payments.
Here comes CitiCard, took over the Sears Card, my payments doubled and only a small amount is being applied to my bill.
Last month I made a partial payment, thinking no problem I will catch it up next month, a $39 payment due, I paid $25.  Biggest mistake I ever made, they have been harassing me for the $14 past due, and have charged me a late fee of $39 on the $14. Mind you my next payment is not due until October 12th.  They have been calling me since the 20th of the month and even threatened to report my past due to the credit bureau.  What can I do?
 
214  
  Angry and Upset
Wilmington, MA. 01887
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint:
Recently received a credit report from EQUIFAX for two Citibank Cards I did not request nor receive.  Sent a letter to:
CITIBANK CREDIT BUREAU DISPUTE UNIT
P.O. BOX 6241
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA 57117
Any of you out there had the same problem?  Haven't heard back from anyone at Citibank yet.  However, the accounts still remain in my credit report.  If no action is taken soon, I will contact my Senator, Better Business Bureau and Dept of Comsumer Affairs - Washington.
 
215  
  SHANKAR GUPTA
MUMBAI
Complaint_against: CITIBANK

Complaint:
I took a Birla Sunlife Insurance Policy through CITIBANK .The person from CITIBANK who sold me the policy told me that I will be made to pay only in Monthly Installments of Rs. 12,232 and would be billed in my credit card as monthly installment.This was okay with me as I could not have afforded to pay yearly Premium of Rs. 1.5 Lakhs (Approx)in one go.So, the Policy was taken clearly with this understanding.
Upto one year it was smooth.After one year I was surprised to get a Credit card bill with the entire amount debited to me.Subequently,I contacted the Chennai office and requested them to reverse this as I could pay only as Monthly Installment as agreed between me and CITIBANK representative selling me the Policy.They sent me a form and asked me to fill the same and send it to them so that the amount can be billed as Monthly Installment.I had sent it almost 5 times to them and called them must be 40 times.
In between I kept on paying monthly Premium of Rs. 12,232 every month,but the bill amount kept on soaring as they were putting all interest charges.Inspite of my 40 calls to them noone did anything.
After getting Fed up In April I decided to pay direct Premium to Birla Sunlife Insurance.I requested CITIBANK to cancell the Standing Instuctions for payment of Premium which again was not done for one Month for reasons not known to me.Again when I called them in May, I came to know that this is not being done.On my request 2nd time the SI was cancelled.Since then, I am paying Premiums Directly to Birla Sunlife.
But in between CITIBANK Credit card bills kept on Increasing and now it stands at Rs. 65,000.I have written to them at least 10 times that I do not owe them anything, but they keep on following up with me.I have made one request to them for last 6 months- Send one person with all the bills since July 2006,and it will be clear that I have made all the payments of Premium as well as that of all the Payments that I have made from CITIBANK CARD is paid by me.They are not doing that inspite of my repeated request.What do I do?
 
216  
  Sharon
Montana
Complaint_against: Citi bank

Complaint:
My son owes money to these people.  The son had life trouble to such an
extent he was incapacitated and unable to pay.  So some of the family got together and wanted to pay off the bill.  A letter was written to this effect.  And ignored with a lot of late charges piled on. Of course,
they called 10 times a day and wouldn't talk to me because I wasn't my son...didn't care that I offered to pay it off if they'd drop late charges.  They sent a plea by parcel post for payment.  Another letter was written....more late charges and we were again ignored.  Im tired of being snipped on the phone by young people and have decided to fight back.
 
217  
  David J Srebalus
Morgantown, WV 26501
EmailAddress: davidsrebalus@mac.com
Complaint_against: CITI Cards

Complaint: For 2 months in a row I was sent a statement for my CITI Dividend Card too late to make a payment with my Quicken software and not incure a late penalty. I tried the first month and was assessed a $39 late fee. The next month my interest rate was raised from 10.79% to over 23%. This second statement was also sent only days before my payment was due. I called CITI Cards and was given the option to pay with direct deduction from my checking account. The CITI agent was going to be "nice" to me and not charge the $14 fee for such payments. Needless to say I paid off the balance of the CITI Card and cancelled it. When I called to cancel, the CITI agent pleaded with me to let him do something to keep me as a customer. "Too late", I said. Several years earlier, managing my mother's accounts, I ran into a similar situation with Bank of America. This whole credit card industry is dirty.
 
218  
  JG
EmailAddress: JGrooms@shambaugh.com
Complaint_against: AT & T Universal Card

Complaint: My rate for the AT & T Universal card is an incredible 32.52%. I have moved and made a few late payments and the rate has skyrocketed. The card has been unknowingly closed, and they will not re-open it, therfore the rate can not be changed. Any advice on who I can contact to help my situation?
 
219  
  Kristi
La Junta Co 81050
EmailAddress: dee7dee@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: AT&T Mastercard

Complaint: I have had my AT&T Mastercard for almost 20 years. I pay my montly payment between the 1st and the 3rd every month since Aug 2007 when I had a balance on this card. Last week I received a call from Citibank asking me if I would like to bring my account up to date over the phone because it was pastdue. I explained to her (Kellie) that I pay online, every month by the 4th of the month and I always pay more then what is due and its always early. My monthly payment is due around the 28th each month. When she looked at my payment history, she agreed that I should not have the $39 late fee because what I had told her was true and she could see that in their system. I explained I pay the bill online and I print the confirmation number and save it along with my paper history. She put me on hold and talked with someone else, when she came back on the line, she tried to explain that my Citibank statement starts on the 5th of the month and is due by the 28th, and because I p!
ay it before the 5th, it goes right to the balance and my account shows no payment has been made. I started looking at my online activity history on this card and sure enough, every month since Aug 2007 Citibank has charged me $39 late fees for paying early. I looked at the card disclosure statement I still have and nowhere on it does it say I have to make my payment after the 5th but before the 28th or it doesnt count as a payment and I receive the late charge for paying early. This is the most stupid thing I have ever heard. I wanted to speak with a supervisor, and she gave me 4 different reasons I couldnt and when I demanded to at least be given a chance to leave a message for one, she hung up on me. I called back, and spoke to another representative his name was Tommy, and he told me the same thing that Kellie had. I shouldnt be given a late fee when my history on this account shows that I pay early and more then what is due, every month, but when he also put me on hold !
to talk to someone else, he came back with that same stupid story that its because I pay before the 5th. I demanded to speak with a supervisor and he did put me through to someone. I didnt get his name and he told me he was trying to "educate" me on "when" to make my payment. I told this guy that I had called my local attorney and that he would contact them about fixing this mistake they have made, and I was told they would not talk to my attorney, that I just needed to pay the payment and bring my account up to date. That night I received 3 calls from 3 different representatives from Citibank trying to make me set up a payment over the phone. I had to explain all 3 times that my account was not past due and why and grew tired of being harassed for something they were doing wrong. None of them would agree to give me back my $351 in late fees that they added to my account. I also explained to the supervisor that now I know why this company wants their customers to do their ba!
nking online, so there isnt a paper trail of how they steal from their customers. I will be writing a letter to the Attorney General's office and if anyone has a class action suit on these grounds, I would love to be added. I understand I should have gone over my acount activity with a fine tooth comb, but I also trusted this bank, so now I know to be way more careful and look at everything more closely.  
 
220  
  Brenda Gisi
EmailAddress: brendagisi@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: Citi Card

Complaint: I had a longstanding history using CitiCard services almost exclusively for over 10 years, with a credit limit over $40K.  I had a $0 balance, having paid off the account regularly and having established good payment history--until recently. Recently, I decided to stop using credit cards in general, but didn't want to necessarily close the account. When Citicard assigned me an annual $50 fee against my $0 balance account, I called them to discuss the matter. They refused to remove the fee even though I was not going to be using the card.  They continued to send me bills for this fee of theirs, adding finance charges to it. They then labelled me a "credit risk" with "bad payment history", reported me to "the banks" and closed my account.  They effected my credit rating with their report, which I'm now having to clean up.  When I called to report this problem to their customer service department, no one would acknowledge anything about the relationship EXCEPT that I!
 hadn't paid their fee for a service I wasn't using. They added insult to injury when the told me they just recently decided to "pay my debt to them" as a "courtesy", but would't re-instate my account. So, Citibank determined that I was not "worthy" of their service, throwing away an account worth over $40K monthly for a lousy $50 fee for a service I wasn't using and "punished me" for my decsion not to use their card.
 
221  
 
Luis Rodriguez
Miami, FL 33185
Email Address: ivette1124@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint: I had 4 credit cards with Citi. I closed them all because I sent a payment to the wrong account and since time went by and i did not see my payment i sent additional money. when i realized my mistake i called citicards and asked for a refund of the overpayment. that was on April 15th, today is May 14 and they have not sent the money. First they told me it would take 14 days. i called after the 14 days and they said a couple pf more days. Then I called again and they said the money was sent out. I made another called and they had lied, no check was sent. A supervisor had to! reviw the account. Four days ago i called and i was told the check was mailed. I called back to get a check number and they had lied again, no check was mailed!. I was told that it takes 21 working days. Time is up and no money.

 
222  
 
Ron
Secaucus, New Jersey
ronaldtre@comcast.net

Complaint_against: At&t universal card

Complaint: I want to post a different type of complaint but first a little background. I have had a card with at&t for quite some time and have a large balance. For years i have made my monthly payments on time and haven't been late. A while ago i ran into financial problems and decided to close this card and just pay off my balance. First smaller complaint the interest rates. Although, i had never been late while my card was active my rate went from the 8.% up to 29.240% seemingly just because i closed my account. While, i did talk with them by phone some time ago about my rate,they did lower my rate again. I soon found them purposely delaying proccessing my checks so they can up my rates and make extra charges against my card. How do i know they are doing this on purpose? Well i mail out all my bills at once on payday. For over thirty years i do most stuff through the mail and have never had a problem with my mail being late, lost, or whatever so i know the post office is not my problem. All my bills are received and cashed within uually 3 or four days. All my bills except the payments i send to at&t. Typically, it takes them weeks longer than everyone else. When i call them to complain, they try to blame the post office. This happens no matter how early i mail a check to them. They hold them until after the due date, then process them saying was late. This last time was the final staw. I mailed out all my bills on the moring of may 10. Everything was received and clearing the bank by the 13. All my bills except for my at&t bill that is. My due date is usually around the 20th of the month or slightly later. I called them to complain and they were rude and only tried to blame the post office for delays and would not talk to me. I know they received my check and i wanted someone were the checks are received to find my check and fix this mess since it is now past my due date and it has not been cashed yet. I strongly believe they purposely held my check so they could increase my fees and rates again. To date my check has not been cashed so today i put a stop payment on that check at my bank. Something i know costs me money to do. I know if i send them another payment they will have added the extra fees and stuff onto my bill. Worse off, i have a strong feeling they will then attempt to cash both payments instead of one. You would think a credit cardcompany would work with someone, especially after you close a card to get the balance paid off quickly. You would be wrong. At&t has been trying every dirty trick to increase my fees and my balance to prevent me from paying my balance off. You would also think lawmakers would have passed something to protect consumers and make paying of these accounts easier. if they did they couldn't receive the kickbacks from them. Don't believe me? One place that advertises $500 loans on tv charges somwhere in the area of 99% interest rate. They say loan sharking is illegal, but i guess that does not apply to lenders and banks who can charge and practic and underhaded tricks they want to to rape and bankrupt the little guy.

 
223  
  Anonymous
Boulder co 80303
Complaint_against: CITI Quicken credit card

Complaint: I called the company and paid off the balance and all fees on the card. Two months later the "quicken" card is sold to CITI and I receive a CITI statement stating that I owe two months of fees and finance charges. The finance charge is approximatally 11% per MONTH. Not the 11 APR as stated on the statement. Yes, I confimed by phone, the 11% is per MONTH. So my complaints are 1. gross misinformation on their APR, 2. misinformation on my balance when closing account, 3. hidden charges. By the way, I purchased the Quicken card to work with quicken software--of which the quicken software was not ab! le to download the correct balances from quicken charge card nor my other financial institutions. Both the quicken software and the charge card are failures.

 
224  
 
Anonymous
Complaint against: Citi/Home Depot

THEY HAVE JUST INCREASED THEIR INTEREST RATE FROM 21% to 22.99%. They are saying in order to opt out of the increase that you need to close the account. That if it is consumer requested it will not hurt your credit score if you choose to close it. They are giving miss information. Anytime you close a credit card account it has a negative impact on your credit score. If you read the information in any area about your credit report and your credit score the one thing it says is never close an account dont use it but dont close it. Any time I have opted out of a interest rate increase as long as you do not use that card again they w! ill leave all of the charges at the original interest.That is how this should be handled. Everyone should be complaining about how this is being handled.

 
225  
 
CRV
AZ
Complaint_against: Citi-Home Depot credit card

Complaint: I received a letter from Citi stating that my husband's Home Depot consumer creddit card has been converted to a Citi MasterCard - along with the new card. The letter gave a toll free number to call (1-877-530-1020) to activate the card. There was no other contact information in the letter. Since my husband passed away three months ago, I did not want the card. I called the only phone number given in the letter, in order to opt out of the card. To my frustration, the number is an automated number that gives you two, and only two, choices: (1) Accept the card using the verification number included in the letter, (2) Accept the card using the Home depot card number. These are the ONLY two choices the automated message allows. It does not give you any way of getting hold of a live person, or an option for opting out of the credit card. There were no other telephone numbers listed in the letter, no way of contacting any one connected with this offer. Going through the Citi Bank website and several other mindless automated message numbers, I finally managed to get hold of someone in their credit card section, who then connected me to some one else in the Home Depot section, who then connected me to someone in the loop for this unsolicited offer. This young man told me they had "forgotten" to include an opt out phone number in the letter sent out to customers. He needed a lot of personal information before he could cancel the card. My husband's Social security number, name, address, phone number, and date of my husband's death. When I questioned why I have to provide all this personal information in order to opt out of an unsoliced credit card, both he and his supervisor got very nasty and rude. The supervisor's supervisor proceeded to tell me that he "guessed" not doing anything would have opted out. Well, there was nothing in the letter that indicated doing nothing would be the equivalent to opting out! According to him, this would be a reasonable assumption - I guess I was not being reasonable in guessing this! These guys are unbelievable in their rudeness and lack of business ethics. They send an unsolicited credit card to a dead man, then make it as hard as possible for the widow to opt out of it. I am having a hard enough time grieving for the loss of my husband - I do not need this kind of unsolicited crap that took me 45 minutes to resolve!

 
226  
 
Robert S
Roswell , GA 30075
Complaint_against: Home Depot / Citi Rewards MasterCard

Complaint: Having just received a statement, I logged in to submit my full payment. Statement balance is $13.80 and minimum due is $14.00! No other account activity. The Citi online system disallows a $14.00 payment because it's more than the statement balance. Citi refused to give me a letter of explanation and their "supervisor" suggested that I pay $13.80. Having done so, payment page in big red letters indicates "Payment amount... is less than minimum due... You may be assessed the corresoponding fees and finance charges....." The Citi sup (Brandi) refused to send me a letter or c! orrected statement. How's that for honesty? A scam for certain. Everyone makes mistakes, but Citi's refusal to assist, respond, explain, or correct is unbelievable. The world needs to know what a scam artists Home Depot and their "Credit Card partner" really are. HD needs a new, honest "partner."

 
227  
 
Anonymois
Complaint_against:
Citi Upromise Mastercard - A BIG RIP OFF!!

Complaint: I finally gave in to their offer, applied for their credit card, no finance charges for 6 months or so with balance transfer fees of course. Then I started receiving voicemails that they did not receive our payment, of which I called and paid over the phone every time I got those messages, telling them that we never did receive any bill. They told us they will send us a bill. That went on for months. They leave message, "did not get payment", I called and paid, I asked for bill that we never receive. I called again and again and I was told they were emailing our bill and was bouncing back. They know we were not receiving the bill, yet they did not bother mailing it to us monthly. Finance charges after finance charges were added. Finally I paid the whole amount before that 6 months was up. It got very frustrating. Just when I thought we had no more balance, we receive a bill on the mail for finance charges. Apparently, even though we paid it off, we accrued finance charges (! the 0 finance charge has long been gone) since we were late with our payments, for bills that never arrived. Upromise? help us send our kids to college when they had been ripping us off with finance charges, late payment fees for bills that were not received, they know the emails bounced, yet did not send it through mail, but of course the finance charges continues...whether fair for consumer or not (no wonder we can't send our kids to college).... This is the worst credit card company I ever had! It was very disappointing. They associate with Upromise?

 
228  
 
Praveen
Hollywood FL
pmaghelal@gmail.com
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint: I received a notification in Nov 2008 that citicard would increase by APR to about 19% from Jan 2009. If I wanted to avoid this increase, I should agree to the term that I will cancel my card upon reaching the expiration date. This seems like stonewalling. Either pay high APR or cancel the Credit. How is this fair? Arent they sort of blackmailing their clients? Any help, advice, anyone?

 
229  
 
Anonymous
Complaint against: Citi

Complaint: citi hired a debt collector that called me to tell me that I needed to pay a loan that I had in full because I was late on payments because of a job lose. I tried to ask the debt collector how we could work it out and he told me that I had to start making very uncomfordable phone calls, to my friends nieghbors and family. when I explained to him that most or all of them are in a worse situation than I am he began to scream at me and tell me that I have given up and I took this loan knowing that I had no intention of paying it back. I told him that if he looked at my credit history for the last 30 years I was in very good standings and! I was never late on a payment till the so called credit crisis. I am humiliated enough, after 30 years of good credit that I just can not keep my head above water. If I could sell what I have I would. i do not think this is the way to handle it. If they do not work with me I can not work with them. Raising my rate will only continue to escalate the problem. Please warn banks that this is not the answer. Sincerely humiliated and wish I could pay..............

 
233  
 
Catherine
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: I have had my AT&T Universal Card for over 8 years. I had a good payment history, they lowered my interest rate and increase my credit line. However, I lost my purse over the holidays and had to have them cancel the card and asked them to send me a new one. When a month went by and I hadn't received my new card I called to see what the problem was. They said that I wasn't approved for a new card! That was the only explanation other than that is their policy. This makes no sense. I wasn't asking for a new account, just a new card. If I hadn't lost my purse I'd still be "allowed" to be their customer. So basically! it doesn't matter if you are a good customer, pay your bills, etc. Credit Card companies can just do whatever they want. STAY AWAY FROM AT&T UNIVERSAL!

 
234  
 
Anonymous
Catonsville, Md.
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: They have not mailed my refund check of $2000, despite my monthly contact with them, beginning in Sept 2008. My mother died, my dad's ATT U card had a limit of 2k, which was reached at the funeral home while charging the services. I was paying the bills. Stupidly, I thought I'd pay an extra $2000 since people would be in from out of town, and my dad would want to use the card. I wanted to feel sure that he would not be embarrassed. As fate happens, my dad died a WEEK after my mother. I've been trying to recover my 'extra' payment ever since. Here are my notes, with the most recent first: 6- Called in February 2009, got message machine, left detailed message, no call back; 5- Check did not arrive and no call back - Called 12/17 - a-Internal Recovery Unit, spoke to Ashish, he verified a lot of my information and passed me to the Probate Department; b-Probate Dept., spoke to Kelly, she verified ssn and mailing address, ASSURED me the check will be sent to my address; she said look for it in 30 days; 4- Check did not arrive and no call back - faxed Ms. Joyner 12/11/2008 3- Check did not arrive - faxed Ms. Joyner as she requested 12/03/2008 2- Check did not arrive - called on 11/06, Ms. Joyner said she will send to my address; if more problems fax her w/name and acct nbr, and my phone, she will call me back.  1- Called in mid-September - check promised to arrive 1st wk of October 0- When making the funeral arrangements for my mother, the card reached a $limit at the funeral home. Knowing that family was coming from out of town for the funeral, and my father and I would not want that to hit that limit again, I paid $2k in advance. Then my father died a week after my mother. I will add that my dad used AT&t because he worked for at&T at Bell Labs for 46 years. He was a loyal employee. I will also add, that AT&T U Card received the Malcom Baldrige award back in the 90s. Those of you who don't know, that is was a very high quality award given/earned for having met specific criteria of repeatable consistency in all areas. Does AT&T U Card still have connections with Citi? Is that the 'root cause'? Who can help me get my $2k back?

 
235  
 
John Link
Oregon City, Or
EmailAddress: natuaralattract@comcast.net
Complaint_against: CITI

Complaint: CITI jacked my interest rate from 9.24% in February, 09, to 24.99% in March 09. It represented a 43% increase in the monthly payment. When I called them to find out the particulars, I was told that they increased rates across the board, due to the "cost of doing business" We're getting the business all right, covering their bad practices. I spoke to a manager and managed to get my interest rate back to the 9.24% for 6 months. In the meantime, I will find a way to transfer the balance to a reputable company, if one exists. Greed is a terrible thing. I tried to explain that when most people are having a tough time making ends meet, the worst thing to do is apply more pressure. CITI will most likely have more defaults on their unsecured credit cards, and they are trying to insure that they recoup something at the expense of those that can pay. This whole program doesn't show me that they are easing the credit. Thanks for letting me vent.

 
236  
 
scott myers
pomona, ca.
Complaint_against: citi

Complaint: i have never been late on any payment....NEVER! suddenly, my citi card went from 8.99% to 24.99%. i had a 5,000 balance and paid it off right away. when i asked why my rate had been raised, they said it was a " business decision" then, 2 weeks later, i got a balance transfer offer from the same card...0 interest for 6 mos and then back to the 24.99. these guys are CRIMINALS!

 
237  
 
COMMA
Complaint_against: CITI MASTERCARD

Complaint: Last September, CITI Mastercard raise my credit limit almost $3000. Two months later, after I had to use almost all my credit limit do to a personal emergency, CITI BANK canceled my Mastercard. This was legal and I did not object to it. Today I received my monthly statement and, without prior notification, CITI greatly increased my APR. I called CITI Bank twice. I was first told that they sent the notifications with the March statements. I out right asked why they did not send out seperate letters. I was told that CITI Bank's policy was to not send out seperate letters. The only thing that CITI Bank did for me,! was give me their legal team address in my home state, and promise to send me a copy of their new customer agreement that covered their the new ARP on my account. I was told that I had twenty-four days, from the time the March statements were mailed, to send a letter refusing the new APR. Less than ten minutes later I called CITI MASTERCARD back. I asked customer service where the notifications were listed. She could not tell me. When I told her that I had the January through March and there was no notification included. I was then told that a seperate letter was mailed in January. I explained that I received no letter and asked that my APR be readjusted. The customer service person put me on hold, twice, only to come back and tell me that the time j=had passed and the new APR now applied. I, for the second time, asked to talk to a supervisor. I expained everything to this person. I was again told that no one could change the APR once it was set. I again stated that I had receive no notification, and was asked if I thought that the supervisor was responsible for the mail, that the supervisor had no idea what "I" had done with the letter, that no one could change the new APR, and if I paid my account down, then they may reduce my APR. What I belive now is: 1. CITI Bank increased my credit limit knowing that they were planning to cancel it. 2. That CITI Bank never send out a legal notification on the APR increase. After all, who would know. 3. That the 'so called' CITI Bank customer service has no idea what they are saying to any customer and has been told to outright lie. I am not letting CITI Bank off the hook. Legal plans are in the making now. One last point, CITI Bank recored me so I had a legal right to record them. I have every lying word that they told me.

 
238  
 
william rootring
2026 east duell street, glendora Ca 91740
tradol@verizon.net
Complaint_against: A.T.&T universalcard

Complaint: date april 25 2009 I had my att universal card for 20 some years without any problems until january of this year ( 2009 ) when my account showed several unauthorized charges totaling $ 280.11. I called the company immediately and they agreed to 1. remove the unauthorized charges, 2. cancel my existing credit card, and 3. issue a new card. Received my new card in february showing a balance of $ 280.11 unauthorized charges transferred from my old card and to add insult to injury the same individual unauthorized charges for a 2nd time so my balance is now $ 560.22 plus $ 14.59 finance charge for a total of $ 574.81. on february 5th 2009 I mailed a certified return receipt letter explaining this situation. So far no response except phone calls from at&t/citibank reminding ( harassing ) me about my balance due. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO KNOWS WHAT TO DO TO GET THIS RESOLVED ????

 
239  
 
Jill
CA
Complaint_against: Citibank

Complaint: My citibank card for years has been billing me in even dollar amounts. Last billing period, I could not find my paper bill, so I paid what I did the month before, the min. due. My hours were cut so for the past few months, I have been paying only the minimum due, but always on time. When the next statement came, I noticed there was a late fee and additional interest due, a jump from a fixed balance transfer of 2.9 to 26.9! OMG! So, I immediately called Citibank, and got a polite rep who spoke broken English. He was very difficult to understand, but the problem was that they had increased my minimum due by two cents! My paymen! t was on time, but less the two cents! I spoke to a supervisor, who gave me her name and ID number. She told me she would reverse the late fee and change the rate back. I still have never found the original bill! Citibank also finances my Unocal card that I pay in full every month. I had not received that bill and ended up overlooking it. I should have known better, because they charged me a 39.00 late fee as well! I can't find that bill, either! Coincidence? All of the other bills were delivered. Just proves one has to be extremely careful these days. Dot your i's and cross your t's.

 
240  
 
Ruth
Herndon, VA, 20171
Complaint_against: citibank

Complaint: I have had a Citibank credit card since collage (over 20 years); I pay my bill on time and have a good credit rating. I pay my bills via my credit union through an online bill pay service. Last month I misread the due date on the bill, I entered the posting date by mistake. This made my payment 3 days late. When I got my statement my interest rate had jumped to 26% and I was paying almost $500 in interest charges. I called Citibank and they agreed to forgive the late payment fee and to lower my interest rate to 9.5%. The thing they did not do was lower the interest charges for the one cycle back to my old rate. My normal interest charges per cycle were $86, the interest charges for that one cycle were $513. This seemed like a pretty high price to pay for a typo. I tried calling customer service to see if they would refund the interest fee for that one cycle. I was told that I was lucky that I had gotten back my old interest rate and that they could have kept my rate at 26%. This is true, but I would have just transferred the balance to a lower interest card. I did request to speck with a manager and that request was refused. I am a bit agog about this whole thing. True, I did break my agreement with them for one month but I have been a good customer for over 20 years. I seem strange that they would want to lose my business. The kicker is that they sent me balance transfer checks for 0% interest for a six month period about a week later.

 
241  
 
jtom
Marietta, GA
Complaint_against: Citi Bank - AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: This started out as a trivial matter, but their handling of it speaks volumes about their customer service. I had a very small credit balance on my AT&T Universal Card, now owned by Citi. I use credit cards as sparingly as possible, and this balance remained for three months. On my current bill, they took away the credit on the basis of inactivity. Well, my philosophy is that everyone should be treated the same. In this case, what would Citi do if I had owed them any balance? Yeah, late fees, penalties and interest would be substantial by now. So I tossed them an email saying, hey, restore the balance. That's no way to treat a customer. They referred the matter to S. Larson, customer service, from whom I have just received a letter. She states that, "We are unable to determine when a credit balance was on this account." The last three statements show the credit. The current statement details it's confiscation! Just WHAT did she do to 'determine' the credit? Great customer service, huh? Man, I'm glad I didn't have a real problem. Either these people are truly incompetent, or just thieves. Beware. Stay far away from them.

 
242  
 
Troy
Ketchikan Alaska 99901
ttscarpellini@hotmail.com
Complaint_against: Complaint

CITI BANK AND CHASE STEER CLEAR OF THEM I think this is more of a statement and complaint about service that should not be! It’s just is not right. Let’s start with the first company Citi Bank they decided to lower my limit right after I made a $2000.00 payment so I would be able to use it on vacation What a surprise when I went to use it and they had actually lowered it to a point that I was over my limit... When they were called they told me that I had some stuff on my credit report that justified the decrease. I had always made my payments on time and more than the minimum amount I found out someone else had filed bankruptcy and they not me had screwed up the my wife’s SSI number and I had that fixed before we left I was told that timely payments was not the way they justified raises or the way they did business I closed the account paid it in full that is the way I do Business The second one was another letter that I got today stating that Chase The company that just bought Washington Mutual my VISA Card Found that I was in a high risk category Yet another one I always paid on time and more than the monthly payment I am employed full time and have not missed any payments yet one of their reasons was that I had not upheld other monthly card agreements for payments and my credit history was less that 24 months? I have had this card for years like 9 and 3 company buy outs this is just is just B.S. Yet another one I have just paid in full and closed so apparently my risk was not all that justified The woman I spoke with was RUDE and hung up before I could say anything after she ask me if there was anything else she could do for me? I may also add that while talking to her the whole time I was calm and did not raise my voice was not rude after I heard there reasoning I just stated that I would like to know what the balance was to pay it off and to close it then I was told she could not do that she could close the account now and that I would still get statements for the charges on the card like I was a some

 
243  
 
Kellen
USA
www.nothinggoodcomes from this card.com
Complaint_against: at & t universal card

Complaint: After having this card for several years and minimally using it, I paid my balance in full and often times had a credit. My mistake was accepting a " balance transfer" that was too good to be true. I transferred from a different card and all went well for one month. I ended up going out of town unexpectedly for a week, and a my statement was separated from the rest of the mail when a friend picked it up from me. I found the bill on the day it was due, and did an online payment. It registered a day late on the next payment. Because of this, my 3.9 apr was jacked to 2! 4.9!! I called and complained. In broken English, a lady politely asked me if I was in a financial situation. I told her no, explained everything, and she said she couldn't change anything, The payment needs to be received by 5 pm. I asked to talk to her supervisor. After being on hold over 5 min, this ladies English wasn't any easier to understand. She tried to " over ride" the computer, but it wouldn't let her. The only thing she could do was refund my 39 dollar late fee. She stated, I can call back in a year and they'll look at the APR! I told her I will most likely quit doing business with them. She asked me why? After re-explaining the whole APR thing as being unacceptable, she stated she could have someone else look at my account in 7-10 days. Well, I am utilizing a balance transfer from capital one, which I was very lucky to have. I am still out a lot of money though. I am closing my account with them and will be writing a complaint letter. I will also never use at and t for anything ever again. They are a loser company, and they shouldn't be surprised when they keep "losing" their customers. Don't use this card, they'll do whatever they can to stick it to you. Their mascot should be the grim reaper.

 
244  
 
Hank Steinberg
Waverly, NY 14892
hankst@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: citi bank

Complaint: I paid my monthly bill electronically from my bank and Citi bank tried charging me a late fee. They finally gave that back but raised my rate to 27.24 That's what it was really about robbing me since our President gave them months of notice to fixing there problem. They just used the advance notice to rob us and as far as I am concerned our government gave them the heads up. What a joke since we are the ones who gave them money to stay afloat. There needs to be a cap on all credit cards or better yet stop dealing with banks who like robbing the consumer. I wish everyone would stop d! ealing with citi bank. I just paid off two accounts and only have one left that will be gone this year. STOP USING CITI BANK.

 
245  
 
M W
Complaint_against: Citi Cards

Complaint: I have the Citi Professional Cash card however "professional" is the last word I would use to describe them. I was laid off in September of 2008 and couldn't make my payments so they put me on a payment plan. Well apparently ANYTHING they do via customer service, including taking payments and setting up payment plans, does not stick. I have had to re-set-up my payment plan 3 times now and re-authorize payments which don't go through even when I get a confirmation number. For the most part customer service has been friendly, but obviously entirely incompetent because they cannot get it together and keep their information straig! ht. One CSR was so rude to me insinuating that it was MY fault that the payment plan dropped off he actually reduced me to tears. Needless to say last time I tried working with a CSR to reinstate my payment plan and take a payment, none of it went through despite having a confirmation # and I was woken up this morning at 9 am with a customer service call saying my account was behind. In addition when I called to join the payment plan I authorized them to close my account which they then took and applied to my credit report saying THEY closed it at their will which dropped my score about 30 points with out ever telling me what the repercussions would be. When I asked for written confirmation of proof that they informed me that it would affect my credit, they sent me a letter which basically said 'no'. Unfortunately due to 1 single 30 day late I have from when I was laid off and couldn't make my payment, no one will give me a credit card now so I could balance transfer and leave Citi in the dust. So I am stuck with the most incompetent, consumer-unfriendly, credit terrorizing company I have ever encountered. Do yourself a favor and don't open a card with Citi.

 
246  
 
Citi Bank - Don't do it!!
Seattle, WA 98144
Complaint_against: Citi Bank

Complaint: Do not get a citi bank credit card!! Don't believe that what you sign up for with them is a fixed rate, even when they say it is. I thought I had a fair deal at 14.99% for the amount of credit I have open (in total). I have never been delinquent on any account I have ever had with anyone and I have been a customer with them for only 6k and for 2-3 years. For no reason they "selected" accounts to move up to a 29.9% interest rate - mine was chosen. I called them asking for my original percentage rate back as a good customer and they do have "options" for the people who call in and complain -! you can have your interest rate back on new purchases if you agree to the 29.9% terms on the existing balance. What kind of shady business is that. I rejected their terms and will be shopping around to transfer their balance to anyone that is not them and at a 0% balance transfer and pay off. BAD BUSINESS = CITI CARDS!!!!!

 
247  
 
Julian Wayte
Las Vegas, NV
Complaint_against: Citicard

Complaint: Citicard recently raised my purchase APR interest rate from approximately 9% to 28.99% and lied they could not lower it for 12 months! When I called them back and asked if I could close the account they agreed to lower my rate back below 10% and told me I did not need to close my account! Why did I have to threaten to close my account before they agreed to lower my rate? I mentioned this in my recent wiki article: http://julianwayte.blogspot.com/2009/09/citicard-raising-credit-card-interest.html I would like to see regulations which penalized credit card companies for deliberate dishonesty and predatory practices.

 
248  
 
MA Resident
Lowell, MA 01852
Complaint_against: Citi Credit Card

Complaint: I had balance transfer offer at very low rate (2.99%)fixed until the amount is paid in full. So, I transferred a long while ago (almost 5 years ago). I have made absolutely zero purchases using the card since the standard rate on the card for purchases has been 19.99%. About 6 months ago, the card double posted my payment and then corrected the error by applying a charge under standard purchase. Then began collecting interest at the 19.99%. I have called several times since then to correct this. Every time they apologize and move things around with lots of + and - signs and errors and continue to ! apply high rates to the supposed purchase that never occurred. Because of the pattern, I am almost convinced that this is deliberate.

 
249  
 
Anna Vaysleyb
Brooklyn, NY 11229
vaysleyb@gmail.com
Complaint_against: Citicards

Complaint: Sometime last year my Citicard was replaced as a result of fraud. The replacement card that was provided, unsolicited, turned out to be the new Diamond Preferred Rewards card. When I called to inquire about the change, I was told that the new card works just the same as the old card, and only adds the "Thank You Network" feature, at no charge. I asked if I can instead have my old card back, and was told no... Now, less than a year later, I'm being charged a $30 membership fee, for doing nothing more than always paying the card charges in full every month. This is ridiculous, and I r! equest that: 1) These fees are removed; and 2) I am returned to a card with none of these nonsense fees. As of today, this card's application, printed off your website, still states that there are NO Annual Fees (without time limits). This instance again demonstrates the predatory behavior on the part of your company, Citigroup, and I am forwarding this letter to appropriate regulatory authorities and consumer groups. Please resolve this as soon as possible. Thanks, Anna Vaysleyb

 
250  
 
Citi Cards
Complaint: Credit Card was setup for e-bills via my bank a/c. I did not receive e-bill from Citi after May-09. Citi did not send email or regular mail indicating past due till 90 days, charging me a fine and closing my account.
 
251  
 
Vicki
Dalton,PA
vicgio@verizon.net
Complaint_against: CitiBank

Complaint: My accounts with Citibank are in good standing, never paid late. Despite this, I recently received a letter, like countless others, that they are raising my APR to 29.99%, from 9.99%. I have never even heard of an interest rate that high, and consider it to be extremely unethical, since they have recently barraged us with balance transfer offers at a low rate, only then to raise the purchase rate to an astronomical percentage as soon as that expires. Their explanation in this form letter implies that they need to do this to their customers, in order to keep lending money. They received, and then! paid back, TARP funds, and should have planned better. How dare they, in these times, created chaos and hardship in the financial lives of customers paying as agreed. I spoke to two supervisors yesterday, one a senior supervisor, asking them to admit that they knew about the new regulations going into effect that would make this practice illegal in January. I asked them to admit that they were simply trying to suck as much as they could out of us consumers in the months before this happened. When they repeatedly spouted how we have an option to close our accounts, I reminded them that that will lower credit scores, and cause rippling damage in the lives of their customers. Then they either claimed ignorance, or simply lied, saying "that will only have a negative effect on your credit if the account was closed by the bank instead of the account holder". I asked if they ever heard of, as senior supervisors, the debt to credit ratio. There was silence. To this I called them liars, working for thieves. We are trying to save our house, and this may be the straw that breaks our back. Citibank customers reading this, please do google searches to log your complaints everywhere, they have two different regulators, the OCC and the FDIC I think, and there are articles from the Wall Street Journal reporting how they get by by playing one against the other. So, write your representatives, I urge you. Call or email your local news stations. Log complaints on the consumer affairs and bbb.org sites. Do everything you can not to let them get away with this highway robbery. Thanks for listening

 
252  
 
Unemloyed
St. Petersburg
Complaint_against: Zales/Citi

Complaint: From Zales: Our records reflect that your interest rate is currently 23.73%. The aforementioned rate is considered the Standard APR for Purchases as per the Zales credit card terms and conditions. For this reason, we are unable to negotiate a lower interest rate. From Unemployed: Original Message Follows: ------------------------ Most creditors will offer a lower interest rate providing the account holder has an account that is current. I have never missed a payment. I would like to know if Zales (Citi) is willing to lower the interest rate in order to pay this card off sooner. Thank You. From message.center@citicorp.com Subject Re: Unemployment Date October 15, 2009 5:04 EST Our records reflect that your account does not carry insurance protection. Our records indicate the insurance was cancelled 11/17/2004. If we can be of further assistance, please contact one of our Customer Service Representatives at: 1-888-438-6255 between the hours of 9 am - 9 pm., ET Monday through Friday.

 
253  
 
diane emmerich
milwaukee wi 53210
demmerich17@wi.rr.com
Complaint_against: ATT Universal mastercard

Complaint: I have had this card for years and paid on time. I have an excellent credit rating. Now they have decided to raise my APR from 11.99% to 22.9%. They say they are doing this across the board for all their accounts. That was the only reason they would give me for this change. The only way to get a lower rate was to transfer at least $5000 to the account and get a 15.99 rate. That's right, I should give the crooks even more business so they can screw me again. This card is a Citibank card. I find it pathetic that they accept bailout money financed by TAXPAYERS many o! f whom are their cardholders and then they turn around and screw the very people that are paying to keep them afloat. I will be payingoff this card ASAP, but keeping it open just so they have the cost of the maintenance and sending out statements. They join CHASE as the top worst credit cards with the worst customer un-service and most unfair business practices. If you have them dump them. Citibank SUCKS!

 
254  
 
Allan Rofer
Felton CA 95018
carofer@comcast.net
Complaint_against: ATT UniversalCard

Complaint: After signing in to the universalcard.com site, I was presented with a so-called "Security Question", namely "What is your favorite restaurant?". I answered this perhaps years ago, and forgot my answer; after 3 tries, I was shut out of the account for 24 hours. I called the help desk, and the woman said: 1. We(Citi/ATT) don't choose the questions. 2. The question is required by the Federal Government. 3. The account cannot be accessed for 24 hours no matter what I do. The first two assertions are patently false and are only trying to duck the blame. I told her that the feds do not "require" that I remember my favorite restaurant, and that Citi/ATT most certainly choose the software running the site, and hence could control the questions thereon. On the fact that I am locked out for 24 hours, I think this is overkill and may in fact reduce overall security by restricting my ability to choose the time and place where I make my online payment. The universalcard site is very poorly designed, so that's my complaint. (On the positive side, she said she would waive the fee to pay over the phone.)

 
255  
 
Jack Thomas
Cincinnati, OH 45243
Complaint_against: AT&T Universal Card

Complaint: I've been an AT&T cardholder for 19 years and the service deteriorates every year, sad to say. The 800 member service line is front-loaded with lengthy promotional messages, forcing you to listen to them before you can speak with a live agent. Quite often this agent is struggling to speak English, resulting in substantial misunderstandings and unresolved issues. The rewards point system is one of the worst in the industry to understand and use. I generally pay my balance in full every month, have a credit score above 800, and feel that AT&T puts a pretty low value on my business. I'm g! rowing weary of AT&T's bad service and am looking at other cards like Chase. I've also experienced horrible customer service and fouled-up billing from AT&T for my Apple iPhone account, which makes me wonder if AT&T has larger problems developing and delivering consumer services.

 
256  
 
jojo1366
Complaint_against: citi cards

Complaint: My husband went to use his card and it was declined, and it had a large amount available. He was told it was closed and he would get a letter in the mail. He was NEVER late with any payments. My mother got her stament in the mail the interest went from 5% to 29.99%, she never recieved a letter either. And this happened with 2 of her citi cards. She had to close them both to go back to her lower intrest rate. At this time she was refinancing her home also. I have letter from citi and they are jumping my intrest rate to 29.99%, so I also had to close my card to keep it at the lower rate. THEY SUCK ASS!!

 
257  
 
U. R Kiddinmi
Anywhere USA
Complaint_against: ATT UNIVERSALCARD

Complaint: Changing my APR from 16% to 32% next month. Never missed a payment,never been late. Guess I have to pay for all the defaults. I have a couple of weeks to opt out which means closing the account to further charges. Heh, just in time to charge all my Christmas presents and freeze the interest rate as is. Just kidding. Really pathetic thing . . .I work for AT&T. Thanks. OW

 
258  
 
Anonymous  
Complaint_against: CITI

Complaint: First this company offers no fee card, 8.something rate. Take tax payer money. Changes due dates in an attempt to make one make a late payment. Then they raise rates about 30% (no late payments, no missed payment) Called them on it and got a low rate again. Then after a month or 2 they raise rates over 30%!!!! Closed the account and paid it in FULL. Then they have the audacity to charge a finance charge on a zero balance account!!!! NEVER NEVER NEVER use any company owned or operated by this group of thieves.

 
259  
 
Sandra Mangini
Chester, VA 23831 23831
sg21jm21@yahoo.com
Complaint_against: Citibank Credit Card

Complaint: I had a Citibank credit card for 5 years. In all this time my payments were all in time with hardly any outstanding balances. So in Nov of last year I had one late payment. They charded me $39. I asked them to remove the charge but Citibank refused. They won't firgive my one late payment, but the American people gave th