Complaining to Citibank Customer Service

Are you frustrated with CitiGroup?  Does the company frequently hold the checks you deposit and charge high fees for using your own money?  Have you been fighting with customer service to get credit for fraudulent activity only to be denied because you can’t send proof for the charges you didn’t make?  Were you promised a special rate if you open a new account only to find the promotion changed or ended? Are you angry that customer service can’t resolve your problem, especially after you’ve been on hold for a long time?

If this sounds like your CitiGroup experience, you aren’t alone. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received 4,004 customer complaints about CitiGroup over the past three years.  Some of the most common grievances include the following:

1. Frustrated with customer service
2. Fraudulent charges
3. Changing promotions

Frustrated with customer service

One of the most common complaints from customers stems from the level of service they receive when contacting a representative over the phone.  Many customers claim customer support is either unwilling to resolve issues or are not knowledgeable enough to help resolve issues.

Some customers express frustration when they receive inconsistent information from CitiGroup’s representatives when they are asked to confirm their identity. Either they aren’t given a complete list of documents or they send the proof of their identity multiple times without a response back from the bank. In other cases, it can take several days or weeks to verify a customer’s identity.  This can leave customers without access to their bank accounts or credit cards.

Other common complaints stem from unexpected changes to customer accounts.  Dropping credit limits or putting holds on deposited checks are frequent grievances.  In other cases, customers that have multiple accounts with CitiGroup report that payment errors can take several days or weeks to get resolved.   Some customers are advised that erroneous credit card payments will be moved to the correct account only to find that not being the case. Rather, the amount is mailed to the customer so he or she can make the payment to the correct credit card account.  The customer is often charged late fees as a result, Although he or she had made the payment in a timely manner.

Customers also express frustration with the CitiGroup app, especially when their account is new.  The app requires customers to call in for a one-time verification code. Yet when they call, customer service representatives are unable to generate the code or switch the call to another department that can help. Other customers complain that when they use the automated system to verify charges, the system doesn’t work properly

Fraudulent charges

Customers that report fraudulent activity on their account find that it can take several days, if not longer, to get their money back.  Some report their requests for refunds are denied even after they have supplied the requested documents.

In other cases, CitiGroup identifies an activity that it considers fraudulent and freezes the account without telling the customer.  These transactions were often instigated by the customer and are not fraudulent, yet no contact is made with the customer to verify this.

Changing promotions

A common complaint from new and current customers is that CitiGroup offers promotions, but changes them without their knowledge.  People sign up for new credit cards or bank accounts expecting to receive a reward or a credit, only to find the promotion has ended or they are no longer eligible to participate.  Others report significant delays in receiving their new credit card in the mail, even after repeated calls to customer service to check on the card’s status.

CitiGroup customers that are getting the run around from customer service may have another option.  If you’ve tried everything that you can think of to resolve your problem and are getting nowhere, consider filing a claim.  FairShake works with consumers who have been unsuccessful in resolving their complaints with CitiGroup. If you’ve done all that you can and are still experiencing issues with CitiGroup, learn how FairShake can help you.