Citi gold Card - Direct Debit not taken

izools

I would add to the list of demands:

> An explanation of what justification they have for leaving flaws in their system go unresolved for so long that it has caused so many long term, widespread issues

> An explanation of what they are going to implement to ensure issues like this don't arise in future, what they are going to do differently.

Not a Citi customer myself, but good luck! I'm wanting to see how these letters go down...

mrbigd

I'm sending them an invoice for my time, phone calls and the cost of sending the letter.

fallen121

Citbank's supposed "solution" to the problem of the minimum payment was this:

• Phone us back on 16th/17th February by which time we will have sorted this out
• We'll temporarily stop your direct debit payment and take a manual payment for the correct amount
• All interest incorrectly charged to date will be refunded
• The direct debit will then be reinstated in March for the correct amount

The reality will probably go something like this:

• We'll spend ages on the phone trying to get through only to find out it hasn't been sorted at all and we'll have to call back later in the month
• We'll finally get through and a manual payment will be taken
• A few days later, we'll discover that the direct debit wasn't cancelled at all and we'll end up paying double the usual monthly payment in addition to the manual payment already taken
• With all the extra payments we'll go overdrawn at the Bank. Remember, with Halifax this now costs £1.00 per day!!
• We'll find out the following month that the manual payment was an insufficient amount, so we'll be considered to be in default and won't get our preferential rate back
• Some interest will be refunded, but not the full amount
• Our over payments will just be used to reduce the balance on the card, we won't get these back to reduce our overdraft
• The direct debit won't be reinstated in time for the March statement, so we'll be considered to be in default AGAIN

Citibank will benefit from all this as follows:

• They will get 3 times the usual minimum payments from lots of their customers without even trying
• The influx of money will burgeon their depleted coffers and reduce the amount of debt on their books so will look good on paper
• The whole exercise will suceed in getting lots of customers off unprofitable preferential rates and earn them even more money in the coming months.

Am I alone in wondering if this wasn't deliberate? :eek:

p4tster

I think what has happened is over the course of 2009 they made most of their IT staff redundant. Around the 29th December they suffered a computer failure and they did not have anyone with sufficient expertise to resolve it. Some manual process was invoked to handle the late payment and reverse the late payment charge, but this month their automated systems have not been able reconcile our accounts because the late payment reversal was not correctly handled. They are now hoping and praying that during the next payment cycle their systems will magically realise what has happened and resolve the issue.

I was categorically told last month that this fiasco would not affect my credit rating. Why then does my statement say I have failed to make the minimum payment for the last two months? Clearly an adverse record has been kept regarding my account and it is only a matter of time before this adversely affects my credit rating.

By the way you can get hold of your 'Citibank account manager' on the freephone number 0800 7837788, you don't need to use the 0870 one.

p4tster

Today I received a letter from John Jones saying that they are going to reinstate my preferential interest rate and pay back any additional interest. I assume that next month they will direct debit me this reduced amount and their automated system will think I've underpaid again.

I have just checked my credit report on experian. It shows I am in good standing with Citibank as of 31/01/10.

The last line of JJ's letter says: "No action is required on your part", which makes me wonder why I have had to make four phone calls and spent a total of 64 minutes on the phone resolving this matter alone.

JMR24

p4tster - I received the same letter this morning - shortly after I had sent a lengthy letter of complaint. In common with most of you guys, I was also told in my February statement that there were now 2 defaults on my account and was offered the "Help with debt problems" leaflet. I also received a letter a few days ago knocking 12k off my credit limit, due to their responsible lending policy. I don't particularly care about that, I'm just irritated my the stigma of having default notices placed on me, credit limits reduced and very little sympathy other than standard letters from Citi... and it all stemming from their problem.

I would advise you all to check very carefully how they have reinstated your promotional rates. I expect to pay approx £40/month interest on a very good lifetime promotional rate, but was charged £120 last month. John Jones's letter of today promises that it will all be sorted by next month's statement. However, I have just logged into my account today to find a mere £30 interest refunded - still considerably short of the £80 I would have expected.

For those who do not keep an eye on their interest charges, this "mistake" on their part will be a huge revenue earner for Citibank. I wrote to Mr Jones (if indeed he even exists), and copied my letter to the CEO of Citifinancial Europe at Canary Wharf. I also made clear that if the issue is not sorted, I will take the case to the financial ombudsman/OFT.

I think the issue really does need publicised, however, because it worries me that people will end up extremely out of pocket as a result of this... I am also always seriously suspicious of "administrative glitches" that count so significantly in a bank's favour - they have just saved themselves promotional rates that they committed to years before the credit crunch and which are now less affordable for them, as well as having a perfect excuse for having cut down their customers' credit limits.

whysitallsocomplicated

hi
have lost the will to live since this thing started!!! has anyone got a template letter to use for sending a complao the FOS, and who is the best person to send it too at citi cards and their address??

fallen121

JMR24:

I think it's a good idea if we all copy our letters to CEO of Citifinancial Europe at Canary Wharf. That way he'll get tons of letters and might intervene. If he only gets one or two he might ignore them.

Can you please post his name and full address, please, or a link to where you got it?

whysitallsocomplicated

Hi
have just found a contact number for someone in england!!!! they are english, make sense and believe it or not seemed helpfull!!!
call 0800 146 188 and select option 1

fallen121

John Jones (Head of Cards)
Citi Cards
Citi Financial Europe PLC
Card Services
PO Box 49920
LONDON SE5 7ZF