Seven to Ten Business Days
Have you seen those CitiBank Identity Theft Ads? You know, the ones where you hear one persons voice talking, but you see a completely different person? The whole point is that they had their identity stolen.
They are kind of funny (unless you've had it happen to you!)
Now, CitiBank may make some effort to counter fraud, but when it comes to Customer Service they are hopeless. Here's my story:
In December of 2005 someone changed the mailing address on my Sears/CitiBank credit card. The odd thing about that is that it's the second time someone has done this to me. The first time was back in 2002 with a different credit card, and because of that experience I put a password on all my credit cards. The idea behind having a password on accounts is that someone can't change / use the account with just your name and social security number. It's pretty much standard advice for those that have had their identity stolen.
So someone managed to change my address; and clearly without the password. I just don't think there's any way that someone could have guessed my password.
Be that as it may, the bank also fell down because they did nothing to check that my address had changed; they didn't call my 'old' phone number, or send a simple letter to my old address: "We got your address change, if it hasn't changed, call us!" It's a pretty basic way to protect against such scammers.
The next problem was; I didn't notice that I wasn't getting statements. That's probably my fault, but in my own defense, by pure circumstance I'd cut back on using that card after December (it was unrelated to the card, and just one of those weird coincidences.) Anyway, I just kind of figured that I hadn't been using the card; forgetting that I had used it quite a bit in December, and had a couple of automatic bills going to the card. Okay, I don't keep track of things as tightly as I might.
It was only in February 2006 that I got a call from the CitiBank Fraud Department; had I bought something from B And H Photo recently? Had I ordered something in December? There were two suspicious transactions, one for about $900 in December, and another for about $1200 in February. At first I was stumped because - another weird circumstance - I had bought stuff from B And H Photo before. Not very frequently, but now and again. For a moment I was confused, but then I figured out that, no I definitely hadn't ordered something from them in months; and the last thing was a computer keyboard that was less than $100.
After talking to the Fraud Department, I called B And H and explained that I didn't place the orders. They cancelled the second transaction.
I spoke to the Fraud Department and we went through all of the transactions on the account. The person at the fraud department then told me the outstanding balance on the account (less the two fraudulent transactions.) I then wrote them a check for that amount. I was under the impression that they would remove the two fraudulent transactions.
CirtiBank created a new account. I received the card, and - much to my surprise - the first statement had an opening balance of just over $1,000. I hadn't even used the new card!
This is where we descend into the rabbit hole
I called Customer Service and told them that there was an opening balance I couldn't understand. Would they please send me a copy of the statements for December through February? I was pretty sure that the balance was one of the fraudulent transactions, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was since the amount didn't match either.
Customer Service was very nice and told me I would receive a copy of the statements in "seven to ten business days."
A month later a new statement arrived. It still had a balance. I called Customer Service and explained that I hadn't received the copies of the statements. No problem, they told me, we'll put in another request. It will take seven to ten business days.
Nothing arrived.
I called back. Figuring that maybe the problem was that the Fraud Department had closed the original account, I spoke to someone in the Fraud Department. They told me that they could provide me with a "transaction summary" but not copies of the statements. I said that was okay. They told me I would get it in seven to ten business...
Nothing arrived.
I called Customer Service again and spoke to someone who was very apologetic. She went away and spoke to her Supervisor and came back and told me that the problem was that such a request had to approved by the manager. That's why they hadn't worked. She had put in a new request, and I should get it in seven to ten...
Nothing arrived.
Then I got a call from Customer Service. My account was in arrears. Did I want to make a payment? No I didn't, I said. I explained the whole thing. The person wondered if my address was correct. We checked and it was okay. I explained that I was getting the monthly statements just fine.
She put in another request and told me I would get it in seven to...
You guessed it.
At this point I figured, why not just get them to read me the transactions, and I would write them down and figure out the whole thing myself? I called Customer Service and attempted to do this, but there was one problem; they only keep six months of transactions online, and at that point, she could only go back to January.
I could go on. I have spoken to Customer Service many times. I've heard the following explanations:
I have explained multiple times that no other mail is missing; that I am getting the monthly statements without fail. We've checked my address about ten times.
Along the way, I have discovered that you can speak to Customer Service and their Supervisors, but they can do nothing other than to request the report. If nothing comes back, they can't do anything (and don't really care.) They are incapable of having someone request the report and see that they actually get something in hand, and then send it to me.
You can't speak to the Billing Complaints department; they have no phones it seems. You can only send them letters; which go unanswered. By the way, complaints has a different address to their usual mailing address. Send your letter of complaint to that address and...tough. Send another. Send a second letter to the right address and you can't get them to confirm that they received it. The Complaints Department - it appears - is the equivalent of a Black Hole. Things go in, but nothing comes out.
Customer Service has always been courteous - even when I was in a less than happy mood - but they are utterly incapable of solving any problem.
They can't call you to check that you really did change your address, but they can call you every few days to find out why you won't pay.
Here we are, September 1st, and still no solution!
After telling my story to a co-worker, he said that I should call and just insist that they do something. "If the first person can't help, then insist that you talk to their supervisor."
All fired up, I decided to take a run at the Fraud Department again. I called and spoke to someone (once more explaining the entire story.)
"You need to talk to Customer Service," he said.
"No, no, they can't help," I said.
"Yes they can," he assured me.
"No," I persisted.
"But I'll be on the phone too," he said, and despite my protests called someone in Customer Service. Fortunately, he explained everything to Nicole, who was very nice. She said that she would get her supervisor. The Fraud Department guy rang off. I was put on hold.
I was sitting there, listening to the on-hold music, thinking maybe I would get someone who knew what they were doing, when there was a 'click.' The music was interrupted, and suddenly I was getting the main phone menu message. 'Crap!' I pushed the number for Customer Service and got connected to another person.
"I was talking to Nicole," I explained. "Can you reconnect me?"
"No, but I can help you. What's your problem?"
Great! I get to explain everything again! This person proceeded to tell me it was a problem with the Post Office. Why would I call the Post Office I asked, since I was getting all my other mail, and the monthly statements too? But that's all she could offer me as an explanation. So then I spoke to her Supervisor, who calmly explained that it was a problem with the way the request had been entered - due to a change in the computer system - but that they had fixed that, and I would get it in "seven to ten days."
"But what if I don't get it?" I said.
"You will," she assured me.
"Yes but, I'm not saying that you're wrong, but just playing devils advocate, since it hasn't worked before, what happens if I don't get it?"
"Well, then you'd have to call back."
"And be back at square one?"
"Yes, but -"
"Then I'm..." I was getting annoyed at this point.
"But you are going to get this one."
I was still unhappy. I'd requested this so many times. So I persisted.
"Could someone request the report, get it and send it to me by certified mail so we both have a record that it was sent and received?"
"No."
"No one can do that?" I pleaded.
"No."
"So how do you solve any problems?"
"You're going to get this one." It was becoming a mantra.
"Yes, but when?"
"In seven to ten days."
I was about running out of ideas, so thought I'd go back to the Fraud Department one more time. Maybe I'd been fixated on getting the statements, when all I should have done was called back fraud and said "Did you clear off those transactions?"
Yeah, I know, seems obvious. I don't know why I didn't think of that before; even when I called the Fraud Department and asked them to send me statements.
I called Fraud and spoke to a friendly person. She said she couldn't look at all the notes on my account because "we changed systems back in June. I can see some of the details, but not everything."
Also, "the person who worked on your account is no longer with us." I wondered if they were dead, or just 'passed on.'
"There's another system I can use," she continued, "but I don't use it very much, and I've forgotten my password," she apologized.
Then she got all excited. "Oh, I think I..." pause, "oh, no, sorry."
But, I did get her name, number and extension, and she told me she would call me back. And unlike one Supervisor in Collections who told me he would call me back "after checking with Customer Service downstairs," she did call me back!
It seemed that they hadn't removed the first transaction. Why not? Because I hadn't sent them an affidavit.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"Well, I'll send you another affidavit. Fill that in and send it back."
"Okay," I said, thinking things were looking up.
"You should get it in seven to ten business days."
They are kind of funny (unless you've had it happen to you!)
Now, CitiBank may make some effort to counter fraud, but when it comes to Customer Service they are hopeless. Here's my story:
In December of 2005 someone changed the mailing address on my Sears/CitiBank credit card. The odd thing about that is that it's the second time someone has done this to me. The first time was back in 2002 with a different credit card, and because of that experience I put a password on all my credit cards. The idea behind having a password on accounts is that someone can't change / use the account with just your name and social security number. It's pretty much standard advice for those that have had their identity stolen.
So someone managed to change my address; and clearly without the password. I just don't think there's any way that someone could have guessed my password.
Be that as it may, the bank also fell down because they did nothing to check that my address had changed; they didn't call my 'old' phone number, or send a simple letter to my old address: "We got your address change, if it hasn't changed, call us!" It's a pretty basic way to protect against such scammers.
The next problem was; I didn't notice that I wasn't getting statements. That's probably my fault, but in my own defense, by pure circumstance I'd cut back on using that card after December (it was unrelated to the card, and just one of those weird coincidences.) Anyway, I just kind of figured that I hadn't been using the card; forgetting that I had used it quite a bit in December, and had a couple of automatic bills going to the card. Okay, I don't keep track of things as tightly as I might.
It was only in February 2006 that I got a call from the CitiBank Fraud Department; had I bought something from B And H Photo recently? Had I ordered something in December? There were two suspicious transactions, one for about $900 in December, and another for about $1200 in February. At first I was stumped because - another weird circumstance - I had bought stuff from B And H Photo before. Not very frequently, but now and again. For a moment I was confused, but then I figured out that, no I definitely hadn't ordered something from them in months; and the last thing was a computer keyboard that was less than $100.
After talking to the Fraud Department, I called B And H and explained that I didn't place the orders. They cancelled the second transaction.
I spoke to the Fraud Department and we went through all of the transactions on the account. The person at the fraud department then told me the outstanding balance on the account (less the two fraudulent transactions.) I then wrote them a check for that amount. I was under the impression that they would remove the two fraudulent transactions.
CirtiBank created a new account. I received the card, and - much to my surprise - the first statement had an opening balance of just over $1,000. I hadn't even used the new card!
This is where we descend into the rabbit hole
I called Customer Service and told them that there was an opening balance I couldn't understand. Would they please send me a copy of the statements for December through February? I was pretty sure that the balance was one of the fraudulent transactions, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was since the amount didn't match either.
Customer Service was very nice and told me I would receive a copy of the statements in "seven to ten business days."
A month later a new statement arrived. It still had a balance. I called Customer Service and explained that I hadn't received the copies of the statements. No problem, they told me, we'll put in another request. It will take seven to ten business days.
Nothing arrived.
I called back. Figuring that maybe the problem was that the Fraud Department had closed the original account, I spoke to someone in the Fraud Department. They told me that they could provide me with a "transaction summary" but not copies of the statements. I said that was okay. They told me I would get it in seven to ten business...
Nothing arrived.
I called Customer Service again and spoke to someone who was very apologetic. She went away and spoke to her Supervisor and came back and told me that the problem was that such a request had to approved by the manager. That's why they hadn't worked. She had put in a new request, and I should get it in seven to ten...
Nothing arrived.
Then I got a call from Customer Service. My account was in arrears. Did I want to make a payment? No I didn't, I said. I explained the whole thing. The person wondered if my address was correct. We checked and it was okay. I explained that I was getting the monthly statements just fine.
She put in another request and told me I would get it in seven to...
You guessed it.
At this point I figured, why not just get them to read me the transactions, and I would write them down and figure out the whole thing myself? I called Customer Service and attempted to do this, but there was one problem; they only keep six months of transactions online, and at that point, she could only go back to January.
I could go on. I have spoken to Customer Service many times. I've heard the following explanations:
The request should have been approved by the manager
They changed computer systems in June
The Post Office must be losing them (why don't I call them?)
My address must be wrong
I have explained multiple times that no other mail is missing; that I am getting the monthly statements without fail. We've checked my address about ten times.
Along the way, I have discovered that you can speak to Customer Service and their Supervisors, but they can do nothing other than to request the report. If nothing comes back, they can't do anything (and don't really care.) They are incapable of having someone request the report and see that they actually get something in hand, and then send it to me.
You can't speak to the Billing Complaints department; they have no phones it seems. You can only send them letters; which go unanswered. By the way, complaints has a different address to their usual mailing address. Send your letter of complaint to that address and...tough. Send another. Send a second letter to the right address and you can't get them to confirm that they received it. The Complaints Department - it appears - is the equivalent of a Black Hole. Things go in, but nothing comes out.
Customer Service has always been courteous - even when I was in a less than happy mood - but they are utterly incapable of solving any problem.
They can't call you to check that you really did change your address, but they can call you every few days to find out why you won't pay.
Here we are, September 1st, and still no solution!
After telling my story to a co-worker, he said that I should call and just insist that they do something. "If the first person can't help, then insist that you talk to their supervisor."
All fired up, I decided to take a run at the Fraud Department again. I called and spoke to someone (once more explaining the entire story.)
"You need to talk to Customer Service," he said.
"No, no, they can't help," I said.
"Yes they can," he assured me.
"No," I persisted.
"But I'll be on the phone too," he said, and despite my protests called someone in Customer Service. Fortunately, he explained everything to Nicole, who was very nice. She said that she would get her supervisor. The Fraud Department guy rang off. I was put on hold.
I was sitting there, listening to the on-hold music, thinking maybe I would get someone who knew what they were doing, when there was a 'click.' The music was interrupted, and suddenly I was getting the main phone menu message. 'Crap!' I pushed the number for Customer Service and got connected to another person.
"I was talking to Nicole," I explained. "Can you reconnect me?"
"No, but I can help you. What's your problem?"
Great! I get to explain everything again! This person proceeded to tell me it was a problem with the Post Office. Why would I call the Post Office I asked, since I was getting all my other mail, and the monthly statements too? But that's all she could offer me as an explanation. So then I spoke to her Supervisor, who calmly explained that it was a problem with the way the request had been entered - due to a change in the computer system - but that they had fixed that, and I would get it in "seven to ten days."
"But what if I don't get it?" I said.
"You will," she assured me.
"Yes but, I'm not saying that you're wrong, but just playing devils advocate, since it hasn't worked before, what happens if I don't get it?"
"Well, then you'd have to call back."
"And be back at square one?"
"Yes, but -"
"Then I'm..." I was getting annoyed at this point.
"But you are going to get this one."
I was still unhappy. I'd requested this so many times. So I persisted.
"Could someone request the report, get it and send it to me by certified mail so we both have a record that it was sent and received?"
"No."
"No one can do that?" I pleaded.
"No."
"So how do you solve any problems?"
"You're going to get this one." It was becoming a mantra.
"Yes, but when?"
"In seven to ten days."
I was about running out of ideas, so thought I'd go back to the Fraud Department one more time. Maybe I'd been fixated on getting the statements, when all I should have done was called back fraud and said "Did you clear off those transactions?"
Yeah, I know, seems obvious. I don't know why I didn't think of that before; even when I called the Fraud Department and asked them to send me statements.
I called Fraud and spoke to a friendly person. She said she couldn't look at all the notes on my account because "we changed systems back in June. I can see some of the details, but not everything."
Also, "the person who worked on your account is no longer with us." I wondered if they were dead, or just 'passed on.'
"There's another system I can use," she continued, "but I don't use it very much, and I've forgotten my password," she apologized.
Then she got all excited. "Oh, I think I..." pause, "oh, no, sorry."
But, I did get her name, number and extension, and she told me she would call me back. And unlike one Supervisor in Collections who told me he would call me back "after checking with Customer Service downstairs," she did call me back!
It seemed that they hadn't removed the first transaction. Why not? Because I hadn't sent them an affidavit.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"Well, I'll send you another affidavit. Fill that in and send it back."
"Okay," I said, thinking things were looking up.
"You should get it in seven to ten business days."
posted by Taz at 11:05 PM
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