CITIBank: Customer-service Is Totally Infuriating Bank

So here's the story.

My father is a Citibank credit card holder, and I had a supplementary credit card under his name. I rarely used that credit card, except to pay for my membership and services from True Fitness through monthly installments. On 31st January 2010, my wallet was pick-pocketed, including my supplementary card, which I immediately got my father to contacted Citibank to cancel and they did. He then requested for a replacement card and was told that the card would be couriered to us within 7 days (most courier services take only ONE day, BUT they used Pos Laju. Go figure). Since we had recently moved house, my father informed the bank's customer service representative (CSR) of our new mailing address. The bank promptly charged RM50 for new card, and this charge appeared in his next credit card statement.

However, after waiting more than 7 days, we had not yet received the card. My father called the credit card company again, and told them the same problem. He AGAIN gave our new address, and the rep AGAIN promised the card would be sent to us within 7 days. After 7 more days, AGAIN, the card did not arrive to us. This waiting game went on for over one month and a half, in which my father called the company TWO more times to raise the same issue. Keep in mind, each time he calls, he has to listen to an automated voice telling him to press various buttons and key in various credit card information and this continues for at least 5 minutes each call before he finally gets to talk to an actual person. The fourth time he called, the CSR said that he would look into the matter PERSONALLY and ensure the card would be sent to us by 5pm that same day. This was on 19^th March 2010. The card STILL did not come. After this, I was so fed up of their empty promises, I told my father to call the company to cancel the request for a new card, and request a refund for the RM50.

Then on the 24th of March, my father received a visa statement with an extraordinarily high amount charged to us. Upon calling the bank, we found out that because my supplementary card was cancelled, the remaining monthly installments I was paying through that card for my gym services were all being charged in that one statement, and it was a large amount! This was almost TWO months after my stolen card was cancelled and AFTER we had repeatedly requested for a replacement card from the bank which we never received and ultimately decided to cancel. No one from the bank informed us that the remaining charges would be billed in one statement, and since my card was only a supplementary card, the monthly installment charges could have continued coming to my father’s card instead of mine! I then asked to speak to one of the bank managers, at which the bank CSR told me they were all ‘engaged’. Then I repeated our previous issue of not receiving the replacement card to him, and AGAIN had to give him our new mailing address (because our new address was not in their system!). The rep then informed us that I could get a new card, with the remaining installments charged monthly as normal to the new card through their easy payment scheme. I agreed to this, but also requested that the bank issue a new visa statement to my father, with the extraordinary charges removed as I was afraid he would get charged for late payments for this large amount. The CSR agreed to this.

HOWEVER, today (29 March 2010), my father checked his statement online and saw no changes made. When he contacted the bank (another 5 minutes of his life wasted listening to the automated voice), he was told that the bank management needed THREE DAYS to discuss our case and decide whether to issue a new card with the easy payment scheme to us. The reason being because for the previous two months, my father paid his credit card bill late (of course he was charged interest for the late payments!).

Because of this, I have decided I have had enough of Citibank’s extremely horrible customer service and COMPLETELY empty promises. I have no choice but to pay off the large amount Citibank charged in the latest statement (which was supposed to be charge in monthly installments), after which I told my father to cancel his credit card. Because if I wait any longer for this ‘supposed’ management meeting to complete, I am VERY certain that Citibank will charge my father interest for late payment of the extraordinary amount! I therefore wish to advise all Citibank credit card holders to CANCEL their credit card because:

1)The bank is SO QUICK to charge you for a replacement card, but does not care if you actually receive it or not.
2)Even though you have no choice but to cancel a stolen card, the bank burdens you even MORE by charging all remaining monthly installments in one lump sum. If a customer has to make many monthly payments and has an average or low salary that is sufficient only to pay for installments, imagine the heavy burden that would be!!!
3)Customers waste so much time trying to contact the bank but having to listen to an automated voice for several minutes. -_-
4)You wanna speak to their manager? You get the standard answer: They’re all engaged!!
5)The customer service representatives promise the sky and the moon but repeatedly end up delivering NOTHING. >:O

EVERY Citibank card holder should know about this problem and drop this bank straight away so they lose business and learn how to improve their customer service. Forward this to all your friends (but delete the email addresses so spammers don’t get them!).

By the way, Citibank, if any of your people are reading this, I WANT MY RM50 BACK for the card that I NEVER received.

CITIBank: Customer-service Is Totally Infuriating Bank