How to Dispute a Citibank Credit Charge Online

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

1. Never file a dispute over the phone. Ok, well you can file it initially over the phone, but always follow up with a letter. In writing is the ONLY way to preserve your rights. Read the fine print on the back of your statement and most will say that while you can call in a dispute, writing is the only way to legally preserve your rights.

   Cheers

   Comment by Dooley — Sep 22nd 2006 @ 11:30 am

2. Yeha, I should’ve expanded a bit on that… They’re mailing me a followup letter with specific instructions as to any supporting documentation that they might need. I will then gather what they want and send it back in along with a letter describing the trouble.

   So I guess it would be more accurate to state that I _initiated_ the dispute over the phone.

   Comment by nickel — Sep 22nd 2006 @ 11:34 am

3. I think you should only dispute a charge if it is actually incorrect ie. you didn’t make the purchase, or the amount charged is wrong.

   If you have customer service issues (eg. the order is delayed, product delivered isn’t satisfactory) you should take the issue to your local “consumer affairs” department if you can’t get anywhere through negotiation. Claiming that a charge is incorrect when it isn’t is dishonest. (But on a scale of 1-10, it’s a 1).

   Having said that, I’m also part of the 40% that sneak my own drinks and snacks into the cinema - which is breaking the rules. I think lots of people who are basically ‘honest’ are more likely to ‘bend the rules’ when we feel being taken advantage of, and thus morally justified.

   Comment by Ralph — Sep 25th 2006 @ 1:07 am

4. Ralph: FWIW, both Citibank and I disagree with you on this. When I called and explained the SimplyBunkBeds situation to Citi (item not as described, trouble getting them to take it back), the guy said that disputing the charge was the right thing to do. In this case, selling us pine bunk beds in place of ash bunk beds is prety much the exact same thing as charging us the wrong amount… After all, ash bunk bunds are considerably more expensive that pine bunk bends, so shipping the wrong thing is the equivalent of over-charging us (not to mention sticking us with something that we didn’t want in the first place).

   Comment by nickel — Sep 25th 2006 @ 8:24 am

5. i work for citibank’s billing dispute department and calling in a dispute is NOT the only way to begin the process. if you view your statements online, you’ll notice at the bottom of every statement, there’s a section telling you how to ‘report billing errors’. you can either fill out the dispute form online and mail it in, or write to the customer service address listed to mail payments. but never ever EVER mail it with your payment, or it will not be forwarded to our department and we’ll never know of the dispute. calling in the disputed charge is useful, but it does not preserve your dispute rights. federal regulations state that in any billing dispute, your mastercard or visa issuing bank- whether citi or not- MUST be notified in writing within sixty days of the statement date on which the disputed charge appeared.

   Comment by frances farmer — Nov 25th 2006 @ 10:24 am

6. Please send this to marketing they might Care ,,
   thank you
   Michael
   Been with Citicard for ten years with no problems up till now!

   I bought insurance from Safeco for apox 250.00
   Then in around 30 mins later I got a call from a online agent and they found
   A progressive policy for around a 100 dollars less,, so I bought it.
   Then I called Safeco in aprox 30 mins and cancelled the policy with them,,,
   Then I called Citicard and asked if I should stop payment to Safeco
   They said yes and I did,,, so it was taken off my balance
   They sent me a letter to write out what happened I did sent it back and told them
   After I stopped payment I receive a check from Safeco, but since
   I stopped payment it was not my money to cash so I sent it back

   About a month later I was re-billed by Citicards for the APROX 250
   I called and spoke with aprox 7 or 8 people at Citicrad
   and was told I have to Pay the bill or else I will be turned over to a credit agency
   I said I will not pay for something I didn’t buy,, ( I cancelled the policy)
   And at that point cancelled my account with Citicard,,,
   They said they might reconsider if I will send them another letter explaining
   Everything I said I am traveling and cannot receive mail and you have all the information
   Now,, they became hostile and said they will give me bad credit and turn me in if I don’t
   Pay them.
   I will not pay for something I didn’t Buy,, I cancelled the policy
   Is this a way to do business ? Destroying people credit ?

   michael

   Comment by michael — Apr 23rd 2007 @ 8:17 pm

7. I’m on disability and got into financial trouble. I made a deal with Citibank to let them debit my checking account $300/month @ 3.9%. At the end of the year,without reason, Citibank wanted 30.99% interest. I told them that I couldn’t afford to pay that much, and the kid that I was talking to said that there were no other options. Now Citibank has frozen my bank account and taken my Veterans pension, in direct violation of federal law. They’re in the process of taking my house, but they’re too big to fight. I was a long time customer, but it doesn’t matter to the Gods of Greed

   Comment by Gary — Apr 25th 2007 @ 9:57 pm

8. I got the same measly $10 coupon from Buy.com. What an insult. Why would I want to purchase anything from Buy.com again after this debacle? The coupon is worthless.

   You can call the President’s office directly to register a complaint. 949-448-5400 ask for Mr. Grover’s office (Neel Grover).

   Comment by Ben — Jul 18th 2007 @ 7:43 am

9. Citi credit cards dispute customer service is horrible. They are pretty useless. Do not get a Citi card. They will leave you out on your own and not protect you from merchants.

   Comment by John — Oct 9th 2007 @ 11:18 am

10. John is absolutely correct. They fail to even acknowledge letters, you can’t trust anything they say over the phone and they refuse to allow you to speak with a supervisor. The one thing they do very well is to put the charge back on your account, without an investigation, and sometimes even charge you interest. DO NOT GET A CITIBANK CARD IF YOU THINK YOU WILL EVER NEED THE PROTECTION OF FEDERAL LAW. Go with American Express. They have their act together.

    Comment by Dennis — Feb 8th 2008 @ 2:53 pm

11. Citibank will lose your letters too. Then blame you once you call them a month later to find out what is going on and they don’t know. I had been a customer for over 20 years charging $3000.00/mo and they lossed track of my charge dispute and then just sent me the exact same form letters know matter what I wrote them.
    AVOID THEM AT ALL COST!

    Comment by Bill — Feb 11th 2008 @ 12:39 am

Leave a comment