Citibank - Why are they so difficult to deal with?

[Febs]

I know this isn't news to anyone, more of a rant. Bear with me.

I've had incorrect transactions on my Earth and AMEX cards from time to time. Call up, identify the transaction, Westpac/AMEX investigate. Couldn't be simpler. Phone call never takes more than 3-4 minutes.

Citibank? Like pulling teeth.

I called up re: two transactions on my online transaction list - one which is for about double what it should be (I recognise the vendor), and one which I don't recognise at all.

Citibank: "Sir, I suggest you call the vendor and discuss it with them."

Me: "Umm...firstly, the vendor I recognise processes thousands of transactions each day. I'm sure they won't easily be able to find my transaction. Secondly, I have no idea who the second vendor is."

Citibank: "Right, but I suggest you call them up."

Me: "Umm..how"

Citibank: "White pages" (I kid you not)

Me: "They're not in there. They're also not in Google."

Citibank: "Right, well we'll investigate, charge you $8, then if the transaction is actually incorrect, we'll credit you the amount."

Me: "Umm...$8 to investigate?"

Citibank: "Oh, I mean only if the transaction is legitimate."

Then they put me on hold for 10 minutes and came back with two case numbers (finally!) They say someone will call me back in 3-5 days. Ha, we'll see. I also questioned why they don't credit the amount instantly (like every other CC company I've dealt with, and like Citibank have for me in the past), and she couldn't answer.

Unbelievable. If it wasn't a free Platinum card and didn't offer a good QFF transfer rate for VISA (for $19/yr), I'd dump it in a heartbeat. Can't believe some people actually pay for this "service"!

OK, rant's over.

Cheers,
- Febs.

PS: Is there any way to speak to an Australian call centre, for Platinum cardholders? I find it pretty poor that this card (which some people pay $250/yr for!) still has an overseas call centre. Compared to AMEX/Westpac who have some of the friendliest locals you can imagine staffing their call centres.

 

[Febs]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, what's with their ridiculous ID questions?

Name/address/phone number/employer - fine, no problems.

"What transaction did you make on Saturday 24th Feb? How much was it for? What were your last 5 transactions?"

WTF? How are we supposed to remember that when we don't have our statements handy?? :shock:

 

[vilemerchant]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, what's with their ridiculous ID questions?

Name/address/phone number/employer - fine, no problems.

"What transaction did you make on Saturday 24th Feb? How much was it for? What were your last 5 transactions?"

WTF? How are we supposed to remember that when we don't have our statements handy?? :shock:

I always log into the account online before calling so I can easily rattle off any answers to stupid questions. One day tho even that didn't help.

"What was the amount of your last payment?"
$850.
"I'm sorry sir but that answer doesn't match my information, I am unable to continue this call with you."
Well I'm looking at it online right now and I made a $850 payment on the 25th!
"I'm sorry Sir I have to hang up now".

Then I call back, get the exact same question and give the same answer and get through. They are just baffling.

 

[anshul]

I know this isn't news to anyone, more of a rant.

PS: Is there any way to speak to an Australian call centre, for Platinum cardholders? I find it pretty poor that this card (which some people pay $250/yr for!) still has an overseas call centre. Compared to AMEX/Westpac who have some of the friendliest locals you can imagine staffing their call centres.

I have Citibank Platinum for almost a year now. I have called them 3 times so far.

1. To update the mailing address 1 month back

2. 4 days back when I disputed 2 transactions. They made me cancel the card because the merchant charged the card without my authority and they said we will send you replacement within 48 hours.

3. Yesterday when I didn't receive the replacement card within 48 hours as promised only to find that they sent it to the wrong address. When I updated my mailing address last month they had updated it to wrong address!!

Certainly not a Platinum service.

 

[serfty]

Branched dougo's issue and related posts here:

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/community/westpac-earth/qff-transfer-problem-where-my-16806.html

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, what's with their ridiculous ID questions?

Name/address/phone number/employer - fine, no problems.

"What transaction did you make on Saturday 24th Feb? How much was it for? What were your last 5 transactions?"

Yeah I lol at that every time. This is after asking for your card and pin number too!!

I find if you push hard enough you eventually get transfered to an Australian rep.

In my experience, it's always worth contacting the merchant (perhaps even a requirement before disputing) prior to attempting to chargeback. Sometimes - the merchant will offer you something else as a sign of goodwill.

ANZ and Westpac both charge fees if the transaction is resolved in the merchant's favour of the tune to $10. Not sure about other banks... People used to do the old scam of calling up, disputing major transactions in their current cycle - the bank would then 'reverse' the transactions for at least the month and your monthly balance to pay off is much much less, pay it off and delay the large balance til the following month. This is why banks started to enforce a fee for anything that is totally legit.

 

[jakeseven7]

Yeah I lol at that every time. This is after asking for your card and pin number too!!

I find if you push hard enough you eventually get transfered to an Australian rep.

In my experience, it's always worth contacting the merchant (perhaps even a requirement before disputing) prior to attempting to chargeback. Sometimes - the merchant will offer you something else as a sign of goodwill.

ANZ and Westpac both charge fees if the transaction is resolved in the merchant's favour of the tune to $10. Not sure about other banks... People used to do the old scam of calling up, disputing major transactions in their current cycle - the bank would then 'reverse' the transactions for at least the month and your monthly balance to pay off is much much less, pay it off and delay the large balance til the following month. This is why banks started to enforce a fee for anything that is totally legit.

does anyone know what the charge back penalty is for the merchant if they are found responsible?

 

[maxkerr]

I have had a Citibank Mastercard for over 10 years now. Not long after opening an account with Citibank, they offered me a Diners Club card with no fees attached. The Diners Club card gives me 1 1/2 points per dollar spent.

I find that by dialing the call centre, the call goes through India and you get the run around in no uncertain manner. I get through to Sydney in very quick time by asking the call centre operator the following questions.

If the operator is female, I ask "are you selling sex, if you are, I only buy sex if you are wearing red panties"?

If the operator is male, I ask "are you gay and selling your body for sex"?

It is marvelous how quick I get transferred to Sydney in a hurry.

Since starting this procedure, Sydney Office has now given me a direct number into the office with a relationship manager. I give him any problem I have and it is rectified immediately with excellent results.

Yesterday, I decided to transfer some FF points to Qantas as this has to be done before the end of March. Citibank offered to transfer my Gold Card to Platinium card at no extra cost and this overcomes the problem with Qantas as the Platinium is acceptable to Qantas after the end of March.

This is typical of the excellent service I have received from Citibank especially since having a relationship manager to contact.

I can only commend Citibank on the excellent service I receive through the relationship manager.

Maybe you should get yourself into a position where you get a relationship manager attached to your account.

 

[Chicken]

Although I hate Citibank to the guts, I do feel some of your comments are not very fair on Citibank.

I also questioned why they don't credit the amount instantly (like every other CC company I've dealt with, and like Citibank have for me in the past), and she couldn't answer.

The official answer, is in the fees table you receive when you receive your card. It has annual fee, forex commission, etc, and it does state

Voucher request fee: $8 per sales receipt requested from a Third Party (refunded if dispute is resolved in your favour), debited to your Account at the time of your request.

The unofficial answer, is there must be a way to stop people from disputing transactions without genuine reason. Otherwise, banks and merchants would be spending everyday searching for orders and receipts just because some cardholders are too lazy to keep their own record.

Oh, just as a comparison ~

AmEx: We will advise you of the outcome of the investigation and the reasons for the outcome. If the outcome is that there has been an incorrect debit or credt to the Account, we wil adjust the Account accordingly (including any interest charges) and advise you of the adjustment.

I also checked credit card T&C from WBC, and EFT code of conduct from CBA. Both are not clear on procedure, but both basically say they will investigate, then advise you of outcome and adjust your account accordingly.

So they are all investigate first, then refund.

Oh, and while I'm ranting, what's with their ridiculous ID questions?

Name/address/phone number/employer - fine, no problems.

Honestly, do you think these questions are sufficient for ID purpose? How many people know your address and DOB and where you work? I would guess the answer is ... um... a lot???

What transaction did you make on Saturday 24th Feb? How much was it for? What were your last 5 transactions?

WTF? How are we supposed to remember that when we don't have our statements handy?? :shock:

1: AmEx and ING ask me this exact same question as well. And if I don't get it, they will ask some even trickier questions.

2: If you are who you are, you can log into Internet banking to look, or you can look through receipts in your wallet, or you can look at receipts at home. If you are not who you are, the chance of you answering these questions would be a lot smaller.

does anyone know what the charge back penalty is for the merchant if they are found responsible?

I just checked the agreement from NAB many years ago from work, $25. The current one at work is from Suncorp Metway again $25.

 

[Diesellife]

Citibank - Why are they so difficult to deal with?

Perhaps becoz there shares are worth nothing now??

 

[one9]

The reason why Citibank is so difficult to deal with?

Because the call centre operators have very little training in western phone culture and because they have very little authority to use initiative or make decisions.

 

[Febs]

Citibank - Why are they so difficult to deal with?

Perhaps becoz there shares are worth nothing now??

Been going on for years though.

I remember they once sent me a personally-addressed credit card application. What's wrong with that? I was 8 at the time.

 

[oz_mark]

Because the call centre operators have very little training in western phone culture and because they have very little authority to use initiative or make decisions.

The inability of call center staff to make decisions is not a unique problem to Citibank.

 

[hedge]

The inability of call center staff to make decisions is not a unique problem to Citibank.

I actually work in a call centre and I have to say that there are some very incompetent people working there (being honest). There are also some really knowledgeable people however much less so than the bad ones!

 

[oz_mark]

I actually work in a call centre and I have to say that there are some very incompetent people working there (being honest). There are also some really knowledgeable people however much less so than the bad ones!

It's ok. I have just had a very torrid time with Telstra/BigPond and their call centres. The people seemed fine, the processes they have to deal with were the problem. Wasn't till I hit them with the the "material breach of contract" angle that got things sorted.

On the other hand, I have had good experiences at other call centres(e.g. Qantas/Westpac)

Given my experiences with other call centres and Citibanks, I think the issues are more around process and procedures rather than the people themselves.

 

[Dougo]

Given my experiences with other call centres and Citibanks, I think the issues are more around process and procedures rather than the people themselves.

That's absolutely right - Gabarge In, Garbage Out.

 

[Archphoto]

These guys have driven me up the wall and around the bend so many times!:evil:
Since the FF points changes I have just phoned to cancel my card with them. Here's an idea of their stupidity and inability to think outside the square:

Me: "I'd like to close my account due to the changes to your FF policy."
Citi: "I suggest you do this online as we will CHARGE you 2500 points to do so over the phone."
Me: Ahhh, but don't you have a 5000 block transfer in place?"
Citi: "Yes"
Me: "Well doesn't that mean that I'll lose 2800 points by doing it this way?" (I had 17800 points)
Citi: "Yes."

Suffice to say, I had to order the online call person to put me through to a supervisor. Same conversation, however the reason given for the 5000 point block transfer "It's Qantas' policy that they are done in 5000 point blocks."

I kinda shot that one out of the water:

Me: "I have a number of cards with your competitors and they happily transfer amounts such as 123, 627 etc without batting an eyelid. I earned them legitimately according to your card rules and now I insist ALL are transferred, as the rules of earning have changed and are no longer what I originally paid for!"

In the end, after a good 45 minutes on the phone, they are now in the process of being transferred. Rest assured I'll be keeping an eye on it - my next concern is that these idiots will close the account first and then tell me I can't transfer the points!

Anybody looking to get a Platinum card with these guys to earn points - my advice is DON"T - you'll be forever being notified that they want to change your card every time you use it overseas, even when you notify them you are going (as was suggested to me to ensure this didn't happen).

Instead, if you are thinking of the Platinum card to earn points, go with ANZ or Amex - their service is superb and they actually listen to what you are saying.

 

[kdser]

Me: Ahhh, but don't you have a 5000 block transfer in place?"
Citi: "Yes"
Me: "Well doesn't that mean that I'll lose 2800 points by doing it this way?" (I had 17800 points)
Citi: "Yes."

The transfer rule is designed this way purposely to discourage clients from closing their accounts, I would think.

 

[Mis5P]

Its like pulling teeth dealing with the incompetent customer service reps.
Arrggghhh.. !!

I am not a gold card member... I have the fee free platinum.

I had trouble transferring my point to QFF online in March and have been trying to get some feedback from citibank on what happened.. Each time I call I get the response "a specially trained Qantas rewards customer service person will respond to your enquire in 5 to 10 business days"..
It has been more than that.. !!

How do I speak to someone in Sydney?

 

[spunkarooney]

How do I speak to someone in Sydney?

There's a complaints number on the Citibank website. Good luck trying to find it