beware - you may be next
Written: Jun 03 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Web Site Experience: |
 |
|
|
Pros: similar to other cards in rates and offers
Cons: outrageous late fees and an inability to sort the good from the bad. See below.
The Bottom Line: A late fee that is more than the outstanding balance is unacceptable and insulting. Let's all hit them where it hurts, in THEIR wallet.
|
|
|
| mlbrown's Full Review: Citibank |
Something happened to my April statement from Citibank Quicken Visa. I lost it, the mail lost it, or Citibank sent it somewhere. I just didn't receive it. On that statement was a $12.95 charge for something (who knows what, I never got it). My May statement arrived on May 24th. To my amazement, there is a late fee of $29 and a mysterious $1.00 "minimum 'finance charge'" added to the balance due. The total $42.95.
Am I the only person out there that thinks this is absolutely absurd? I know Citibank is not the only bank charging usury rates, but almost 3000% a year?
The story doesn't end there. Remember I received the statement on May 24. On June 1 I received a dun letter from Citibank's surrogate: THE CREDIT CARD PROCESSING CENTER (whatever that is). They mailed this before I even received the May statement. In the dun they reminded me that if I didn't send them money immediately, my credit could be tarnished.
Now, in my younger days I worked my way through college in a credit agency for a summer. Believe me I know a deadbeat when I see one. I pay my bills promptly and only when there is a mistake such as in this example, do I become late in a payment. Citibank's computer system knows this and could have handled it better. The account representative knows a good customer from a bad one and should act appropriately, instead she told me that this fee is the company policy but, IN THIS ONE CASE, they would be WILLING to remove the late fee (her voice almost dripping with contempt and suspicion). It doesn't take much of a brain to see that a $12.95 missed payment is most likely an oversight or mistake - especially if the customer does not have a history of late payments and, in my case, over $10,000 in charges in the past year or so. I'm a good customer, a money maker for the company and one they should not want to lose.
But lose they did. The dun letter did it. Come on, for $12.95? I cut my card up (with a $17,000 credit limit) and returned it to Citibank.
I will do that for every card that pulls this insult. With two or three solicitations a week from credit card companies, maybe I'll find one that works at keeping their customers instead of pretending as in their syrupy TV commercials which try to convince us about how much they care.
Join me in this expression of outrage, if enough of us quit using Citibanks' cards maybe they will get the message. Just direct them here.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mlbrown
|
|
Member: ML Brown
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 3 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.