Marathon Man

again, file with all the agencies.

THEN go to the web for your states AGO and file a detailed (and lengthy--remember, all parties must read it so make sure you leave nothing out) report on your actions and what you think they did to wrong you. No need to say something like you planned to churn GCs or CCs or anything... but just tell that you bought a lot on the CC and so you expect the points.

Keep records on all of this. Everything.

Then if they respond saying they CAN help, then good. Let's see if they can mediate for you both and figure it out. After all in most cases the way the AGO works is that they take cases where consumers have problems with businesses and pursue them as best they can, BUT if the case seems flimsy or is just a one off, they may not be able to assist. SO the more people who DO file with AGOs across the country (and you can even reference that your AGO might wish to later look at this complaint in other states too) the better your chance something may get done in your favor.

In the end, if they cannot help or the outcome of such help is not satisfactory, file with small claims court. In MA you can sue for up to $7k plus the $150 court filing fee. You could then explain why you think your case is worth $X and wait for the court date.

In some cases a bank may settle with you out of court. In some cases they may send a lawyer. In MA, you have a chance to mediate once more in the court room usually--before you are heard. If THIS does not go well, you can STILL go ahead. Now it is up to the judge and the rules of the court.

All of this takes time and effort and some expense. You must go into prepared for these things, and more. Citis lawyers could be reading this thread right now. Or they could dig up something else on you--to defame you in court, which is how they could win. It's all about who presents the better case. Oh yes what is right or wrong is important, but it's all about the way you come off to the judge and how well you present your side over theirs. As for the value of the points, I would cite what the rates are for GCs, flights and those checks and make an average estimate based on that.

Finally, as I have said before; You have done NOTHING wrong. If you go into these things above with a notion that maybe you have, you are already sunk.

dfw_plt_aa

If there are only a few complaints then the CFPB is unlikely to do anything. It is only when there are a large number of complaints that they will be likely to take action.

Happy

Care to share how Citi ignored you?

stupidzbu

so..

For those charging $20k+ a month on one card.. and maybe someone would PM me with the answers to these questions, but:

1) If you are buying VRs, CVS allows 1k/day ... even going morning & afternoon, that is still 2k /day / CVS

2) How does your account not get flagged for fraud alert?

3) If you do multiple CVSs in one day, again, fraud alert should shut you down, right?

Marathon Man

I can give you some generalities on these right now:

1) you could do a couple CVSs but it is best to probably limit yourself because many cards (Chase, Citi, BofA--but not as much w Amex) seem to have a fit when one buys stuff for similar ammts at the same retailer in the same day. ie, maybe keep the ammts a bit lower per day in each store chain.

2) if you have the text version of fraud alert, at least some cards such as the citi Ty card can alert you by text on the spot when you are in the store and you can quickly clear it while still standing there in most cases. Text ones are better because no human is involved. then you can run it again after having some cute little convo with the clerk about how if ya try to use your card at too many stores in one day, it'll do that haha and they will probably nod in agreement. You get the alerts but they are not really such a bad thing... mostly.

3) generally, having the above fraud alerts has little to do with being shut down like those in this thread have been. Different departments and concerns. one is about their safety and yours as a paying customer but the other has to do with the bank thinking a customer did something it does not like (for reasons it still refuses to fully disclose, making me think they are inventing them as they go, which is very wrong indeed!). BUT to avoid such fraud alerts, try to find that happy place where you can use your card actively for whatever you buy and then not get the alerts really at all. But if you do, you can clear them with relative ease. Many find, however, that calling IN to citi will not really help. It's as if the people you talk to and ask to put some sort of note on your acct don't even have the power or abilities to make it stick, so that the people who trigger the alerts can see the notes! So it's not worth doing really. At least with Citi, BofA and Chase. With Amex, these things often DO stick. They also tend to see and get used to your patterns too, which is nice if you do the same things all the time.

Soooo, I hope that helps a bit.

stupidzbu

great tips...

I'll call up the banks and see about this text fraud alert thing...

never knew that was an option

PointsforHolidayBoy

I just wanted to thank everyone who helped me with my petition to Citi. I'll be revising my letter tonight. Please PM if you're serious about signing the petition.

Marathon Man

I do think I set it up online... maybe check there first.

AND here is what the alert looks like (as copy pasted from my text on my iphone):

Free Text Msg: Citi Cards Fraud Dept.Did you make a charge at CVS PHARMACY #XXXX in the amount of $1007.9 on 05-22? Yes,reply 1, No,reply 2.You may also call 8003866624 and enter pin XXXXXXX. To Opt-Out reply STOP.

(I texted back with 1)

Free Text Msg: Citi Cards Fraud Dept. Thank you for confirming this charge, your card is now available for use. To Opt-Out reply STOP

DallasEsq

I was talking about this at lunch today with a few coworkers and they brought up a few good points:

1) Citi charges retailers more in fees for rewards cards, so they are earning higher fees without actually passing the rewards on to some customers. Although it sounds like at 5% Citi loses money, they lose less by charging higher fees.
2) Citi controls the T&C between the cardholder and the bank, so they are in a position to easily set appropriate limits on these transactions like other card issuers (ex: 5% on the first $500 in purchases, 1% thereafter). It sounds like they still haven't done this, although they easily could.

silver6054

Yes, and as commented earlier, Citi DOES do this on some of their other cards, e.g. Dividend is capped at $300 per year in earnings, so it's not a foreign concept to them.

glocklt4

If Fraud people call you, ask them to put CVS on your "always allow" list. This is what I did after about 3 fraud alerts where I had to call, and ever since I have not had a single issue, even buying $3k in a day.

TheDapperDon

+1000 on this. I need to improve my current lifestyle, not attempt to stretch myself into something I can't afford or wouldn't normally do.

TheDapperDon

I personally believe, after reading most of this thread, that the case against Citi would be that they are closing accounts so they can avoid paying out the rewards after collecting profits on swipe fees. Thus, they are using consumers to pad their bottom line and avoiding any hits to their bottom line by not giving out TY points.

Marathon Man

Watch the Netflix mini series, Titanic: Blood and Steel and you will see the struggles of the repressed working man at Harland and Wolff ship yard in the old world and how it related to the power and greed of those who built the massive ship and what they believed. To me, this whole citi thing plays out similarly, and look what happened to Titanic and most of those who sailed her...

TheDapperDon

I've had my TYP and charged 1k at drugstores the first month, then 1.6k the second month. I went ahead and redeemed my points that I had in there.

I carry a Forward and love using it on Amazon. I would prefer to hang on to this card. I'm going to keep the same levels of spending and hope for the best. I think Citi needs to be sued though.