mordakky

You make a great point!

I'm out $1400 in doublecash rewards that would have posted on my next statement cycle, and $500 from checking/savings bonus that would have posted if they didn't close me.
Total loss $1900 + $200 for the arbitration fee. So the minimum I should request is $2100.
What amount do you think I should try for? $2500 total?

ogg

I'd ask for $20,000 at least. You can always settle for less. Pain and suffering. Worries about your credit. You can't sleep at night. Your reputation has been ruined. You have all sorts of reactions to the closures that I can't possibly know.

Seriously, I don't give legal advice. It's an arbitration. Be a PITA. See what happens.

craz

It seems this was a brand new account, is that correct? What was your CL and how much did you charge in total in what appears to be the < 1 month you had the CC and did you pay off your Citi CC by depositing the MOs to your Citi acct?

I will let the others chime in but all those I know whom were closed they didnt ram everything in in their 1st month

If I figured correctly, you said you earned $1400 in 2% ca$h back, only now do you say your statement never closed so that seems to say you charged $70K during your < 1 month having the CC, I can be dead wrong but I doubt you had a $70K CL, how many times did you prepay off the CC? Im not sure if paying the $200 fee isnt simply throwing good money after bad money

craz

I would think the $500 is a non-starter, unless the T&Cs dont say anything about having the accts remain open for x days in good standing, very easy for Citi to say they closed the accts due to non-Good standing

ogg

There's nothing in the terms of any card that prohibits cycling credit limits. How the card was used likely won't even come up in the arbitration, Trust me--paying the 250 arbitration fee (again, use the other arbitration organization, not the one Citi wants you to use) is a good bet. No guarantees, but it's a small risk to take.

craz

Is there anything regarding the Citi 2% ca$h back about not earning the CB on Cash like products eg ca$h adv, gift cards, ATM withdrawls, do you think the $500 for opening up a savings and checking is due the OP? since Citi closed the accts before the min amount of time they needed to be open was reached (albeit it was Citi that closed them)

mordakky

​​​​​​ Citi terms mention you can use either American arbitration association or JAMS. AAA is $200 to open case, JAMS is $250.

mordakky

Yes they did update terms 11/1/2019 to exclude gift cards from earning 2%, but they still are giving it. So they haven't really fixed it yet

craz

So can they claw it back if they ended up giving it by mistake or is it according to Law they are SOL once they gave it even if it was only pending. If they have the right legally to withdraw it wouldnt that have you loss the arbitration?

I realize you are out the fees paid for the cards and MOs or BPs, but if it was me Id want to know if those who won in arbitration what the T&Cs stated for them. If there was nothing regarding GCs or ca$h eqv then although you can hope cave, Citi may not since the T&Cs are different. If the others had the same T&Cs and won they its worth a try

It seems from what Ive read that you arent in the same exact position as the others were,T&C wise, it seems you are in a much weaker position, in regards to teh 2% CB, Id forget about the bonus for opening up the accts its a slam dunk IMO that Citi wins, sort of like opening a CC and the bonus is 100K pts but the pts are credited only after 6 months = if the acct is closed before fulfilling all the T&Cs you dont get the bonus pts no matter who closed the acct since it wasnt opened for the min amount of time. Although if you are going to arb then add this as well just dont get your hopes up for the $500, since Citi can say it was closed since all your accts werent in good standing

good luck you will need it Citi robbed for $80 and it took close to 2 months to get my money back, ATM withdrawl $$ out of my acct but no cash from the ATM, even the branch mgr tried everything and it was like talking to the wall, and the ATM was well over the $80 in excess ca$h when it was audited the next day

ogg

Again, don't focus on legal arguments or the merits of the case. Focus on the fact that in a JAMS arbitration, Citi will have to be represented by an attorney charging hundreds of dollars per hour and will have to pay thousands of dollars in filing fees. IMHO the arbitrator will never hear the case. Citi will offer you some bucks to get you to drop it. View it as a fun learning experience if you wish.

MaxVO

Are you implying that Citi has no attorneys on the payroll, and will need to hire one just for this occasion?

craz

I hear you, but in which city did you apply for Arb? Would it matter any if say the OP is based in NY,LA etc etc a major city where Citi has a major presence and probably has lawyers on staff? I can hear if the OP is Dayton based and Citi lets say has no presence then either they send someone ($$ tkts, hotel etc) or pay for a local, and I can fully see where it will be cheaper just to pay the claimant off, but not if they have legal staff where the Arb will take place. But I may be dead wrong in my thinking. If there wasnt a filing fee then Id do it, with a fee and what I may not consider a strong case I wouldnt want to waste any more of my $$

Could be Im overthinking this, but some DPs of folks who went to Arb in places that Citi has a strong presence and got their $$ is important

mordakky

removed

tuphat

Writing as someone who's been through this exact situation --
1. You don't need a lawyer to write the letters I described in my post.
2. Demanding "pain & suffering" will be seen as frivolous and won't advance your cause. Stick to what you actually unconditionally earned, i.e., the cash back.
3. Citi's opening offer to settle will likely be a flat $500; probably good to think now whether that will be acceptable to you.
4. For various reasons that I'm not going to detail here, filing for arbitration with AAA is better than JAMS, imho.
5. T&C applicable to my card says that Citibank will pay my share of the arbitration fee for Claims of $75,000 or less if they are unrelated to debt collection
6. If you don't understand that the idea here is to get reasonable settlement in lieu of actual arbitration, this approach isn't for you.

craz

What if the OP doesnt have #5 as part of their T&Cs,? If you didnt have #5 would you have put out the $250 not knowing if it was gonna be good money after bad?

I understand you are saying just file since Citi will settle anyways and never let it go to an actual arbitration, I hear that and it has merit to it as long as anyone else is in the same boat, personally if I didnt have #5 as you did I doubt Id throw the $$ out and would rather stop my loss $$ I paid in MO and card fees then add to it

Now if theres no #5 then Citi can decide to pay or draw it out and pay later on, theyd probably view it as a nuisance suit and as you said simply want it to go away and not worth its time and effort

Your point #3 is extremely important does a person simply hope to get back the $s they paid in fees for the cards and MOs or try and get the CB so called earned but pending.I guess one needs to include the filing fee as well. Id be happy walking away even and not out any $$ I dont see the CB as something that I lost or would be out. I see it as a biz decision that didnt workout. Either way w/o having your #5 as part of my T&Cs I would simply move on, rather then chance being out another $200 or 250. But as the Lotterys say You got to be in it to win it. I dont play the lotterys

Just trying to give the OP some food for thought and have them understand if they are in the same boat as those who went down this same path, if they dont have your #5 then they arent in the boat you were in, and would need some DPs from someone who also didnt have #5